Radja Nainggolan's presentation press conference

It was the press room at the "Paolo Mazza" Stadium in Ferrara that hosted the presentation conference of new biancazzurro midfielder Radja Nainggolan.

Doing the honors was SPAL President Joe Tacopina who said, "I am really happy to welcome Radja to our family. It was a negotiation in which everyone acted in the interest of the club, first and foremost Radja and his agent, but also Daniele who worked hard to get to this result and for today it is a real honor to be able to have Radja inside this team."

"Our championship starts on Saturday," the spallino number one reiterated, "and being able to count on a champion like Nainggolan, who is one of the most representative players who have ever played for this club, I am sure will allow us to achieve something really special. In just a few days I immediately understood the influence Radja has with his teammates inside the locker room, with whom he has shared his many important experiences in the Champions League and at the highest levels of international soccer, because he is a natural leader."

The director of the technical area Fabio Lupo also welcomed the new biancazzurro midfielder: "Today is a special day for our club and I would like to take this opportunity to publicly thank Radja for the willingness he showed us from the very first moment and for his willingness to embrace and live this experience in Ferrara. Clearly, the relationship that exists between him and Coach De Rossi was decisive and determinant, and such enthusiasm on his part was not taken for granted given the important history of his sporting career."

Then came the turn of Radja Nainggolan, who officially opened his adventure at SPAL: "About a month ago Daniele started teasing me to join him in Ferrara and give him a hand in this first adventure of his as a coach, and between one joke and another, today I am here. I played with him for five seasons, together we faced many battles and from there a really important friendship was born between us. I then had a conversation with President Tacopina whose words were decisive in convincing me of the goodness of my choice."

"I feel ready," said the new biancazzurro player, "then the coach will decide whether to let me play or not. I think the results should come as soon as possible and I, as I told the president, like to look ahead and then to the playoffs, which today are seven points away. It is undeniable that right now we are close to the playouts, but I am not afraid to look back and I have always been used to playing looking ahead."

"I always try to give the best of myself. I have seen some of SPAL's matches," the spallino number 44 continued, "including the last one against Cagliari in which the team played a good first half, but then seemed a bit intimidated in the second half by the fact that they were playing against one of the most important teams in the league. I think maybe a lot of young guys don't have the experience yet to stay ninety minutes in the game, and I'm here for that as well. A coach, in fact, can yell all he wants but then on the field his voice doesn't always reach everywhere, so you also need players who are able to push the team in the right direction at every stage of the game."

"Here I have found a very close-knit group," Radja Nainggolan said, "made up of many good guys and this is the most important basis to be able to grow, then afterwards I think the team has to become aware of how much potential it still has to express, despite its age. Prati's latest performance, for example, has impressed me and is the main demonstration of what I am saying. Daniele also reiterated this to the whole team in the last technical meeting: in soccer there is no age, and once you are convinced of your means then you have everything to dominate matches without suffering the opponent."