Lecce president Saverio Sticchi Damiani believes it is too soon to speak out regarding the championship table as his side prepares to take on Juventus in a mouthwatering encounter at the Allianz Stadium. While the Bianconeri tasted their first defeat of the season in a 4-2 loss to Sassuolo, Lecce are one of the two unbeaten teams so far in the top flight, alongside league leaders Inter.
In an exclusive on Radio Rai (via Calciomercato), Damiani previewed the trip to Turin, which he says is an ‘unequal’ clash.
“I will go to Turin, whenever I can I always try to stay close to the team. The ranking is a simple curiosity; we are only at the beginning of the championship and for us going to such a prestigious stadium to show off against an important team is an opportunity that I hope the boys know how to grasp. Then on paper the challenge is unequal.”
Lecce have undergone a drastic change over the past few years, jumping from Serie C to Serie A in a matter of years, although Sticchi Damiani believes the club has been ‘robbed’ of its talents due to its lowly time in the third-tier.
“Our club was robbed of its talents in the years when Lecce was in Serie C. I have been president since 2017. The club had been in Lega Pro for six consecutive years, and I’m sorry to say it but many young people were taken away. It happens, and that’s not nice either. Just as we talk about foreigners, we should also talk about the fact that 13–14-year-old children and their families are convinced by various more famous clubs to leave at such a young age. For this reason, we made up for this gap by going to foreign markets that we can afford. Now that our charm has grown and perhaps in the future, we will have the strength to retain local talents here, who we hope will never be taken away from us again.”
Lecce extended their unbeaten streak in the league to five games on Saturday, recording a 1-0 win at home against ten-man Genoa. Juventus will be Lecce’s second big test of the season so far after they excelled 2-1 against Lazio on the opening matchday.
 |
Follow us on Google News for more updates on Serie A and Italian football |