On the shoulders of Pietro Iemmello. Catanzaro clings to the captain and his goals. His ability to make an impact when the moment is delicate. The Giallorossi don’t have the water in their throats like a month ago, but Empoli’s setback before the break put a brake on their run, leaving them mid-table, close to the playoff zone, but not far from the relegation zone. It’s the classic wild bunch of B, this time denser than usual: nine teams in four points from Reggiana eighth and in the promotion play-offs, up to Sudtirol twelfth and, for now, with two feet in the play-outs. Aquilani’s team is in the medium-high part of the group, enough to know that we need to get out of it as soon as possible so as not to get stuck.
When it comes to cheering yourself up, Iemmello almost always takes care of it. It’s true that up to now Alphadjo Cisse has mostly taken the spotlight, scoring five goals and performing over the top, at least for a “kid” who has recently turned 19 and is in his first real season in an adult team. But the Verona striker is expected in the city only this evening after yesterday’s Italy Under 21 match in Montenegro (a quarter of an hour in the final for him), so up front the hopes of a revival against Pescara pass in particular to the flashes of the number 9.
Pietro scored three goals in 12 games, an average haul with his first round of two years ago, which ended with four goals out of the 17 scored at the end of the season. Last year he was slightly more incisive in the first part (nine goals), but Iemmello usually works harder in the second phase of a tournament, even in Serie C: when the games are tough, those who, like the Catanzaro centre-forward, manage the responsibilities without problems are exalted.
Among other things, the naivety committed in Empoli, with that arm costing a penalty and defeat which then sparked some ungenerous controversy on social media (by people with short memories) will not have been liked above all by those directly involved. We can swear: he will try to make up for it in his own way, with a star performance enriched by yet another career goal.
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