TMW Radio
“Zoma? In January I think it will be impossible to take him away and we don’t think it’s right as a club to deprive ourselves of him while the championship is underway. For next summer we will see the various options that present themselves.” The sporting director of Albinoleffe Antonio Obbedio intervened during the broadcast To All C on the frequencies of TMW Radio This is how he talks about the striker born in 2003 Mohamed Ali Zomascorer of six goals in 16 appearances this season.
Will you be looking for a physically structured center forward in January?
“The question is quite legitimate because it is due to Longo’s injury, which we won’t have until January. We will have to evaluate when he will return. I struggle to answer because we have to understand that. If it were to be prolonged, maybe we would go and get a player of that kind. I want to point out, however, that it is already complicated to sign a player like that in June, let alone in January.”
Zoma has grown a lot since his arrival
“First of all we need to take a step back. When we arrived a year and a half ago we found him in a role unsuitable for his technical and tactical characteristics. The most important thing was to move him forward, to help him express himself at his best. Satisfaction it’s also the fact that he is a product of our youth sector. He is a boy who is much more mature than he might seem.”
Zoma and Doumbia, now Agostinelli. How much satisfaction is there in seeing these kids grow?
“Getting kids out of the Albinoleffe youth sector is really complicated. We have Atalanta 1km away, Monza 30km away and also Inter and Milan nearby.
Pulling something out here is really complicated. Guys like Doumbia, Zoma and now Agostinelli are a great example. Then you also have to be patient because Doumbia and Zoma left in their third year, Agostinelli is in his second year and he also had a somewhat complicated start. It’s not simple, then, because Serie C is a truly complicated championship, as demonstrated by the results of Milan and Juve. It also depends on the mental strength of the young people.”
The coach, Lopez, also highlighted the many goals conceded in the final minutes
“In the last 10 minutes we lost 9 minutes. I can understand 3-4 points but 9 are really a lot, especially if they are lost with a goal like the one scored against Lumezzane. It is inconceivable that this could happen seeing how hard the technical guide and the staff work. A lot of work is being done on this and it’s normal that it doesn’t improve from one day to the next.”
How can we improve in this aspect?
“It’s obvious that it’s not just a few days’ work. The thing that bothers me a lot is that we have always performed at a certain level, except on the first day. During the match there are also moments when you tend to move back to your half of the pitch when you are ahead. There are few teams that always stay ahead. Lately, then, the coach has also changed the way he goes on the pitch a bit to keep himself with a certain type of alternatives in the second half. It takes time and it takes patience.”