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MANAGER CARLOS CUESTA: “I FEEL GREAT ENERGY IN PARMA”

Parma, 26 June 2025 - Manager Carlos Cuesta's words during his presentation at the “Gianfranco Bellè” press conference at the Ennio Tardini Stadium in Parma. 

 

'Thank you all for being here, first I want to apologise if my Italian isn't the best, but I wanted to thank you, the club, the President Kyle J. Krause, and Arsenal for allowing me to be here and also Chivu and Pecchia for the work they did which will lie the basis of both the present and the future of Parma Calcio'.

 

AN HONOUR TO BE HERE

'I really feel honoured to become a part of the history of such a big Italian club with international presence. It was very natural (the call) and I felt a lot of faith from the moment that I formed relationships in a very organic way. I imagine that my age can be a surprise for many, but it is true that this has been a part of my whole journey, so for me age is just a number. My past has always been linked to this question, so I never had it in my head that this is an alibi or an excuse, and I want to be valued for what I do as a manager at Parma and I always want to do my best as I have been like this my whole life. I feel great energy here in Parma, and I felt this right from the first calls, and the first chats. When I arrived, everyone was very humble, they work trying to make you feel like you're at home. I have also heard many things about the great atmosphere at the Tardini. I have heard many things since my first day that I would now like to see on the pitch, so we have this drive to work with this mentality and togetherness. These are things that will be key in our play style and in how we experience everyday, representing Parma in the best way possible. How long have I been waiting for this sort of opportunity? I didn't expect it, I was focused on my work with Arsenal, I was very happy, but when the opportunity came to me, I felt it was the right one. I have always tried to prepare as best as possible as this is my role, both as a coach and as a manager. My work as a manager means that I need to prepare as best as possible to help the guys to reach our goal. At times in life there are opportunities that you don't expect, maybe when you are focused on other things. This opportunity came and now I am here with a real drive to continue this path which has already begun'.

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CARLOS CUESTA'S IDEAS

'The first thing is that I don't think that it is fair to set expectations, as expectations don't get results. In my opinion, what gets results are the standards set in daily habits, therefore our focus will be on this and on how to play. The first thing we need to do is to get to know the environment and the players and there will definitely be things riding on us in terms of organisation. We will always try to have an organised team in all phases, both defence and attack. We always want to set clear principles, and from there it will always be the same, our ideas will be guided by the same objective that we will look to achieve with the resources available to us, getting the most out of our players and doing the best to find a clear identity as a team. There are many different responsibilities, but I have always tried to add value, so I always helped the manager, to benefit the boys in order to exploit their potential and to add all that I knew. Now I have changed roles compared to what I did in the past, the choice was completely down to me and this is definitely the biggest change. What I can say is that we must defend and attack very well, we must try to score and we must try to not lose the lead. This will always be our goal and we will always move based on this, as in football there are moments when you have to defend and others when you attack, and sometimes you need to do both. I don't want to focus on one part as it isn't like this, it isn't a question of will, it's a question of belief. I think Parma are a team with potential, and I think that today in football you need to be complete: you need to know how to defend in a low block when necessary, but also know how to press high, when to attack when there's space, and when there isn't. There are definitely certain preferences but we want to become a team ready for any situation, getting the most out of our players because 11 defend, and 11 attack. We are all on the same page, simply different roles and different responsibilities. But in football now, you are one, a team when you attack and when you defend, so this is why we have to be like this'.


CLUB PARMA'S VISION: THE FIRST TEAM, THE YOUTH SYSTEM AND WOMEN'S FOOTBALL

'From the first day we spoke, it was very clear about the role, but also the club's ambitions and vision, in this case it is about the whole club, not just the men's first team and therefore our goal is to create, as the Director said, a culture. This culture will be seen in daily actions, and we will try to become one with Parma Calcio's mentality, philosophy and identity, trying to inspire and help in forming this model for everyone to move forward with this same attitude'.

RELATIONSHIPS WITH TEAMS AND PLAYERS

'When I arrived at Arsenal I was 24 years old and there were many players who were older than me but I think players and people are always looking for the same thing. For me there are two main things, one is understanding that you are a good person and this second is having a feeling, in such a way that players know they can add something, and that you can add value to them. As such, a relationship is formed and it definitely helps everyone to reach their potential, which is my goal. All internal valuations, in terms of individuals, will be done internally with the club. The team is certainly full of potential and they will definitely work well'.

 

NO MODEL, BUT I LEARN FROM EVERYONE

'To be completely honest, I don't have a set model, but I want to learn from everyone, I want to constantly learn and I have had many role models. Up to now I have had the chance to work in Spain, a small spell in Italy and above all in England with Arteta. In this case, he helped me create certain ideas, but as I said, I want to learn from everyone, not only in football, but also from other sports, looking to improve myself and to help players in developing'.

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SERIE A

'Serie A is a league full of top players and managers, with incredible variety, so it will be a great challenge. We will have a clear identity, a clear guideline, but in football you need to be versatile to find solutions in different contexts so this will be a part of who we are. Opposition will definitely try to cause us problems but we must do well to find the right solutions and continue with what is our preferred style of football'.

 

FOOTBALL IN SPAIN AND ITALY

'I think football is now very globalised, so you can't really pass judgement on specific countries. I try to learn from everyone, and I try to take as much as possible from what I did in Spain, Italy and England. I try to retain everything that can help me in my work and then to pass onto the boys, giving them the best solutions possible. In this sense it's not about football as such, it is about the situation you are in and the people you are with, so I had different experiences. I had the chance to work in Spain and perhaps there you focus on certain things more, perhaps other things in Italy. So the point is trying to express everything as best as possible by creating the most complete versions of ourselves'.

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