Serie B Week 39 Round-up

1000km from home the unlikely dream became a reality. With the clock ticking down to half time and thousands of expectant eyes upon him Raffaele Palladino confidently strode up to the ball and with ice running through his veins smashed into the top left corner from 12 yards out.

That goal, the Squali’s 59^th of the season, will go down as perhaps the most historic in the club’s history being as it was the one to secure their promotion to Serie A for the first time in the clubs 93-year history. As for the man who scored it there was perhaps nobody more apt, Palladino had been without a club up until January but since his arrival has proved a revelation. In the end a man who had been written off by many was the man who promoted a club who had been written off by many over the course of the season, a club few expected to go the full distance.

But go the full distance they did, Crotone are Serie A bound. A league that has produced its fair share of miracles in the last few years has presented us with another and by God it may just be the best one yet.

(Read full Feature on Crotone’s remarkable season HERE)

Away from Crotone and their celebrations it was easy to forget that there had been an opposition on the pitch that Friday night. For Modena their fight is in stark contrast to the Calabrian’s, rooted down near the foot of the table they are desperate for points in the last few matches if they are to avoid the drop. In the end the draw at home to Crotone should be looked on as a point gained rather than two dropped. It combined with other results from the weekend leave the Gialloblu 18^th, still in the relegation play-off positions but level on points with a chronically out of form Latina side with three matches remaining.

In truth it was a good thing that Crotone delivered on their fairy tale because things around the rest of the league proved pretty uninspired this weekend, with four of the ten matches played so far ending scoreless. Those matches took place between the aforementioned Latina and Spezia, Perugia v Bari, Trapani v Novara and Virtus Entella v Pescara.

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A subplot of three (Trapani, Bari & Pescara) of those four draws was that it involved teams in the race to finish in third spot. A spot which for most of the season has seemingly brought out an allergic reaction in anyone who holds it for more than a week or two. For now, though it remains in the hands of the Sicilians (Trapani), as already said though with three matches still remaining it really is anyone’s guess who will be sitting there come the end of match day 42.

Changing track now to a match that actually had some goals in it, Cagliari v Livorno. The clash at the Sant’Elia saw second from top go up against second from bottom. For the Rossoblu they knew a win here and other results to go their way (Which they did) and they would be promoted back to Serie A. In the however an Amaranto side frantically trying to avoid the drop into Lega Pro would somewhat spoil the party by coming away with a point.

It was the hosts who opened the scoring on 25 minutes, Niccolo Giannetti managing to control what was a shot from outside the area then turning and putting past Carlo Pinsoglio from around the penalty spot. Not long into the second half though Cagliari would be hit by a blow when Gianni Munari was given a straight red for what was deemed a dangerous tackle.

Initially however it did not seem to overly effect the Rossoblu as seven minutes later on 65 minutes Joao Pedro made it 2-0 from the penalty spot. Promotion now looked to be very much on the cards, but three minutes later Daniele Vantaggiato would get one back for Livorno, converting the rebound after he had missed a penalty of his own. Still even with that Cagliari had the goal advantage, well not for long as only three minutes later Livorno got the leveller. Marco Biagianti getting in behind his man to head home at the back post.

Cagliari are still Serie A bound despite this delay, Livorno well their still Lega Pro bound despite a good away point.

At the Stadio Del Duca, Ascoli knew that a win against Salernitana would virtually guarantee them Serie B football next season. And they started with the notion of that very much in mind racing in a two goal lead inside 20 minutes. As ever it was that man Daniele Cacia doing the damage for Ascoli, his first on 13 minutes showing all his class. Flicking the ball one way around the last defender he went the other before gathering it back and heading for goal where he coolly slotted into the bottom left corner.

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His second was not as aesthetically pleasing but easily as coolly taken as he took possession of a cut back just beyond the penalty spot before stroking home. The Granata, another club fighting for their life down the bottom eventually showed some sort of fight when they got back into the match on 33 minutes, Christopher Oikonomidis showing excellent technique to score on the half volley from outside the area after a free kick from the right was not sufficiently cleared.

2-1 would be the way it stayed until deep into stoppage time at the end of the match, 92 minutes to be exact. It was then that young Croatian Ricardo Bagadur would head home a free kick from the left at the near post to give the Granata a potentially massive point. As for Ascoli they should be safe anyway but must remain on their guard for the last few matches.

