THE PRESS CONFERENCE. The coach: “Hapoel stronger than expected, our team still under construction.” Good news for De Ketelaere, expected in the group on Saturday; Ahanor still has to undergo tests.
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Reading 2 min.“From the draw we find a team much stronger than anticipated, with quality and counterattacks. An opponent that deserves respect. It will be a battle.” Maurizio Sarri warns Atalanta on the eve of the Conference League first leg playoff with Hapoel Tel Aviv that opens the European Cups season: “I expect a great level of determination and desire. It must be felt as a 180-minute match.”
“Their two midfielders alternate technique and physicality, while the three behind the striker are of good level and decent pace – continues the coach -. I also saw them well in long counterattacks: historically the preliminaries are difficult for Italian teams, because more than others they carry the burden of preparation.”
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“We are a team under construction”
“We are a team under construction with the difficulty of having to build during the World Cup summer. However, the players are extremely available – Sarri points out -. Of course, Sulemana, De Ketelaere and Ahanor would have been useful. Charles had a check-up, the progress is positive and on Saturday he should be back training with the group. Ahanor, instead, still has to do the tests.”
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Satisfaction with the market
“The market is played between technical needs and those of the club. We have four games in 12 days, I don’t keep asking Giuntoli for news” said Maurizio Sarri about the player roster. “I trust the sporting director and the club on any opportunities,” adds the coach.
“Kristensen of quality”
About the latest signing, the Bergamo coach is cautious: “Kristensen arrived due to Djimsiti’s departure, who made a choice we regret: he was satisfied for everything he gave – he says -. He seems potentially strong, he comes from a long period in a three-man defense and therefore with orientation on the opponent rather than the ball: he will need a period of adaptation, but he is a player with quality.”
“Kossounou and Scalvini have done quite well in the last two games, but we are still in an interlocutory phase. Samardzic is not a big novelty”
In defense and midfield, however, Sarri is satisfied: “Kossounou and Scalvini have done quite well in the last two games, but we are still in an interlocutory phase – he concludes -. Samardzic is not a big novelty, at Udinese even with a different system he covered the same position on the field. And the boy likes it a lot, as I like him. Ederson is a cheerful boy who tries to give everything. But it is the whole team group that gives me satisfaction.”
Ederson: we are not the favorites, they are ahead in preparation
“We don’t think we are favorites: Hapoel Tel Aviv has already played four games and is ahead of us in preparation.” Ederson dos Santos, Thursday evening, will wear the captain’s armband for Atalanta: “Since I have been in Bergamo, for four years, there have always been four or five reference leaders. There are Mario Pasalic and Marten de Roon.
“Being captain makes me proud”
“After receiving many requests from other teams I saw that the best choice was to stay home”
The Brazilian was expected to move to Manchester United in the summer, a deal apparently failed due to the second round of medical visits: “I came back from the World Cup and I really can’t say what happened afterwards. I thank the club and Luca Percassi, he called me many times during the summer making me feel the club’s closeness. After receiving many requests from other teams I saw that the best choice was to stay home.”
“The whole team must learn to apply the new playing system. We want to do well”
“We are Atalanta and we want to win, always – he says again about the European competition -. What we want is to get through the round, respecting the opponent. I have to improve in the offensive phase, the whole team must learn to apply the new playing system. We want to do well.”
On the field the formation hypotheses
Regarding the formation, the absences of De Ketelaere (who had tests in the morning and should return Sunday against Sassuolo) and Ahanor are confirmed. The starting lineup should mirror the one fielded in the Bortolotti Trophy against Atletico Bilbao.
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