Turn on the lights and rev the engine. The more difficult the next match, the more motivation there will be to try. If Catanzaro wants to grow in condition, conviction and results there is nothing better than a match like the one on Friday night at the “Ceravolo”. Indeed, the next three before the new break for the national teams: Cremonese in the advance of this round, Salernitana away in the next one, then Modena at home in the first days of October. Coming out of it well would be fundamental and would be a springboard for what is to come.
The triptych that awaits Caserta and its players is among the most challenging, because one after the other it puts them in front of one of the most serious candidates for direct promotion (the Lombards), a revolutionized, but no less ambitious, relegated team (the Campanians), and a solid reality that is looking at the playoffs not only to participate in them (the Emilians).
It will be tough, but if the Eagles show further and more evident progress in the 270 minutes that are about to come, then the prospects (for the rest of the season) would become particularly interesting.
In short, now that the going gets tough, it’s time to rise to the occasion. Starting with the upcoming match against Cremonese, which is a bit of a test for both teams, both still looking for a breakthrough. For Catanzaro, it’s also an opportunity to puff out their chest and show themselves and their fans that it might not just be a journey of suffering and sacrifice with the absolute obsession of salvation: taking the first scalp of a big team in this tournament might seem like a whim, but it’s not just that.
In May, in the first leg of the playoff semi-final, the Giallorossi, trailing by two goals, managed to come back against Cremonese (goals by Biasci and Brignola) and came close to a sensational turnaround. It ended 2-2 and in the return match the Lombards immediately closed any discussion with three slaps in one half and the final 4-1, but even though many things have changed, especially among the Calabrians, that evening at the end of May at the “Ceravolo”, almost four months ago, is still a vivid memory.
On the other side of the fence went Vandeputte and Fulignati, Stroppa also had the bombers that months ago he didn’t have, but even then it’s not that he was joking about the arsenal available. And despite this the Giallorossi, at least in the first leg, really made him tremble.
On paper, the team made available to Caserta is stronger and more complete than last year’s. It has quality, physique, legs and experience, it is a mix that can become explosive for opponents. He has retained the core of last season and added non-secondary reinforcements. The coach is integrating them with the aim of achieving this as quickly as possible through the search for a new identity, for which yesterday he also tried the 4-2-3-1 in Giovino.
Cremonese has higher values, complicated to overcome, but it is not unbeatable. The trip up in a “Ceravolo” that will blow as always behind them, can help this process. Not only the ranking.
The meeting between Noto and Ranieri