The Cagliari coach: “I studied three languages and Generation Z to coach better. Today the kids live on applause and few reproaches. I’ve made a career out of reading defense, if only I had had Mina’s feet…”
In less than ten years he went from making his debut in Serie A as a footballer to doing so as a coach: from 18 September 2016 to 24 August 2025. Always with Cagliari. This may also be why Fabio Pisacane intends to give back what he absorbs from this land.
President Tommaso Giulini firmly believes in her: he reiterated it a few days ago, saying that “it would be a dream to save yourself with a young coach and team…”
“He believed in a path and not in an improvised choice. I feel a great sense of responsibility and gratitude and I would like to return this trust with work and behavior.”
At what point is the journey?
“We are in line with the objectives, our daily work is going in the right direction. We have had a series of fatalities, I don’t like to talk about injuries: our strength is precisely that of not getting depressed and not getting excited.”
As a rookie coach he beat Gasperini and Spalletti…
“With Roma it was about play and aggression, with Juve it was different. Beating two masters who have always given a strong identity to their teams doesn’t make me feel like I’ve arrived, but it helps me to say that my daily work is going in the right direction.”
What’s the most complicated part?
“Not just the technical-tactical aspects, as you might think. It’s not just the player, but the person. There are complex dynamics, on and off the pitch. Skill also means managing this complexity. If you’re not clear-headed you can make messes.”
When did you think about coaching?
“I started taking the course for the UEFA B license while I was playing, 3-4 years before I stopped. It’s a vocation, you can’t improvise, it has to start from the inside.”
“Not a fundamentalist, obsessive about the amount of games I see at all levels. The Italian school is the best in the world.”
“I took a course on generation Z, those born from 1995 to the early 2010s. I want to know their universe because I want to know which buttons to touch. They live on applause and few reproaches. Our generation was that of ‘when the going gets tough, the tough get going’, generation Z says ‘when the going gets tough, you shouldn’t be here'”.
Did you also take other courses?
“I was in Salzburg, at Red Bull. And then I studied English, Spanish and French. And a course at Bocconi on communication.”
How do you communicate with younger people?
“You have to sip the words: either build a bridge or raise a wall. You have to be very clear, they are hyper protected in the real world but abandoned in the digital world. We work a lot with the video part. If I had to talk to these kids like the coaches of the time talked to me, I wouldn’t transfer anything.”
Are you more of a achiever or a gamer?
“I like being in the middle: if I were a scorer, I would betray the game; if I were a gamer, I would betray the team, I would coach myself. It is difficult to win matches like the ones against Juve: there is order, spirit and sacrifice, but little qualitative content. But a team like ours can achieve the impossible.”
We have often seen a different Cagliari…
“I prefer positional football that embraces relational football: the two things can coexist. And we have to bring home points, not compliments.”
What is the mistake not to make in Florence?
“Lose attention. We have to have a flawless race.”
“I built a career as a player on readings. The ideal would have been to add the feet of Luperto and Mina.”
Your Cagliari seems balanced, like you…
“Staying balanced allows us to have the chance to save ourselves. I have often gone through storms in my life.”
You have suffered some setbacks in your life, after which you have always started again: where does your strength come from?
“Since I was diagnosed with Guillain-Barré syndrome at 13. I found myself stuck in a bed. I am strong because life forced me to become strong, not because I chose it. An illness, if it doesn’t kill you, comes to complete you. It gave me the push to take away some of my weaknesses and fear. I also believe that there will be something after earthly life.”
Who is a reference for you?
“My father Andrea saw me cry many times. He is the one who slept next to me in intensive care as a child. He is my safe haven.”
His brother was ambushed by gunfire in Naples a few weeks ago.
“He’s fine now, they released him from the hospital, his life was never in danger. It was an event that marked me, but it increases my inner strength.”
Did you expect the Palestra explosion?
“He has still unexpressed potential. He did a lot on instinct, if he raises the quality, he will become incredible.”
“Yes, I’m not too proud and I’m not resentful. I start from the principle of being able to learn, not of being able to teach.”
What do Naples and Cagliari represent?
“Naples, the roots. Cagliari welcomed me, this land gives you respect and truth and asks you for coherence. And I don’t want to betray it.”
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