Thiago Motta:
“Tomorrow I want to see a win. We have an important match ahead of us, we’re at home, and we have to put in a performance.”
“We’re not happy with our recent results, but the important thing is to focus on tomorrow. Everything counts in football, even the head, but not just that. We work on everything we can, and sometimes the frustration of not having achieved the right result sticks with us.”
“It’s a pity that Kalulu won’t be with us, he’s played every game since he arrived. He won’t be with us, but I’m sure the others will do well in his place. The new signings will give us a hand, let’s see if they start or come on.”
“The attacking players we have can play together, because they have important characteristics and are complementary. We’re aware that our recent results haven’t been what we want them to be, and we’re all working to change this. We want to be happy tomorrow.”
"The many injuries we’ve had haven’t allowed us to compete in every game as we’d have liked to, but I don’t want to look back. I’m focused on Empoli and what we’ll come up against tomorrow.”
“The team have improved, we’re growing. Injuries don’t help, but they’re a reality we have to manage. We’ll never use it as an excuse. We’ve suffered defeats and we have to be sure to change these kinds of result.”
“We have to improve in all aspects. When you concede, it’s a culmination of mistakes and we have to limit those. The goal is to become more solid and more aggressive as a team, knowing when to press, when to strike, all things that will be important against Empoli too.”
“To be a top-level team, you have to be consistent. We’ve had ups and downs, due to the things we’ve already spoken about. We haven’t found consistency yet, we’ve played well without winning, without achieving what our main goal is and what we work for every day.”
“I haven’t had any discussions with the club and I don’t talk about the transfer market, and I won’t start today. It will close in a few days, so we’ll go back to talking about the players I have at my disposal.”
“Great teams need to win. But in the end only one team can. We’re well aware of what Juventus is, and we know that when we don’t win it’s not good. We have to accept that, but above all use it as something to motivate us for our next game.”
“Veiga can play at centre-back, yes, but as full-back and in midfield too. I’ll talk to him about where we need him and when. As happened with McKennie, for example - he shows every game that he can be versatile. When Kalulu got injured, Koopmeiners was the first to come to me and say he’d play as a defender, and this is the attitude I want from the guys, always willing to sacrifice themselves for the team.”
“Fagioli will be called up tomorrow. He hasn’t played as much recently but things can change. I understand the state of mind, I was a player too and it’s all part of the game. It’s up to them to show that they deserve more playing time. Fagioli, like everybody, has the chance to find space in the team.”
Thiago Motta:
After the injury of Kalulu the first one that came to me was Koopmeiners. He told me: “Mister if you need someone as a centre back you can count on me I can play in that position”.
These are things that I appreciate a lot. Players who want to sacrifice themselves for the good of the team