FC Lugano ended the season with a 4-0 win over FC Basel, mathematically securing third place and bidding farewell to Cornaredo with a comprehensive performance. In his post-match comments, Mattia Croci-Torti highlighted above all the team’s attitude, which saw them translate the motivation of a special evening into action on the pitch.
THE PERFORMANCE
The bianconeri coach began by highlighting the team’s collective response in a match where Lugano needed to build on their form and end the season with a significant result: “The team showed great hunger from the first to the last second. They were highly motivated, certainly more so than Basel, but the key was to translate that onto the pitch, and I think that was evident.”
The win allows the bianconeri to finish another season in the upper echelons of the table, having secured European qualification for the fifth consecutive time: “To qualify for Europe five times in a row is historic for a club like Lugano. We wanted to get there at all costs. We also had the goal of breaking the points record and we achieved it: when you break the points record, it means that, all things considered, you’ve done your job.”
A SPECIAL
EVENING The 4-0 victory came against a unique backdrop, marking both the men’s first team’s final match at Cornaredo and a farewell to Mattia Bottani. Croci-Torti identified the start of the evening as one of the most intense moments: ‘Perhaps the most emotional moment was the start. Seeing Bottani so moved, for someone like me who has been part of this for so many years, was certainly a powerful moment.”
From there, the match then went the way Lugano wanted, with a performance the coach considers complete in several respects: “Today we saw a Lugano side truly up to the task, in every respect: tactical, technical and motivational. Let’s take this great performance.”
INDIVIDUAL PERFORMANCES
Commenting on some individual performances, Croci-Torti highlights the teamwork that allows certain players to make a decisive impact. The manager starts with Yanis Cimignani, deployed in a different position: “Today Cimignani played as a central midfielder, a role he had never played before, and he was spectacular in defence. He closed down all passing lanes. He’s the number one team player and today he put in a massive performance.”
The conversation then turns to Ezgjan Alioski, who proved decisive with two assists from corners: “He wanted to show that he stuck with the role I’d given him right to the end, even in difficult moments. I’d told him at the start of the year that, in the end, what matters is how you finish: he finished in a more than respectable manner, with his head held high, delivering quality in the two assists that turned the game around.”
LOOKING AHEAD TO THE NEXT SEASON
The end of the season already has us thinking about the next campaign, with Lugano set to embark on a new chapter and move into the AIL Arena.
The manager is focusing on building the squad and the need to be ready right from the start of next season: “Finishing in the top three or four five times in a row means we’ve achieved stability, and now we can’t afford to lose it. We must ensure that Lugano is a leading contender right from the first match of next season.”
Croci-Torti’s words thus bring to a close an evening of on-pitch action and looking ahead: Lugano bids farewell to Cornaredo with third place, a European qualification and the realisation that they must turn the consistency they have achieved into a new starting point.