Catania, in the middle they need heart, muscles, and phosphorus: with Di Tacchio Quaini returns

It is useless to look at the recent past. It would only drain essential mental and physical energy needed to try to enter the playoffs with the best possible placement, and then play everything at the end of the season. The coach of Catania is trying to lift the morale of his players these days, knowing that it will be a steep climb. The team realized, upon returning from the away match in Campania, that first place is now unreachable. Now, from here on out, finding motivation will be really complicated. The Etnean coach knows that moments like these can come. But they must be faced.

For this reason, he is asking the team to focus only on the match on Sunday (2:30 PM) away at Altamura (stadium "Tonino D'Angelo"). Toscano is counting the players, monitoring the injury list, and asking the medical staff for the real conditions of everyone. He has understood that it is no longer the case to squeeze those who are half-baked, to avoid other cases like Casasola, who left in agony from cramps last Monday against Casertana.

Now, the energy of everyone must be managed, in order to have a squad in excellent physical condition for the playoffs. Good surprises ahead of the trip to Bari come from the midfield, the reliable Alessandro Quaini will return from suspension, a player who guarantees balance in the midfield and a lot of running. Perhaps too much.

Quaini has been trying to resolve an old habit that he has been carrying for a while, namely the too many yellow cards. The boy has great temperament; sometimes he gets caught up in the high temperatures of the field and ends up on the referees' notebooks. Eleven yellow cards in 26 seasonal matches between league and cup is not an enviable tally. His great generosity on the field, and the resulting accumulation of yellows, have caused a serious damage to the team, which had to do without him already against Latina and against Casertana. Moreover, the boy had to miss the first four league matches due to the suspension he received last season, and it must be said that when the former Fiorenzuola is missing, it is felt.

In the midfield, it has been evident since the beginning of the season that something is missing; the club has relied on some players who have not made an impact, and that is where Catania struggles the most. In the last match, against Casertana, Toscano fielded Corbari and Di Tacchio from the start, and the experiment did not work out entirely.

Di Tacchio did his part, pushing the cart, then as captain in the post-match he tried to shake up the environment. "Moments of difficulty happen during the season - said the captain - but how you react to those moments is what identifies you. We believe that in the double away trip to Campania we collected less than we deserved. The team is growing, and then in the playoffs we will do our best."

Now that Quaini returns, Toscano could assign the midfield to him and Di Tacchio, a pair of ball recoverers, who, if nothing else, guarantee interception and physicality. At this moment, it is no longer the case to experiment; it is necessary to rely on the tried and tested, earn points at home and away, and manage energy for the extra league sprint.