Collecchio, 20 September 2025 - This is what Carlos Cuesta had to say ahead of Parma’s clash against Cremonese on matchday 4 in Serie A:

CREMONESE

“This is an important month for us, one where we want to give consistency to our performances, keep improving and also get results that set us on the right path of growth and progress. We want to prepare in the best possible way and stay focused on what we can actually influence. We’re expecting a very strong Cremonese side, a very well-organised team. Right now, they’re in the Champions League places, and there’s a reason for that. It’s a team that reflects the enthusiasm, mentality and values of their coach. I don’t know him personally, but everything I’ve read, heard and seen about him is very positive: he’s clearly able to communicate his concepts, ideas and vision to his players, both on and off the pitch. Cremonese are definitely a side with clear ideas and many strengths. We’ll try to be clever and take the match where we want it to go. Will it be particularly tough against Cremonese at the Zini? They’ve been good away from home as well: they’ve taken four points from six, and they even managed to win at San Siro. So it’s not just the results, their performances also speak for them. As far as we’re concerned, we’re focused on understanding the match and the different situations that can arise during it. Above all, we’re focused on how to give our very best, be ready, and get the result we want. Cremonese are a team that really understand the moments of a match. We saw it against Palermo, against Sassuolo, against Milan and also against Verona. They’ve been able to adapt during games: sometimes pressing higher to win the ball back in the opposition half, other times choosing to be more compact and defend deeper as a block. Cremonese adjust to the situation. In my view, they’re a complete team, able to change during the game depending on the moment.”

IMPROVEMENT

“Where are Parma at right now? You never really know exactly where you are, and I’ll explain why: a team is like this bottle of water you see here now. Right now, it’s liquid, but you don’t know if it’s at 25 degrees or 50… when it reaches 100, it changes state. What does that mean? It means we’re definitely growing, because over these past weeks I’ve seen the performances and I see how the players train. Today, I see a team that has improved, and that’s a positive sign. Of course, we need to pick up points. We’re focused on what we can control. In life, what you get is often determined by what you do. But in life, doing comes after being. So we’re concentrating on being the best we can be, doing the right things to produce the best performances possible, and collecting as many points as we can.”

CREMASCHI AT THE U20 WORLD CUP

“Benjamin will be available for the match, and after that he’ll head off on international duty. He’s the captain of the Under-20s and represents the United States with great pride. The fact that he represents the US is also a source of pride for us. It’s great that he’ll get the chance to experience something as important as the World Cup, both for his own development and because being with his national team can help him come back even more prepared to give us a hand, put in better performances and achieve great results.”

FROM CUTRONE TO TROILO

“Will Cutrone be a regular starter? You never know, because in this case the line-up depends on many things: the player’s condition, how he’s trained, how he’s played, and also what kind of match it is. There are lots of factors that lead to the final decision. Patrick gives us so much: depth, presence in the box, hard work from a defensive point of view. He brings great experience as well. Whether he starts on Sunday, we don’t know yet, but we’re absolutely convinced he can help us, whether from the beginning or coming off the bench. Troilo? He could start: all the players available right now are ready to play from the get-go. Lautaro Valenti felt some discomfort before the Cagliari match and won’t be available.”

INDIVIDUAL DUELS AND GOALSCORING CHANCES

“In international football, individual duels are important, but in this league, where there are so many direct match-ups, they’re even more important. It’s not just about winning your man-to-man battles, but also about winning second balls and being able to defend really well when you’re protecting your goal – that’s fundamental. How do you handle the emotions after creating so many chances? I try to stay realistic and objective in every situation I experience, and, at the same time, I try to be optimistic. So I look at what we did well to reach those situations, and also what we can do to make sure the final outcome is what we want. Of course, the opponent’s performance often plays a big part in the final result. As for us, we try to recreate similar situations in training, building repetition that leads to improvement and, hopefully, to different results in the end.”

FRANCO VÁZQUEZ

“Will Vázquez be marked closely? There are other players too, but we know Vázquez’s qualities: his ability to produce unpredictable moments, provide assists, protect the ball, and link up with teammates both near him and further away. So we’re well aware of what he can do. What we’ll try to do is play to our strengths and take the game where we want it to go. It’s up to his coach to decide whether he starts or not. Our focus has to be on being ready for the match, knowing that there will be different moments in the game that we’ll need to manage well.”

THE SUPPORT OF THE GIALLOBLU FANS

“2,500 fans giving the team a boost? What we want is to feel our supporters close to us. It’ll be great to have them with us at the Zini and to feel their trust and energy. Even in Cagliari, around 300 fans came with us and really got behind us. We’ll do our very best to make them proud.”