Tommaso Giulini has a lot to smile about today after Cagliari's 1-0 win over Cremonese. The Rossoblù hadn't won since January 31st and have won a relegation battle, moving away from the relegation zone . But he still feels compelled to vent: "It stems from the protests we heard in the first half, in a game where we were playing for our lives. I didn't like some of the boos," he said in the press room. Then, however, he found the positives: "I'm happy to have won; we were definitely going through a difficult period. Even today, in the first half, we struggled, but I think the values came out in the end. This is a locker room of real men, devoted to the shirt. The guys who are on loan have shown they care about the shirt, and in the end, it all paid off."
"Let's not throw everything away: this is the message I want to give to the rossoblù fans," Giulini repeats repeatedly. "We know we'll have to suffer until the last matchday and that it will be difficult this year too. In recent years, especially during the Ranieri era, we've seen how important it is to all pull together and support a team that clearly has some shortcomings, otherwise we'd already be safe. But by staying united, we can do it, like last year and two years ago. We're creating something important, with so many young players on the pitch who give it their all."
For Giulini, this is a Cagliari that can start a new era. "We're showing Italian football that we can do something different, with so many young players and so many Italians," he said. "I hope it's clear that it's not easy: Serie A is complicated, it's complicated to run it on an island and with resources that aren't those of some international fund. It's complicated in a geopolitical moment like this, where if you have foreign investors, it risks creating problems." On the stadium: "A €200 million investment in an island is complicated, even more so than in Italy, where you know how many have been made. Let's not throw everything away."
This could be one of Giulini's last seasons as Cagliari president. " I don't know if I'll stay another year, two, or three, probably not until the inauguration of the new stadium . I hope they invite me there; I think I deserve it. These are very complicated times; raw materials have skyrocketed again, and they've closed a tight spot where I spend 50% of my company's revenue."
Giulini is keen to reiterate that he never considered sacking Pisacane: "There have been some games, like Lecce and Pisa, that were hard to stomach. They are the two real stains on this season. The manager may certainly have been partly responsible, but it never occurred to him to discuss it. Not to me or our sporting director: it would have been suicidal ." The president's problems are elsewhere: "The injuries to Idrissi and Felici, combined with Luvumbo's loan, have hurt us because we lack a player who can beat the man and provide a solution. We only have Palestra."
Cagliari returned to winning ways after two points in their previous eight games. "But the crisis isn't over," Giulini warns. "It's more accurate to say we're in a difficult moment, not a crisis. Today's 1-0 win against Cremonese, which perhaps deserved a little more, doesn't mean it's all over . We need to know that it will be even more complicated than in recent years, with so many young players and a coach in his first year in Serie A. There's a lot of pressure: we have to stay up; don't think Cremonese and Lecce have given up. Forget about Empoli's 31 points last year; the odds of staying up will be higher."
Soon, Giulini may no longer be Cagliari's majority shareholder. He had already said it a few weeks ago, at a League Assembly, and he reiterates it today: " If the need arises, moving forward with the stadium project, he may no longer have a majority because investors will need to invest more capital . This is the point I wanted to express to the League and which I reiterate today." He then concluded decisively: "Forza Cagliari."