Lugano held its last training session of this long season on Friday morning. Saturday at 6 p.m. in Cornaredo will be the official farewell with the game against YB.
TWO ABSENT
Two HCL players will be unavailable. The disqualified Martim Marques and Mattia Bottani who is suffering from a calf problem.
WITH THE YB ALWAYS GOOD MATCHES
In the eve press conference, coach Mattia Croci-Torti presented the match as follows: "fourth place is a big goal of ours. There's not much to add in terms of motivation: we want Europe and that comes from tomorrow's game. It doesn't matter what we did before or after. This year with YB we have always played good games, the last two away games we could not find the goal while in Cornaredo in October we had offered a good performance. We restart from the motivation we have even more than from the opponent we are going to face."
AT HOME GREATER MOTIVATION
-Beyond motivation and in light of recent performances, better to trust that Basel and Servette will do their thing tomorrow against Lucerne and Lausanne, or are you convinced that you can do the trick against YB?
"I start from the first half played against Basel on April 6. Here at home and in front of our fans we have internal motivation that has to come up. Going back to that challenge first ten minutes of the second half and Shaqiri's hat trick definitely dealt us a blow, but no one can come and tell me that in the first 45′ we saw a dead team. We were alive and we put the future champions in trouble on all fronts. That is what we will try to do tomorrow night as well, so we are not clinging to the others however we know that the point won last Sunday in Lausanne is important because it forces our direct competitors to get a result against opponents who still have something to say. Basel, they have already won the championship, but in a sold-out St. Jakob I don't think they won't be committed even if the Cup final is only a week away and especially after the bad result seven days ago with YB."
A POINT THAT WAS GOOD FOR US
-You have repeated the concept of motivation two or three times, is this because you perceive that at the level of athletic brilliance you are no longer there?
"Absolutely not. Sometimes legs and muscles depend on the head as everyone who has played team sports knows. I am very convinced that if we had not had those ten minutes of black out against Basel, we would not have seen the opaque performances in Geneva and the one in Lausanne where the team definitely had fears. But I am also certain that the point won at the Stade de la Tuilière did us good and allowed us to recharge our batteries. The two away matches in Romandie were not easy because of so many elements but the extra point we have in the standings compared to Lausanne and Lucerne allowed us to train with great conviction and we are all convinced that we can play an excellent game tomorrow night against an opponent that is certainly up to the task."
PLAYING AS A GROUP UNTIL THE END
-Motivation rhymes with emotion; the one against YB will be the last game in an HCL jersey for several players. Is that something to leverage?
"No because we have motivation beyond individual motivation. Tomorrow we don't cling to one who is on his last game or whatever. We have to play as a group until the end, then the emotions will come out at the 90th minute. We can't stand here reflecting on who will be gone; this is a game we have to win with the best players deployable from the start and the best subs. We must not make any kind of choice wrong, the emotions will surely be there then at the final whistle. In short, my initial choices will not depend on the news about departures."
LESS ROMANTIC AND MORE PRAGMATIC
-I thought it might be an extra weapon to push you?
"I am no longer as romantic as I was when I started coaching. Now I am more pragmatic as a coach has to be because in the end what matters is what you do when you are on the field and so tomorrow it will be important not to start with parting speeches, but with the will of a team that has to be alive until the end."
VARIOUS REASONS BEHIND THE DEPARTURES
-Independently of the match, with respect to the six announced departures, are you surprised, when they were communicated to you, did you have your own to say about the decisions?
"These are mainly societal issues, these are decisions that, as you said, leave emotions. However, I'm now used, since I've been on this team, to experiencing moments in which there are many such thoughts and emotions. I remember with the various Gerndt and Sulmoni when I was still an assistant coach, or with Maric, Lovric, Daprelà, Custodio and Lavanchy, people who gave so much to this jersey. Not to mention Sabbatini last year. It is a special moment that comes again at the end of the season, but behind it there is a lot of analysis and discussion on the individual and collective level with societal, economic and sporting values. The definition of departures was completed this week."
