If winning helps you win, what happens after a loss by a large score? A question that will be answered in a few days, when the Cagliari came out of Italian Cup after the 4-0 defeat suffered by Juventus will go to Venezia for a battle, salvation is already fundamental. A match that the rossoblù of Davide Nicola they played with personality for a while, before letting go after the second goal conceded. Too little to see the glass half full, too little to approach the Penzo race with positivity.
Categories
“In football the players are not all the same, I have repeated it a billion and a half times. In football there are categories, there are the Lega Pro, the amateurs, the Excellence, the Promotion”. A concept dear to Massimiliano Allegri whose words from August 2022 perfectly explain what happened yesterday 17 December in Turin. A 4-0 that swept away, if there had been any need, the rhetoric dear to many coaches of “they are all starters”, often used to justify turnover and choices aimed at making full use of the squad available. Because, as Cagliari demonstrated when they emerged from the Italian Cup, categories certainly exist, just as hierarchies exist between players on the same team. Nicola’s choice for the match against Juventus was therefore to give an opportunity to various less used elements, a legitimate decision and justified not only by the primary objective of salvation – with the direct clash against Venezia upon us – but also by other factors explained post-match by the Piedmontese coach and pre-match by the sporting director Nereo Bonato. In fact, the rossoblù coach commented on the KO against the bianconeri and the formation choices as follows: “We cannot play with the same eleven for all the matches. We need to develop some players to be able to count on them in the future because we need the entire squad available for this journey.” While the director had put another topic on the table: “For January we are making internal assessments on how to intervene, we are monitoring the market to understand which profiles could be useful to cover those gaps in the first part of the championship”. Two connected concepts, as the defeat against Juventus demonstrated. Because the dress rehearsals of various second lines implemented by Nicola gave answers that in some cases were already clear from the Serie A journey, in others even more evident when looking at the performance of the individuals in the match in Turin.
Signals
Risky or necessary, excessive or part of the game like the slap you received (Nicola dixit). However you want to look at it, the rossoblù coach’s decision to test some less used elements did not give the desired answers. Or, who knows, he reiterated sensations which now, thanks to the field test, could lead to concrete evaluations during the January transfer window. Better late than never, although losing 4-0 is never good and having once again left the Italian Cup in the round of 16 is not something to be dismissed with a shrug of the shoulders. The main theme remains that of the attack, or rather of Cagliari’s ability to convert the opportunities created into goals. Because even if the defeat was large, the beginning and end of the match against Juventus cannot be forgotten. Which after just thirty seconds could have taken a favorable turn if Lapadulawell served by Zortea, had angled the conclusion and not kicked centrally, favoring Di Gregorio’s save. And that would have at least put the classic flag goal on the scoresheet if Follow had not done the same near the ninetieth minute after a good insertion inside the Juventus area. Two situations that are almost carbon copies of what we saw first in Florence – Makoumbou – and then against Atalanta – Piccoli and Zortea – and which reiterate the priority for January without much need. That of an attacker who can support Piccoli or make him take a breather and that of a team that can also find the missing goals from the midfielders. Trying, perhaps, to analyze the squad in its entirety, with sacrifices where it appears most covered to find who can be integrated into the advanced department. And here we necessarily enter into drawing the necessary conclusions from the performance against Juventus which follows other different ones, but with almost identical critical issues.
Priority
The goalkeeping issue is well known and the defeat in the Italian Cup has not changed the assessments already underway. The defense confirmed the centrality of Mina and Luperto and it would be ungenerous to lay all the blame on them Wietska e Palomino who are unlikely to play as a duo again and who have already given positive responses in the past if lined up alongside one of the starters. The real issue is between midfield and attack, not so much because the midfield needs incoming corrections, but because the solution for the offensive one could come from this department. Prati’s performance must be evaluated in the context of a player thrown into the mix after weeks without playing time, without forgetting his age and the need to enhance him. On the contrary, with Makoumbou, Adopo and Deiola as options, it is the position of Marin which can become central in a discussion of benefits. The Romanian, whose value is not in question but who does not go well with a midfielder of two, could be sacrificed on the altar of abundance, effectively solving two problems. Opening space for greater use of Prati, the club’s assets for today and above all for tomorrow, and as an international profile being able to be a market man as early as January to collect the liquidity that can allow an investment in attack. A department in which the criticality remains clear, that of a Piccoli only who does not have players behind him who can give guarantees either technically or above all physically. Lapadula also showed excellent spirit in Turin, but in addition to desire, the rest was missing once again, with the highlight of the missed goal at the start. For Pavoletti another entry into the running, a sign that for Nicola it cannot be a solution from the first minute. Finally not even a clip for Kingstoneon which a clear decision will have to be made so as not to make it lose a fundamental year in its growth path. The challenge is to convince the Italian-Peruvian to accept proposals from Serie B and for the club to convince itself towards a transfer that does not bring a profit, but which at least frees the coffers from one of the heaviest salaries in the squad. Then there is the second challenge, that of finding a profile that can be useful immediately and raise the bar, keeping in mind that on an economic level an investment in January costs significantly less than a relegation in June. Hoping, finally, that the two number tens at Nicola’s disposal will be able to free themselves from the torpor. The signals given by Gaetano in the first half they remained in the locker room in the second, Viola that element that shifts the balance in the race given last season has yet to return. In short, a known problem but not to be postponed for too long. Because there is no shortage of play and opportunities, but without effectiveness and goals they remain an end in themselves.
Matteo Zizola
