Stefan Ristovski gave a short interview for Bari’s web site in which he shared his thoughts about the team’s preparations and expectations for this upcoming season.
The 20-year-old right wingback arrived at Bari last month where he is on loan from Parma. Ristovski was recovering from a virus earlier this summer that he caught while playing for the senior national team in the friendly against Portugal. That forced him to miss an U21 qualifier against Denmark in early June.
Stefan opened by saying, “The first 15 days of training were a bit difficult for me because I had an intervention just before I joined Bari that slowed me down some. I even missed a few days but there is time until the start of the championship. We are now training two times a day and our group, the defenders, are taking part in separate sessions. Since I came here, I have learned many new things but that is the norm when you move to a new team. We are a bit tired but I expect the team to be in form for the start of the championship.”
Furthermore, Ristovski expressed satisfaction at how he has been welcomed at the club and singled experienced Brazilian teammate Claiton Machado dos Santos as someone who has really helped him, “I feel secure when dos Santos is next to me as he is the leader of the defense, where we function as a family and react together. For me Bari is a great team who should always play in Serie A. We are a young team but with maximum effort this season, I expect solid play. However, if you ask me, we could use another 2-3 older and veteran savvy players to provide added leadership and serve as role models. Regardless, I expect the team to make a strong start and thus leading to more and more fans at the stadium.” – Ristovski concluded.
Bari starts the Serie B campaign later this month at home against Cittadella, but the club will have to make up some ground on its competitors since FIGC deducted them 5 points for their involvement in the Calcio scommesse, the match fixing scandal plaguing Italian football.
The whole interview in Italian: