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Roberto D'Aversa was in front of the microphones ahead of Monday's trip to Bergamo, here's what the coach had to say. “Cornelius trained today, while Inglese has been working almost completely with the squad for the entire week, even if we monitored his play in the tackle. They are both in contention for tomorrow, although obviously I’ll be taking into consideration their recent recoveries. Roberto has worked more than Andreas from a fitness point of view and is better prepared. Andreas has been given the green light from the medical staff but he’s hardly trained with the team. However, I want to thank them both because they’ve remained here in Parma during the break to continue their recovery, ensuring that they’re ready for this away fixture. “Kulusevski? What happened this week acted as a bit of a distraction from our lack of numbers, however, that’s only normal when a player is signed by a big club. What I would like to say to the fans is that 99 times out of 100, a player would not have returned to Parma in a situation like this. I think that this demonstrates the intelligence and maturity of the player, which is a sign of gratitude to the club, his teammates and the backroom staff. “It’s highly likely that Pezzella will play from the start – I think that he has real potential in that role. In the past, he’s always been part of a five-man defence so it’s taken time for him to come to grips playing four at the back. However, he has the potential to be a very, very strong player and let’s not forget how young he is. I still have some doubts about tomorrow’s system but what matters is how the players carry it out. I think that we’re starting back in the league against the worst possible opponent – Atalanta. However, we must have the desire to get a result even if we know it won’t be easy. “Atalanta has scored more goals than anyone else this season, putting five past Milan in their last game. They enjoyed a good first half of the season but they still have the potential to improve. At crucial moments they’ve also had issues in the attack, missing both Muriel and Zapata. They are back to full strength tomorrow. We know the characteristics of this team and they don’t have any fear. They are strong physically, while they can also create play in a determined manner. If you look at some of their key players, such as Ilicic, Malinovskyi, Muriel and Zapata, then we need to make sure we work well as a team, while also doing well in the individual duels. As a whole, I think that they are one of the strongest teams in the league. “I was counting on the break to regain some of our players, although this didn’t go as planned – even if the staff and players did all they could. Having said that, this team has shown in the past that it can do well in the face of difficulty. We have players who possess different characteristics and we must do well to limit a team scores plenty of goals and builds play well. We must try to restrain them, while also threatening in attack. “As for the transfer market, the club and our sporting director know what we need. We’re simply focused on the tough match that awaits us tomorrow. It’s always a bit of an unknown after the break, however, we always use it to work hard and make sure that we’re ready for these occasions. We must all be prepared to give 120 per cent tomorrow. “As regards Kulusevski, I believe that everyone worked for their own interests and my Club did well. What I would like to highlight more is the fact that this lad has come back to Parma despite his young age: I don’t know how many players would have done the same thing. This should not result in any negative feelings towards the lad. On the contrary, it’s something which should be appreciated even more because he has stated that he wants to prove that he’s worth the money that’s been spent on him by performing well during the second half of the season. He needs to be managed in the right way, he’s a serious professional and has demonstrated this up to now. I’m sure that this will remain the case until the end of the season. “Scozzarella was treated elsewhere and has been back with us this week. Nevertheless, he’s still not fully fit. We all know his worth, the fact that he’s been working with me for three and a half years is an advantage because he knows what I’m asking for in that position. Matteo probably won’t start tomorrow but having him at my disposal is a big thing, even if he can only play for a reduced amount of time. “Who would I take from Atalanta? Every time I name a player belonging to our opponents they score, so I’m not going to say a name. Atalanta should serve as an example for all “medium-sized” clubs, great work has been done here for many years now. For a club like Parma, Atalanta is an objective to reach. Irrespective of who they play, they can cause problems: they’re a strong side who progressed from their Champions League group and are fifth in Serie A despite having some major absences, especially in the striking department. They’ll do even better during the second half of the season. “Would I take a draw? Brescia only lost in the 90th minute against a good team in Lazio, who won the Supercoppa Italiana against Juventus. It proves that Serie A is a very difficult league. Historically, teams at the bottom tend to pick up more points during the second half of the season. That said, I would never just aim for a draw because we won’t pick up any points if we go to Bergamo with this thought in our minds. If we head there full of desire and aware of the characteristics of the opposition and play based on this knowledge, we can try to make the most of a few gaps that could open up. We need to understand the kind of game that we need to play and read what is going on during the match, but aiming for a draw isn’t part of my philosophy. And this also applies to the lads because otherwise, they wouldn’t have done what they’ve managed to achieve so far.” Parma have this afternoon announced that club sporting director Daniele Faggiano has renewed his contract with the club until July 2022.
