After a three year absence, Livorno’s return to Serie A hasn’t turned out as the Livornesi would’ve liked. With three coaching changes and an agonising relegation, the Amaranto will ply their trade in Serie B next season after a terrible stint in the top flight.
Despite all that has happened in 2013/14, the Amaranto started the season in fashion. After losing to Roma 2-0 at the Stadio Aramando Picchi, the Tuscan club picked up eight point from their following four games. The Amaranto however then lost four consecutive games including a 4-0 drubbing to Napoli before managing to draw with Torino and defeat Atalanta.
Top flight football is always problematic for newly-promoted sides, but Livorno’s schedule meant that they were to face Inter, Juventus, Milan, and Lazio in the games leading up to christmas. Due to the inexperience factor as well, the Amaranto picked up just one point from a possible eighteen. It was at that moment that the Livornesi began to worry.
Following the 3-0 defeat to Parma in January, Davide Nicola was stripped of his duties and Attilio Perotti was appointed as caretaker coach. Perotti however only lasted eight days before a replacement was found in Domenico Di Carlo.
The start of the Di Carlo reign brought a much needed breath of fresh air. In Di Carlo’s first game, the Amaranto managed to overcome Sassuolo 3-1, going on to win another two games and drawing twice in the following eight encounters.
That bright start however ended in misery, in the following six games Di Carlo’s men only managed to pick up one point, an uncanny similarity with Davide Nicola. Bizarreness didn’t stop there, Nicola was brought in to replace Di Carlo with four games remaining in a desperate attempt to save the season.
After two consecutive losses, Livorno’s hopes of survival were dashed after losing out to Fiorentina 1-0 at the Stadio Armando Picchi. This result made survival impossible after Sassuolo and Chievo both picked up wins against Genoa and Cagliari respectively, making the final day encounter with Parma insignificant.
Player of the Season
If there is any debate about who should be Livorno’s Player of the Season it will undoubtedly narrow down to Paulinho and, you got it, Paulinho. With a staggering 15 goals to his name, had the Brazilian plied his trade elsewhere he would’ve most probably been Capocannoniere. The loyalty displayed by him over the past three seasons has been extraordinary, repaying Livorno’s faith in him after signing Paulinho back in 2005. The Brazilian even relished his new captaincy role, and would more often that not give his all.
Goal of the Season
Although Paulinho’s stunning free-kick against Udinese is definitely a contender, the ‘Goal of the Season’ undoubtedly goes to Emerson’s showstopper in the 3-3 draw against Torino.
After barging past the Torino forwards, the centre-back fooled the midfielders with a couple of step-overs before unleashing a stinging strike which found the back of the net.
Best and Worst Signings
Under-21 international Francesco Bardi was really good for Livorno this season along with his Inter counterparts Marco Benassi, Alfred Duncan, and Ibrahim Mbaye. However, Bardi was solid between the sticks and despite his age the youngster has committed few errors this season with exception to the first goal he conceded against Inter at the Stadio Giuseppe Meazza.
Djamel Mesbah and Ishak Belfodil were recruited in January in order to provide the Amaranto with some much-needed experience. However, both never met expectations and were on many occasions subpar. The latter though, had the lesser impact of the two. Despite being brought on loan to strengthen the side offensively, Belfoldil made eight starts, and failed to meet what was expected of him.
