Hellas Verona find themselves just six points outside the relegation zone after 16 games. It’s a real let-off from the previous season. Forza Italian Football covers the first half of Verona’s rough campaign.
It was always going to be difficult to keep on doing the unexpected. In May, Verona came within a few points of a spot in Europe. They finished the 2013-14 season in 10th place.
But there was a price to that success. The Gialloblu could not keep a bulk of their young talent — Jorginho, Juan Iturbe and Romulo all left. Verona were no longer the biggest secret in Italy.
Verona started the new 2014-15 season with seven points from their first three matches, but it started to crumble quickly from there. They earned just one victory in their final 10 Serie A games of the year. The last blow was the worst: a humble 1–0 defeat to cross-town rivals Chievo Verona.
Transfer Hit & Flop
Rafael Marquez was one of the most surprising summer transfers in Italy, and perhaps the biggest flop. He already has two red cards.
Verona also brought in another former Barcelona player in Javier Saviola, but he came for free and has contributed little, sitting behind Luca Toni in the pecking order.
The Gialloblu are the eighth-oldest team in Serie A, according to the CIES Football Observatory, and those two transfers did not lower their average age.
One move did help. Nico Lopez arrived on loan from Udinese, and he has been useful off the bench, scoring three of his four goals as a substitute. Lazaros Christodoulopoulos has also found his feet since joining from Bologna, supplying a single-season career-high three assists so far.
The Coach
Andrea Mandorlini started with Verona back in Serie C. This is his fifth year with the club, his longest spell as a coach, but it seemed destined to end early.
Reports predicted the sack for Mandorlini, but he refused to be sucked into the rumours. And sporting director Sean Sogliano told HellasVerona.it that Mandorlini would stay.
“There will be no actions taken against the coach,” Sogliano said. “I absolutely haven’t given him an ultimatum.”
Mandorlini prefers a 4-3-3 formation, focusing more on the attack. But the problem is still defending. Verona have allowed 27 goals, fourth-worst in Serie A.
Best goal – Luca Toni v Udinese
Verona’s biggest trump card is Luca Toni. He has scored five goals this season, including his 300th career tally this December against Udinese.
That was always his aim: Toni wanted to come back to Serie A to reach the 300 mark before retiring.
Verona believed in him then, and Toni believes in them now. They both need each other.
“My career has always been a challenge,” the 37-year-old told Sky Sport Italia.
“I have had to make continuous comebacks into the game and start from scratch. After six months at Roma, I wanted greater continuity, so I went to Verona.”
[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S2pRlFVYqyY[/youtube]
