Raffaele Palladinocoach of Fiorentina, responded today at Viola Park to budding journalists, 101 students in the last year of primary school and the first year of lower secondary school at the Teresa Mattei Institute in Bagno a Ripoli: “In series They all play with determination against Fiorentina, the most difficult match was the one against Milan I think but we managed to win the coach has to work on many aspects, both footballing and human because the players are men and many are young and we need to understand their difficulties and then train them well and put them in a position to do well. How do I organize myself? I have a staff made up of many people who help me. Each of them has their own task, there is someone who takes care of the physical part. goalkeepers, match analysis, it takes many figures. Then we organize strategic training based on the opponent, but it’s nice and it takes love and passion.”
When do you plan to end your career? “I started recently (laughs, ed.), I stopped playing in 2019 and then started this career because already as a player I liked to see what the coaches did. I hope that my career can end as late as possible.
What do footballers eat? “I care a lot about nutrition, we are looked after very well here, because what we eat is the fuel that keeps us going even in training, we have a good nutritionist who follows them from morning to night. In sport, nutrition is a fundamental factor” .
How did you react to Fiorentina’s call? “When Fiorentina called me I was very happy and honestly I didn’t expect it after the two rewarding years in Monza. When a historic club like Fiorentina, such an important club, calls you, you are happy, my family was also very happy. I have 8 grandchildren, first they all supported Monza, now they all supported Fiorentina.”
What happens when a new player arrives? “When a new player arrives, we give him love and enthusiasm to give him confidence, because it’s very important. The group also welcomes the new arrivals well and helps a lot to ease some of the shyness. This year a good group has already been created and very solid despite the many new arrivals.”
What does he do during a game? “First I try to prepare the players, at the end of the first half I analyze what is happening on the pitch, I try to stimulate and help the players to do more. Finally, at the end of the matches I always try to be positive whether we win or lose , I always hug them all because if they work hard and give their best they deserve it.”
The best player? “I wouldn’t be able to identify the best player, because I love all my players, I’m very fond of them and I try to create a relationship with each of them. I’m very happy to coach this team, despite the initial difficulties. Now the path is the right one At Fiorentina we have a lot of young players, it’s a mix of experienced and young players. I really liked the summer transfer market, strong players arrived from important teams. I thank the club for making a team like this available to me.”