“The only thing that matters is the Cagliari match, what happened shook everyone and this shock must make us come up with something.” Talk like this Paolo Zanetticoach of Hellas Verona, fresh from the very heavy home defeat against Inter (0-5) in the last round of the championship. Next day, a very delicate trip to Sardinia is scheduled for the Scala team and Zanetti commented on the moment in the press conference like this: “We went into retreat, also taking away what may be our freedoms. We did it to look inside ourselves and prepare as best as possible the match, we must leave behind the waste of the last match. We are here and we can play our championship well.”
How is this retreat going?
“We will only know if the retreat will work after Friday. We certainly used all the time of the day to think about our next commitment, without being distracted by everything superfluous. If we have to use more time of our day and we will need it, we will do so in the future too “.
Do the players follow the coach?
“There are no players against me or the club, we have to prove things with facts. For me personally it’s excruciating to be in retreat, I haven’t been home since Saturday with a wife and two children at home asking where their dad is but I do it because this mission comes first and I’m not afraid of what Friday will be and I try to do my best but for this I need the team, then we can talk about all the tactical aspects you want but you have to feel the fire inside and this is what is missing because otherwise then the people he goes away and we get made fun of by our fans, and for me this is enough to stay in training camp until June.”
Are you talking to us or the team?
“I’m talking to the team, so maybe they watch this conference and maybe give something more. Then maybe someone doesn’t like it when we talk this way but that’s how I am.”
Was there a heated confrontation in retreat?
“I can confirm that it was a heated confrontation, there were no fights, then I think that if it happens it means that we have something inside us, that we are men, but absolutely nothing serious happened.”
Read Paolo Zanetti’s full press conference here
Serie A, the updated standings
1. Napoli 29 points
2. Atalanta 28
3. Inter 28
4. Fiorentina 28
5. Lazio 28
6. Juventus 25
7. Milan 19*
8. Bologna 18*
9. Udinese 17
10. Empoli 16
11. Turin 15
12. Rome 13
13. Parma 12
14. Hellas Verona 12
15. Lecce 12
16. Cagliari 11
17. Genoa 11
18. As 10
19. Monza 9
20. Venice 8
* one game less