Andrea Sottil spoke confidently when he met the press ahead of Udinese’s match against Cagliari.
“The team has worked hard during the break,” he began. “We’re playing football and training is intense. There may be injuries but that comes with the job.”
Sottil was making a clear reference to Keinan Davis’ situation. He continued: “Obviously it’s a shame. Davis was training with the group, but you can’t control injuries. We’ll do what we must with what we have, without feeling sorry for ourselves.
"You need to get certain players in the right condition so that they’re firing on all cylinders and can perform properly in the match. Others arrived last minute and then went off to play for their national team, like Thomas Kristensen and Antonio Tikvic. Roberto Pereyra is a great professional, but it is one thing to train alone and another thing to train with the team. Martin Payero has recovered physically, but they all need to be eased into the team gradually.”
Udinese are looking for their first win of the Serie A season by exploiting the qualities of the available players.
“We shouldn’t be thinking about the past. Beto had speed like few others and could hold the front line alone. The traits of our centre forwards are different and we have to be good at giving them the right service. But goals shouldn’t just come from attackers. Last season our defenders scored 14 goals, our midfielders 15. Goals can also come from the wing-backs. Lorenzo Lucca makes those runs in behind but we have to support him and change our way of attacking.”
Sottil’s expectations for his wing-backs are very high. “I want them to get up in support and be more present in the penalty area. As a team, we cross the ball a lot. We have to take advantage of that. We’ve had many shots at goal, but we haven’t scored much. We need to be more ruthless. We’re working on that.”
However, Sottil is confident in the abilities of his attackers.
“I’m sure they’ll score lots of goals. Florian Thauvin has improved, Simone Pafundi is ready to play again, and Lucca is improving.”
Udinese’s attack will also be able to count on Pereyra, who Sottil describes as “a player that plays wherever you put him. I’ve played him as a second striker, a midfielder, a wing-back. The only place he hasn’t played is centre-back. He’s in good shape and if he’s closer to the goal he can help us score.”
With regard to the defensive line, Enzo Ebosse is getting closer to playing again.
“He’s back with the group and medically he’s fine. However, he still needs time to get used to the pace of the championship.”
Claudio Ranieri will be sitting on the opposite bench on Sunday, a former coach of Sottil’s from his playing days.
“He’s a coach that’s taught me a lot. He’s got a great personality and he’s very pragmatic. He manages to bring a lot out of his players. His career speaks for itself. I have good memories of him. He’s an honest and direct person and he’s made Cagliari like that too. He did a lot of work last year. He’s taken the Rossoblu and shaped them. He’s given them an identity and brought them up to Serie A by fighting until the last minute. Now he’s in a different league, but he’s familiar with Serie A and I’m expecting a tough game. We’ll have to fight and run hard.”
The only downside, according to Sottil, is the temperature.
“The match is being played in Sardinia, in September, at 12:30. I think the calendar needs to be created a bit more carefully. We’re expecting 40° heat. You can’t put a match on at that time of day. Maybe in Friuli or Piedmont where it’s a bit cooler, but not in Sardinia.”
However, the opponent can’t be underestimated.
“Cagliari have lots of quality players. We must start the game well and then we can count on substitutions. We know their strong points, but we also know their potential weaknesses. They have overlapping pairs who run a lot on in the wide areas, and we will have to be good at stifling their attacks and making it difficult for them when we have the ball.”
The Udinese coach finished the press conference by describing his love for his role and the stimulation it brings.
“I chose this job because I enjoy it. I got to Serie A by working hard. If I hadn’t wanted the pressure, I would have stayed at home. I’m only focusing on work. This team has changed a lot and the newcomers need time to adapt to the Italian league. There is always pressure at this level. We want great results but first I’m focusing on improving the players and our football.
“The club has been doing great things in terms of staying up. We’re in an amazing city with 100,000 people living here. We can count on our fantastic fans. I’ve seen a lot of negative stuff in some papers and websites. They see the glass as half empty. I think we need to show some more love to Udinese. It’s true that we’ve changed a lot since we started. Let’s show some more faith in this team. Let’s love the team a bit more. I’ve seen improvements and therefore I’m optimistic about the game tomorrow.”