"Daniele Faggiano's contract extension is another fundamental step for a club like ours, one which is planning and working to create a structure, grow, improve and constantly look ahead" Said Parma President. He went on to say "We're delighted with this contract extension which was formalised over the few weeks. We hop to achieve big things together" 2019/20 Fixtures
August 25th - PARMA - Juventus September 01st - Udinese - PARMA 15th - PARMA - Cagliari 22nd - Lazio - PARMA 25th - PARMA - Sassuolo 29th - PARMA - Torino October 06th - SPAL - PARMA 20th - PARMA - Genoa 27th - Inter - PARMA 30th - PARMA - Hellas Verona November 03rd - Fiorentina - PARMA 10th - PARMA - Roma 24th - Bologna - PARMA December 01st - PARMA - Milan 08th - Sampdoria - PARMA 15th - Napoli - PARMA 22nd - PARMA - Brescia January 05th - Atalanta - PARMA 12th - PARMA - Lecce 19th - Juventus - PARMA 26th - PARMA - Udinese February 02rd - Cagliari - PARMA 09th - PARMA - Lazio 16th - Sassuolo - PARMA 23rd - Torino - PARMA March 01st - PARMA - SPAL 08th - Genoa - PARMA 15th - PARMA - Inter 22nd - Hellas Verona - PARMA April 05th - PARMA - Fiorentina 11th - Roma - PARMA 19th - PARMA - Bologna 22nd - Milan - PARMA 26th - PARMA - Sampdoria May 03rd - PARMA - Napoli 10th - Brescia - PARMA 17th - PARMA - Atalanta 24th - Lecce - PARMA “We almost took the lead too soon. Then we let Sampdoria get up the pitch. This is something that also happened in Verona against Chievo, and it shouldn’t happen. Today, however, we reacted as a real team and showed the attributes required. This is another point we’ll gladly take. We’re close, we’re really close to achieving our objective – it’s in our grasp. We can achieve it next Monday against Bologna in the derby. We’ll prepare for it with the right intensity, just like we have for our other recent games.
I’m happy to have scored my first Serie A goal in Parma at the Stadio Tardini while wearing this shirt – it’s the team where I developed as a player. I’m really pleased to have done it in front of my family. It would have been even better if we had got the win, but we’ve still got a useful point in our quest to avoid relegation. When you’re 1-3 down, it’s usually difficult to play using your head. Today, however, we got back into the match together as a team. I would like to dedicate my first Serie A goal to my whole family, my wife and a friend of mine called Mirco, a youngster from Borgo Val di Taro who is fighting a much more important battle. I’m available to the Coach and team and accept whatever choices are made. I’ve always been available to fight for the Parma cause, and I’m now making myself useful. We’ve probably dropped off during the second half of the season, but this hasn’t been intentional. Sometimes it’s the case that you lose games instead of drawing or you draw games instead of winning.” “We began in the right way. We took the lead, and when that happens we usually try to make the most out of our characteristics. We were then naive, especially when it came to their penalty, and found ourselves a goal down. We need to adjust to certain circumstances given the presence of VAR, the ball that was played in was innocuous. We began the second half well and were taking the game to them despite conceding the third goal. It wasn’t easy to get back into it and we did well to do so. Sprocati and Siligardi helped us in this regard as they gave something extra. The lads did well to remain level-headed and get a point out of the game given what the situation was.
