There are six games left until the end of the year and the start of the winter transfer window. It is clear that Catanzaro will have to move something upon entry, but the next matches will also be important to understand who and how to focus on in 2026, given that in the squad there are several players involved little or nothing in Aquilani’s rotations between precarious athletic conditions, changes in formation that have rewarded some at the expense of others, technical choices. Situations that happen always and everywhere, but which also logically raise some questions.
Leaving aside the injured Di Francesco, Verrengia and Pompetti, who will not return before mid-December, the club expected something more from those who had the potential to do so but did so in a limited way or did not do so at all despite their wealth of technique and experience suggesting the opposite. The first on this list is obviously Oudin, a real hit on the last day of the summer transfer market. The Frenchman arrived after months of separation at home in Lecce, where he trained alone, so he initially paid for the lack of fitness: he played just six matches and 263 minutes, but showed some small evidence of his skills perhaps only in his first approach, as a substitute, against Carrarese. Then nothing more, ending up on the bench in the last four matches, without coming on, also due to the balance found with a midfielder more suited to the defensive phase than the Frenchman. Who, however, would have the flexibility and skills to allow the Giallorossi a leap in quality: as an attacking midfielder, attacking winger or midfielder he could also take up space with the 3-4-2-1 of this phase. In short, if he has chosen Catanzaro to relaunch himself after a subdued year, now is the time to prove it.
The other two who were thought to be able to give more are above all D’Alessandro and Pittarello. One, held back by injuries in the last championship, had no problems in this one, supported the entire retreat with the group and should have benefited from the arrival of a coach who had already guided him at Pisa, making him play whenever he could. But the combination with Aquilani hasn’t worked so far, D’Alessandro has never made an impact as a starter or as a substitute, in the last two matches he has remained sitting on the bench: at 34 years of age and with his contract expiring, he seems to be in the final stages of an adventure that never took off.
The full article is available in the print and digital editions