Triestina-Trento prematch

The official debut of the new season is just around the corner for Triestina, who will face Trento tomorrow at 18:00 CET at Stadio Nereo Rocco in the first round of the Coppa Italia Serie C.

Michele Santoni: “Tomorrow's match is certainly a good test to gauge how much we’ve worked and how well the players have internalized the style of football we want to play. Of all the preseason matches we've played, only the one against Torres can be used as a benchmark in terms of the level of competition. Now we’re up against Trento, a club with ambitions, and they’re in our league group. The feeling is that we’ve worked well, and tomorrow will be the first chance to see if that’s really the case.

I approach every match with the intent to win, and that applies to the Coppa Italia as well. Winning it isn’t just about securing a spot in the final playoff stage, but because every title that’s up for grabs should be pursued. Achieving it gives you the pride of having succeeded.

We’ll be facing a solid club that has invested significantly in recent years, doing so how people of Trentino are known for, by building strong foundations and nurturing ambitions. They have an excellent squad and a coach with clear ideas and a strong identity. We’ve analyzed them in detail, so I reiterate, this will be an excellent test against one of the league’s contenders. They are aiming for the playoffs, while we aim to set the bar slightly higher. There will be many matches like this, and it will be up to us to show that we want to win them more than our opponents do."