«Cancel Sampdoria». This is what coach Fabio Caserta asked of his Cosenza team as they played in an away game with a high degree of difficulty.
The rossoblù challenge the second consecutive Ligurian match hoping for a less stingy stay than the previous one. Despite the 2-0 defeat, as already said a few minutes after the final whistle, the coach said he wanted to see some of the same Cosenza but “with the attitude of the second half” because “it wasn’t as bad a test as we tried to get the message across.” «I hope that the boys are able to implement what we have tried this week. We must maintain a positive spirit. The results are the fruit of the episodes. We paid for Marras’ naivety, which was very important for us in other matches. However, it can happen in the championship that you experience dull days”, continued the coach.
He then also focused on a single, Luigi Canotto. The Rossonese winger has so far almost always come on from the bench: «I’ve had him in past years and I know him very well. When he arrived he wasn’t yet in top form, in recent weeks he has grown a lot and now he is in a position to be able to play from the first minute but it is an evaluation that I will reserve for the next few hours. I know well what he can give me if he is in optimal physical condition. He is a skilled player, with different qualities from the other attackers in the squad.”
Obviously, he doesn’t trust Spezia: «For them it will be the first match in front of their own fans. In Palermo they played an excellent match and remained ahead until a few seconds from the end. We must remain faithful to our game proposal, with the awareness that we always concede something to the opponent too but in football the majority of goals are conceded with the defense deployed or on an inactive ball and we have seen this in recent weeks.”
There will be 112 Cosenza fans present at the “Picco”: the limitation of the fidelity card has influenced the low rate of tickets sold. The Sila club yesterday reiterated that it disagrees with what was established by the authorities during the week.
Cosenza must avoid looking towards the past. Spezia, in the previous two matches, was a decidedly bitter away match for the rossoblù team. Two defeats, nine goals conceded and just one scored. In December 2018, the Bianconeri crushed the Sila 4-0 with goals from Augello, Bartolomei, Okereke and Ricci.
Then, on 10 July 2020, the Cosenza team suffered a 5-1 defeat at the “Picco”. A defeat that seemed to be the final blow towards relegation to Serie C but then a sensational comeback in the last few days sent Juve Stabia of Caserta and Perugia to hell. In Liguria, however, Occhiuzzi’s team was pierced by Galabinov, Gyasi, Nzola and a brace from Mastinu. Rossoblù goal scored by Mirko Bruccini.
Three former eagles who now wear the Sila jacket: Michael Venturi, Manuel Marras and Francesco Forte. The first two played in the Juventus youth sector. The Romagna defender left while still very young while the Genoese winger had time to make his Serie C debut with the La Spezia team (in December 2011 against Sudtirol; two total appearances for him, the second against Feralpisalò) before moving elsewhere . Forte’s Ligurian past is more profitable. The Roman “shark” took to the field 33 times wearing the Spezia jersey, scoring six goals.
