Monza coach Raffaele Palladino says his side are ‘very ambitious’ following their 3-2 win over Genoa at the Stadio Luigi Ferraris. The Rossoblu opened the scoring in the first half through Matteo Pessina and doubled their lead ten minutes later with a beautiful goal from Dany Mota. Genoa mounted a spirited comeback with Albert Gudmundsson pulling back a goal from the penalty spot and then equalized with Vitinha. In the final moments, Daniel Maldini put Monza ahead again, securing all three points for the Lombardians. At the end of the match, Monza’s coach Raffaele Palladino spoke to Sky Sport:
“I smiled at the joy of Maldini and Carboni, it’s nice to see two such young talents. We had a perfect first half, we did well to put Genoa in difficulty. In the second half, Gilardino made it tough for us by changing the game plan. He’s a great coach. But I liked the character of the team after the comeback. Character, personality, and heart, this is a victory for the group. This win means a lot, it was very emotional for me. This victory rewards the work of the entire staff. Sometimes we talk about those who play, but the week has been very good and intense. I also want to mention those who didn’t take to the field. Today Caldirola, for example, was the number one fan. And so were all his teammates. Those who come in then have the right spirit and positive energy. I like the team like this, the more quality on the field, the happier I am. I have a team of great talent, I just try to put them in a position to express themselves.”
The Monza coach continued, “European goal? I don’t look too far ahead, now I only think about the next game against Cagliari, which will be very complicated. That’s how I think, but this group is very ambitious. They want to grow, to reach the top. They don’t set goals, they just work hard every week and with great enthusiasm. I often give them days off, and sometimes they still ask me to train. This shows what kind of group it is. We don’t know where we can go, but we must be ambitious while maintaining humility, this spirit.”
Lastly, Palladino concluded, “Mota’s goal? Actually, it was a set-piece, so I thank the staff very much. Actually, the ball was supposed to be played low, but Colpani wanted to make it harder, and Mota made it prettier. In the set-piece, Akpa was supposed to take away the man in the middle, but he didn’t. Basically, it’s a wrong scheme, but Colpani and Mota made it perfect. They did well. Maldini? For me, he’s a great player. He was supposed to start, but yesterday he had a slight twist and wasn’t at his best. However, I told him he would come on and change the game. He’s a great player, he deserves to play for a top club.”
