Zerbo seeks redemption: "Messina, on the field without fear"

"The moment is delicate, the break will help us to better understand what the coach is asking. And we are working precisely on these concepts." Gabriele Zerbo arrived in December by the Strait with high expectations and a lot of trust placed in him and his qualities, but so far the field has not reflected that anticipation.

"My adventure here did not start in the best way – admits Zerbo – The injury disrupted my plans a bit, but now it's in the past and it doesn't matter. Now, starting this week, I feel good and even though it's March – he says with a bitter smile – I am now at 100%. In short, I'm in shape, so let's hope to give what the fans expect and to achieve salvation."

On the field, during training, Feola is relentless. He follows the players step by step, suggests movements, stops the game, and explains, explains, explains... This is why the draw against Castrumfavara has a greater impact. "The ending was particularly chaotic, with a lot of confusion and the referee not helping us, but this should not be an excuse. However, it was an episode that should serve us as experience, and the referee is not an excuse, but he certainly did not help us because it was our foul."

Now we need to think about the next match, after the break. "We need to approach it as we did with Reggina. We must think now about Nissa, a very strong team built to win. However, we are in a phase of the championship where we cannot look at the opponent. Reggina, Real Madrid, or any team can come; we need to step onto the field to win and achieve salvation."

Work on the field, during the week, psychological work from Vincenzo Feola. "The coach – Zerbo recounts – tells us to bring the dedication of the first half of the season onto the field but also to get rid of that fear of winning that is felt during the game."

He often talks about courage in training. A message he tries to convey to a group that, after having canceled the penalty, has somewhat settled. "I arrived in December and noticed that, starting from -14, the guys, after scoring a goal, precisely to eliminate the points, would score a goal and then close up to win the match and risk nothing or very little. This attitude was the fortune of Messina because they managed to eliminate the 14-point penalty, but the second half of the season is always different; it's another league, and we need to change course."