Gasperini weighs in on Pisilli, Ferguson’s future in Cagliari preview: “I have an excellent group of players.” | OneFootball

Roma manager Gian Piero Gasperini spoke to reporters on the eve of the Serie A fixture with Cagliari.

The Italian technician met with the media earlier this afternoon at Trigoria.

“For Angelino, it wasn’t a muscle or joint problem. Apparently, the tests went well, and he started training again yesterday. I must say that he’s been training in the last few weeks: individually, but quite well. When the doctors give the green light to use him, we’ll use him.”

“Overall, it hasn’t been an easy week, because we’ve had some ailments, flus, which affected many players, like Kone and El Aynaoui. I still have to evaluate Wesley; I don’t think we’ll risk him tomorrow. But we’ll see this afternoon. Then there were Baldanzi’s flus, Dybala’s… basically, it wasn’t the week I was hoping for.”

“But in everything else, this group is incredible; they never give up. They’re always present. I’ll try to bring everyone to Cagliari anyway, but then I’ll evaluate, considering that we have a Europa League match on Thursday and Como on Monday.”

“Numerically, the squad is adequate three competitions at once. Right now, we’re struggling a bit with this virus… the only injured player right now is Dovbyk, so the squad is complete right now. Then there are always situations where someone is better or worse. Dovbyk is also on the road to recovery.”

“But numerically, our squad is complete. As for the players who haven’t played as much, they’re all giving great performances, starting with Ghilardi, but also Ziolkowski, Baldanzi, and Pisilli. I’m very happy with them; they’ll certainly get more and more playing time.”

“Numerically, the squad is capable of competing. What it needs to do is continue to perform at a very high level, that very strong core that has been there up until now. Instead, we need to raise the level of some players, especially in attack, who have had little presence and consistency up until now: from Dovbyk to Ferguson, from Dybala to El Shaarawy. They are four very important players who, if we can get them with a little more performance and above all consistency, perhaps we have further room to grow. do even better.”

“Dybala’s only problem is his availability. Otherwise, he can play anywhere. The problem is he played that series of games up until Milan, which were also very positive, but there were only three or four of them, and then there was this mini-break. Dybala’s problem is just being able to play him, and at his best.”

“He’s been out until today this week, he’s been out with this flu. He returned yesterday, doing some separate training. Today he joined the team. It’s clear that Dybala is a very strong player for us, but we have to try to maintain the consistency he’s had in fits and starts. In attack, you can play in many ways, it depends on your characteristics.”

“Baldanzi did well in Cremona, and he also had a clear opportunity on Sunday against Napoli. (The role of false centre-forward, ed.) is not his position, we know, but we had Ferguson and Dovbyk out, and Dybala filled that role until he passed away. He did very well. Then, to play with him As a centre-forward, you have to play a certain way. If Ferguson or Dovbyk plays there, there are different characteristics, but that’s football, right?”

“When Ferguson and Dovbyk are both gone at the same time, you look for the best fit in the squad. You look for speed, technique, triangles, ground play… you remember Pellegrini’s goal disallowed in Cremona, with Baldanzi playing, right? It’s clear that with those characteristics, you try to make the most of your players. If you have others with different characteristics, you try to exploit their best qualities. But in our squad right now, if those two players (Ferguson and Dovbyk) are missing, it’s clear you look for those with the best characteristics. It’s not that Soulé or Pellegrini can’t do it: theoretically, anyone with their own characteristics can do it.”

“Bailey?  He’s been out for three months. It’s clear that in the meantime, the others are moving forward, going strong. He’s in a group that’s always on the move, always present, always compact, always responsive in training and in matches. It’s not easy having to recover, he has to catch up. Especially in a period like December, where everyone is busy.”

“The pace is now high, and you’ve lost some ground and you have to get back on track quickly to get it back. That’s what we’re trying to do, hoping he has consistency in training. He’s been training for at least two weeks now. It’s clear that he’s a player we’re banking on: him, like the ones I mentioned before—Dybala, Ferguson, Dovbyk. Because if they’re performing and have consistency, we’re even more competitive.”

“I truly trust everyone. This is an extraordinary locker room in that respect. Starting with Svilar… and also the other goalkeepers who aren’t playing. The entire defense: Ndicka is a leader, Hermoso is a leader, Mancini is a leader. Ghilardi and Ziolkowski are two young men who haven’t missed a minute of training, and it was incredibly tiring for them. I’m very happy Ghilardi put in that performance, because when someone puts in a performance like that, it means they’re capable of sustaining it. It will be the same for Ziolkowski. They’re all good guys. The same goes for everyone: Rensch is always there, Tsimikas, despite his difficulties, is always there.”

“Soulé is extraordinary. We’ve had some players leave for a long time, but the others may be out for a few days. These guys, however, have had very long absences in the same department, and despite this, Roma, thanks to these guys, has had an excellent run so far, and we fully intend to continue doing so.”

“And I didn’t mention Pisilli, another extraordinary guy. I told you last time I penalized him a bit: he’s a strong player. Rightly so, he perhaps deserves to play more, and I don’t want to stop him because if there’s a chance to play for Roma, it would be the best thing. It’s normal for him to aspire to play more, but he’s doing it with great professionalism, he’s always ready. You saw that with Baldanzi, who then had the chance to play and did well, right? Roma’s strength right now is this group. It’s this group of players with a truly extraordinary mentality.”

“Pisilli? I’m very confident in him: I said it before, rather than creating a problem for myself, I’d prefer him to play. I’d like him to play here, though.”

“Ferguson’s future? I’ve never talked about it, I don’t know if the agent has. I’ll talk about it with the club in January, if necessary. It always happens these days that there’s a lot of talk about players, then maybe one comes in, scores two goals, and changes everything. Or maybe he plays two or three high-quality games and the assessments change. I think it’s too early: there are so many games that can completely change the strategies.”

“Pellegrini is a Roma man. And he’s a strong player, a very solid player, and you’ve always known that. He’s 29 years old, he’s healthy, and he trains very well. He’s also a great guy: he’s part of that group of captains who are very committed to the team, the season, and the team’s performance.”