FCS coach Castori: “We are not Real Madrid!”

FC Südtirol suffered a bitter setback in Saturday's bottom-of-the-table clash against Mantova. Suddenly, the relegation zone is very close again. However, the FC Südtirol coach isn't having any of these alarm bells ringing.

March 30, 2025

From Mantua

From:
Alexander Foppa

FC Südtirol has found itself in the grip of the relegation zone again this weekend. After winning five points in a row, Fabian Tait and his team lost at the struggling crisis club Mantova with 0:2. Was it just a slip-up or is there cause for concern?

The coach of FC Südtirol, the experienced Fabrizio Castori, had a ready answer on Saturday in the small, cramped press room of the "Stadio Danilo Martelli" in Mantua: "This defeat hurts because it was a direct duel. But we can't make a drama out of it now." Castori became enraged as he added the following sentences: "We are not Real Madrid! When I arrived, we were in last place. Then we had a good run, and now this brakeman comes along."

Fabrizio Castori (l.) with Mantova coach Davide Possanzini. The latter saved his job with the home win. © FCS/Bordoni

FC Südtirol was unrecognizable at times against Mantova, who had previously been winless in eight matches. They went into the break trailing 0-2, "but things improved significantly after that. We hit the crossbar and had other good chances," Castori analyzed before the assembled media. However, he also admitted: "I want to make it clear: We played poorly. We lacked control, we couldn't get going."

“We must not make a drama now” Fabrizio Beavers

The FCS coach assessed the meager haul of one point from two matches against direct rivals in the table as follows: "We were on a good run, and now we've added the draw against Carrarese and this defeat. But despite all that, the goal remains the same. We want to secure our place in this difficult, incredibly evenly matched league."

Castori then left the stadium's catacombs and headed straight to the team bus. Arriving back at the FCS Center, his attention will likely already be on the next opponent: seventh-placed Cesena visits Bolzano next Saturday (15 p.m.). Then it will become clear whether this was truly just a slip-up or whether there is cause for concern.

	SP	G	U	V	TV	P
1. Sassuolo	31	22	6	3	67:28	72
2. Step on	31	19	6	6	53:28	63
3. Specia	31	14	13	4	45:23	55
4. Cremonese	31	13	10	8	50:35	49
5. Catanzaro	31	10	16	5	41:33	46
6. Juventus Stabia	31	12	10	9	37:36	46
7. Palermo	31	11	9	11	38:32	42
8. Cesena	31	11	9	11	40:39	42
9. Baric	31	8	16	7	33:30	40
10. Modena	31	8	14	9	38:37	38
11. Carrarese	31	9	9	13	32:41	36
12. Frosinone	31	8	12	11	30:41	36
13. Brescia	31	7	13	11	34:40	34
14. FC South Tyrol	31	9	7	15	39:49	34
15. Cittadella	31	9	7	15	25:48	34
16. Mantova	31	7	12	12	36:46	33
17. Sampdoria	31	6	14	11	34:44	32
18. Reggiana	31	7	11	13	31:41	32
19. Salernitana	31	7	9	15	28:41	30
20. Cosenza	31	6	11	14	25:44	25