With which formation will Catanzaro start the championship? With the three-man defense tested for only one friendly in retreat or with the four-man back line used for most of the time and, above all, in the first official match of the season? The indication that came from the thirty-second finals of the Coppa Italia goes in the latter direction. Result and individual errors aside, the path is the one taken in Empoli, with four men in line in front of Pigliacellithat is, two full-backs (who push forward) and two central defenders who, during the build-up phase, open up to make room for the midfield director to push forward: Petriccione often inserted himself into the gap created for him by the widening movements of Scognamillo and Brighenti.
It is clear that the quality of the opponent expected on Sunday evening at the “Ceravolo”, Fabio Grosso’s Sassuolo, will force the Giallorossi to play a perfect match on Sunday evening. But in the work week that starts this afternoon at the stadium (at 6 pm) Caserta will intervene with particular attention, with the certainty of not being able to field the same poker as Saturday in Toscano: Scognamillo is suspended (like Pittarello and Brignola), therefore Antonini will return to the heart of the back line after the Empoli bench. The club has rejected Lecce’s offer of three million euros and closed the doors to the sale of the Brazilian, something that was reiterated in a decisive manner to the player himself who would have liked to wear (obviously) the jersey of a Serie A team. He should not force his hand in that direction anymore. Not in this transfer window.
As for his partner in the middle, in addition to Brighenti, Bonini must be taken into considerationwho performed well as a left back, but is a centre back and on that flank both Ceresoli and Turicchia will have a few more days of training and acclimatization. On the right, however, the starting stripes are still held by Situm, who however should soon be threatened by Tommaso Cassandro, a graft that will complete the lanes and the defence in general.
Caserta has so far chosen and tried the 4-2-3-1 in three out of four friendlies (Vallorco, Chisola and Cagliari) plus the match in Empoli, but it’s not as if this formation can’t have variations on the theme: in Tuscany, the last 22 minutes plus injury time, from the entry of Turicchia for Volpe, were faced with a pure 4-4-2 in which the former Juve Next Gen was positioned as a right back while Situm moved forward, as a winger. Seeing the same formation again against Sassuolo is not impossible, but a concrete opportunity considering that it would also guarantee more balance in the middle of the field.
The fact that the four-man defence is the basis of the options being studied for the first part of the championship does not mean definitively set aside the three-man defense that Caserta also tested against Juve Next Gen and is trying in the days leading up to the Coppa Italia. Maybe not immediately, but a Catanzaro with the 3-4-2-1 is likely to be seen again later: the idea of having a team capable of changing the formation based on needs and opponents is not at all outdated.
