On the eve of our home match against Modena, Aquilotti head coach Roberto Donadoni spoke this morning at the pre-match press conference. Below are his remarks: “It’s been a slightly shorter training week than usual, since we played on Monday and will be back on the field this Saturday, but I’d say we still followed a solid program. Unfortunately, there are always a few daily setbacks between knocks and seasonal illnesses, which have caused some absences. But now we need to focus on looking ahead, because we’ll be facing a team with significant ambitions, and it will be a challenging match.
Vignali had a slight fever, so we’ll see how he feels in the coming hours. His absence in the last game was purely a technical choice, and we know he’s an important player for us. I have to make decisions that sometimes exclude someone from the starting lineup, but that’s normal, only eleven players take the field. When I arrived in Spezia, I immediately told the players that I want to see the fire in the eyes of those who aren’t playing, and I want them to push me to make difficult choices.
Esposito has completed two or three training sessions with the team. He’s a player with notable technical ability and quality, as everyone knows, but of course he needs the right physical condition to match that. After nearly two months out, he can’t start a match yet, but it’s great to have him back, and he’ll keep improving day by day.
Clearly, coming off two consecutive wins lifts the team’s spirits compared to two weeks ago, but as I told the players, there’s still a long road ahead. We can’t get comfortable; we need even more desire to work. Everything is still possible, nothing is decided, and we must stay focused on moving forward, setting goals that allow us to grow and achieve better results. There’s no need to look behind us. I don’t think we should check the standings to see who’s below us, but rather to set our sights on those ahead. I’m trying to instill in the players the mindset of wanting to compete with the strongest teams and always having the drive to prove their worth, pushing to do a little more each time.
Soleri? He was understandably worried after the injury he suffered in the Primavera match a few weeks ago, but now he’s back training at full strength with the group. Artistico? He’s coming off two goals that earned us six points, but generally speaking, I like having healthy competition within the squad, paired with the unity of purpose needed to achieve the results we all want.
Wisniewski? In evaluating a performance, people often highlight a single flaw instead of the full picture. I believe he has significant value and plenty of room for improvement. Like everyone else, he needs to keep working to address his weaknesses, but that’s a normal process. My evaluation goes beyond the 90 minutes of a match, and tomorrow we’ll again try to give everything against a team with real quality. We’ll need to be even more of a team than we’ve been so far, taking another step forward.
Our approach has to be clear and shared. If we face an opponent with superior technical ability and leave too much space, we can certainly run into trouble. So tomorrow we’ll need to break forward decisively, read the moments of the match, support each other, and avoid giving Modena large gaps to exploit.
Mascardi? You can see he’s doing well. After all, when a player enters the national team setup, it’s no coincidence. He’s clear-headed, his teammates know he has talent, and the important thing is that he never becomes complacent but continues working as he is now. I also want to mention Leonardo Loria, an important guy who always applies himself, brings positivity, and constantly motivates his teammates. Players like him are a real asset in the locker room.
The more forwards play together, the better they understand each other. We’re trying to help them become increasingly effective, and clearly, performance levels also rise with confidence.
Our approach will also depend on the type of opponent we’re facing, but the fundamental thing will be to stay compact and united. We know our opponents have real quality, and it’ll be up to us to put them under pressure, forcing them to play at high intensity, giving them neither time nor space, and showing aggression from the very start.
I’m not ruling out the possibility of making tactical changes in the future, but it’s clear that to do so we need time and, above all, a fully available squad, because to try new solutions you need all possible options. The transfer market? I’ve made my evaluations, and the dialogue with the President and the Director is constant and aligned. We’re analyzing which strategies to adopt for January.
Aurelio? Mentally, the player has no issues. I was just a bit surprised by the muscle problem, because on Monday he came off due to a technical choice, he wasn’t feeling anything in particular, so in the end it was good that we substituted him before the issue could worsen. Since it’s not a serious problem, the hope is that he can rejoin the squad next week ahead of the match against Frosinone".
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