“As was the case against Chievo, we were slightly careless at times. Tactically, we prepared in a certain way, but there were mistakes from individuals. I’m thinking about their penalty and the fact that such a situation shouldn’t come about from a throw-in when I say this. For their second goal, we didn’t deal with Jankto correctly. Apart from our attitude, it’s also about interpreting matches and being clever. In the second half, the lads got at them and there were situations where we were open at the back, but we had to get back into it. After the break, we showed desire to get a result at all costs, but this is something that should have happened in the first half. “Defensive mistakes like we committed against Spal are one thing, but improving under certain circumstances is another. Penalties have been awarded because there have been infringements. Football has undergone an evolution with the introduction of VAR, and that’s why there’s all the more reason to be more alert in the box now, as Dimarco was in the second half when he dealt with a much more dangerous ball without committing a foul. We can’t give anything away in the area and need to improve in this respect. Perhaps during the week I’ll blow for more fouls in the area when we play practice matches. “It can be the case that a misplaced pass can change the outcome of a game. We needed to try and not give anything away against a side that didn’t come to hand anything on a plate for us. Attention to detail is important, we were playing a well-organised team that punish you if you make any mistakes.” News It’s not hugely important for me to score but rather to help the team pick up points and hone in on our objective, giving our all constantly to avoid relegation.” This was what Parma captain Bruno Alves had to say after Saturday’s draw with Milan: “As a defender, my primary job is to avoid conceding, but I’m very pleased to have helped the team secure this draw. It’s an important point because Serie A is a difficult league, although this result pushes us towards our objective. The hug with the Coach after my goal? The relationship with the Coach is very important, especially in games like this. A Coach always deserves our commitment out on the pitch. There’s cohesion within this united group and we’re happy about this. Obviously, three points would’ve been better than just one. However, at this moment in time, we must focus on the performance. We put in a really important display – one that helps us become increasingly aware of our abilities and gives us confidence for the rest of the season.
“Cristiano Ronaldo is a great player but there aren’t any comparisons. I was disappointed to see Juventus go out of the Champions League because the whole world deserves to see Cristiano Ronaldo star. I’m only focused on improving myself. It’s true that we’ve been missing some players, such as Inglese, Gervinho and myself. However, the group has kept growing and this is very important at this stage of the season.” “If we hadn’t have scored the equaliser then it would’ve been an injustice to our performance. Despite the result, I think that we had that bit extra. I don’t remember any saves from Sepe during the first half, while Donnarumma made two or three. It’s a shame not to have secured all three points considering the lads’ perfect performance. However, we’re pleased to have rescued something from the game. It wasn’t always easy considering that you have to risk a few things and give space to your opponents to get back into it, however, we remained balanced and were confident of doing so. Milan brought on some important players like Cutrone and Castillejo, however, the lads did read the game well and found the right solutions. The team responded well today physically despite both the kick-off time and the heat.
“First of all, we thought of bringing balance back to this team. I have to say that the guys are approaching things in a determined fashion again like how we did when we did good things in the first half of the season. Often, individual episodes change how you think about performance. Drawing in Reggio Emilia against Sassuolo is discussed differently to the result today, I asked the guys to give everything and more in front of a big crowd today and I was happy with what they did. We need to be the first to believe and be proactive. Today, regardless of the opponent’s quality the guys went out with the aim to make things difficult for them. We all have the pride to show that we’re not inferior, the guys did well despite all the absences but we don’t make excuses. We’ll keep working towards our goal, what has been done so far is already extraordinary and not to be taken for granted. “Gazzola occupied a wider position because Kucka was in the middle and Gervinho was on the other side, with cover from Dimarco or Barillà. For quick breaks, it was better to go with Nino. We’re not discovering whatBruno Alves is worth this season. He’s had a great career, I also want to mention the performances from Barillà, Gagliolo, Iacoponi and Gazzola again who played less in the first half of the season and perhaps I took something out of him by not using him so much. This shows that in this group, players like Bruno are important but so are those like Gazzola who have played less. What has been done so far is thanks to how we’ve interpreted the different elements of the team. I was happy to see people like Gattuso, Leonardo and Maldini again who were important for me in my youth, at Milan the first thought was to help you to grow as people.” |
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