Parma boss Roberto D’Aversa believes Saturday’s Serie A trip to Cagliari is ‘important’ for their season.
The match kicks off at 17:00 GMT tomorrow – click here for a preview.
“We have to give the match the same importance as they’ll be giving it, despite the fact that we’re a few points ahead of them,” the Coach said at a Press conference.
Parma boss Roberto D’Aversa believes Saturday’s Serie A trip to Cagliari is ‘important’ for their season.
The match kicks off at 17:00 GMT tomorrow – click here for a preview.
“We have to give the match the same importance as they’ll be giving it, despite the fact that we’re a few points ahead of them,” the Coach said at a Press conference.
“For us, it’s important for our objective, making it a direct clash to avoid relegation. We shouldn’t think about where they are in the League because it’s not a reflection of the quality of their squad.
“We’ll be playing in a heated atmosphere and need to be prepared mentally: in a direct clash, it’s important to be intense and aggressive when it comes to winning duels.
“The risk of making calculations? A characteristic of my team is that we take to the pitch to achieve the maximum possible.
“But we also need to keep in mind the characteristics of Cagliari: they often use a 4-3-1-2 formation and play direct football to try to make the most of aerial duels up front and attack deep in the opposition’s half.
“They are also good when it comes to second balls. We can’t make calculations nor think about the fact that we’re in a better position in the League than them.
“We need to try to give our all and worry about producing a big performance.”
The Gialloblu failed to follow up their point at Juventus with another against Inter last weekend…
“We are able to use data that the Lega sends on to us from the games that are played,” explained D’Aversa.
“Both the team’s performance and individuals are assessed. Some of this data said that both Inter and Parma dropped off physically from the 75th to 90th minute and that Parma weren’t inferior to Inter in this respect.
“A physical drop-off is always spoken about when you lose, but in Genoa we brought home the three points in the second half, while in Turin we managed to get a draw in the second half.
“There are situations where games are lost because of the key moments that occur. I haven’t read about Inter having problems physically in the first half, and yet in the first 20 minutes or so the game was played in their half of the pitch.
“If we had managed to take the lead, the result perhaps would have been different. The game was lost because of a mistake in midfield and because our defence made mistakes. We matched a strong side in Inter for 70 minutes.
“You don’t need to motivate the players for a game against Inter. However, for the match against Cagliari you have to persist in saying how important it is.
“Even if the lads are intelligent enough that you don’t need to remind them. During our practice matches in training, we’ve tried to ensure that we’re ready for tomorrow.
“Particularly from an intensity point of view, making sure that we’re prepared for physical battles and to get all three points.
“Tomorrow’s game is very important. If we get the win then we’re even closer to our objective. This situation must be reflected through our performance.”