Zanetti: ‘Verona went above and beyond’ in precious first victory

Paolo Zanetti hailed Verona for going ‘above and beyond’ in their 3-1 win over Atalanta, finally getting their first victory of the season and shrugging off reports he’d be sacked.

The pressure was on Hellas at the Stadio Bentegodi, who were along with Fiorentina the only teams still in Serie A without a single victory this season.

They surged into a 2-0 lead before half-time with Rafik Belghali and Giovane, then a chaotic third was scored on the counter-attack by Antoine Bernede, while Atalanta were protesting for potential handball at the other end.

Gianluca Scamacca converted a late penalty for another Armal Bella-Kotchap handling offence, but Verona held on for that precious first win and climb off last place.

“The performance was above and beyond, and it had to be against an Atalanta side in great shape,” Zanetti told Sky Sport Italia.

“It’s not the first time we have played this well, but this evening we were finally effective in converting our chances too. I feel like the choices I made were repaid by the players.”

Verona had a decimated midfield, as Roberto Gagliardini was suspended, with Domagoj Bradaric, Tomas Suslov, Jean-Daniel Akpa Akpro and Suat Serdar injured.

“It’s a wonderful evening and I am happy for those lads also who hadn’t played as much this season. I know how hard they work and how eager they are to help the team, so at the end we came together,” added Zanetti.

“There’s a very long road ahead of us and this changes nothing.”

Zanetti’s position had remained in the balance and there were reports he could be sacked.

“It has already happened to me 3-4 times before. This is a demanding club, and the fans deserve more than the results we’ve been getting.

“However, they supported us from start to finish and we created a different energy tonight. My objective is helping this team, I am not interested in my own personal situation.

“We spent hours getting to know each other, we understood the attitude that we needed tonight, otherwise we’d get battered again. It was a humble, aggressive performance, we were well prepared physically, tactically and emotionally.”

Giovane scored the second goal tonight and it meant a lot for the Brazilian, who left the field in tears last week after a costly error.

“It was a tough week for him, as he felt responsible, but he’s a marvellous lad and just needs to feel that he is surrounded by family here,” explained Zanetti.

The situation remains perilous for Verona, who have nine points from the opening 14 rounds and are in the bottom two regardless of the other results, but it is a huge morale-boosting result.

However, next weekend there is the head-to-head with Fiorentina, which could be a crossroads in the campaign.