TMW Radio
Pierpaolo Garauformer Torres goalkeeper and now goalkeeper coach for the Sardinian club, spoke to the microphones of TMW Radio during the transmission To All C
Can you tell us about this extremely positive start to the season?
“We certainly had a wonderful year last year, confirmation is never easy but it is the result of a lot of work, of great sacrifices by the company and the entire environment. I am referring to everything that surrounds the Torres world, behind a playing team there is not just the pitch. This work started three years ago with the change of company, a lot of work has been done. I’m not saying we started from scratch, but we started from amateurism and the climb was rapid. Professionalism leads to mandatory improvements, compliments should be paid to the ownership. We want to be an important reality in professionalism and we are working towards this goal.”
What is Torres’ goal for the season?
“The company has also built credibility, it has never made flights of fancy and has always tried to earn everything with work and sacrifice. First place has never been declared as the objective, but we have always laid the foundations for improvement. Last year we finished second, if we want to improve we have to finish first. The objective is to improve ourselves at a company and group level, at a structural level to grow further and lay the foundations for a solid future among professionals. Sassari deserves it and the club deserves it.”
How do the realities of basketball and football coexist in Sassari?
“Basketball and football have always played an important role here in Sassari. There is room for both, Torres has always been in the social fabric, it has a great history and has always been experienced in a strong way. The enthusiasm is back, it wasn’t created from scratch. There was a desire to relive beautiful football, there were difficult years, but we wanted to relive matches like the one that will take place on Sunday against Ternana. The city responded great and there are great expectations, the fans must dream as they should and we want to dream with them.”
Who are the favorites for group B?
“After these first nine days the truth is that I have made up my mind. Ternana seems to me to be the best equipped in terms of personnel, the numbers speak clearly in the last five matches. I think it is the most accredited, then I cannot fail to mention Pescara with a highly experienced coach. The others are there, I’m sure we will have an excellent championship and we will annoy these two teams who seem better equipped.”
How do you find yourself in the role of goalkeeper coach? Which goalkeeper is Zaccagno?
“My career started a few years ago, I started getting my licenses in 2019 because this role has always fascinated me. I want to grow and improve, joining a staff like that of Torres is a great starting point for my career and I will try to get as high as possible. I hope to do it with Torres because it is the team I supported as a child. I think Zaccagno is a great goalkeeper, here in Sassari he found his dimension. There is great confidence in him, he can take that step of growth that can project him towards bigger categories.”
Have you seen Italian kids who can have an ambitious future?
“There was a period when foreign goalkeepers were appreciated because they were better at embracing the change in the game. We always thought we were the strongest technically and we didn’t adapt to being involved in team play and playing with our feet. We train the goalkeeper very well technically here in Italy, but then we need to take a step in involvement because modern football demands this. There is really a lot of material, Serie C is a beautiful tank because there are so many young goalkeepers. In these two months I have had the pleasure of seeing the Benevento goalkeeper Nunziante, he is a boy born in 2007 and is a starter in Serie C. He is very young, Benevento had Paleari last year and replaced him with a boy from the youth team. The best example could be precisely this and I hope we will see it in a few years also in Serie A, it has all the potential.”
Will you try to improve in the defensive phase given Sunday’s match against Ternana?
“There will be greater attention, we are sorry that we are conceding a few too many goals. We can improve a lot on the defensive phase, last year the defense made the difference and we want to get back to those levels. Doing it on Sunday in the match against Ternana would be the best, we will work hard on the details which in the end make the difference.”
Listen to Pierpaolo Garau’s complete speech in the podcast below