THIAGO MOTTA: "I BELIEVE IN HARD WORK AND COMMITMENT. LET'S KEEP WORKING TOGETHER AND FOCUSED"
The words of coach Thiago Motta in the pre-match press conference ahead of Monday night's match against Bologna:
"The match against Fiorentina wasn't easy, we faced a team who is fighting for Europe and who has different objectives to ours, but the positive aspect is that we stayed in the game until the end, without ever letting up, against a team of great value.
The incident of the contact on Maggiore that led to Fiorentina's lead, if analyzed in the context of Serie A, should have been whistled; if we look at the games played so far in the league there have been much less obvious fouls than that.
We don't have to fear anyone, we just have to stay focused in training and focus on one game at a time, now the most important one is the next one that awaits us on Monday.
I don't expect Bologna to struggle because they have a great team, made up of strong, experienced players, led by a great coach. I expect the best Bologna possible and we have to stay focused on what we have to do and what we have to avoid.
Bologna's 3-4-3 is difficult to defend and manage, they have plenty of quality and many options to interpret it in different ways, but we're aware of that, we won't be surprised if there are changes to the formation, we've prepared as best we can.
Maggiore has had some discomfort due to fatigue, but in general, I see him well, if and when we see him more tired or not 100% we will evaluate whether to rest him. At the moment he's doing well, he's always trying to give his best both in training and in the game, he's an important player for the team and he'll definitely be with the group on Monday.
Nzola, like all the others, has the opportunity to train well every day to prove his worth. It's true that when we talk about strikers we tend to look at the goals scored, but during the week I pay attention to many other aspects. I think a striker today has to do a lot both offensively and defensively to help the team, and all my strikers know that.
Having the whole team available is important, during the week in training we can assess the characteristics of each player and understand which ones are best suited to the opponent we're going to face, and at the same time the level of the sessions rises, the lads give their all to deserve to play, and this can only be good for everyone.
Lucky season? I don't believe in luck, I believe in commitment and hard work.
Leo Sena is unfortunately in a situation he couldn't have expected, he's a young lad and he's been unlucky. We spoke on the phone a few days ago and we said that despite the situation he is lucky and now he is fine, that there have been and there are worse situations than this, and that he must continue to give his best to face what he is experiencing in the best possible way. We hope that he can return to the team soon because he is a strong player who can help a lot, but above all, I hope it for him because he is very keen to return to training with his teammates and to get back on the field to do what he loves".
(Photo LaPresse)
