Catanzaro’s new championship passes through one of the most complicated fields of Serie B. Even if Cittadella has been doing better away from home for a while, and at home has an open streak of 5 draws, the trip to the “Tombolato” is always a nuisance because the Venetians, with their strong identity, can be indigestible to anyone, even more so for a team – like that of Caserta – still physiologically searching for its path.
This afternoon’s trip has the appearance of a crossroads, even if not a definitive one: passing it unscathed, without hesitation, maybe even with the first away win of the season, would mean going in the right direction, otherwise we would have to go back and start again. The Eagles, however, are in good shape and with many solutions to exploit: the lean times are over, between starters and reserves the Giallorossi coach has many options available, like never before, and above all he was able to work for a couple of weeks on his original ideas. This time the 4-2-3-1 tried in retreat and never used in the championship – because the men were not there – it is an opportunity that can be tested and exploited: Compagnon («He is fine and I can use him in several roles») has finally recovered, Buso («He is also versatile») trained with the group for two weeks, the full-backs are there, we might as well use them.
Forza quattro «We worked on the concepts we have focused on since the beginning of the year and on several game systems», Caserta explained after the final training session to Giovino, careful not to expose himself: «Regardless of the system, we have to be good at reading the game right away», was the advice that the coach reiterated to his players. The first solution seems to be a use of 4-2-3-1 with Brighenti and Antonini in the centre, Cassandro (or Situm) and Bonini as full-backs. Four behind and four up front, given that one of the two former players of the match, Pittarello (the other is Cassandro), can move as the first striker, with the centenarian (in the sense that today he reaches the milestone of one hundred games in yellow and red) Iemmello immediately behind, one between Compagnon and Seck on the right, Buso on the left, while in the middle, without Pontisso, the Petriccione-Pompetti pairing seems to be preferred to the solution with Coulibaly. “It’s a shame about Pontisso’s injury because he was doing very well and he’s an important element for us, but I’m calm because I have a fairly large squad, with versatile players who can cover that role, and whoever replaces him won’t make us miss him.” The alternative, tested during the week, is 3-5-2.
Pitfalls Against a challenger that makes aggression its trademark, attitude will be fundamental. It is no coincidence that Caserta cited the Cesena match «The only one I didn’t like because we had the wrong approach». In essence, woe betide anyone who repeats himself. «Cittadella has many strengths, but so do we, even if we still have defects that we need to work on to grow. The victory in the last round helped us train better and I expect a great performance from my players», underlined the forty-five-year-old, who could rely, from the bench, on the experience of someone like D’Alessandro and on the other transfer reinforcements: «He can play all the roles, the outside of midfield, the fifth, the mezzala. All the new arrivals are fine, perhaps only La Mantia, for his physique, is a little further behind». For Veneto, 24 players have left, including the third goalkeeper Borrelli: in addition to the injured Pontisso, Brignola, Volpe, Piras and Breit have not been called up.
