It’s the derby of derbies, and it’s not the one in Italy. Half of Italy will have its eyes on Turin, two thirds of Calabria only on the “Ceravolo”. It’s Catanzaro-Cosenza, nothing else compares in these parts. A race for head, legs and heart, a lot of heart. The example to follow indicated by Vivarini points towards another sport, tennis: «I enjoyed watching the Davis Cup match in which Sinner (beating Djokovic, ed.) demonstrated technique, strength, great concentration and cold blood. These are the things you need in meetings like this: application and quality, but at the same time a good brain and the spirit of sacrifice to make a difference.”
After two years with the Eagles, the coach is now an adopted Catanzaro: «I have embraced this cause». So for him too, the derby has a higher value, as the 400 fans who yesterday morning, at the finish in Soverato, forced him to change plans: the training which is generally held behind closed doors remained open to all those who encouraged, supported and encouraged the team: «It was a special two weeks spent clearly with this match in mind, deeply felt by everyone, players, staff, especially the fans who made us understand, with their greeting , how much it’s worth. We, in general, tried to stay calm by focusing on some concepts that we had left out before, retouching the tactical aspects and the shortcomings of the latest releases, now we’re getting to the point and tomorrow (today, ed.) we’ll see if stopping was a good thing or not . The boys, however, worked very well, concentrated and with doubled desire.”
The sold out “Ceravolo” can lend a hand, even two: «We play at home and the contribution of the fans is very important. We want it to be a great match and a great party for us, we expect our audience to continue to express what it has guaranteed in recent years, therefore fairness, sportsmanship, loyalty, passion. He was awarded as the best in C and we were at the same level, we must continue in B too. And I hope and hope that the match will be an advertisement for all of Calabria.”
Vivarini and Caserta have never faced each other, while the Giallorossi coach has met Cosenza five times in the past with a record of one win, three draws and one defeat. Never, however, with a team as strong as his Catanzaro and against a Cosenza equipped like this: «Up front and in midfield he has great individuality, players of depth who know the category, if you let him play he plays, he has dribbling, depth, he is waiting for us a real match with a top-level opponent. However, we have shown that we are up to the task of the championship, so we compete with the awareness that we are a great team too.”
Vivarini returned to the three defeats in a row and the need to make a change, even focusing only on the point. Less foil, more saber: «We had a discussion with the team because in this match we are only interested in the result, therefore we must have the ability and strength to go beyond the problems. We lost three races, yes, but never deserved it, so we are very much in credit with luck and we hope that things turn in our favor. We certainly need effective responses in the defensive phase and in finishing, it’s the right match to demonstrate anger and composure, which will then be useful later in the championship.”
On the contrary, it is not the ideal match to risk those who are not at their best: “Because we have to push and we can’t waste substitutions.” Avoiding Cosenza’s overtaking means gaining points to relaunch ourselves in the standings: «The defeat against Modena marked us in one sense and was a particular signal for the championship, this match could give us the opposite effect precisely depending on the tournament, transforming the negativity of that knockout into positivity.”
Scognamillo is back. Attack with Biasci
Three changes compared to Venezia, the last one before the break: Katseris in place of the injured Situm (calf) as right back; Scognamillo returning after suspension at center defense (for Krajnc); Biasci is back in attack (instead of Stoppa), ready to recompose the axis on the centre-left with Vandeputte. Veroli confirmed in the blocked left back position, actually central third with the Neapolitan and Brighenti. There is always a vote in the middle of the field: Verna has recovered, but is not at his best, so it may be Pompetti’s turn again to support Ghion. On the right of the midline it’s Sounas’ turn, a very useful player in managing the ball who adds substance to the attacking midfield. Up front Iemmello looks for the first goal at home.