Following their impressive 3-1 victory against Lazio, Parma are heading to San Siro with a newfound sense of serenity, confidence, and enthusiasm. Coach Fabio Pecchia shared his thoughts on the upcoming match in a press conference at the Mutti Training Center in Collecchio.
Pecchia emphasized the importance of moving forward, regardless of past results: “As I’ve been saying since the beginning of the year, it’s crucial to leave behind what happens and always think about the next game, in dark moments as well as good ones. We’re facing a giant, a top team in Italy and Europe, and we want to face them with our own weapons.”
The coach acknowledged the boost in confidence from Sunday’s win but stressed the need for continuous growth: “We should think of every match as another building block. Beyond the satisfaction of Sunday, there was an extraordinary atmosphere, and it was a great victory, but we must take something away from every game. For us, each match is something new, and we must approach it with an increasingly rich baggage.”
Addressing the injury to Charpentier and potential market moves, Pecchia said: “We’re finding ourselves in an extraordinary situation, with serious injuries to three important players, likely out for the entire season, which affects the squad. Here, there’s a shared vision with the club to make the team competitive, sustainable, and young.”
When asked about the team’s approach against Inter’s physical strength, Pecchia remarked: “Inter demonstrates its strength against anyone, in Italy and Europe. Even when they’ve faced physical teams, they’ve been superior, like against Arsenal and Leipzig. Beyond the centimeters, which we can’t add much to, Leoni could be in the game, but it’s important to manage the young players and the group with great attention.”
Reflecting on past encounters with Inzaghi, Pecchia added a touch of humor: “There’s little to say about the value of his work. We must congratulate him; there’s a desire for a technical confrontation. We crossed paths while collecting an award, and I reminded him of the Coppa Italia match – he owes me one.”
Pecchia also discussed tactical considerations: “What we’ve seen against teams of this level is that they play in a different league compared to us. The physical strength and technical superiority are evident, but we must take this into account while thinking about doing the things we work on with personality, strength, and vigor. When there’s an opportunity, we must have the energy to play football, trying to score goals. Games are played to score goals and win.”
On reaching his 100th match as Parma’s coach, Pecchia expressed his satisfaction: “It’s nice. I’m only thinking about the game with Inter, but it’s a great personal satisfaction.”
In conclusion, Pecchia emphasized the importance of learning from every experience, including the recent goal conceded against Lazio: “The goal maybe we could have conceded even earlier, it was a bizarre situation. It happened, but I liked the reaction. They still had time to recover, but we didn’t fall apart. The team remained lucid despite Lazio’s pressure. Then Delprato’s goal lightened us, but those final minutes were very indicative – the boys were in the game, these are emotions they have inside, and they must give them value.”