One club who will no longer have to be on their guard is Como, the Lariani eventually succumbed to the inevitability of relegation on Sunday evening, losing 1-2 at home to Ternana. It has been coming a long way down the tracks but it remains painful nonetheless for the loyal fans. After only one year Como make an immediate return to Lega Pro.

The other two matches played so far this weekend saw away wins for Vicenza and Avellino over Brescia and Virtus Lanciano respectively. Both results go a long way to easing either sides relegation worries.

The final match of week 39 takes place tonight and sees Cesena host Pro Vercelli.

View Current Table HERE.

Week 39 Results:

Modena 1-1 Crotone, Cagliari 2-2 Livorno, Ascoli 2-2 Salernitana, Brescia 0-1 Vicenza, Latina 0-0 Spezia, Trapani 0-0 Novara, Perugia 0-0 Bari, Virtus Entella 0-0 Pescara, Virtus Lanciano 1-2 Avellino, Como 1-2 Ternana, Cesena (Mon) Pro Vercelli.

 

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Napoli Eye Carpi Midfielder

I Partenopei  have their sights set on a Carpi midfielder to reinforce their squad in the middle of the park for next season.

As per Tuttomercatoweb, Napoli have identified Carpi central midfielder Raffaele Bianco as a possible alternative option to help boost their midfield and provide depth for Sarri’s squad.

The 28 year old Aversa native and former Juventus youth product has appeared in 24 games for Carpi this season, notching a goal and collecting two assists.

 

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Have Milan Reached An Agreement To Sign Nolito?

AC Milan are hoping to improve their attacking depth next season by securing the signature of one of Spain’s most consistent wingers.

According to Alfredo Pedulla, Spanish publication Mundo Sportivo are reporting that AC Milan have come to an agreement with Celta Vigo winger Nolito for a move to the San Siro next season.

If an agreement has been reached with the player, Milan will still need to negotiate a transfer with Celta. Nolito‘s released clause is set at €15 million.

The 29-year old has hit double digits in goals for the third season in a row. He currently has 11 goals and 7 assists in 27 La Liga appearances this season.

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Gennaro Gattuso: ”Italian Football Is Distorted”

Gennaro Gattuso believes that Italian Football is forgetting what it has done over the last few decades and that there are less talented players in the game today.

In a recent interview with La Gazzetta dello Sport, Pisa manager and former AC Milan midfielder Gennaro Gattuso gave his opinion on the current state of Italian football and how he feels it has lost a bit of its culture and identity:

Barcelona and Guardiola have created monsters in the clubs and among coaches. Ultimately, it is a bit distorted. We’ve resorted to copying the others. We are losing a part of our defensive culture, marking and goalkeeping skills. We need to change, it is only right but why not hold on to what we have been good at for many years?

We have four stars on our chest. Today, there are many coaches coming out of the Coverciano who are doing great things, so it is not like what we have been doing for the last 50 years has been a waste. What about the type of football that Mourinho and Simeone play?

Gattuso further discussed the difference between coach and player, and his view on why there is a lack of talent in Italian football:

To do this type of job, it is not enough just being a great player. You have to understand who you are dealing with, express yourself in the right way and be consistent. It is much easier being a player than a coach.

Today, our younger players are playing and training ten hours a week, less than in Holland, while at one time we played ten hours a day. Maybe that is why there are not talented players. Today, we have phenomenons at the technological level with their mobile phones and Playstation and less phenomenons in football.

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Inter Player Ratings VS Lazio

Inter fell 2-0 to lowly Lazio and were mathematically eliminated from Champions League qualification after the loss.

Handanovic (4.5): Got put on his back by Klose in the 6th minute, getting chipped in the process. Could do nothing about Candreva’s upper 90 penalty in the 85th minute.

 

D’Ambrosio (5): Got down the wings early trying to create chances for the forward players but to no avail. Was quiet, but when challenged, did his job diligently.

 

Miranda (5): Could not get to closing down Klose in the 7th minute but otherwise had a decent game. Blocked a shot in the 79th minute that was sure to get past Handanovic.

 

Murillo (3.5): Pushed up to try and take the ball away from Klose only to leave a major hole in the defense that was then exposed for the 1-0. Red carded in the 83rd and gave up a penalty in the process by fouling Keita in the box, which Candreva then converted for the 2-0.

 

Nagatomo (5.5): Pushed forward often, constantly in battle with Candreva down the left side of the pitch. Subbed off in the 79th for Palacio in hopes Inter could pull a goal back.

