Roberto D’Aversa made an emotional return to Parma, the city he called home for four years, as his Empoli side secured a hard-fought draw against his former club. Speaking after the match, D’Aversa reflected on the significance of the occasion and his team’s performance.
“Four years here with my family are not easily forgotten,” D’Aversa said in his post-match press conference. “There are many people I remain close to, and I have friends in the city. It’s nice to come back here. It’s my first time as an opponent, but I will never be an enemy.”
The Empoli manager acknowledged his team’s drop in performance during the second half, attributing it partly to the fitness issues of key players. “It’s true that when you have four players who are not in top condition, like Grassi, Viti, and Ismaijli, it’s normal that we could decline,” he explained. “But I think the regret is after the first half; we should have been more clinical.”
D’Aversa expressed concern about his team’s reaction to conceding goals, noting a pattern of momentary lapses. “As against Napoli and Lazio, after conceding a goal, which can happen, we had a few minutes of confusion,” he said. “After conceding, we gave away spaces, and with the penalty, we could have thrown the game away. We need to continue playing; in the second half, we stopped too early, without even waiting for the legitimate physical decline.”
Despite these issues, D’Aversa remained positive about the result. “I’m satisfied with the outcome, but we need to improve in managing situations,” he stated. “As long as we play, we can put anyone in difficulty, as we did today and against Napoli, but we must get better at managing different scenarios during the match.”
