Fabio Cannavaro sat down with the media to introduce himself as the new Udinese coach wearing the same determined look he had during the penalty shootout in the 2006 World Cup final.
He began the press conference by expressing his gratitude before discussing some of the difficulties the team faces in what is not an easy season for Udinese.
“I want to start by thanking the owners for giving me the chance to be here and [Gabriele] Cioffi for everything he did up until yesterday – I called him to tell him that personally.
“Communication is essential. There are lots of players of different nationalities here but when you play football you speak the same language. We mustn't be afraid and in recent outings the team seemed to have had a bit of fear.
“Yesterday we did recovery work and today was our first training session to prepare for the 20-minute match we have to play against Roma. The psychological aspect will be crucial. We have to lift the players' heads and make them understand that this is a club with a big history and fans who will stand by them. We must try to make as few mistakes as possible, so that we can reach our objective, which is to stay up.”
The Ballon d'Or winner revealed he had no hesitation accepting the club's offer.
“It's hard to turn down certain clubs because when you make a choice you look at the history and Udinese's history shows you what a serious club this is. The last day or two have been very intense as everything happened very quickly.
“There's no shortage of motivation. It's a difficult moment but the technical and personal qualities of the players we have here are us reason for optimism, despite all the problems they've had this season.
“If you expect to keep a clean sheet in every game and be able to hold onto the result, you'll never succeed. Four wins in the season are too few and we've drawn too many games, so from now on we're all going to have to do a bit more.
“The team haven't suffered excessively as they nearly always keep everyone behind the ball. We need to play a bit higher up the pitch, press a bit higher and play with confidence in the opposition half.
Cannavaro also commented on the all-too-frequent late goals which have seen Udinese drop lots of points in the dying minutes of games.
“We've analysed the late goals conceded and that's why I spoke about fear earlier. I said the same thing to the lads this morning: they must raise their attention levels and determination to secure a result.
“Football was a bit different in my day. Nowadays everything footballers do is kept under control and there's a well-oiled machine behind them. We have to work on the mental side and we've started doing that already.”
The corridors leading to the dressing rooms bear the images of some of the club's legends – who the coach says should be an inspiration for the current crop.
“Seeing the shirts of the players who passed through here before you should make you realise what a great club this is. You have to understand that 30 years in the top flight is the result of the Pozzo family's hard work – everyone in Italy has seen that over the years. I played here lots of times as an opponent and you could sense it.
“When you join a club abroad, the first thing you have to do is understand the club's history. If the players aren't able to do that, then it's up to you as the coach to make them understand it.
“I've received messages from the likes of [Antonio] Di Natale, [Fabio] Quagliarella, [Antonio] Floro Flores. I hope to be able to leave a mark on this club as they did.
“I haven't seen the team play live. I've watched a lot of videos in the last two days but I'll go on what I see in training.
“Lazar Samardzic is the most talented player we have and I expect a lot from him. He's finding it difficult because other teams are looking at him and employing specific tactics to keep him quiet. The same goes for [Lorenzo] Lucca, who's doing well.
“We don't have much time so we need to concentrate on the most important things at the moment and think as a team, not as individuals. If a quality player is not performing or not running, we need to find different solutions.
“I'll speak to [Roberto] Pereyra today and I'll listen to everyone because the more information I can glean from the players the better. It's not easy when you come into a new club and don't have time to work. It's important to communicate and be in close contact with the players.”
Cannavaro also discussed the upcoming game against Roma, which will be resumed from the 72nd minute.
“We have to go for it. You're fresh at the start of the game, so fatigue is no excuse. I don't think Roma will come here to take it easy or play for the draw. They know you can win a game in 20 minutes. I expect both teams to treat it like a real match.
“We have to focus on ourselves. If you start looking at the other teams around you and try to play safe, you can end up getting burnt. We need to understand there are points to be won in every game and we must play every game as if it were a final. And finals need to be won. There are times when you have to dig in and you have to do it as a team, so that you can then hurt your opponent when you have the ball.”
Finally, the new boss commented on the long list of absentees.
“I'm not going to give my players any excuses. I must give them confidence. Whoever plays knows they have to give everything they've got. We know what football is like but that's one thing I demand: I want 100% from everyone.”