14 December 2022
Just over 24 hours before the crunch Champions League match against FC Zurich, Joe Montemurro and Sofie Pedersen addressed the press in the pre-match conference.
The coach and the experienced midfielder warned they would not underestimate their opponents despite the Swiss champions already having been eliminated and confirmed that the Bianconere were ready for tomorrow's UWCL Matchday 5 encounter at the Allianz Stadium.
JOE MONTEMURRO
"The team’s growth in Europe is not due to me. It's down to the work of everyone here - the group, the staff and all the members of the team. Now we know what we are capable of and that awareness is what matters most of all. But this must be a starting point.
"Mentally the team is feeling good and this is key because mental freshness is very important. Enthusiasm will be needed tomorrow, and so far I've seen the right energy. From a physical point of view the only one to evaluate is Sara Gunnarsdóttir.
"Zurich will not want to exit the tournament without a point, so we have to be careful and play our game and not give them any opportunities. Tactically we aren't expecting much space between the lines tomorrow, we will have to be good at finding width. What’s important is that we take the game to our opponents, create the spaces then exploit them.
“We are ready and this is the most important thing.”
SOFIE PEDERSEN
"As a team we are feeling good, we have been training with the usual focus and we've studied videos of Zurich in action. We know what we have to do and we are ready for tomorrow.
"Since my arrival we have grown a lot as a team, improving year after year. Although we have grown a lot in managing the ball over the past year and a half, I think we can still improve and it’s something we work on in training.
"My role at the beginning was based around the physical side of the game, now it's more about keeping the ball and maintaining possession under pressure. In Europe the pace is higher, we have to run a lot more and never get distracted. We dominated the second half in both matches against Arsenal, which is no small achievement. If we can do it against them, we can do it against many teams and this is an important sign.
"We have the opportunity to reach the quarter-finals, it's down to us. This team always believes in its strengths and its ability to win. Playing at the Allianz Stadium is beautiful, it's a unique emotion for us and all our focus is on tomorrow’s match."
