«The team needs to put minutes into their legs». As Michele Pazienza opened this afternoon’s mixed-side post-friendly press conference. There are still two weeks left until the debut (the May 21st) of the Wolves in the Serie C play-offs but the climate in the green and white group is already red hot.
BELOW ARE THE STATEMENTS OF MISTER PAZIENZA
HOW THE PREPRATION PROCEEDS – «The objective is to bring everyone to an acceptable condition while maintaining the match pace. Today’s friendly match lasted about 60 minutes with this objective but we will play further friendlies.”
THE POSSIBLE 4-3-1-2 WITH THE RACE IN PROGRESS – «The indications I was looking for and wanted from this family match were not linked to the result but I needed to try game situations through a different game system. From this point of view we have had good indications but it remains a family test and must be evaluated as such.”
THE GENERAL CONDITION OF THE GROUP – «Rocca had some fatigue but it’s nothing serious. Marconi worked in the first half then we managed him. He is fine, he had some situations during the week but nothing serious. We are trying to get Cionek to recover, managing the discomfort he felt in the last few games. We’re giving him a chance to catch his breath. Varela is putting minutes into his legs. We will take advantage of the other two friendlies to ensure that he becomes an important player in the play-offs.”
THE NEXT FRIENDLY MATCHES – «The friendly match against the Primavera will take place. All that’s missing is the one on May 14th where all that’s missing is confirmation.”
THE COMPARISON AT THE END OF THE RACE WITH LLANO AND PATIERNO – «It’s part of the post-match and the instructions I give to my boys. Llano got a beating and we need to fix this situation. We must be vigilant in all situations, leaving nothing out. I spoke with Patierno about some game situations.”
TESSER’S HONEY WORDS AND CONCENTRATION – «I didn’t have the opportunity to read his words. I respect him as a person beyond his sporting merits. Concentration must be very high but it must not be exasperating. The goal is to arrive at May 21st with balance, without heaviness. We must take advantage of the experience gained in the championship to be ready for the play-offs. Also for this reason, at the end of the regular season, we left the boys free for a few days.”
THE OTHER GROUPS – «Looking at one team rather than another means groping in the dark. From today I will try to watch the matches of the other groups where there are well-equipped teams. Especially Carrarese and Vicenza are tough to face and are very similar to us. Padova plays a lot of dribbling and phrasing.”
THE THOSE-KNIT GROUP – «The barbecue only confirms what was said during the year. Some people tried to question it, but this is a healthy group that sometimes had disagreements but it happens everywhere but they settled it in the right times and ways.”
THE PLAY-OFF EXPERIENCE – «I played them last year where I came out with a bad defeat, which made me grow and gave me a bit more experience. The play-offs are a very particular tournament and those matches don’t give you time to remedy any mistakes made. We need to make as few mistakes as possible.”
SGARBI TREQUARTIST – «Beyond the field area, it must maintain its characteristics. He is devastating in space, in tight spaces he must play quickly.”
THE VAR – «Even what happened during the season can give us advantages».
THE SMILES OF THOSE WHO HAVE PLAYED LESS – «The smile of someone who has played less is pleasing. It’s a very positive note and in this regard I say that they were the people with whom I had the opportunity to chat the most and with whom I let myself go the most yesterday. Pezzella is the only player in the squad with whom I feel clearly in difficulty due to the little space given. He knows that I respect him, but he knows that I am here to make choices.”
THE EMPLOYMENT OF AT LEAST 17 FOOTBALL PLAYERS – «We will try to use the entire team and this would mean getting to the end».
(Cover image by Sandro Montefusco)
