Turati: “I always want to see in our eyes the desire to play and give our all for the team”

Ahead of the match against Grosseto, Coach Marco Turati spoke to the press: “I think that from a psychological standpoint, the result we achieved against Torres was very important because we have a lot of young players whom I’m asking to ride the wave of enthusiasm that comes with playing for a club like La Spezia; over the past few days, we’ve continued to work hard—every day we try to introduce new concepts and reinforce what we’ve already learned—and I’m very satisfied with the work we’ve done.

The fact that our fans aren’t in Grosseto is our biggest regret. Last Sunday, from the first minute to the last, they were—as always—our twelfth man, so we’re very sorry they can’t be with us in Tuscany. We’ll be waiting for them for the Campobasso match, confident that the stadium will be as lively and electrifying as ever.

This week I don’t want to talk about individual players, but rather focus on the team as a whole—a young squad, perhaps still incomplete and a work in progress, but one that has a duty to satisfy the people of La Spezia. We know full well that constant, daily commitment is what our fans expect of us, and in recent days we’ve continued down this path.

The opponent awaiting us? A young and dynamic team with clear ideas, led by a highly skilled coach; we know we’ll be facing a team that will try to put on a great performance, as this is their debut in front of their home crowd.

Physically, the team is split into two groups: those who’ve been with us from the start are in great shape; there are players who keep pushing hard and are already well on their way. The new additions are working very hard, but it’s clear they need to get back into top form, and Capomaggio himself needs to get some playing time. However, he has a wealth of experience that can help him compensate for his current physical shortcomings, and he’ll be very important to us.

From the very first day of training camp, we’ve pushed hard, trying to instill in the players the right mindset to play while wearing this jersey; perhaps right now some of them are still lacking a bit of spark, but it’s also worth noting that we have a completely new roster to bring together, and we’re trying to keep moving forward like this.

We’re not very concerned with what’s happening in Grosseto, and I don’t think the opposing players are either, because there are many young players who will do their best to show what they’re made of and secure a result.

The few injuries we’ve had so far have certainly been an important factor we’ve taken very seriously; we’ve only had Cannavò, who still needs more time to recover. As for the rest, we’ve had to manage the workload for Cardinali and Bright—especially for Kevin, who is physically quite different from Alessandro, so he’s struggled a bit more. But even though he doesn’t yet have the stamina for a full 90 minutes, we’ll do everything we can to bring him along with us.

Defensively against Torres, we played very well, conceding just two or three chances, but thinking we’ll never concede anything is unthinkable; in the end, we finished with four left-footed players, with Bastoni dropped back into a role he hadn’t played in a while and Cancellieri on the right.

I think we’ll bring in someone for the defense, and in general, a player like Capomaggio will be a big help to us defensively as well, because he has the physicality and experience.

The right-back position? Right now, it’s a completely open position that will certainly need to be filled, but it’s not up to me to say how or when, because we have a highly experienced General Manager who will know how to find the best solution. What matters to me today is keeping alive in my players’ eyes the desire to play, to make sacrifices, and to put themselves at the team’s disposal: that’s the most important aspect, and it must never be lacking.”