The attacker is sure: “Of course we read the newspapers but the team group is focused only on the matches”
A month full of paradoxes. Between a destiny that seemed sealed and the fusion theme, he entered with a straight leg on sports activities. At the beginning of May, the final verdict of Union Feltre seemed to be marked. But football is strange, and how strange it is. Only about twenty days have passed since the victory against Manzanese on 5 May, yet in this short period of time Union Feltre has earned the merit of going to play an important, indeed very important, challenge on Sunday at 16.
IT’S UP TO THE BOLZANO VIRTUS
The salvation of the verdegranata passes from the Internorm Arena in Bolzano, the synthetic playing field home of Virtus. Union penultimate at 34 points, Bolzano at 35 together with Montebelluna and Campodarsego. The photograph of the race that will send one of these four teams to Excellence (together with the already relegated Chions) is well etched in the mind.
In Feltre they want to save themselves, even if the future is unknown. Or rather the merger is looming: a wish for the president Nicola Giusti, the main sponsor Dario Cremonese, some managers and some fans; a half nightmare for many others. In confidence, there are not a few who say they wish to rethink, so as to continue to carry the name of Union Feltre around in the Veneto or Triveneto football. Speeches already addressed, but in all this the applause has been earned up to now by the technical staff and the team from Feltre. From the external turbulence, a further compactness of the group was born, resulting in the two consecutive victories between Caldiero and Cartigliano.
WE READ, BUT …
“We read the newspapers, I think it’s normal”, says Alex Cossalter, a 2000 talent who returned home in January after his experience at the Bologna spring and, only for a few months, at Ravenna in C. He may be one of those who will return in the possible post-merger single team: from Belluno, over the top, good with his feet and returned from Emilia with a different footballing maturity. However, he has the verdegranata colors sewn into his heart and in the meantime he wants to save Union by scoring decisive goals, such as those with Manzanese and Cartigliano. All in the last and paradoxical month lived by Union Feltre.
«It is not bothering me to learn certain news and I think this also applies to my comrades. On the other hand, we players are only interested in reaching the goal of staying in the category. We are convinced that we can do it, and indeed I would add another thing: none of us, for a single moment, resigned themselves to the hypothesis of relegation. Fusion or not, finding us in Excellence would be an indelible stain to carry around for a long time ».
Three days to go, nine points up for grabs and only one opponent to get behind among those three who are a step ahead. The Union of the last month has the right and duty to believe in it, because after difficult months it has become a real team: compact, cohesive, finally accompanied on the pitch by enthusiasm, no longer the ballast of arrogance which then turned into fear. The coach Zanuttig has struck the right chords, despite everything has happened: a Covid case in mid-April, the merger, suspensions and injuries one after the other, etc. etc. Yet it gave Union the knowledge that it could do it. Destiny is in hand: three victories and salvation is mathematical. In the meantime, the full loot must arrive in Bolzano.
“We are preparing well, going at 200 per hour,” explains Cossalter. “We have built an opportunity not to be missed.”
The paradoxical month of the Union must be concluded in the best way.