Following Cagliari’s 4-0 loss to Juventus in the Coppa Italia, head coach Davide Nicola addressed the media, discussing the match’s turning points and his team’s performance. Despite the heavy scoreline, Nicola expressed pride in his players’ efforts up until a critical moment in the game.
“Excellent match until the 2-0,” Nicola remarked. “Then we dropped a bit, and the quality of Juventus came through. We honored the Coppa Italia to the best of our ability; we faced a great team, and I regret that we could have taken the lead in the first half. The boys gave everything, but some need to grow, and it was right to see who plays less because we need everyone.”
When asked about what his team lacked during the match, Nicola stated, “We need to create numbers that we don’t have yet. To do this, we must generate opportunities and be able to exploit them. We are ambitious and humble; until the 2-0, we showed that we had ideas and a desire to honor our commitment. Then we dropped a bit and risked conceding more. I accept the verdict.”
As Cagliari fights to avoid relegation, Nicola was questioned about whether participating in the Coppa Italia felt like a burden. He clarified their approach: “We did not think that way. Tonight we came here knowing we had to make some changes to keep everyone engaged, but also with the intention of believing in ourselves, which we demonstrated until the 2-0. After that, we couldn’t achieve what we wanted, but Cagliari came here to compete, and we did.”
