Simply put, Sassuolo’s rise to the upper echelons of Italian football has been nothing short of meteoric.
As recently as 2006, they were battling it out in the country’s lower leagues before achieving a historic promotion to Serie B for the start of the 2008-2009 season where they continued to hold their own against some of the second tier’s more established sides.
Yet, the best was still to come, for just just four seasons after that, in 2013 they achieved what many lower division sides only dream of, promotion to Serie A for the first time in their history.
Now playing in the same arena with big teams such as Juventus, Inter, AC Milan and others, many expected the Neroverdi’s stay in the top flight to be just a one-off, and that they would be back to Serie B within a year.
It’s a commonly known fact that football indeed is an unpredictable game, and Sassuolo raised quite a few eyebrows during the summer of 2013 by starting off their debut season in Serie A in a favorable fashion.
By winning the pre-season TIM trophy, they became the first team besides Italy’s “Big Three” to win the pre-seasonal cup after losing to the Bianconeri and then defeating the Rossoneri (although it must be pointed out that their participation was only due to the Nerazzurri opting out).
And, they will get another chance to prove that 2013’s win wasn’t just sheer luck as Inter has chosen not to feature in it for the second consecutive season.
Nonetheless, despite barely squeaking into 17th place, they managed to achieve what most thought would be a tall task and remain alongside Italy’s top teams for yet another season.
A big part of this success, of course, was due to the emergence of young attacker Domenico Berardi, who wrote his name into the history books after netting a poker against the Rossoneri, a fact that Neroverdi supporters will remember for years to come whereas, of course, Milan fans will be keen to forget that nightmare game in a hurry.
With that said, the question now becomes as to whether Sassuolo will be able to make their stay an enduring one by avoiding the drop yet again. They will certainly be disappointed by their performance in their most recent friendly against Villarreal as it represented the second straight loss in five days for Eusebio Di Francesco’s men.
However, although earlier this month they snatched a 1-0 victory over Bologna thanks to a late first half goal from Berardi, all in all, their pre-season showings can be best described as fair, not fantastic.
Simply put, with their last summer match approaching, the Neroverdi will need to get up and running as they will not be given a gentle re-introduction to the season with fixtures against Inter, Fiorentina, Napoli, and Juventus all within the first seven rounds of action.
As for the aforementioned Berardi, who is still on loan from Juventus, he will obviously be seeking to prove himself as not just a one-season wonder as is often seen from many players in the game today. Still, his influence on his squad cannot be disputed: were it not for his 16 goals, Sassuolo would have accumulated just 27, which surely would have meant the end of their spell in Serie A.
But as is the case with numerous other players, he is prone to moments of madness that cost him numerous games through suspension, and his team will be hoping that as he now enters his 20’s that those moments will be fewer and further between.
Yet, a close look at last season’s table will also indicate another clear area Sassuolo needs to improve on, their defense. With 72 goals conceded last season, they will obviously aspire to do better as often the difference between a team that survives and a team that is relegated simply goes down to the much dreaded goals for versus against, better known as differential.
All in all, one could say that once someone does something, they can easily do likewise for a second time, and the same certainly applies here. Having navigated through unfamiliar waters, Sassuolo managed to survive, but will need all hands on deck in order to ensure that their top-flight status is an enduring situation as opposed to a fleeting occurrence.
Follow Michelle Bonsu on Twitter: @MichelleB289
