Palermo Coach Roberto De Zerbi admits “on paper we’re inferior” to Napoli but wants “courage and humility”.
The new Rosanero boss will make his debut this weekend, though he won’t be in the dugout as he’s serving a touchline ban relating to last season’s Lega Pro play-off final.
“It’s been a special week,” De Zerbi noted in his pre-match Press conference.
Palermo Coach Roberto De Zerbi admits “on paper we’re inferior” to Napoli but wants “courage and humility”.
The new Rosanero boss will make his debut this weekend, though he won’t be in the dugout as he’s serving a touchline ban relating to last season’s Lega Pro play-off final.
“It’s been a special week,” De Zerbi noted in his pre-match Press conference.
“It was only yesterday that I did an important training session, because that was when I had the most players. I worked without major changes.
“Now it’s the end of the week and we’ll try to play a good match and give an idea right away of the correct organisation and approach on the pitch.
“We go into it with humility because we know who we’re up against, but with a little courage we can push ourselves to do more.
"Of course, courage doesn’t mean throwing yourself head-first out of a fifth-floor window, that would be unintelligent and the courage means nothing.
“Now I want to try and finish the tactical work with the squad. It will also be a game in which the mental aspect will count a lot.
“On paper we’re inferior, but the pitch doesn’t always reflect what it says on the paper. We’ll need the right cutting-edge, receiving the ball without fear. We need 11 players who want to help each other.
“I think Napoli are the most difficult opponent for us right now. That said, you can limit Napoli, you can block them. I think about my team, but that doesn’t mean you don’t think about the opponent.
“We have to think this way, because otherwise we’d go onto the pitch already beaten.”
De Zerbi’s opposite number, Maurizio Sarri, worked his way up from the lower Leagues, is he a source of inspiration?
“Sarri is one of the reference points I have. What he’s done is a source of pride for all Coaches. He takes his ideas and does different things, and I respect him for that.
“I don’t like to copy though. Not because I think I’m the best, but because I want my own thing – my tactics, my management.”