“I’d rather have players who never throw in the towel rather than those who’d prefer to stay in the treatment room.” Gabriele Cioffi appeared before the media a day ahead of the derby game against Hellas Verona. The coach delved into various matters ahead of the crucial fixture.
Joining the list of players on the sidelines is Lautaro Giannatti,“a really generous player. He felt something in his thigh hallway through training. He wanted to carry on but the inevitable happened.” On a positive note, Brenner and Keinan Davis are back, “both are available, as is Isaac Success.”
The city and fans’ reaction to the worrying incident involving Evan Ndicka “was admirable. Udine as a whole showed that sport goes so far and is a part of life.” Having to finish the match doesn’t faze Cioffi: “We know that we’ve got to see out one important game ahead of another crucial fixture.” The Roma game will carry on with the scores level at 1-1 and 20 minutes left on the clock, Udinese having put in a solid performance so far: “For 58 minutes the teams were on an even keel. With [Paulo] Dybala coming on it made things hard for us,” admitted the coach. “We lost space and made mistakes that could easily be punished by a great team.”
For now thoughts are only on Saturday evening’s showdown with Verona, a game “to be played with courage and we believe that we can do this.” In midfield Cioffi will be able to count on the differing qualities of Oier Zarraga and Martin Payero, whose involvement hinges on the kind of game in question. “Oier is better at knocking the ball around, about bringing balance and smooth passing. On the other hand, Martin is a tough player who brings bulk to the side. Both are good options. Whoever doesn’t start will come on.” Udinese fans will be travelling to give their side a boost: “Our fans’ passion plays a decisive role,” stated Cioffi.
The Udinese coach also spent a period managing Verona. “There was little time available to feel any emotions other than those felt for an important match. There were many good things and many bad things,” commented Cioffi. Hellas Verona deserves, like all Udinese’s opponents, “great respect. If they struggle in build-up play they do well with 50/50s and duels. We will have to be good at managing the match and adapting." The last question of the press conference was about how many points would be enough to stay up: “Logic says 34 or 35 points, but reality 36 say 37,” the coach concluded.