Claudio Ranieri, who landed at Cagliari airport in the midst of a crowd of fans, speaks in his first press conference from the Unipol Domus.

«I am happy, happy and enthusiastic to be able to sit once again on the Cagliari bench». A few simple words for Claudio Ranieri to start.

THE RETURN. «There was a tidal wave inside me, there were indelible emotions from my previous trip. At one point I took away the selfish part. Cagliari is the city that made me grow up: I was 37 years old, I had arrived in Serie C, I had many questions. We made that ride, in two years we reached Serie A. I've always brought Sardinia and Cagliari, and its fans, to every team I've gone to, even in the darkest moments there was the strength of Cagliari that gave me the push to keep hard". And he added: «All these memories of mine scared me. I was wondering: why do I have to go back and soil that beautiful memory? Then I thought: why are you so selfish, and don't you think about Cagliari in difficulty?».

THE EMOTIONAL PUSH. «Riva's son wrote to me: “Everyone wants you, we are waiting for you. Are you afraid of dirtying the memories? Dad also entered as honorary president and no one has forgotten what he was like as a player. What has been, no one can erase from you”. All this led me to say: yes, I accept».

THE MISSION. «I am grateful to the president who brought me back to the island: I have to turn all this enthusiasm into points, I was called to score points. There are difficulties, but I have a lot of enthusiasm, I want to. I can't wait to hear from the public supporting us. To the fans I want to say: if we play badly, stay behind us. There's nothing worse than hearing the fans murmur: during the game, blow us away. When you face Cagliari, everyone wants to beat them. Especially here at home, where the teams are more closed. We will play every time to try and win. I want a team that feels the belonging of the island. This is a challenge that boils inside me, otherwise I wouldn't have returned".

THE WARRIORS. «Atletic Bilbao only has Basque players. I want players who feel they belong to Sardinia. Then comes the technical part. I want players who want to stay here, if one doesn't feel like it I'll accompany them: I only want warriors. We have a month available, we must not make mistakes with the players we will bring to the island».

NAINGGOLAN. "I've read about Nainggolan: we don't know anything about him, even if he pushes to return".

THE FUTURE. «By nature I always want everything and immediately: it is logical that starting with the handicap we will try to do our best. I promise enthusiasm, love and work, work and work. The long contract is to try to find the right Cagliari players of the future. I came here to try and draw a line."

THE ANALYSIS. «Cagliari seen from the outside seemed like a team that didn't invent itself. When you go down in category everyone wants to beat you and everyone went to see where Cagliari was. What I want to understand is if these guys have understood that they are in Serie B. We have to conquer every single centimetre, as Al Pacino said».

MODULE. “No game model. We have two great strikers and I want to keep them. They have to help each other, there are few teams with such important guns. It's up to them to confirm to me that it must be so. Often it is necessary to be able to change the game system, to try to surprise the opponent.

THE RACE. «The classification is truthful and tells you what the current value of the team is. I'll try to catch the two hares in front. That's my goal, I must have the ambition to try. I will ask my parents to give their all in every training session. Then you can mess up the game, but if you train at 100 per hour you'll play at 90, or 110 per hour. That's the only way you get something."

AMARCORD. «If I had a time machine, I would bring Matteoli here now. The first thing I'll tell my players I don't know. I have to say what I feel, I can't pretend, I'm transparent. I haven't used Diliding Dilidon since I won in Leicester, I don't know why.'

YOUNG PEOPLE. "Whoever shows me that he is in league with his partner in the department plays for me, I don't look at salary or age".

FANS. «Enthusiasm is a good thing, but we need to know where we're starting from. To the fans I say: stay close to us, don't ask us for the moon. I'll do that in the locker room, I'll also ask for the sun and the sea ».

TRAINING – This afternoon, the first session directed by the new rossoblù coach Claudio Ranieri . The team took to the field to initially carry out activation exercises. This was followed by a series of 4v4 matches and a game played in small spaces. Last part dedicated to the athletic phase. Individual athletic works for Alessandro Di Pardo, Marco Mancosu and Marko Rog.

A double training session is scheduled for tomorrow.

THE TECHNICAL STAFF – The assistant coach Paolo Benetti, the athletic trainer Massimo Catalano and the collaborator Vitantonio Pascale join the technical staff.

Benetti, born in Cormano in 1965, has a past as a professional footballer before starting his coaching career in the Lazio youth team in 2005. Since 2007 he has continuously covered the role of coach Ranieri's deputy.

Catalano, born in Eboli in 1974, after Palermo and Fiorentina he was part of the technical staff of Sampdoria for ten years, which he joined in 2012. Pascale, born in 1982, born in Bari, has active experiences with Bari, Nantes, Fulham, Nice (in the youth team) and Genoa. Both have already worked with Claudio Ranieri: Catalano at Samp in the 2019-20 and 2020-21 seasons; Pascale at Nantes in the 2017-18 season and at Fulham in the 2018-19 season.

(Unioneonline/E.Fr.)

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