Empoli’s head coach, Aurelio Andreazzoli, fielded questions from the press recently, ahead of his team’s match against Cagliari.
Andreazzoli did not assign extraordinary significance to the upcoming match. Instead, he pointed out that his team continually works on their mentality, avoiding a fixation on negative results. “The team has realises what it can do, that it is within its capabilities. The outcome of the match affects the standings but should not overly impact our confidence. We are partially satisfied,” he remarked during the press conference.
Discussing their opponent, Cagliari, Andreazzoli admitted that he finds the environment stimulating. He claimed, “The more confusion and warmth there is, the better. It will be a difficult match because the team has important characteristics in both game play and individual skills. We have prepared to absorb these.”
On the subject of set pieces, the coach indicated that Empoli follows their standard weekly strategy. However, he recognised the threat that Cagliari poses in the final minutes of matches due to the characteristics of their players. “We can sometimes count on chance working against us. We are waiting for our moment. Certainly, we have analysed Cagliari just like all other teams, so we are fully aware of the dangers,” stated Andreazzoli.
When asked about the role of the elusive player Maldini, Andreazzoli was introspective, referencing the need to evaluate his idea of Maldini’s role saying, “This is a question that I also ask myself. We have an idea, but we need to verify it, and we do not have much time. The experiments remain problematic to do.”
Finally, regarding the potential participation and affect of their formation, of striker Caputo, he disclosed, “Caputo has trained well and is available. The formation will also depend on what Cagliari does.”
The press conference clearly showed that coach Aurelio Andreazzoli has every confidence in his team’s capabilities and has a strategy in place to harness their strengths and eliminate weaknesses wherever possible. All eyes now turn to the match against Cagliari to see the application of Andreazzoli’s methods.