«The fans clung to me already last year. I already said 34 years ago "we will rise again": it is still relevant." Claudio Ranieri thanks the public for their support in Cagliari's 2-1 win over Bologna which allowed them to find three crucial points for their bid for salvation.
But the coach does not forget the difficulties encountered during the match: «The first twenty minutes were a nightmare, with Bologna playing very well. Luckily the 1-1 goal gave us confidence and we started playing like a team that had to save itself. We were challenging Bologna who are fighting to get on the pitch, but we have to give everything and at the beginning it was difficult." On the market: «I want people who sacrifice themselves. If we are saved it won't be because of the eleven starters, but because of those who play little and when they do, put in a great game."
The management. Cagliari reacted, overturned an opponent who was on the edge of the Champions League zone and sent a message to their direct competitors. And Ranieri himself gives his group a warning about mistakes not to be repeated: «If you don't have the determination, the desire to press and sacrifice yourself, it's logical that you always arrive a moment late and they change the game. I said from the start that we will have to suffer: we are now one point from the relegation zone, but the championship is long and there is still work to do. We haven't done anything, we still have to prove it."
The choice in attack today fell on Petagna, not only due to the many absences, and the first goal of the season arrived. «He played an amazing game, but not just him. He has entered a magnificent dressing room: you have to see how experienced players train, at a thousand miles an hour, and he is getting to that pace. He is a young diesel, who needs to play, and must also push in training or is unable to do so in matches: he is becoming a point of reference. I'm also happy for Wieteska, who hadn't played for a long time."