A team that fails to make a breakthrough after seven days of the championship and arrives at the second break for the national teams with obvious problems and widespread discontent among the fans. It is the Catanzaro of this season, practically the same as the previous one. It is clear that there is no shortage of differences, starting from the number of matches played (now there are one less), but the substance is the same. And the hope – of the club and of the whole environment – that the break will help find the most right synthesis to get out of trouble is also identical. Today like a year ago.
The numbers, meanwhile, as usual, don’t lie: those obtained by Aquilani are fresh, six points in seven days thanks to the six draws in a row which are a historic record for Catanzaro at the beginning of the season, plus the defeat that finally raised the handbrake, that of Monza last Saturday. In this month and a half of the tournament the Roman coach has searched for a collective identity without yet finding it, at least not in an integral way. It wasn’t easy, given that the group has been half renewed and he himself is a new entry. In short, we knew he needed time, even if we expected something more, especially in terms of results, because the staff seems more complete.
Catanzaro hadn’t had such a long initial winless streak in Serie B since 1962-63: then they broke the spell in the ninth round against Cosenza, now they are almost forced to do so a day early, against Padova, on Sunday 19 October.
It’s just a coincidence, but just a year ago – on 18 October – the Giallorossi of Caserta restarted after the second break from the trip to Bari: the haul up to that point was eight points in eight rounds (the championship had started a week earlier), equally unsatisfactory beyond the only success against Carrarese, obtained by a team that plays very badly in certain matches and evidently has no identity. At the “San Nicola” it ends 1-1 and Catanzaro regains victory only nine days later (against Sudtirol), but the one in Puglia, in terms of spirit, play and tactical structure, is the desired turning point, as all the protagonists will say later.
The full article is available in the print and digital editions
