Roberto Donadoni praised Parma’s victory over Inter and admitted Paolo De Ceglie “hadn’t even scored two in training!”
The Ducali had lost six in a row, but this 2-0 result over high-flying Inter took them off the foot of the table.
Roberto Donadoni praised Parma’s victory over Inter and admitted Paolo De Ceglie “hadn’t even scored two in training!”
The Ducali had lost six in a row, but this 2-0 result over high-flying Inter took them off the foot of the table.
“It wasn’t our best performance of the season, even if the lads did everything they needed to tonight. I’ve seen us do better when losing with late goals, such as against Milan and Udinese,” Donadoni told Sky Sport Italia.
“This was the right reward for the squad considering all they have suffered through. I am happy that they took on Inter with heads held high and the credit is all for the players.”
Remarkably, both goals were scored by wing-back De Ceglie, who had never bagged a brace in his professional career and hadn’t netted two in a single season since 1996-97.
“I don’t remember De Ceglie scoring two even in training! I did keep telling him and the others that they need to get into the box to score goals. I know from my career that you can provide assists, but the important thing is to get into the scoring positions too and that’s what De Ceglie did tonight.”
After six consecutive defeats, which equalled the club’s Serie A record, there had been talk of Donadoni being sacked.
“I have never cried over the situations that caused problems, including injuries, and I’m not going to tonight. We picked up three important points and are happy, but we have achieved nothing and this result won’t change our motivation going forward.”
Parma are also in a tense situation, as today they announced an appeal to the European Court of Human Rights over losing their Europa League place to Torino over late tax payments.
There are also reports the Ducali could even be docked a point this season for financial irregularities, but Donadoni assured the situation is not that serious.
“The club made sure we lacked for nothing. The players showed a great sense of belonging by making short-term sacrifices.”