For their first home match, against Valmontone, scheduled for tomorrow at 3 pm at the “Bruno Nespoli” stadium for the second matchday of the Serie D championship, Olbia is calling on their fans to rally.
And he does so with his captain, Daniele Ragatzu. "We need the city: it's a bit of a tough time, but we'll be able to lift Olbia out of their difficulties, because Olbia and Olbia deserve it," sounded the charge from the former Cagliari player, who spoke in the press room today to introduce the match against the Lazio rookie alongside coach Giancarlo Favarin and youth team talent Andrea Marrazzo, who with his first goal in a white jersey – scored on his debut Sunday at Albalonga – became the youngest goalscorer in the history of the Gallura club.
"I feel a responsibility, but there's a reason I'm here. I wanted this responsibility, it doesn't bother me, and it's right that at my age I take it on, letting the young people play and have fun, " adds Ragatzu, in his ninth season in Olbia.
Speaking of youngsters, it's Marrazzo's moment. In every sense. "Sunday was a great feeling: I went from watching this team to playing for them, and scoring on my debut for Olbia is fantastic," explains the young striker, who turns 18 on October 25th. "I stole the title of youngest goalscorer from my friend Luca Belloni, but I think he's also happy with this achievement," Marrazzo adds.
Favarin, who is responsible for analyzing the match, begins by saying, "Valmontone is a team that was already strong last year, when they won the championship, and they've further strengthened, and given their current roster, it seems to me they have ambitions of finishing in the top five," the Olbia coach begins by warning. "We're aware that it will be a difficult year; we started a bit late, and we're trying to assemble a group of players that are right for Olbia, starting, however, with last year's core and players like Ragatzu and Roberto Biancu. What's most lacking in the squad is a striker," Favarin continues.
"We'll gradually find acceptable form. Our opponents seem stronger than us because they're better trained, but we played an excellent match against Albalonga, which they equalized thanks to a great goal, even though, in the end, a draw was a fairer result. We played a spirited game, which we'll have to replicate tomorrow. I'm confident in the team's character, their desire to bring home the result, and the fact that, being our first home game, it's a game we all care about very much," concludes the Pisan coach.
Before the press conference, Olbia announced that their next away match against Palmese has been moved to Saturday (2:00 PM). During the press conference, a group of volunteers, fans who frequent the stands, helped out by cleaning up the stands at the Nespoli stadium. For tomorrow's match, Olbia invites everyone to wear a white jersey to further support the team.