First pre-match press conference of the season for coach Gotti, who on the eve of the Italian Cup match against Como spoke to the microphones of the press:
"Several things have happened this month. We immediately had to check the situations of Amian and Ferrer; so, already at the start, we missed two guys on whom we were counting. Slowly the events of the market intervened, with great pleasure Ekdal arrived from Sampdoria, after the last championship in which he was afflicted by plantar fasciitis that conditioned him throughout the year. The decision we made was not to leave things halfway and to take the time to make him heal completely so that we could have him at full physical efficiency as soon as possible. Now let's face the first official matches with those small certainties that have distinguished this team along the way.
We are making some attempts with the players, we have begun to perceive their daily life and the small details of each one, but in the end, it is always the field that gives the answers. One thing is the ideas that I make with respect to the characteristics and potential of moving these players to other areas of the field, on the other hand, we will have to see what the field will tell us. During the friendly matches, you could see Kiwior in the center of the defense and the attempt with Agudelo to verify if he can make the inside forward with an interpretation both mine and his. As for Verde, he has to get used to new lines of play, but with his qualities and way of interpreting the games, I think it's not a big problem.
The idea for tomorrow is to play the most competitive team possible, and in doing this we will have to deal with some ailments of the season and the fact that some players are further ahead and others further behind. For example, Kovalenko, despite being here last year, due to market events has skipped the preparation and will not be called up for tomorrow's game, because he needs to do a different kind of work right now. Considering all these situations I will play the most competitive team possible because tomorrow's Italian Cup match will be an important test before the start of the championship.
It often happens with players, especially with younger ones, that a coach sees a sculpture where everyone sees a stone, and it happened to me with some of them, both physically and technically. This month's decisions will be to understand if they can already be ready to face the Serie A championship or if it is better to go and make a path of continuity of play in other realities.
We talked about Nzola a month ago, and after this month I feel I can say that it has confirmed and exceeded my expectation. I have no difficulty in saying that he is a player that I really like and that I think he does not even realize how strong he is.
The market is still long, we all know that we have two potential exits of two very important players in the squad, and we do not know what will happen. We know that the market is strange, things can happen in a very short time. If for Provedel today the situation sees joints that could have shorter times, today it is not the case of Maggiore, so if there is no relevant news Maggiore will be on the field tomorrow.
To date, I can say that Gyasi is a fundamental player within the team, not only for the football aspect but also for the personal one, for the relevance he has within the group and the locker room. We are trying to see if he can express his potential even in an area of the field with tasks a little different from those we are used to seeing, but the guy is very helpful, and I try to entrust him with tasks that are as close as possible to what he knows how to do best.
The Club and I shared the idea of greatly reducing the group and at the same time trying to raise the competitiveness for each role so that everyone pushes each other during the season. This last month will serve us to refine the squad from this point of view.
The captain's armband? It is a problem that I have asked myself, a problem more symbolic than practical, because Maggiore has spent this month behaving like an exemplary professional and a true captain, both in retreat and during friendlies. I will discuss it with him and we will understand the best solution together."
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