Alberto Aquilani holds his first press conference at Sassuolo (sassuolocalcio.it)
Manager Alberto Aquilani has explained why he felt Sassuolo was a “natural choice” for his first experience coaching Serie A, but warned that the team is “missing some positions”.
This is the manager’s first experience as a Serie A manager, who turns 42 next week, but also a return to the Mapei Stadium, where he played for six months in 2017.
After retiring from active duty in 2018, Aquilani worked in Fiorentina’s youth team and then enjoyed good results in Serie B with Pisa and Catanzaro, but last season they narrowly missed out on promotion in the play-off to Monza.
He is now taking up the mantle vacated by Fabio Grosso, who left Sassuolo for a new experience at Fiorentina.
Aquilani starts his Serie A career with Sassuolo
“I’m happy and honored to be here, the place I met as a player and where I was able to understand all the qualities that are rare in the world of football,” Aquilani said at a press conference.
“I’m a few years older, I’ve got a few more gray hairs, and we have state-of-the-art training facilities that we didn’t have before. I brought the enthusiasm, the hunger and the ambition from an early age to coach in Serie A, so it’s a dream come true.”
Sassuolo traditionally use a 4-3-3 formation and the new manager insists he has no intention of deviating too far from those concepts.
“I have clear ideas, but I don’t have a particular style of football, because football is always evolving. This team is used to playing with four at the back, so I’m not going to come here and say I want to move to a three-man defence.”
Nevertheless, Aquilani is planning some revamps after taking over the Neroverdi.
“Everything starts with a concept of how we want to play, so we need players with those characteristics. We are rather lacking in some positions, but we have a clear idea of what this team needs, and it is an idea that has been shared with the club.”
Although there were negotiations with the likes of Torino, Aquilani decided to begin his Serie A experience as a manager at Sassuolo.
“I spoke to other clubs, but it felt like a natural choice because I felt close to Sassuolo and the Squinzi family. I have had many coaches over the years and learned a lot from them all, but if I had to choose one coach that I admired and was especially inspired by, I would say Roberto De Zerbi.”
He admitted that he had received messages of congratulations from fellow Serie A managers Daniele De Rossi and Cesc Fabregas of Genoa and Como respectively.
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