On Wednesday evening Udinese presented their 2022/23 season ticket campaign on the programme Udinese Tonight. Marco Silvestri was one of the guests and he spoke about his hopes and dreams for the forthcoming season as well as reflecting on the 2021/22 Serie A campaign:
"Watching the season ticket campaign video gave me goosebumps. I just can’t wait to get back playing. Recovering from an operation is tough and certain things I see make it tougher.
"In recent seasons we’ve really missed our fans. I relish playing in front of them; they give us a tremendous reception. What’s more, Dacia Arena is a lovely stadium, of the highest class. I hope that the season ticket campaign goes well because we’re all keen to see many fans in the stadium. It really fires us up.
"As for our new coach, Andrea Sottil, he’s had a really positive impact thus far. He’s a big personality and he’s made it clear from the get-go that he wants us to hold nothing back in training. The coach isn’t interested in players who just turn up for matches. I’m yet to be involved on the pitch so I can’t really comment but my team-mates have said that training is going well and they’re getting into the groove of what Sottil is after.
"On the subject of how my experience can help new signings bed in, I know that it isn’t easy for young and foreign players to just slot in when they’ve come from different backgrounds. We’re trying to make them feel at ease and make them understand what Udinese is all about. The fans can also help in this regard by giving them an extra helping hand.
"As for the World Cup taking place in the winter and how it will affect motivation, I think it’s unprecedented and the coaching staff will have a lot of work on their hands. I’m convinced that they’ll have us raring to go come January, and I hope that we’re in a good league position before the tournament so we can go away with peace of mind.
"One of my goals is to represent Italy. Nobody can take this dream away from me. When playing for Udinese on a personal level my aim is to keep clean sheets and on a collective level we want to stay up and finish in the top half. Last season despite having a tough time of it we ended only a few points away from tenth place. Udinese as a club should aspire to finish in the top ten."