1.20pm – End of Fabio Pecchia’s pre-match conference.
Could this young team have been affected by the derby? And can he suffer from the pressure in an environment like Catanzaro?
“The team must live with this aspect, this pressure must be a privilege. We are a young team, but matches like this help us grow, they help us take a step and improve. This is why I want to see progress compared to the match against Reggiana, which It was a different match where we experienced the city a lot. In Catanzaro we will find a nice environment, but this is stimulating and helps us grow.”
How is Di Chiara? Can she play?
“Gianluca is fine, he has fifteen days of work on his legs. He is improving day by day, he is an expert player who comes from two seasons in which he played a lot, so it will take little time to get him back on track. However, he certainly hasn’t the ninety minutes in the legs”.
Do you expect a Catanzaro who plays open and presses high?
“Precisely for this reason it will be a good test for us, it is a team that plays football. We will have to do the same thing, then whoever has more strength, more quality and ability will be able to break the balance. We will see if the match opens , in the open field they are fast but we also have the qualities to be lethal.”
Which department gives you the most doubts regarding choices?
“I’ll throw the balls up, let’s see who comes out and I’ll put them on the field (laughs, ed.). We have to continue working on the atmosphere, on being together, on the group, on the mentality, we have to breathe this and live it from game to game. The midfield it’s fine, the defensive line too… we have to provide continuity. It will be difficult to leave someone out, but everyone will be important.”
You had all the midfielders available in the break, you had the opportunity to work on them:
“In this sense it is perhaps the most complete department of all because everyone stayed here and was able to work with us, but I don’t think the match was negative in terms of attitude against Reggiana. It was a demanding match in the two phases, developed quite well in my opinion. That match took place in very narrow spaces, and there perhaps we would need more individual plays, so some incursions with the ball and so on.”
Have you taken any countermeasures to counter Catanzaro’s speed?
“The speed of the opponents and their ability to attack the line is always annoying for everyone, but we also have speed forward, we have leg and ability to attack spaces. We have to do our things, taking into account that we are facing a team who wants to play, serene, who comes from a year where they always won. This “over confidence” allows him to make good plays, we must have clear ideas to hurt him.”
Given the absence of Charpentier, are Bonny and Colak the alternatives as first strikers?
“They are not alternatives. They can play there: Bonny can play there, Colak is a striker, there is also Benedyczak who can play there, and they can play together. They can play the role with different characteristics.”
Inglese and Cyprien have shirt numbers according to a communication from the League yesterday. Just a bureaucratic issue?
“They are two guys under contract, who work in Collecchio. I think it’s also a question of respect for their situations. But nothing has changed in the group.”
Mihaila has found the goal again for the national team, but misses the goal against Parma:
“He will arrive. With us he came from good performances with Pisa and Reggiana, he returns from the national team with satisfaction for the goal and this must give him serenity, I am happy because he is providing continuity. The goal will be a logical consequence of all this”.
The international break will lead to some reflection. Can we expect central Delprato instead of Osorio, given the intercontinental journey?
“These are considerations that are made, I also made them last year. For tomorrow I have almost the entire group available, apart from Anas Haj who has returned with a fever, even if it’s nothing serious. I have to take these situations into account: some he played and is ready and has the match pace, some don’t, but they’re all fine. So Osorio can play, Man is fine too.”
In Catanzaro, he said, there is an overwhelming environment. What weapons should Parma react with?
“What I ask is that I want to see a convincing group from a technical-tactical and mental point of view, in terms of personality. The environment and the team are suitable: they have ideas and identities, they play good football, they are very calm and confident in itself. For this reason I want a convincing performance from all points of view, beyond the ranking which at the moment means nothing. Tomorrow two teams will take to the pitch who want to play, dominate and carry forward their idea of the game. For us it will be a good performance after the derby.”
How do you keep tension high during the break, with many out for the national teams?
“In some ways, those who were away for the national teams continued to have that tension because they played, even if they were away from us. Those who were with us every day were easier to manage, but it’s clear that it’s much better when you’re competing and playing continuously, it’s more exciting. When there’s only training it’s a little different, but it’s a situation that all teams experience.”
Challenge at the top with Catanzaro, did you expect it?
“The ranking counts what matters. I’m not surprised to see Catanzaro there, because it is a confirmation of what can happen in a team that starts the championship with technical continuity and comes from a season in which it has only known victories. This enthusiasm, this environment then creates an overwhelming situation and this can be seen on the pitch.”
Fabio Pecchia, Parma coach, takes the floor: “The break is a little different for us, because a large part of them are leaving. We have been in contact with the national teams remotely, the rest have worked well with us. The last one to being back is Osorio, they came back well, some with satisfaction, some with some bitterness, but they are all inside”.
12.45 – After the break for the national teams, tomorrow Parma returns to the field for the Serie B championship, and will face Catanzaro, a true revelation of this first part of the tournament. In a few minutes the Crociati coach Fabio Pecchia will be the protagonist in a press conference to introduce the match against the Calabrians and answer questions from the journalists present. Follow our usual LIVE! to read the coach’s statements in real time.
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