For the second consecutive match at the “Scida” Crotone will face Messina of mister Modica at 18:30. A very different opponent from the one eliminated in the Coppa Italia Serie C thanks to a pearl by Tumminello, who will not be available today due to suspension. «We expect a match with a good difficulty index – explains mister Long – We are at the beginning, at this moment all the games are difficult and present unknowns. Messina is a well-trained team, I have a lot of respect for their coach. In the Italian Cup they were lined up differently, I expect to find a pungent team that wants to play the game in the wake of the enthusiasm after the victory against Taranto”.
Crotone, on the other hand, comes from another defeat, the one against Trapani after the one in Cava. “We must be aware of the performances, without looking only at the result, nor getting depressed. We must be good at understanding how much we are building, be consistent over the 90 minutes”.
“We need time – the rossoblù coach underlines – but we said this from the beginning. It’s not an alibi. The symbiosis between team and fans has taken the right path, now it’s up to us to convey the emotions. You can see from a mile away that the team follows a game idea, but the details need to be ironed out. This year we want to plan and understand how many people will deserve this place and then do something extraordinary”.
Mr. Longo, without the suspended Tumminello, he will have doubts until the end regarding the injured Gomez, Vinicius and Di Pasquale. Recovering even just one could mean a lot for the group. “Tomorrow (today for those reading, ed.) we will see a younger Crotone – announces the coach – this is one of the ideas that we shared with the club at the beginning of our journey. Crotone is a place that can valorize young players, as it did for example with Florenzi and Bernardeschi. Now the time has come to field some interesting young players. We will see a different team in the starting eleven, we will try to do things well, carrying forward our colors. It will also be a test to see how the young players have prepared in this period, to deserve the ownership that will be given to them”.
On these first days of the championship, he says: «The group is absolutely balanced, which will give an advantage to the more organized teams – concludes Longo – The first ten days have always been the watershed in a tournament for me. We could certainly have done better, but now we have to improve both in the non-possession phase and in the possession phase».
