“There was no night. We always say that Atalanta have learned something… either we win or we learn. All right. Yesterday’s match left us disappointed, when a Final arrives you are always one step away from victory. But I haven’t changed my opinion compared to what I said yesterday, we had a good race. We were no less than our opponents, then there was the episode that characterized the match. For us yesterday was the third very demanding match in seven days, without going back and counting the others…”.
“Sunday against Roma was very tough, but before that we had played against Marseille. Yesterday was Wednesday, for the first time I saw… not a bad condition, because we were present in the match, but we lacked the speed necessary to overcome an organized team like Juventus. I saw a bit of effort, the speed needed to recover the result. The players gave everything, we can learn lessons but we could have done little differently. Now we have to play in Lecce in two days, there I will have to make some changes and prepare Dublin. We must arrive there in the best physical and mental condition.”
“How much it weighed the fact of being favored? It’s a condition that doesn’t affect us (laughs, ed.). This doesn’t mean anything, it’s never like this in the Final unless the values are clearly different. I exclude it, also because the team gave everything. But that shouldn’t be an excuse, we’ve never been attached to physical condition… but every seven days the situation changes. For the first time we lacked a bit of speed against the less ideal formation. But it’s no one’s fault, that’s how it happened. The real defeat yesterday was losing de Roon.”
“Scamacca is a player who has had a very positive evolution, in other matches he would have been noticed less and we would have coped better. In that type of match he would have been a stronger reference, also for his teammates, allowing them to play better. For Wednesday it will be another Final against a very strong team, just think about the numbers. We have been playing decisive matches for months, think about the match against Liverpool or Marseille, or against Fiorentina. Or again with Roma, if you didn’t win… when you play so many games, the game happens that, also due to the value of the opponent, you lose by a small margin. We have to accept. We want to get there well, we are preparing for this.”
“The championship isn’t over yet, we have to do our part and we’re still three points away from qualifying for the Champions League. Our thoughts and those of everyone are aimed at Dublin, we want to get there in the best possible condition as has happened nine times out of ten.”
“de Roon? He returned to Bergamo for the necessary investigations, I see a lot of difficulty in him being able to play next Wednesday. I hope so for the Europeans, the doctors will make a diagnosis.”
“Savings in Lecce? Saving is a bad word, in the Italian championship if you do it… you struggle a lot. There will be some substitutions, in view of Dublin, a very large turnover, but with the five substitutions you can also play a portion of the match
“Toloi? He is recovered from a physical point of view, the condition may not be the best but the boy has such an attachment and adaptability to be available and be a protagonist.”
“Bayer Leverkusen? The numbers are very clear, we know very well that we have to face a team that has not lost in fifty games and has dominated in the Bundesliga. In Europe it has made a great journey. The match against Roma gave us confidence, but we meet a top team. The one that has the best results in Europe. But even there, it’s a Final. In the Finals, history doesn’t matter, strength and condition matter. The present counts.”
“De Ketelaere? There’s him, there’s Scamacca, Miranchuk, Lookman, Tourè… luckily we have a few days to choose. He was praised with Roma, then last night… I can’t base it on one match or another, the judgment on a player is much broader. Maybe he wasn’t able to recover his energy as best he could, whether it’s nervous or physical, they’re all connected.”
“Psychological backlash after tiredness? No, I think we are immune to this situation. It’s a team that has always had great ability to react, it was a tough and difficult match with a narrow defeat. There will be a big reaction“.
“For months we have been training those who don’t play. Those who play only have time to recover with some cool-downs… if someone misses a match it will be time to train. If you take the matches away from the championship and put them in Europe…. We are predecessors, I assure you that it is very hard and demanding. I wonder how in cycling you do 24 stages in a row or what happens in tennis, or what happens in basketball. They have different times. It may be that there is room to adapt, even yesterday we performed well. Nervous energies are more difficult to recharge, physical energies are recovered. But it applies to everyone, even in other sports. In our team, the one who played the most is the one who got hurt the least, then there is also a history for each one.”
“Does De Ketelaere stay next year? It will be a topic to be addressed in the next championship.”
