Parma, 5 February 2023 – Words of Crociati coach Fabio Pecchia, speaking after Parma vs. Genoa match, in matchday 23 of the Serie BKT season.

“Today we played better than we did against Perugia, it was a different game completely. Good game, congratulations to all the players, we got a good result and we must remember this feeling.“

THE TEAM AND THEIR ROLES

“Mihaila? I have a good relationship with Vale, for me it was a blow, we’ll see what the situation will be. Vazquez? Today I saw a team, not just Franco. We had an extraordinary spirit and a defensive line that kept a good attack at bay. Instead the individuals, when this team plays together they are so much better. Benek? He can play in the middle or out wide, he is capable of doing both. He often scores goals from a wide position, he attacks the goal with real conviction. His attitudfe and performance in both positions was fantastic. Zanimacchia? The best team performance will always be the next one, and Zani has a defined role, as a winger, and I wanted the other players to feel they were in their preferred roles so they can express their qualities.”

THE SERIE B SEASON

“We don’t need to look at the league table until the end of the season. We will have ups and downs, we have to continue to build, to build on this mentality, this identity. Three games, from Cosenza, we had two shots on goal. And in Cosenza the performance wasn’t good enough, and we lost. We have to be aware of that. There is still big room for improvement. I’m not just talking about Cosenza, I’m talking about the market and everything. There was a lack of confidence in the group, we started with a great performance in Milan and came home with nothing, then in Bari we got hammered. These days were useful for everyone and we have to treasure them. We have so much ahead of us because this league is proof that everything is still to play for.“

HOW TO IMPROVE

“We have to work, if we had kept this attitude all along then our path, like the league table, would have been different. There is the desire, even in the moments when everything seemed to go wrong, because the group works with great application, with attention and with attitude. It gives me hope that we have that desire for consistency and to repeat this kind of performance. These 15-20 days have been very informative for everyone. Creating a winning mentality takes time, because of what happened last year as well. The team has to work, and we know what we have to do, to create that winning mentality and go and reproduce it. And wanting more. That’s part of the evolution of a team, because we’ve proven it, this team when it wants to has shown it can beat anybody. I see them training, I see them playing, on the pitch they have shown they can do great things. Some of your colleagues (journalists), yesterday in the press room, were saying that I should complain about the transfer market: but I have confidence in the group, in what I see daily, I have confidence in the guys, not only after today. But even when there are performances that are not up to scratch.”

THE FANS

“I was sure that if we had a performance like that, we would have the fans on our side. I was right. They immediately had the feeling that the team was up for it, the fans was there for us from the beginning. I find it normal and natural to demand more from us. But we are the first ones who demand this, the first ones disappointed when we failed were us. Now we have to carry this on, together with the fans.“