MAI AND STEFFEN AMONG THE SUMMONSES
-Mai and Steffen, who did not play the last few games, are back available. Are they ready to be deployed from the start or just for a sliver of the game?
"These are two different situations. Lukas with Basel had received a big blow and had a hematoma that has now disappeared, so we are not risking anything to put him on the field. As for Renato he wanted to train today with the team to be available a few minutes, he wants to be involved with his teammates. He definitely cannot start from the first minute but the fact that he is there and has Wanted to grit his teeth to help the team is a good sign that we need to pick up. He will definitely be among the summonses."
IN 2022 AWAY MANY KEY PLAYERS
-Can this Lugano be compared to that of 2022 after the Cup final with St. Gallen and that is a team at the end of the cycle or is it something different? Are we on the eve of a new project or will there be continuity?
"As I always say soccer is a sport that lives in seasons. There are years when there are more players at the end of their contracts, these are the laws and dynamics of modern sports. This is a season in which so many elements end a run with Lugano. What happened four years ago, however, was something very different then there were several "star" players who had found other paths. Next year there will definitely be a change with a lot of new people, but we will talk about it starting on Monday in full swing with the media as well."
EVENTUALLY LEFT
-Are you more concerned about the replacement of five or six elements or the fact that among those who have a contract in place someone unconsciously pulled the plug because they would like to leave?
"I only think about what happens tomorrow and I can assure you that even those who maybe have market rumors care about doing well, because concrete interests are another thing and being able to play in the Europa League play-off is an additional showcase for everyone. For the challenge with YB there are no excuses or alibis, the head must be there. I have been here for too many years and I have seen many players convinced to leave and who always stayed in the end. The boys are the first to know that we are playing for something important tomorrow. Then if someone really does not want to continue to be part of our project we will see in the coming weeks."
A MATTER OF DETAILS
-I ask a question about Yverdon, which until it was coached by Mangiarratti was safe while last night it was relegated. What do you think about it?
"I have to be able to make a discourse detached from my friendship with Alessandro. What he experienced were six complicated months even at the level of injuries with the two best players, which for me are Baradji and Legowski were not available, as well as Marchesano who arrived in January. He was so sorry not to be able to coach the team that was there in early 2025 and did very well with Tramezzani. It was a live team that went after us to get a result in Bern against YB and I never expected to see Yverdon play for salvation on the last day. But details count and they conceded a penalty in Winterthur at 94′ as we are here talking about a disappointing season when, because of a penalty at 94′, we did not qualify for the Conference League quarterfinals which would have been something incredible. Soccer is made up of these details that sometimes lead you to extremely positive moments and other times throw you into discouragement. We have to have the strength to always find a balance within ourselves."
WINTERTHUR MIRACLE
"I feel sorry for the Vaud club, but if it ended up there it is also because someone else did something special, congratulations must be given to Winterthur who believed until the end. They won themselves a salvation that has something miraculous about it. They, too, at the beginning of the year did not have at their disposal such important elements as Burkhart and Jankevic, who once recovered allowed the team to forfeit points upon points. Very good Ueli Forte, to return to the question: with Mangiarratti the team was safe, and with Tramezzani he did very well in the beginning."
YB WANTS TO SAVE THE SEASON
-Given the stakes for YB and Lugano, who stands to lose the most tomorrow night?
"In my opinion we are at the same level. YB at one point in the season, and I'm thinking of the win in Basel, they certainly didn't expect to have to play for second place with Servette. In fact in Bern they were convinced they could win the championship. Then the missteps in Lucerne and Yverdon completely turned ambitions upside down. But this is a team that, come what may, if it could contest the Champions League playoff could say it had done its job from January onward. Placing third would displease everyone just as we would displease not finishing fourth. So it's hard to make comparisons: the Yellowoners did important things but those two crucial defeats will certainly remain in their minds."
