The Monza coach, Ivan Juric, closed the press conference on 12 October with a statement that immediately attracted attention: he decided to no longer criticize the referees, instead inviting the players not to fall into "going to ground" behaviour. Juric said he felt the "difficult first half" comment was overly generous and that he lost confidence in his ability to manage the match.
During the match against Lazio, Monza suffered a huge blow when they lost their goalkeeper to injury. The manager underlined that, despite the lack of a key player, his men showed a strong reaction in the second half, with one goalkeeper making an exceptional intervention. “We failed because we lost our characteristics,” said Juric, highlighting that technically the team failed to maintain the level of tackling and pressure he expected.
Juric also asked players not to complain about referees, explaining that football is a game where referees must be respected. “I don't want to judge the referees anymore because I like this football for how they are refereeing,” he said, urging players to focus on the game rather than refereeing decisions. The coach added that players must learn not to "go to ground", a way of saying not to fall into protesting behavior or complaining.
In the interim period between the first and second half, Juric reported that he did not have much to say to the players, as they were already aware of their shortcomings in the first half. “There was little to say, the boys knew how badly we did in the first half,” he explained, indicating that the motivation was given by the example of play and the determination to improve.
Monza, who are currently in the relegation zone, will have to face the next matches with a team that has shown that it can react positively when morale is high. Juric closed the conference with an invitation to the team to focus on technical and tactical improvement, without being distracted by external factors. The next match will be crucial to understand if Monza will be able to consolidate their position in Serie A and avoid relegation.