After Udinese’s great success against Napoli on Sunday, Kosta Runjaic and Nicolo Bertola spoke to the media. Read what they had to say below.
Runjaic: “Today was a great reaction. We can’t compare the match against Genoa to this one. For a team like us, it’s never easy facing Napoli and it’s not easy to have the strength to react after two disallowed goals.
“[Jurgen] Ekkelenkamp scored a fantastic goal. We know he has these shooting abilities. The fans gave us everything. We suffered as well today, but the win was absolutely deserved. It was a brave match from the start against a great team. We played with a lot of intensity, bravery, and determination. We had to play maturely and we did that. These matches can change quickly. They had a great chance to equalise, but we had a bit of luck today because we put out energy and courage. We knew we’d have our chances. A big well done to the lads. We came away with a clean sheet too.
“Highs and lows are part of the process. We have points and we deserve them. Of course we have to ask more of ourselves, but we’ve been criticised a bit too heavily. We need to learn from Monday, but also today. Our level is exactly where we are at the moment.
“[Nicolo] Zaniolo did a great job today. He put in a big shift running and battling. He scored a lovely goal, which was unfortunately disallowed. He feels good here. He knows that he can do even better but he’s really connected with his teammates and everyone here.
“Bertola in that position? We had left backs who were out injured and we came up with this solution. Modesto had a few wobbles against Genoa, but it was his first match and then he’s off to the Africa Cup of Nations. Napoli are dangerous on the wing and Bertola is growing exponentially. He played a lot of games last season as a left centre-back. He put in a great performance. He defended well but also gave his all in attack. Alessandro Zanoli gave a great performance too. He needs consistency to bring out all of his potential. We had to keep pushing with intensity and keep our defensive line high. Against Genoa, we didn’t work well together off the ball. You can’t win if you don’t bring the right energy. Today we did well. The midfield worked well too. We can improve and hopefully keep this up.”
Bertola: “We had a great game. It was a brilliant win against a top team. We talked a lot in the week. We spoke about what we needed to improve and we did it. This needs to be the level we’re at. We need to aim for the top. It was the first time I played in that position. The coach had mentioned there was this possibility at the start of the week so I worked with his staff to better understand the role. I’m available and willing. Where the coach puts me, I play. We’ll see if it happens again. [Hassane] Kamara will be coming back now, but if there is the chance, I’d definitely play there again.
“Today you could see we wanted to win. The boost from the fans helped us for sure. I was looking in my teammates’ eyes and I could see that desire to win.”