Fabrizio Caligara he introduced himself as the new footballer of the Sassuolo through the official channels of the black-green club: “These first days have had a very positive impact, all my teammates welcomed me very well, then having already worked with the coach, I already knew him, he welcomed me back very well and I’m happy to be here and to start working hard for the start of the season”.
What struck you the most?
“The thing that struck me the most is the organization of this club, which is not a given to have and I am very pleased. I am happy to work in a club like this”.
What did you see from outside?
“I always had the idea that it was a very, very organised club, that aims to develop young people, that wants to create a winning mentality and I saw this from the outside.”
How did you find Grosso?
“Mister Grosso, like me, has changed, he has evolved, he has grown but he was a very positive mister as I have seen him even now. He likes to keep control of the game and win. What did he tell me? He told me that you have to work hard to achieve your goals”.
What type of midfielder are you?
“I’m a midfielder who really likes playing with the ball and especially this year I’ve scored a lot of goals, but yes, I’m a passer who gets in and tries to finish the action.”
How was your adventure in the Juventus youth sector?
“Well, the Juve youth sector is an important youth sector that trains you, they try to train you on a human level because first of all Juve is a club that teaches you on a human level and then on a footballing level, it has left me with a lot but then it is part of the journey to detach yourself to also understand what the world outside Juve is like, because when you are there everything is beautiful then when you leave to start learning the ropes it changes a lot”.
The Champions League debut?
“It’s an indescribable feeling, especially because I wasn’t expecting it, because the day before I hadn’t even trained with them. A midfielder had stopped, they had called me to go to the bench, then I wouldn’t have even imagined, not even 1% that I could have come on. Then more or less in the 4th minute of the first half he told me to go warm up, so I warmed up the whole second half with adrenaline, anxiety, which then ended with me coming on in the 90th minute. It was an emotion, there are no words to describe it! You don’t even realise when you come on where you’re coming on, only afterwards do you think about what you’ve done. The moment he told me to go there, I looked around and said ‘are you sure it’s me?’ Then when I came on I tried to do my best and I also left my mark with a yellow card”.
The debut in Serie A?
“The emotion of my debut in Serie A was also high because I didn’t expect it, it was my first experience away from Juventus, the first 6 months with the big players on a permanent basis in the first team, therefore training with them, I had never had the chance to play in Cagliari and when I had the opportunity it was wonderful also because it was a longer part of the match compared to my debut in the Champions League”.
What was the best goal you ever scored?
“Perhaps the most beautiful goal this year against Palermo, the equaliser in the 90th minute that gave us that minimum of hope of being able to save ourselves, something that unfortunately for a series of reasons we were unable to do.”
The emotion of your daughter’s birth?
“The emotion of the birth of my daughter Beatrice, I think there is no emotion of a match or anything else that can be compared. It is a huge emotion, it has turned my life upside down and I can only feel the greatest love for her and also for my wife who is all thanks to her”.
How were the three years in Ascoli for you?
“Dd Ascoli I have experienced a bit of everything. When I arrived we miraculously managed to avoid relegation and then the following year we made the play-offs after 17 years, so it was a huge emotion. I had two beautiful years, those first two, then last year we achieved a comfortable safety, instead this year has been a very complicated season both for me because I had an injury that kept me out for two months and I suffered a bit and then above all the relegation that happens and that hurt a lot. I wanted to thank both the club and all the members of the club for what they have done in these years, especially the fans who have always supported us with their cheering, with their warmth, it has always been an extra push”.
What kind of championship is Serie B?
“In these years of Serie B I have noticed that to have the right approach you have to think game by game, Serie B is a tough championship where the first or the strongest team can lose to the weakest one so it is not a balanced championship if you do not approach it with the right attitude, game by game. In my opinion the most important characteristic is not to underestimate any game. All games must be played at your best because all games can deceive you”.
What do you think about your arrival in Sassuolo? And what are your goals?
“For me Sassuolo is a very important stage and the objectives are to improve every day and then above all to achieve big team goals”.
What is football for you?
“For me in football if there was no fun everything else takes a back seat. First of all when a player comes to the field every day what keeps him going is the passion and the fun for this sport, then as in all things you have to be serious, have professionalism to do this job but the first thing, the flame that lights up every day when you come to the field to train with enthusiasm and that’s all. When I was little for me only football existed, luckily I always had the opportunity to go and play near home and for me it was going down after school and coming back home when I had to eat”.
What’s the best thing about being a footballer?
“The best thing about being a footballer is sharing the emotions, the victories with your teammates. The worst thing is swallowing the defeats: the heavy defeats that are not easy to digest.”