Collecchio, October 18, 2025 - Head Coach Carlos Cuesta spoke at the press conference ahead of the seventh game of the season against Genoa, in the press room of the Mutti Training Centre in Collecchio.

SUNDAY'S OPPONENT: GENOA 

'Genoa have a very clear and aggressive style of play. They use their fans and their environment on the pitch to create great energy. We need to be ourselves, understand the crucial moments of the game, be mature, stay solid and compact, and we are very eager to put in a strong performance tomorrow to get the result we want. They are a team that can build from the back. They showed it against Lazio and against Como, where they had moments of excellent buildup play. So there are times when they choose that approach and others when they play more directly. Genoa can do both, and we, within our own qualities and identity, will try to do our best and take the game where we want. Thirty thousand fans against us? It’s a wonderful opportunity to see how strong the team is. That’s why I say the tweflth man, whether you call it the crowd, the fans, the stadium, but the most important player we have is the team itself. What’s special is the strength of the group, the mentality with which we approach every match. Tomorrow will definitely be a big test. I expect to see a competitive, mature, and solid team, one that tries to exploit every situation to get the result it wants. Genoa have played at a very high level, they created their best chances against Como, put in a great performance against Napoli, and even against Bologna they were fighting until the end. I expect a very strong team, with very clear ideas in attack and defense, and that shows character. And through that, we will do our best to achieve the result we want.'

FROM BERNABÉ TO ORISTANIO

'Bernabé? Against Lecce, he played further up the pitch; against Torino, he played with Cutrone and Oristanio. It’s not new, we’ve done this before. Certainly, the players’ characteristics allow us to try different formations. Oristanio? He won’t be available tomorrow. He’s following his individual recovery plan, as I mentioned weeks ago. At this stage of the program, he’s not ready to compete. We used the international break to speed up his recovery as much as possible, but he’s still unavailable.”

TEAM CONDITION

“The break was a good opportunity to work more on our style of play, recover from a few injuries, and approach the Genoa match with plenty of determination. We can’t wait to play tomorrow. I still don’t know the starting eleven; we’ll see tomorrow. Valenti is available. Trabucchi and Plicco have been playing with the Primavera to increase their minutes after international duty. Frigan and Ondrejka continue with their recovery programs, and Manu Valeri is still unavailable as he continues his rehab. Hernani Jr and Cremaschi are back with the team, because the World Cup has ended, we’re happy to have him back with us; he contributes a lot.”

ATTACKING SOLUTIONS

“If we analyse the Cagliari match, in the second half we had many combinations on the right, forward runs, creating high-quality chances. In other matches, depending on how the opponent sets up, you are forced to play more on the wings. Even against Lecce, in the final minutes they were more compact, but Circati found Pelle, finishing with Cutrone. Of course, we would like to see more of this, sometimes it happens, sometimes it doesn’t. But when we talk about growth , we must focus on other aspects too: attacking in the final third is one, but we also consider our buildup play, high pressing, set pieces both offensively and defensively, and the team’s attitude in difficult moments. Tomorrow will certainly have challenging moments, and we want to see the team’s maturity, how they handle and overcome them. Football is never perfect and there are always things to improve. But even without perfection, it’s possible to have very positive performances and results. I focus on everything we’ve done well. Our outlook is always to see what’s there, what’s missing, what can be improved, and what can help us perform. We know the path, we’ll follow it, and we are confident it’s the right one. Cutrone? He can play more centrally; if he likes it, we should take advantage of it. If we have a winger instead, we need to use his strengths. Ultimately, the players’ characteristics guide the approach, whether following the play or attacking. We create a context that allows them to maximise their qualities. Almqvist? He has the ability to create 1v1 situations, and we must do whatever we can to bring out his best. In 1v1s, and in his ability to attack space, we saw against Monza that he’s comfortable playing higher. It will be up to us, with our abilities, to put him in the best situation to have an impact.”

THE BACK LINE

“Against Monza we played with a back four. That choice was influenced by the context: Circati was away with the national team, Sascha was also with his national team, and Manu wasn’t available. We used the opportunity to work on our style of play in all phases, attack and defence, trying to improve and be ready for tomorrow. We’re very lucky to have players with different qualities, even within the same position. If you look at our midfielders, you can see a wide range of characteristics. The same goes for defenders and forwards. This gives us flexibility and allows us, depending on the match we want to play, to utilise one or more specific qualities. It’s not really about the formation. Whether you play with four or five at the back, you can exploit play through the middle or on the flanks, and you can defend with four or five. Beyond the formation, the most important thing is the principles we follow and the relationships we want to create on the pitch, depending on the players we have.”

CREMASCHI’S “WORLD CUP” EXPERIENCE

“It was very important for him to represent his country, to play in a tournament like that, and to make such an important contribution. He’s a player with very clear qualities: scoring goals, finding space, creating space with his movements, and the ability to push forward. He can definitely give us a real boost, which is why he’s part of the team.”