Nicola on Empoli DNA and ‘extraordinary’ Zurkowski

Davide Nicola discusses the ‘Empoli DNA’ they need to escape relegation and an ‘extraordinary’ hat-trick hero Szymon Zurkowski after beating Monza on his debut.

This was the ideal debut on the Stadio Castellani bench, having replaced Aurelio Andreazzoli this week with the club in the bottom two.

Zurkowski was a January reinforcement on loan from Spezia and has had an extraordinary impact, scoring on his debut before bagging a hat-trick today to beat Monza 3-0.

“We confirmed what we had said to each other all week, that we had to keep the right attitude, and I saw that today,” Nicola told DAZN.

“It was not an easy game against a strong Monza side. I am glad with the performance and it’s only right the spotlight is all on the players.”

There was little doubt who would be named Man of the Match, as Zurkowski is now Empoli’s top Serie A scorer this season with four goals, despite having featured in only two games.

“I generally believe an individual can only do this well if the team supports him. Having said that, Zurkowski really did have an extraordinary performance,” continued the coach.

“We analysed how to make the best of the characteristics of our players. Everything can be improved, but seeing the ability to remain united and respect some of the tactical requests I made proves that there is nothing wrong with the mentality of these players.

“We worked on a different way of building moves up and being more tactically fluid depending on the opposition. You can’t be perfect after five days, but the team is adapting rapidly.”

Empoli had been without a single Serie A victory since the shock away result at Napoli in November, and their last home win was even further back in September against Salernitana.

Nicola has shown himself to be a specialist in taking over mid-season and rescuing clubs from seemingly impossible situations, achieving it with Crotone, Salernitana and Genoa.

His first change in Tuscany was to adopt a 3-5-2 formation, giving new signing Alberto Cerri his debut in the starting XI.

“The return to Serie A is exciting for me and I immediately felt at ease with Empoli. There is a humility here and everyone proved they were ready to work hard, including Cerri, who only got here two days ago. This is the DNA of Empoli.”