CLASSIFICATION – “I’m ambitious, I’m sorry to lose games, especially the ones that are within reach. We lost some points but we can have a good season. We hope to make a leap in quality, the boys have also gained experience. The first objective is 40 points but we are ambitious. We saw what happened last year so, once we reach 40 points we will push. When you have a great test like against Napoli the team loads up, they had trained very well before Florence. Then episodes like the red card can happen but the players were also disappointed. Even with 10 players you can do well, you must never give up because Serie A punishes you straight away. This must be the mentality, there is a lot of competition and many guys who push hard. On a physical level our data is among the top 5 in Serie A but we must understand how to not have ups and downs in performance, sometimes we have to be tough. I also repeat this to leaders like Padelli, Kabasele and Karlstrom match, we proceed in small steps. We don’t have the objective of 50 points, we certainly know that it would be the best result after 12 years and we would like to get there but we go step by step. Now we have Como, who are strong and play well, but we will go there to show our mentality.”
SINGLES – “We have a base of leaders, for example Piotrowski is fitting in well, Atta will certainly make this step. The same goes for Kristensen, they are important pivots even if they are young. Then clearly the market is unpredictable. Padelli is a great leader, he has ambition and always trains well. Age doesn’t matter when you love football. I appreciate him very much and we discuss a lot about how to help the team. When he goes on the pitch he is always ready, you can always count on him.”
DOORMAN – “Who will play in goal now? The final decision is up to the coach. We have 4 strong goalkeepers, we have faith in Sava, he has great qualities. Nunziante himself is a very strong goalkeeper, as a national team in prospect. Daniele is also strong. We know about Okoye that he has had some less positive performances, he is our number 1 and has our trust. He started after the season but has put everything aside. I am always close to him and I want to help him make a leap in quality, he has everything to become a great goalkeeper at European level. I know the fans are a bit disappointed but we have to stay in the same boat together.”
ZANIOLO – “In Florence there was no argument with Zaniolo, I was in the dressing room myself. He has great character, we talk a lot with him and I try to convey to him my experience here in Udine. We need his strong character. He is happy here, he has seen that the club and the fans love him. He is working very well and is always available. We are always close to him and he listens to us. Many players have been reborn here, the same has happened to Thauvin. The coach also works a lot on this with Zaniolo, to we are a fundamental player. Nicolò loves Udine and has everything to be a symbol, sometimes when he touches the ball I see a bit of Di Natale, players who have a particular feeling with the ball. I hope we can help him get to the national team.
DAVIS – “Davis is a sweet and silent boy, very polite. He works a lot and talks little. Before Lazio there was a day off and he came to the pitch to work, he is a great professional. His quality on the pitch is lethal, we work on all the physical details with him and now he is playing the entire matches.”
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