Gabriele Cioffi insists he is ‘not a guru’ and simply helped Udinese players find their ‘courage’ after a 4-0 win away to Cagliari.
The Friulani have certainly been transformed since the assistant manager took over from sacked Luca Gotti, because they picked up four points in two games.
They were only a Zlatan Ibrahimovic stoppage-time stunner away from beating Milan on Cioffi’s debut and tonight crushed Cagliari 4-0 away from home.
Serie A | Cagliari 0-4 Udinese: Deulofeu destroys Sardinians
Gerard Deulofeu scored a sensational brace, with Jean-Victor Makengo’s early opener and a Nahuel Molina strike on the half-volley.
“We have to power ourselves one game at a time. That’s not just true of Udinese, but all the teams, big or small,” Cioffi told Sky Sport Italia.
In his post-match interview, Deulofeu said that what Cioffi brings to the locker room more than Gotti is motivation.
“I simply brought out what they already had within them and have always had within them. I’m not a guru or anything!
“In order to get a result, we must be courageous, both when defending and attacking. Even if they built it out with four sitting deep, we had to do the dirty work with the strikers and everyone else to get it done. Spirit of sacrifice, working for the team, that’s what we saw from Deulofeu tonight and against Milan.
“Now we enjoy this victory, then from tomorrow head down and keep pumping on the pedals, because we mustn’t lose momentum. We have to keep pedalling.
“Cagliari have a lot of quality, but are also in a difficult moment, and we did well to ensure we didn’t leave anything by the wayside.
“You need courage to face your opponents, and courage brings confidence, then you can feel ready to take risks, to break teams down. You can’t just wait and hope the opposition gives you a chance. You have to go and create that chance for yourself, go and take it from them.”
There was a huddle between Cioffi and Cagliari striker Leonardo Pavoletti after the final whistle. What were they discussing?
“I shouted at the final whistle. For a coach like me, I kick every ball, I am with them for 95 minutes. I let out that shout from the gut, not to show off or anything. Pavoletti pointed it out to me, I apologised, I then went into the tunnel and apologised to the others, assuring them it was not a lack of respect. He understood and was very kind.”
Nahuel Molina that is some strike!! 😳
Sat up perfectly and hit so clean 😍 pic.twitter.com/ARMOaOvGDg
— Football on BT Sport (@btsportfootball) December 18, 2021