On the day Gianluca Vialli's death rocked the world of football, Andrea Sottil began his pre-match interview by paying tribute to the former Italy striker.
“It's not a good period. After Pele and Sinisa [Mihajlovic[, today we've lost another great man. I marked him a few times and that was more than I needed to realise what a classy player he was. He was something else. He oozed charisma and leadership. He was a great man, a great person. After he stopped playing, he always showed his genuine side in public. Today is a bad day. A great man and a great player has left us.”
The coach then spoke about how the team have been preparing to face Juventus.
“We can't do a lot of physical work in situations like this. Those who played less the other day have worked a bit more intensely while the others have focused on recovery. Today was dedicated to the match itself, so it was more about ideas than physical work.
“We have to recover our energy. In any case, it's not hard to find motivation when you play Juventus in Turin. I'm sure the lads will be at their best tomorrow.
“Allegri has always been a very pragmatic coach. His teams excel defensively. We'll have to go out and play with even more focus than usual and more than Juventus.
“We've shown we can create lots of chances and we have the potential to hurt any team. We must be on our guard when not in possession, from the forwards down to the defenders.
“Our shooting wasn't so accurate in the last game but I don't think player at this level just shoots without thinking. I work on their conviction, the mental aspect, as well as getting them to practise again and again. They're professionals and they know that with their ability they should be more accurate. There's no foolproof method other than working on the pitch and having the right mindset.”
Sottil also commented on Festy Ebosele's improvement.
“He's a 20 year old who's improved loads since pre-season. He's blessed with phenomenal acceleration and change of pace. He needed time to adapt physically, technically and tactically but he now looks ready, especially on the right flank. We're very happy with him. He's an extra option we have.”