Walter Mazzarri confirms Simone Zaza is “raring to go” for his Torino debut against surprise leaders SPAL.
It kicks off on Sunday at 19.30 UK time (18.30 GMT), click here for a match preview.
The Granata were beaten only at the last minute by an Edin Dzeko volley for Roma, then fought back from 2-0 down to snatch a point at San Siro against Inter.
Walter Mazzarri confirms Simone Zaza is “raring to go” for his Torino debut against surprise leaders SPAL.
It kicks off on Sunday at 19.30 UK time (18.30 GMT), click here for a match preview.
The Granata were beaten only at the last minute by an Edin Dzeko volley for Roma, then fought back from 2-0 down to snatch a point at San Siro against Inter.
“Perhaps we started quietly in those games because the prestige of Roma and Inter intimidated some of our younger and less experienced players,” said Mazzarri in his Press conference.
“I spoke to them and tried to work on this aspect, including the warm-up routine. We’ve got to give our best and build on those second half performances, because we were not inferior to Roma and were beaten only by an extraordinary goal out of nowhere.”
SPAL, Juventus and Napoli are the only sides with a perfect record after two rounds.
“They had a very good end to last season with Leonardo Semplici on the bench and picked up where they left off. Their strong start shows us this will be difficult.
“On paper we are superior to SPAL, but you can lose titles to teams that are ‘inferior’ in theory. Mirco Antenucci and Andrea Petagna work very hard for their teammates and are in excellent form at the moment.”
Torino parted with M’Baye Niang towards Rennes and Adem Ljajic to Besiktas, so Zaza is ready to make his debut.
“My intention is to give Zaza his debut, as he is raring to go. I thank Niang and Ljajic for what they gave to the club. It’s not easy to sit on the bench, but a player must accept the decisions of the Coach in a very competitive squad.”
Ola Aina arrived on loan from Chelsea and due to Cristian Ansaldi’s injury was thrown straight in at the deep end.
“I’ve been really impressed with Aina, as he came off the bench against two great teams and behaved like a veteran. I thought that I’d have to introduce him slowly, but he’s very focused on tactics and eager to learn.”