Cagliari, Gagliardini: "Ho grande ambizione, voglio mantenere un livello alto"

Cagliari has welcomed three new reinforcements: Giuseppe Aurelio, Riccardo Ciervo, and Roberto Gagliardini. While some are starting from the bench, their first words in the rossoblù colors express a strong desire to contribute. Roberto Gagliardini, reflecting on recent challenging years, spoke about his renewed ambition:

"I have a great passion for my work, for a sport I love and have always played," Gagliardini stated. "I have great ambition, and I try to put as much pressure on myself as possible to improve. This year will be important for me: I want to maintain a high level. Like many other teams, we will have to fight for survival, an objective to be achieved as soon as possible. I have found a united, compact group; we can do really well and achieve satisfaction, but we must never forget our path and our objective." He also dedicated a moment to teammate Mattia Felici, who suffered a serious injury: "On behalf of everyone, the entire team, we want to begin this conference with a thought for Mattia Felici. As you know, the injury is unfortunately serious. Mattia will be greatly missed: not just as a player, but also as a person. He is a wonderful guy, always with a smile. His absence will be significant for us."

Giuseppe Aurelio, coming off a solid season in Serie B with Spezia, is making his Serie A debut at 26. "When I received Cagliari's call, I was very excited," Aurelio shared. "I am proud to be here. I arrived at Cagliari at the right moment in my career, and I feel ready for this adventure. I believe I did well last season, although unfortunately, the league didn't end as we hoped as a team. For me, this is an important opportunity, and I'm holding onto it tightly, training to the best of my ability and giving everything for my teammates. I remember my first years in Serie C, I saw Serie A as an 'Everest.' I have climbed this mountain, and finally, I have reached it; I've made it."

Riccardo Ciervo joins from Sassuolo, part of a deal that sent Sebastiano Esposito to Emilia. "I'm coming off a great season, both in terms of performances and minutes played, so arriving at Cagliari now is a source of pride for me; I couldn't have asked for anything better," Ciervo said. Regarding his role: "I've always played more in the offensive phase, but today it's important to be a complete player: to be able to play both phases, adapt to the team's needs during the game, and be ready when called upon. There's a lot of competition in my role, which gives me even more motivation to do well. Ultimately, it will be up to the coach to make his evaluations and choices. We just need to be ready."