Serie BKT 2026/27 | Head Coach Marco Baroni’s words ahead of #PadovaVerona

Verona - Statements from Gialloblù head coach Marco Baroni on the eve of Padova-Hellas Verona, the Matchday 2 fixture of the Serie BKT 2026/27 season, scheduled for Saturday 29 August at 9 PM at Stadio Euganeo in Padova.

Coach, tomorrow you will play a derby with Verona fans travelling to support the team, so there is an extra reason to try to do well and immediately change the course of the season. "We are always happy when our fans follow us and when, as they did on Sunday, they stay close to us until the 90th minute. We need this and it will certainly be an additional incentive. We have to do well and we cannot make mistakes. Clearly, in the last match, the result penalised us far more than the team's performance deserved, but this is also something we can learn from: we have to grow, improve, and we will do so".

I’d like to ask you about Zappa, who has just arrived from Cagliari: will he travel to Padova? "I still have to get to know him and speak to the player. He has always trained with the team, he played on Sunday, so I will assess his availability".

Have you already reflected on the last match against Ascoli? What does Verona need to completely change and what, instead, should it maintain from that performance? "What I told the team is that we have already set our course, also through that performance. Clearly, we don't like the result, we made mistakes and we have to eliminate them. But I live on enthusiasm. I have great confidence that always accompanies me in everything I do in life, and I am certain that, even though this will be an extremely difficult year, I want to transfer this enthusiasm first and foremost to the team and to the whole environment. We need everyone, our fans and the support they gave us until the 90th minute on Sunday. That is what we need. Then we also accept what happened at the end, because I know that this environment has been through many matches and many weeks of negativity. But the responsibility is ours: mine first and foremost as a coach, but then also the team's. We have to approach this match knowing that it is a derby, but there will be several derbies, and above all knowing what we have to do. I always want us to take one step forward, and tomorrow we have to do it".

Verona are coming off a very difficult season and this negativity also resurfaced during the match against Ascoli, particularly after conceding the equaliser. How important is it, therefore, to remain united to change course, especially ahead of a match against Padova, who are instead enjoying a moment of great enthusiasm? "Padova are a team who are doing well. They had a good season last year and have strengthened this year, so it will be a very difficult match. What I always tell my players is that the level of difficult matches raises our level. We have to go there aware of the difficulties, but also of what we have to do. We must not lose sight of our game. That is what I expect. I knew very well about the difficulties I would initially face, but these difficulties, as I had already told you, have to be compensated for through our attitude, focus and dedication. That is how we can make up for those small shortcomings that are also natural at this stage".

Critics, journalists and fans say that we have seen these players over and over again, that there is nothing more they can give and nothing good left to get out of them. As a coach, what do you say about these players and this group? "I don't see it that way. I want to improve myself and I want to improve them. We absolutely have to do that. I repeat, it is only through convincing performances and results that we can and must change the course we are on. My focus is solely on this".

My impression is that you have built this project also around possible improvements you were expecting from the transfer market. If Verona remain as they are, is this still the best tactical project for this team? "At this moment, I don't even want to touch on the transfer market. I work with the players we have. My focus, and that of my staff, is to get the best out of these players, because it is true that some of them may not be playing in their natural position, but through hard work I would never ask a player to play a role that they cannot perform. That is one of my principles. When people say that 'everyone has to stay in their own house', that is what it means. However, from this point of view, right now it is not so much about the individual as it is about the team. We have to put in a team performance of the highest level, both physically and technically, because these players can do it and they have to do it".

Going back to what we discussed after the match against Ascoli, namely the need to turn the amount of attacking play into goals, are you considering changing some of the attacking players to find different solutions? "More than changing players, I want to give them the energy, confidence and conviction that I have. That is where, in my opinion, the team needs to work. Confidence also comes from performances and results, and this is something we can achieve truly all together. Clearly, at this moment the team has to find this energy, this strength and this determination. In terms of the performance compared to the match against Entella, the team also did some good things, so we have to continue along that path. I absolutely don't want to give up. As I have always said, there are difficult moments in every journey, but difficult moments must never create doubts. And we have no doubts. We will continue along this path: I work on this mentality and try to transfer it to the team".

Dawidowicz arrived and you immediately put him in the starting lineup. How is he doing and how do you assess his integration? "Pawel arrived and I put him straight into the team because, in my opinion, we need him. I consider him a player who has already gone through a process here, knows the environment, knows the team, knows everything. In my opinion, he had a good game. He is certainly not at 100% fitness yet, but with his experience and his qualities, he can absolutely make up for this lack. At the moment, there are teams that are starting out a little stronger, but these things must not concern us. Now we are only thinking about this match, as if there were no tomorrow. I'm not thinking about the next ones, even though I know we have several matches close together. We need these games precisely to put ourselves to the test, raise our level and also assess the work that is being done throughout the week".

And what about Mosquera and the other young players such as Vermesan, De Battisti and Tagne? "Mosquera returned to training with the team two days ago. As for the others, they are very interesting young players whom I would like to help develop and work with us. Tagne, too, who came on as a full-back, is actually a centre-back and a very interesting player who needs to go through a development process, and from this point of view he certainly will".

In the post-match press conference after Ascoli, you spoke about a lack of concentration. How do you train the mentality needed to avoid these moments? "As far as the aftermath of the Ascoli match is concerned, mistakes have to be looked in the eye. We analysed them without shame: you look at them, you face them and you grow. Clearly, we work to make sure certain situations do not happen again, that is for sure".

How is Korac doing? "Korac is a player who has settled in very well, with great dedication and commitment. At the moment I have to make choices, so I have preferred other solutions. He comes from a season in which he played in a back three, but beyond that, the player has been impeccable in all the work he has done since day one. He is one of those players who is always fully focused, so he too will gradually find his space".