Claudio Ranieri had also obtained a draw on his last time as Cagliari coach in Serie A before today, a 1-1 draw against Bari at Sant'Elia on 26 May 1991, one week after the arithmetic salvation won in Bologna at the end of a group amazing comeback. That was the conclusion of a sensational three-year period, which began in C1, while tonight's 0-0 draw in Turin is the beginning of the season's return to the top division.
The performance satisfies the coach: " We needed to be well placed on the field, to make them think as little as possible," he said. «Juric has formed a good team, he plays well but we played a very good game. Moreover, playing with thirty-seven degrees, which was heavy: I was sweating on the bench, let alone the players ». The judgment on the new players was positive: «They are smart guys who want to establish themselves, we have a good mix between experienced players and young players who want to arrive. Oristanio? He can play right wing, left wing, striker or attacking midfielder. He's a very flexible player, he can do good things. He hurt his arm, I think someone fell on it.'
The choice. Surprisingly, Cagliari showed up with a three-man defense instead of the announced 4-4-2. Ranieri explains the change and is happy with how the team applied it: « I have players who can allow me to change my game system during the match. We could have made a 4-4-2 with the wingers sliding, but instead we were always compact and we managed not to let them play the way they wanted. The boys did what we had tried during the week, we tried not to let their three defenders play freely because we didn't want them to receive the ball in the last forty meters, where they are very dangerous».