Verona - Coach Paolo Zanetti has called up 27 players for Hellas Verona-Torino, the match in the 5th fixture of 2024/25 Serie A Enilive, scheduled for tomorrow, Friday 20 September at 8.45 PM at the ‘Bentegodi’ stadium.

VERONA - SQUAD LIST

1 Montipò

3 Frese

4 Daniliuc

5 Faraoni

6 Belahyane

7 Lambourde

8 Lazovic

9 Sarr

11 Tengstedt

12 Bradaric

14 Livramento

15 Okou

17 Sishuba

20 Kastanos

21 Dani Silva

22 Berardi

23 Magnani

27 Dawidowicz

29 F. Alidou

34 Perilli

35 D. Mosquera

38 Tchatchoua

42 Coppola

72 Ajayi

80 Cisse

82 Corradi

87 Ghilardi

Zanetti: ‘We will have to give our all in front of our extraordinary fans’

Coach, little time to recover between Monday night's post-match and Friday's advance...

"I understand the question, but I don't want to give the team an alibi for that. It's part of the calendar and its difficulties, national breaks and other situations. These aspects force us to be even more of a team, to pull together and not look for alibis. We will go on the pitch with those who are in better condition, and today in afternoon training we will prepare for the match in the best possible way. We will do our best and we must find the psycho-physical energy within us, also because we will play at home in front of an extraordinary public that is making records in terms of season tickets, and is giving us great confidence. Also from this point of view we must absolutely not disappoint and find the energy to go beyond all the difficulties".

Who do you think you will get back between Duda, Frese and Suslov?

"Duda and Suslov are not recovered, while Frese we will try to get him on the bench. In addition, there is the absence of Harroui who suffered a distortion in his collateral ligament of knee and will be out for four to five weeks. That's five starters out, including Serdar, but this is an opportunity for all the other players who will take their place".

Who do you think is the most ready to take the field, also considering the absences?

"There are more players ready to take the field. I think Sarr and Livramento are playing for Harroui's place. Livramento came back with poor condition from the national team and that's why he didn't play in Rome, but he has my full respect. We had said about Sarr that he needed a month to acclimatise, now we are close to his ideal condition, even if he is missing a bit of match rhythm, but in my opinion he can be a candidate for that place. In the middle of the field we'll go with the usual ones, while we'll make the other choices after today's training".

Will Magnani be able to find space against Torino?

"Magnani found space against Juventus and it's not certain that he won't find it tomorrow. I think he has the qualities to be an added value for the team, but to do that he must be in a maximum psychological condition. He has already shown me what he can do, but he's a particular player if he's not at his best psychologically, it's up to him to prove me wrong on the pitch with the right attitude. But for me he remains the most talented player we have in defence, and that is a compliment I give him in public. If he plays tomorrow I expect a great performance from him".

What kind of opponent will Torino be?

"It will be a difficult game for us but it must be for them too. We have our skills and our quality, but it will be a physical game where duels will make the difference. They have some great individuals, they are a very well coached team that has great intensity and game ideas, and they are a team built to aim for Europe. It will be a difficult game, but the important thing will be what we do, to show that we can be up to the challenge".

There are some heavy absentees, how ready are the younger guys like Cisse and Lambourde, even in competitive games?

"They are mentally more ready than others, more free and fearless as talented young players must be. They have great desire and spirit, but it's up to me to understand when to use them. In fact, there are opportunities for minutes for them and we have already seen Cisse. However, I'm interested in the minutes for established players, in young players I look for the quality of the minutes they play. Young people must aim for that, to come in heavily when they get the chance".

Are you more angry or satisfied after the Lazio game?

"I'm honestly more angry, I confirm what I said after the game, which is that the team gave everything and was determined and had the character to recover after going down, and stayed in the game for 90 minutes. But while it was a good game, in my opinion it was not our 100 per cent. We played between 70 per cent and 100 per cent, maybe with the maximum we could have found some points. In two or three situations, in a few duels, we were a bit weak, like on the goal, and you have to win those duels to find points at home against Lazio. I get angry with the team because they have already shown that they can do it, that they can give more. I get angry with them because they are strong, and it's not enough after a defeat to say we played a good game. You have to be objective and in my analysis I think we could have done something more".

Do you think there is a problem on corner kicks?

"No, I don't think there is a problem on the opponent's corners, I get more upset about how we handle our corners. We have conceded a lot of corners but only conceded one goal in four games, so it's not a problem, but we always have to be very careful and try to win the duels as we mark man-to-man. But we've taken a lot of them and badly, not convinced we can score goals, and set-pieces are important and shift the scoreline over the course of a league. This is part of the not 100 per cent I was talking about before, small details that we cannot afford to get wrong. In Rome you can lose but I want to lose by giving everything and I told the players that and now mentally I want 100 per cent of what we can give.

Could there be starting space for Faraoni and Ghilardi?

"I always have to make choices and that doesn't mean that I don't have the respect of those who don't play, everyone will have their space in time. There are hierarchies and I am also ready to change them. Faraoni came in well but Bradaric is also a good player and can find space. We will see if Lazovic will have recovered from the last game as he is our starter on that side. Faraoni is a candidate for a place. We are certainly covered in those roles without any kind of problem".