Chievo Club Focus: The Story So Far… Flying Donkeys stuck in departure lounge

Date: 27th December 2013 at 4:34pm
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2013 hasn’t been a good year for the Flying Donkeys, after the team found themselves in one of their worst starts to a Serie A campaign, sitting in the bottom three. It took a change in tacticians to get the Veronese side clear of the relegation zone, but they could easily find themselves back down there if they aren’t careful.

However, with that said the Gialloblu have looked good lately towards the winter break, former Chievo coach Eugenio Corini was re-introduced in November and the team seem more consistent and scoring again.

The 43-year-old has shown that he is quite clearly the right man for the job, after winning his first three games in charge of the club, which has got the team clear of the danger zone.

However their last two defeats away to Sampdoria and Torino have slowed them down, Corini will need to show how good he is as a coach as he will have to pick his team up when they face Cagliari at the beginning of the year.

Tactical Shifts

The Veronese side started with a 3-5-2 at the beginning of the season with former boss Giuseppe Sannino, but this failed massively for him. Cyril Thereau and Alberto Paloschi struggled when it came to finishing, and the defence couldn’t cope when they were caught on the counter attacks.

However, Corini seemed to adopt the formation in his first two wins, but changed it when they played against Sassuolo and Sampdoria, opting with a 4-3-3 leaving Paloschi out and playing with two supporting players upfront with Thereau.

This worked well when they played Sassuolo, Alessio Sestu and Marcelo Estigarribia would support the frenchman, after Corini recognised that the team had been struggling to score for the first part of this season and the former Torino and Palermo player wanted more opportunities created for his forwards in front of goal.

Nevertheless, after the defeat to Sampdoria, the tactician reverted back to the 3-5-2 against Torino, flooding the midfield hoping to stop Alessio Cerci getting forward. However this didn’t work, the Flying Donkeys lost 4-1 and Corini commended the players performances.

Star Performer: Luca Rigoni

Chievo - Fiorentina - Luca RigoniActing as the vice-captain whilst Sergio Pellissier struggled to break into the team, Rigoni has shown consistency and leadership on the pitch. The 29-year-old has shown that he isn’t afraid of getting forward, scoring two, setting an example for the rest to follow. Rigoni’s strengths are tackling and ball interception and often plays the ball off the ground to give his side more of an advantage.

The defensive midfielder couldn’t be compared to the likes of Andrea Pirlo or Nigel De Jong but for Chievo he is vital if they are to stay in the Serie A.

Worst Performer: Simone Bentivoglio

There’s a few who deserve this award, and I’m sure everyone will have their own opinion to who is the worst performer, however the most dire for me at Chievo is Simone Bentivoglio.

The 28-year-old has only made six appearances this season and came on three times as a substitute. With an ageing team I’d expect Bentivoglio to be in the starting eleven each week. However he hasn’t been able to hold the ball and doesn’t commit when going into challenges to try and win the ball. Lets hope he can re-find his form in the next part of the season as I can see Chievo departing with Bentivoglio.

Transfer of the Season: Ivan Radovanovic

After a few season on loan with various clubs in Italy, the 25-year-old has finally found a team in Chievo. The former Bologna and Novara man has been strong in the air and is able to retain the ball in the middle. The Serbian likes to play long balls to the front two and is a threat with indirect free-kicks. Radovanovic hasn’t scored for the flying Donkeys as yet but he’s been a threat for the opposition.

A good buy for the Gialloblu in the summer.

Milestone Moment

Beating Hellas Verona – enough said!! The flying Donkeys went into this game as pure underdogs, no one gave them a chance despite the history they have in the Serie A, and with the impressive performances Verona were showing in their Serie A return it was hard to see the Gialloblu getting a result.

However they had reappointed Corini which pleased the fans, and the 43-year-old was determined to win at his former club.

Hellas Verona v ChievoCorini got his team well prepared for the game against their bitter rivals, making sure his players understood what it meant to win the local derby. The game itself was a nail biting affair that concluded in the dying seconds when Dejan Lazarevic scored the winning goal to take all three points away from their counterparts.

The team of the city they say, well its Chievo Verona this year!!

What Needs to Happen in 2014?

2014 will be extremely hard going if they don’t start getting more key results in. They face Cagliari in the new year, and Corini must get the team playing again after a bad result at Torino.

Corini will no doubt want to bring in a few new faces during the transfer window, which is a must if they are to stay in the Serie A. I know the 43-year-old won’t have the financial backing from the board, so a few loan deals could be on the cards this January. Hopefully in the weeks to come a few rumours and suggestions may appear in the papers but for now its very quiet at the Veronese side.

2014 also needs to bring the Gialloblu goals, Thereau and Paloschi have seemed to have got their thirst for scoring back, but aren’t consistent each week.

Hopefully the Flying Donkeys are fully rested up over the winter break and raring to go in the next part of the season.

Forza Chievo!!

Follow Nic Petruzziello on Twitter: @NicPetruzziello

 

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