Tuscan derby between Empoli and Fiorentina, scheduled for 6pm. D’Aversa’s Azzurri are still undefeated and aiming for the top of the table. Palladino’s Viola, however, are at 6 points and are looking for redemption. The president of Empoli, Fabrizio Corsigave an interview to Sky Sport before the match, talking about the excellent start to the championship and the importance of the youth sector.
Did you expect Empoli to be so unbeaten at the start of the championship?
“But no, I didn’t expect it, but we are used to thinking about a championship of suffering. We know that we have a high probability of relegation, from July to August, so when difficulties arrive we are ready. And therefore they will probably come too , at the moment the team is doing even more than we expected. These are points that will probably also be useful in the end, because with the big teams, like we did, it will be very tough during the championship.”
The derby is always a special match, don’t you think?
It’s not a match like the others, undoubtedly, because we obviously feel that Fiorentina has always been a point of reference for us. Now we have been playing these matches for twenty years, maybe more, and for us it is an extraordinary thing. Often you lose, because the best always wins, but sometimes the one who is perhaps a little worse on paper also wins.
Has it ever happened to you that a huge club told you “Corsi should come and be the general manager with responsibility for the youth sector”? Has such a proposal ever been made?
“Yes, but honestly they asked me, but I think they were making fun of me. I replied with a joke. Someone told me “sell me half of your youth sector”, for example. It doesn’t seem like a big deal to me, because obviously if you take that away from us, we will certainly take away the present and the future.”