On the eve of Napoli-Udinese, scheduled for Sunday, Feb. 9, at 8:45 p.m. and valid for the 24th day of Serie A, Bianconeri coach Kosta Runjaic presented in a press conference the Maradona’s challenge against the Neapolitan outfit…
Runjaic’s words.
ON NAPOLI. “I think Napoli still has more physicality than we do. Conte’s men always have a higher mileage rate than their opponents. The Azzurri put density and quality on the field. Sunday night we will have to be intense and compact to bring home points. We will play as a team. We are not giving ourselves away and we want to take advantage of every opportunity. The one at the Maradona will be a more difficult game than the one against Venice.”
HOW TO STOP NERES? “Neres is also doing well at this time, there can’t be a magic formula to stop him, but we have to work as a team. Napoli has very good players with the ball between their feet and we have to cooperate all together. Neres, Politano: these are players who cannot be limited only by one-on-one, but it will be important to communicate well on the field.”
CONDITIONS OF EHIZIBUE, GIANNETTI AND DAVIS. “Davis has been training however he has had a bit of a cold and I hope that early next week he will be back available and can be called up. Giannetti will come with us to Naples and Ehizibue will also be at available.”
ON SANCHEZ. “Alexis is improving. We are talking about a player who unfortunately missed preparation. Sanchez has great experience and needs to accumulate minutes. He doesn’t have to work so much in the defensive phase since it’s not his main characteristic, but we equally have to be compact. Against Napoli we will not have as much ball possession and we have to expect that. So we will need to do a lot of work in the non-possession phase. Sanchez can do that, but it’s not in his wheelhouse. He trained very well during the week but I can’t give him a particular status that will make him a starter every match. I told him that from the beginning and he accepted it. It is important that he is a leader, not only on the field but also as a behavior and mentality. He also knows that he can still improve his level of performance. Against Napoli we have to go beyond our limits.”
CAN EKKELENKAMP PLAY AS AN OUTSIDE PLAYER? “Ekkelenkamp I think is a player who still needs to grow, but he is very pliant. He can play as an outside player, but also in the middle of the field. He has also played as a halfback in the past. He has a good run and against Venezia we showed him two episodes where he could still make a greater contribution in the defensive phase. Sometimes he often leaves his position, but to go and disturb the opposing team. He gave a good performance against Venice, and he trained well during the week. Maybe he could play as a starter on Sunday night as well.”
HOW DID SAVA EXPERIENCE THIS WEEK? “I have confidence in all my boys. I’m their coach, but that doesn’t mean I have to defend them all the time. We have to talk about their mistakes, and we have a trainer who is totally dedicated to the goalkeepers. We talked about it on an individual level with Sava and now he has to show more authority and presence on the field. Mistakes can happen and they are more obvious when it comes to goalkeepers. However, the mistakes do not depend only on him, but also on how he defends the team. We have confidence in all our players and we know that Sava is adapting to Serie A.”
AT THE MARADONA THERE WILL BE A VERY HOT ATMOSPHERE. DO YOU GET EXCITED ABOUT THIS KIND OF COMPETITION? “It will be my first time in Naples and it will be the same for some players as well. Those who have already been there told us it will be a special atmosphere that you also have to experience. One has to enter a tunnel of concentration and I am looking forward to this match. I coached Legia Warsaw, where in a small stadium you could get a warm crowd with lots of choreography.”
TACTICAL DOUBTS? “The final decision will be made on Sunday. Against Venezia we played with a four-man defense also because of some absences and the injury of Ehizibue. Napoli plays with a four-man defense, with the central players participating in the game. Also they have very strong midfielders. In the first round we played with the 3-man defense doing well, but we lost 3-1. On Sunday it won’t be the module that will be crucial, but the cohesion of the group that will have to concentrate even more on the defensive phase to then create chances for us to exploit with the ball.”
UDINESE HAS NOTHING TO LOSE? “If we perform at a high level we can win, however, it is also true that Napoli is favored. Soccer is an open sport. There was a case in Greece where a team that was not favored won the championship. If we give everything on the pitch we can do it, we don’t want to give Napoli points and we will try to bring home the maximum.”
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