Luca Gotti: presentation press conference

The presentation press conference was held today for coach Luca Gotti, who, after being introduced by Chief Football Operations Officer Riccardo Pecini, spoke for the first time as coach of the Eagles:

"I am extremely happy to be here. I chose Spezia because I immediately had the feeling it was looking for me, as a coach and as a man, it was gratifying to feel I was the right person in the right place.

I'm a very simple, enthusiastic person, who has built his career step by step and I try to put into my work every day what I am and what I've learned throughout my life.

This won't be Gotti's Spezia, but our Spezia, which will depend on the characteristics of the players, whom I will try to put in the best conditions to express themselves. What will underpin our work is clear ideas and commitment. Commitment is a dogma that cannot be lacking, especially for someone who has the privilege of doing such a great job: I can't stand wasted talent, people who don't give everything they have at their disposal, and I will always try to maintain this drive.

When the contacts with Spezia began, it seemed that the market would be closed, but the thing never particularly scared me, on the contrary, I took it as an opportunity. Having a squad that had just been saved, made up of young lads with great energy and enthusiasm, would have meant starting to prepare for the season without confusion, concentrating as much as possible on the lads available. The most worrying thing would have been to have the market closed in the following sessions, without the possibility of adjusting the squad with a view to a lasting path.

When a team changes coach happens that the hierarchies reset, and this regenerates enthusiasm, giving everyone equal opportunities. The boys will have to put themselves in a position to earn my trust and that of the whole group.

I'm not a fundamentalist of the playing system, I've always believed that players should be put in the best condition to express their potential. I have my own idea of the team that could be and I think there is every possibility of playing with a three-man defense, with fifths of a specific type, but then we'll see how the players respond and we'll make the appropriate evaluations. I also believe that modern football is heading in a direction where it is increasingly difficult to talk concretely about precise systems of play, but you always have to take into account the instructions given to the players and their aptitudes.

Nzola? He has characteristics that I like a lot and I think he can be a great first signing for this team; clearly, it will then be up to him, like all the others, to win my trust and that of the whole group.

The rhetorical expression 'the twelfth man' is often abused, but the feeling I've had in coming to play here is that as far as Spezia is concerned this is not a rhetorical expression; I believe the fans have been a fundamental component in these two years and I think they will be again in order to reach our final objective and I'm sure that the 'Picco' will be able to make the difference once again."