Torino coach Giampiero Ventura believes his side deserve more respect from the referees as they prepare for the upcoming Serie A season.
Ventura spoke at a bar where it is traditional for the coach to have a drink with Toro fans at the end of pre-season and the president of the Toro Club Mondovi, Claudia Forzano, also gifted defender Emiliano Moretti with a truffle for embodying the values of the club.
“For what he represents on and off the pitch, a player like [Emiliano] Moretti is a symbol of the values that we love in the dressing room,” said Forzano as the player was given a black truffle as a gift according to TorinoGranata.It.
“Such values are inspired by those who guide the players, there are only good students when there is a good teacher.”
The president then joked that Ventura would be back in a few times to receive a white truffle in a reference to the colours of Juventus and last year’s broken promise to win a derby over the Bianconeri.
“The apertivo in the bar at the end of pre-season is a traditional event, one that we repeat every year and hope to do so again next season, but rest assured, this year we will not win the derby!” joked Ventura.
A fan responded by suggesting Torino’s struggles in the Derby della Mole are the fault of the referees.
“This is an accurate reflection, I don’t want to be argumentative but it is true that something…. something not right happened,” was Ventura’s response.
The 66-year-old coach joked that is focus is not solely on beating Toro’s local rivals and said that the Granata deserve respect for their own merits.
“Winning the derby is not our only priority, if we won it then I would have achieved everything and the club would have to find a new coach.”
“The reputation of a team is not created by words or promises, but with hard work and results, the better we do and the more respect we’ll gain.
“We can’t just gain respect because we were great in the past but we must show that the Toro of today deserves respect.”