 

Medel (4): Awfully quiet first half for the Chilean. Did not cover Murillo when the Colombian went forward to try and stop Klose from venturing any further which then led to Lazio’s early goal. Was put under pressure by the Lazio midfield constantly. Often finding himself passing backward. Wandered around the midfield like he didn’t know what he was doing. Subbed off for Biabiany in the 55th minute.

 

Kondogbia (6): Was a decent outlet in the midfield. Held on to the ball during many challenges and provided a wonderfully weighted lobbed pass to Jovetic that would’ve been a beautiful assist had Marchetti been beaten by the Montenegrin.

 

Brozovic (5): Very mobile in the center of Inter’s midfield but could not seem to get any attack or decent string of passes going.

 

Jovetic (4.5): Passes went astray, shots hit the keeper in the chest- was not dangerous at all. The Montenegrin was subbed off in the 72nd for Eder.

 

Perisic (5.5): Active night for the Croatian even though nothing went his or his side’s way. Always pressed, always found a way forward into dangerous positions down his wing.

 

Icardi (4.5): Had a nice cross in the 74th minute and a flicked header to the far post that Jovetic couldn’t extend his leg far out enough to finish a few minutes earlier. Other than that, this was another game where the young captain went ghost. In hindsight, he should’ve been supported more than what was provided, but it does not change his sluggish movement off the ball. Spent more time looking at the skies with his hands together in prayer than getting into a better position for a second time cross.

 

Substitutes:

 

Biabiany (4): Came on in the 55th minute. Not impactful whatsoever.

 

Eder (4.5): Came on for Jovetic once it seemed the Inter front line had seemingly already conceded the defeat in the 72nd as did he.
Palacio (6): Inter’s liveliest substitution since coming on in the 79th even though his comrades had already given up. His teammates could learn a thing or two.

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Frosinone will be thinking about what could have been against Milan

The draw does little for both sides as both Cristian Brocchi and Roberto Stellone will praise and criticise elements of their side’s play as Milan look to Europe and Frosinone try to avoid the drop

For both sides, three points was required but neither was able to secure them in an entertaining 3-3 draw at the San Siro. Frosinone will be frustrated as they were unable to get all three points after conceding a penalty late on, and that means that the Canarini are now four points behind 18^th-placed Palermo and 17^th-placed Carpi with two games to go. Milan, however, were leapfrogged by Sassuolo as they beat Hellas Verona 1-0 to jump up to 6^th, the final Europa League position should Juventus win the Coppa Italia.

Milan were without arguably their best player so far this season in Giacomo Bonaventura as he missed out with a hamstring injury. Instead, Keisuke Honda came in to play the trequartista role. Alex returned to the defence after missing the loss at Verona as Milan looked very sloppy at the back. José Mauri retained his spot in the line-up as Cristian Brocchi continued a 4-3-1-2 system. For Frosinone, they made five changes from the side that lost 2-0 against Palermo. In the back five, Adriano Russo was the only survivor as Inter Milan loanee Francesco Bardi came in to make his debut due to Nicola Leali being out with flu, while Matteo Ciofani, Arlind Ajeti and Roberto Crivello also came into the defence for Aleandro Rosi, Leonardo Blanchard and Daniel Pavlović. In midfield, Oliver Kragl dropped back and Federico Dionisi returned up top.

The first half got off to an electric start. Just after one minute, Luca Paganini gave the Canarini the lead with an audacious shot from just outside the area. Juraj Kucka lost the ball and then Frosinone shifted the ball from the left to the centre where Paganini fired through Mattia De Sciglio’s legs and past Gianluigi Donnarumma. Milan then dominated the ball and Carlos Bacca had two good opportunities to score, but was thwarted by some resolute defending by first Paolo Sammarco and second Matteo Ciofani. Francesco Bardi, making his debut in goal, also made a series of saves to further frustrate the Rossoneri. Then, one minute before half-time, Frosinone doubled their lead against the run of play. They were awarded a free-kick forty yards out and Oliver Kragl stepped up. Rather than put in a cross, he unleashed a rocket that moved and dipped into the bottom corner of Donnarumma’s goal to leave Cristian Brocchi shocked. Unbelievably, that was Kragl’s first goal of the season.

