New coach Walter Zenga intends to “bring enthusiasm back” to Cagliari after their run of 11 Serie A games without a win, while President Tommaso Giulini called the team “laughable.”
The tactician was presented in a press conference with President Giulini today, having replaced Rolando Maran and signed a contract to June 2021.
“A few days ago, before the defeats to Genoa and Napoli, my director of sport Marcello Carli gave me only one name, that of Walter Zenga,” said Giulini.
New coach Walter Zenga intends to “bring enthusiasm back” to Cagliari after their run of 11 Serie A games without a win, while President Tommaso Giulini called the team “laughable.”
The tactician was presented in a press conference with President Giulini today, having replaced Rolando Maran and signed a contract to June 2021.
“A few days ago, before the defeats to Genoa and Napoli, my director of sport Marcello Carli gave me only one name, that of Walter Zenga,” said Giulini.
“We’ve been simply laughable over the last three months and I made a change of management just trying to save face. We are all responsible, the players, the coach who was here until Sunday and their President. I am certain that Zenga is the best choice to bring back unity and enthusiasm.”
Zenga has famously struggled to make a mark in Italy as a coach, despite success in Romania, with difficult periods at Palermo and Sampdoria.
“I’ve been watching Cagliari for a while, as I attended their games with Fiorentina and Parma. I have a rapport of friendship and respect with the President, while the first thing I did was call Maran,” said the new coach, who will have Primavera youth team boss Max Canzi as his assistant manager.
“I want to bring enthusiasm back to this club. When I am in charge of a team, I put on my helmet and go to war to defend them. My idea of football is similar to the one I proposed at Crotone.
“I cannot know what happened here before I arrived, but clearly there is a problem if they amassed 32 points in the opening weeks and then didn’t win for 11 rounds. We need courage rather than fear, because fear brings negativity and defeats. The attitude counts even more than the result, as far as I am concerned.”
Former Inter, Sampdoria and Italy goalkeeper Zenga was asked who he would pick between Robin Olsen and Alessio Cragno.
“If the worst comes to the worst, I can step in! In all honesty, it’s better to have three reliable goalkeepers than one. We’ve got examples all over the world, some teams have lost Champions League Finals because of their goalkeepers.”