Atalanta, Palladino: "Magical night after Champions League win" | OneFootball

Atalanta coach Raffaele Palladino spoke to Sky microphones after his first victory as a manager in the Champions League. Here are his statements.

Atalanta, Palladino after the debut win in the Champions League: “Today we played on a difficult pitch, we showed character”

Raffaele Palladino, coach of the Bergamo team, spoke to Sky microphones after the 0-3 victory against Eintracht. Here are his words, as reported by tuttoatalanta.com:

On the evening

“It was a magical night, in some ways unforgettable. But I want to put things in the right order. First of all, I want to thank the club for their trust and my staff for the work done, but above all I want to thank the players. This is the victory of the group, the victory of a collective that possesses great human and technical values and deserved such satisfaction. I watched them these days, I saw with what intensity they worked, and I felt that something was changing. They gave me an extraordinary evening. We needed a spark to unlock this team, especially mentally, and it came. Now, however, we must be smart and mature: let’s stay humble and immediately focus on Sunday’s match, which is very important for us.”

On the match

“Undoubtedly there are always things to improve, but the best sign is seeing a team that listens and applies what we propose. We’ve been together for fifteen days, but with the internationals back, the actual work has only been for a week, yet I’ve already seen great progress. Today we played on a difficult pitch, where many top European teams have struggled, against a quality side. We showed character: in the first half we couldn’t break the deadlock, even hitting the post twice, but what I liked most is that we played ‘as a team’. We all defended together, we attacked as a unit, the forwards looked for each other. We could have scored even more, but we needed this win above all for morale, even more than for the Champions League standings.”

On the anecdote

“Thank you for the compliments, but I want to tell you an anecdote, one of those things that usually stays within the four walls of the locker room, but tonight deserves to be shared because the credit goes entirely to the players. Before the game, I wrote the word ‘DNA’ on a sheet of paper, asking the team what kind of DNA we needed to rediscover. I asked each of them to give me an adjective to focus on. Very important words came out, and tonight I saw them all on the pitch. I tried to give the group responsibility, to give courage and enthusiasm, because chemistry is everything. I’m not a magician who invents teams: they already had great technical qualities, they know how to play football. They just needed to rediscover the enthusiasm to express the qualities they already possess. The most beautiful, the ones that struck me most and that the boys chose, are: courage, lightness, ambition, and hunger. There are many others, but these encapsulate the right spirit. I hung that sheet in the locker room because these are concepts they defined, not me. I always say that our DNA must reflect that of the people of Bergamo and the whole city: work hard, work a lot. That’s what these guys do every day. We must stay united and maintain this mentality I saw tonight. If we do, I’m sure we’ll achieve great things together.”

On CDK

“Charles did simply fantastic work in the non-possession phase. I spoke to him this morning and he told me he started out as a midfielder, so he has sacrifice and running in his blood. The choice was also strategic: when we win the ball back, I want my forwards to be triggered immediately. If he had stayed passive, I would have found him chasing the opponent backwards; instead, by working like this, I can already find him in the offensive zone to do damage, as happened in the second half. Again, there’s no magic from me, just the merit of a group with great values, well built. I liked the spirit of those who started and those who came on. Now, though, heads down and keep working: in a few days we face a fierce Fiorentina and we want to do well in the league too.”

On Kolasinac

“

Sead is recovering, he’s a leader and a player with unquestionable international experience. Having been out for a long time, he obviously lacks match rhythm, but tonight it seemed as if he had never suffered any injury. During the match I asked him how he felt and he replied, ‘Good, coach.’ He’s a top player in this, a real soldier. At the end of the game, he even did some extra work. I’m happy to have him back, he’s a valuable asset.”

Raffaele Morra

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇮🇹 here.