Salernitana coach Fabrizio Castori was ‘stunned by Franck Ribery’s humility’ and found the France legend’s arrival ‘a pleasant surprise, because I didn’t believe a deal like this could be done.’
The clash with Torino kicks off on Sunday at 14.00 UK time (13.00 GMT).
The last few days have inevitably been dominated by the arrival in Salerno of Club World Cup winner Ribery, a free agent after his Fiorentina contract was allowed to expire.
“We all knew Franck was a great player, but I want to compliment him on being so easy-going and settling in straight away. We were frankly stunned by his humility,” said Castori in a press conference.
“He arrived with enthusiasm, side-by-side with his teammates, and will be an added bonus for Salernitana. We also knew he would take a while to reach full fitness, but he’ll get there soon enough.
“Ribery’s arrival was a very pleasant surprise, because I didn’t believe a deal like this could be done. Riccardo Gagliolo is also a big boost in defence, as he’s good at one-on-one situations.”
Ribery may now be 38 years old, but it’s still remarkable to see a Ballon d’Or, Champions League and Club World Cup winner come to a club that is in its first Serie A campaign for 22 years.
Some might call this slumming it for the veteran, others as an intriguing way of challenging himself after the Fiorentina experience ended abruptly.
Meanwhile, summer signing Nwanwko Simy can start and try to bring some goals to this side after his experiences at Crotone last season.
“Simy is able to start, we’ve worked with him on a precise schedule the last couple of weeks. I have seen a collective improvement from everyone in the squad and that makes me feel confident going into the next games.
“I think the break for international duty helped us. We have great respect for Torino, obviously, as they’ve been in the top flight for many years, but we think the time has come to start bringing home some points.”
Both Salernitana and Torino have lost their opening two games this season, so this is an early relegation dogfight.
“Torino have zero points, just like us, so they know that they cannot make another mistake. I expect a high-intensity match and if Salernitana do what we know, then there’s a good chance we’ll come back home with a positive result.”
All that money but no dental plan