A wanderer from Emilia-Romagna who wore not only the Cesena jersey, but also Parma, Rimini, Bologna, Piacenza and Imolese, the centre forward shared the winning experience of Bari with mister Mignani.
© photo di Gettyimages: Iguana Press
“Mignani? He could be the right man for this Cesena”word of Daniele PaponiThe thirty-six year old striker from the Marche region, who also has a past in black and white, knows the new coach of the seahorse well with whom he has shared the victorious 2021-2022 season in Bari. The red and whites won the Serie C championship and the following year were the protagonists of a sensational championship that brought them one step away from double jumping in category. Mignani will now try to do well with Cesena and Paponi is certain that this can happen.
Paponi, you know Michele Mignani well. Do you think he could be the right man for Cesena?
“I think so, and we saw it in his first year in Serie B with Bari. We are talking about a coach who gives an important impact to the team, he is good at reading matches and I think he is absolutely suitable for the Cesena championship”.
With Mignani you won the C championship, what is the characteristic that in your opinion makes him a winner?
“He manages the group well and throughout the year gives all the elements the opportunity to play their cards. This way he keeps everyone on their toes and manages to get the most out of it. I think this is his best feature, if you have a strong and cohesive group you will achieve the result in the end”.
In black and white you will collect a heavy legacy, Toscano’s Cesena was a battleship and you had the chance to face it. Could this be a reason for strong initial pressure?
“He comes from very hot places like Bari and Palermo. He had an extraordinary first year of B, then last year he brought with him the waste of the epilogue of the previous year and in my opinion it is not decipherable. He has the qualities to handle the pressure. Then it is clear that Toscano’s Cesena was one or two steps above the other teams, but I don’t think Mignani can be affected by this and I am convinced that he can do very well with a newly promoted team, he has already demonstrated it.”.
Maybe to help him settle in it could be useful to include trusted men like Maita. What player is he? And who else do you think could be a good fit for Cesena?
“I experienced the promotion from C to B with Bari, we were a battleship and the following year in B only two players were changed, one of which was the goalkeeper. Those who won like that Bari or Cesena last year have little to change. Having many players who know each other, who have played and won together can only be an advantage. Of course, the coach’s ‘trusted’ men like Maita, who is a quality all-round midfielder, can help but I personally wouldn’t change much”.
Your experience in Cesena was not the best in terms of results, but what did it leave you with?
“I spent six months in Cesena in which I had a great time, I can’t really say anything. Unfortunately when I arrived in January the results situation was almost compromised (relegation from B to C in 2007-2008, ed.), but we are talking about an extraordinary city and I am happy to have been there. I wish Cesena to enjoy Serie B and try to make the leap to Serie A as soon as possible.”.
