Chievo Verona

FROM GAZZETTA DELLO SPORT 12/09/2001
by Simone Stella.
Gianluca Pagliuca is looking at the moment from the perspective of his long experience. For the former national team keeper, there are no valid alibis for last weekend's game against Verona. "It is useless to search for alibis or raise ther rhetorical questions of the teams physical condition, etc. On Sunday we sucked, and that's it. And Oreste Cinquini, the general manager, was right to be mad at us at the end. Chievo played decidedly better and ran over us, humiliating us. Unfortunately, Bologna looked like it did in the closing months of the last season, and the fans are right to be angry at us".

In the second half, the team appeared too nervous, as Signori and Wome clashed. Pagliuca does not want to blow that episode out of proportion, and recalls some team-mates from last year derisively. "We were losing and doing badly, and it was natural that some tense moments occurred in the match. But in the locker rooms of Bentegodi stadium, there were no arguments like last year, when, after a loss, people were vicious to each other. Unfortunately, we had some players who always blamed others, instead of joining in the general "mea culpa" tone. It won't happen again this year, in part because some of those players are no longer part of Bologna."

Pagliuca concludes his analysis treating the loss at Chievo in a positive way, but at the same time sounding an alarm for the upcoming game with Parma: "Maybe the victory at Atalanta loosened our grip on reality. The knockout from Verona should be an alarm bell to us, to do better we must stay on guard. We can't make a mistake against Parma. It will be a difficult derby for both teams. A home loss to Ulivieri's team would certainly make our situation more dramatic and worrisome".

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