Chievo Club Focus: Things going from bad to worse

Date: 9th April 2014 at 6:47pm
Written by:

Another blow for Chievo in their campaign to stay in Serie A after losing to city rivals Hellas Verona, who scrapped a one goal victory with Luca Toni’s strike at the Stadio Bentegodi.

Watching Eugenio Corini’s men lose in the Derby della Scala left a bitter taste in those supporting the Flying Donkeys mouths. The team were well organised and probably Corini’s best available eleven. However when you have a world class striker such as Toni who can penetrate any defence, the odds soon go against you.

Victor Obinna and Alberto Paloschi had their chances to score and get the Gialloblu level or in front, more so with Paloschi. Nevertheless, it was Cyril Théréau who made the biggest impact when he was substituted on in the second half for Obinna, though he also failed to score against Andrea Mandorlini’s team.

Despite the loss, Corini remains confident Chievo will remain in Serie A next season, and on more than one occasion has come out after defeats with fighting talk.

“Luca Toni is having an extraordinary season and he is the player who created the most difficulties for us,” the coach told Sky Sport Italia.

“In the first half we controlled the game, whereas Verona had a stronger start in the first 15 minutes after the restart.

“We had been getting back into it, but Hellas scored a goal. We had three or four chances to equalise, but couldn’t finish them off.

“There are regrets, but with this hunger and determination we can fight to the end for safety.”

The 43-year-old will take lots of positives from the game, Michael Agazzi was outstanding in front of goal, whilst in midfield Ivan Radovanic and Përparim Hetemaj were extremely busy and performed well, causing difficulties for the Hellas midfield. While Boukary Dramé played well in defence, keeping Juan Iturbe at bay for most of the game.

Corini is currently playing with a 4-3-1-2 formation, with Hetemaj playing as the trequartista behind the front two, allowing Dramé to play down the wing to support the midfield and get crosses into the box. There is potential for this Chievo side to be a real threat up front against any team.

The former Torino and Palermo man has responded by switching from his tried and trusted 3-5-2 formation to experiment with new systems and personnel over recent weeks. However the team need stability both in Serie A and off the field as changes to the side won’t please any of the players and could cause the team to dip in performances and in the league.

I’m confident that the Flying Donkeys will remain in Serie A, but there’s no denying that it will be extremely close to the very end of the season.

From Cagliari who currently sit 15th and any those from the bottom Catania, Sassuolo, Livorno, Bologna and the Flying Donkeys could potentially be relegated and sent to Serie B. Chievo need to rely on their determination that Corini states they have, and outperform those other six who are sitting in the same boat as them.

Livorno are the next on the fixture list, and this game, like the Bologna match, is a must win.

Forza Chievo!!

Follow Nic Petruzziello on Twitter: @NicPetruzziello

 

Comments are closed.