Coppa Italia Serie C 2024/25: Triestina-Trento postmatch

Michele Santoni and Umberto Germano spoke to the press following the first-round match of the Coppa Italia Serie C between Triestina and Trento.

Santoni: "Obviously, losing a match in the 92nd minute due to a penalty makes everything seem worse than it actually is. In the first half, I saw a team that wanted to play and found spaces up to the final third, as we aim to do. We made the mistake we anticipated, and it's better that it happens now: pushing up too high and lacking patience when they dropped deep, reducing spaces and taking risks. In the final third, we need to do better because if you find free midfielders in that area so often, you need to produce more quality plays and results. We didn’t create enough chances to show that we wanted to win the match.

D'Urso was brought in to be our offensive midfielder, but he is far from his ideal form. Jonsson has been training excellently and is perhaps the player who has best understood our style of play so far. El Azrak can play in that role as well as out wide; there will be competition among players throughout the season. We missed Attys today due to a last-minute flu, otherwise, he would have played on the flank.

The intention to play possession-based football, with movement and seeking numerical superiority, was there, as we made several good plays. Our off-the-ball phase was done well in parts; when we controlled the spaces, they never broke through our build-up and only became dangerous on counterattacks. Fatigue then set in for both teams, with thirty-five degrees and only four weeks into preseason. Mistakes were made, and we need to iron them out. We certainly need to work more, particularly on the offensive aspect, as we must improve the quality in the final third.

I want to win every match, and I wanted to win this one too. Now, as we approach the first league match, we’ll face a rival in similar conditions, with the goal of starting the regular season in the best way possible. The level of tension in an official match might not be the same, but it’s up to us to approach it in the best way possible to be ready for the league debut."

Germano: "I can't say exactly how much more is needed to fully implement what the coach is asking for, but we are certainly trying. He is asking for new things, and it’s normal that the first few games are moments for us to fine-tune our mechanisms, learn, and improve. In the first half, we did several things well, but then we lost our shape a bit, partly due to fatigue, and with that, our focus also dropped. However, we did show some good things that can only improve over time, and we will certainly do our best to implement what the coach is asking of us.

Their team, which largely remained unchanged compared to last season, might have had a slight advantage over us with several new players, but I don’t think that’s an excuse. We definitely wanted to perform as well as they did and knew we were facing a strong team, just as we remembered from last year’s season opener. It was a balanced match overall, where we played better in the first half and should have capitalized on some situations better, but it’s a shame about conceding the goal in the final minutes.

Now we need to approach the upcoming friendly matches with the right mindset, to absorb as much as possible of what the coach is asking of us, including mentality-wise, so that we are ready for the season opener."