AC Milan’s forward from Italy Mario Balotelli and Frosinone’s goalkeeper from Italy francesco Bardi react at the end of the Italian Serie A football match AC Milan vs Frosinone at “San Siro” Stadium in Milan on May 1, 2016. / AFP / GIUSEPPE CACACE

The second half began just as frantically as the first. Ninety seconds after the start of the half, Milan were awarded a penalty. Mattia De Sciglio tried a shot from outside the box that hit Antonio Russo’s hand. Despite no real appeal from the Milan players, the referee gave it. Mario Balotelli stepped up and, after a stutter in his run-up, his penalty was saved by Bardi. Two minutes later, Milan got a goal back after a mistake by the Frosinone goalkeeper. Keisuke Honda played an excellent ball to Ignazio Abate who then fired a cross into the near post area, but it hit the post, came off of Bardi and fell to Carlos Bacca to tap in from a yard out to score his 16^th goal of the season.

Four minutes later, Frosinone re-established their two goal lead as Federico Dionisi got his ninth goal of the season. Alex failed to clear a simple ball and Dionisi, who had to option to square the ball to Paganini, had the confidence to go across Donnarumma and make it 3-1. In the 73^rd minute Luca Antonelli came on for Abate, and a minute later he made it 3-2. After Alex headed a corner back into the six-yard box, Antonelli, with his first contribution, chested the ball and fired an unbelievable overhead kick past Bardi. With 13 minutes to go, Cristian Brocchi went all-out attack as, after already bringing on Luiz Adriano for Keisuke Honda, he brought on Jérémy Menez for José Mauri as Milan switched to a 4-2-4. Then, in the last few seconds of the 90 minutes, Milan were awarded a second penalty in the half after Vasyl Pryima, a second half substitute, handballed Balotelli’s goal-bound shot. After missing the first penalty, Balotelli stepped aside and led Menez take it, and he coolly put it in the bottom corner to make the game level for the first time since the first minute of the game. Milan could have won it with the last kick of the game as Balotelli ran at Russo and unleashed a shot that cannoned back out off of the crossbar, but ultimately that would have been very harsh on the Canarini.

Milan going behind so early, especially in a half-empty San Siro, appeared to really damage the Rossoneri’s confidence. It took a while for Brocchi’s men to get back into the game, but once they did they were dominating the ball and creating a few chances of their own. When the Kragl goal came however, it felt like that would be the killer blow. After half-time Milan came out with a much higher intensity in which they won a penalty and scored a goal. Those lapses in concentration remained, however, as Alex switched off for a second and Dionisi made it 3-1 to Frosinone. Brocchi should be praised, though, for his changes as Milan switched from a 4-3-1-2 system to a 4-2-4 formation for the final stages of the game, and that ultimately led to the equaliser and potential winner. Roberto Stellone, on the other hand, would have taken a point before kick-off but, after being 3-1 ahead in the 54^th minute, would have surely thought that his players could see the game out. Although it wasn’t to be, he can still be proud of his players; he will just be hoping that Menez’s late goal will not be too demoralising for his players’ confidence.

Next up for Frosinone in their fight against the drop is the visit of Sassuolo to the Stadio Matusa. The Canarini are now four points below Palermo and Carpi and it looks like a long shot that they will stay up now, but Stellone will be making sure his players go out and put 100% effort in. Milan face a tricky trip to Bologna as they will now hope that their opponent’s from this weekend will do them a favour and take points off of the Neroverdi, the side that just leapfrogged the Rossoneri into 6^th. With one win, two draws and a loss from Brocchi’s opening four games, a win at Bologna is needed if Milan are to not face a third successive year without European football.

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Crotone Defender Catching Attention Of Serie A Clubs

Crotone’s 23-year old center-back is turning heads and getting Serie A clubs talking after a number of fine performances this season.

When a club has a tremendous season that defies expectations, including finishing at or near the top of the table, eyes are suddenly on the players who have performed exceptionally well throughout the season. For Crotone, this is no exception. According to Alfredo Pedulla, 23-year old center-back Gian Marco Ferrari has been raising eyebrows with his string of solid performances at the back, helping Crotone achieve the lowest Goals Against tally in Serie B this season (32 goals). Pedulla reported that Juventus sent representatives to Modena on Friday to scout Ferrari as Crotone clinched promotion to Serie A following their 1-1 draw.

However, the Bianconeri are not the only club who have been monitoring the young Italian. Genoa are reportedly to be highly interested in his services also and should Ivan Juric be tempted to depart Calabria for a new adventure in Liguria on the Grifone bench, Ferrari could follow his current manager.

The 23 year-old has made 39 appearances this season, marshaling Crotone’s backline while collecting a goal and two assist in the process. He joined the Calabrian club on a free transfer from Parma last summer and signed a contract expiring at the end of June in 2018.

 

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