Coach Pierpaolo Bisoli (l.) tries to take pressure off his charges around goalkeeper Jack Poluzzi (r.). © fcs

To Modena with a clear mission: win!

FC Südtirol will be visiting Modena on Friday evening (from 20.30 p.m. on the SportNews ticker). It is the last game of the regular season and also the first “final” in the promotion race.

19 May 2023

From: fop

For table 13th. From Modena it's all about nothing, FC Südtirol already has its playoff ticket in its pocket - and yet this duel is enormously important, especially for the guests. If the FCS wins the last championship game, it will be directly in the playoff semifinals. This starts on May 30th. However, if the fourth-placed team from South Tyrol loses points and their direct pursuers Parma and Cagliari, who are only one point behind, manage to win, then the dream of a sensational promotion to Serie A would become a bit more distant. Then the South Tyroleans would have to be in the quarter-finals in just one week.

So the direction is set: get three points in Modena so that you don't even have to look at the competition. At the same time, Cagliari is playing in Cosenza, which is still in a relegation battle, while Parma is hosting playoff candidate Venezia. “We know what is at stake,” assured FCS coach Pierpaolo Bisoli on Friday. At the same time, he tries to take some of the pressure off his players: “I feel the pressure as a coach. That fits too. There are several everyday situations in which you are under pressure, I can feel pressure on the pitch just as much as when I'm driving a car. You have to deal with that. Of course you try to take the burden off the players. But they are all professionals who know how to behave in such situations. My boys are in a good mood and are looking forward to the end of the season.”

Despite the flood: the game should take place

Bisoli asked his protégés for another training session early on Thursday afternoon before the FCS team set off south at around 16 p.m. The white and reds will spend the night near Carpi, complete another light training session on Friday morning and then travel to the Stadio Alberto Braglia in Modena. In the city of 190.000 inhabitants in Emilia-Romagna, games should be played regularly despite the devastating floods in the region and despite the rain forecast for Friday. Modena is not in a risk area, so canceling the game is not currently up for debate.

Filippo De Col (l.) beckons a start. © fcs

FC Südtirol travels to Modena as a unit, although Bisoli has to improvise at least in one position on Friday evening. The injured Alessandro Celli is missing on the left side of the defense. Simone Davi was actually planned to replace him, but the Leifer native has been slowed down by a feverish cold over the past few days. Pippo De Col should therefore play at left back. Andrea Schiavone is also missing.

There will be a reunion for the FCS in Modena with Attilio Tesser, who did successful work in Bolzano for two years at the beginning of his coaching career from 2001 to 2003. He led Modena into Serie B last year, but the coach from Montebelluna and Canarini will part ways at the end of the season. It will be seen on Friday from 20.30 p.m. whether Tesser will give the fans a farewell present with a win and thereby trip up FC Südtirol in the promotion race.

The last match day at a glance:

Friday, 20.30:XNUMX p.m
Modena – FC South Tyrol
Cittadella – Como
Cosenza – Cagliari
Genoa – Bari
Palermo - Brescia
Parma – Venice
Perugia – Benevento
Pisa – Spal
Reggina - Ascoli
Ternana-Frosinone

The table: