Hellas Verona Club Focus: A Derby Day to Forget

Date: 28th November 2013 at 1:58pm
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The much-anticipated Derby Della Scala on Saturday 23 November largely failed to live up to expectations and Hellas Verona have to live with a cruel ending with Chievo scoring the game’s only goal at the death to wipe out the Mastini’s six game winning streak at the Bentegodi.

Verona’s early season form now appears to have settled and they have struggled in their last two games against Genoa and Chievo, losing and failing to score in both.

The fear is that the Gialloblu are starting to be found out tactically in Serie A and the opposition have worked out how to neutralise their attacking threat. However, it would be easy to make too much of Verona’s recent form and talk of a ‘crisis’ would be unproductive, wrong and based largely upon comparing recent form with the incredible momentum the Scaligeri displayed in the first few games.

Verona’s start to the season has made it easy for people to get carried away and expect more but all things considered, they are still remarkably high in the table for a side many thought would be relegation fodder.

Coach Andrea Mandorlini consistently said after Verona’s surprise victories earlier on that his side’s true ability would be discovered at the first sight of adversity and it appears that that moment has arrived.  Verona‘s next fixtures include the likes of Fiorentina, Napoli, AC Milan and Roma and they’re not the easiest as they look to exit this little slump.

On his return to the bench of the Flying Donkeys Eugenio Corini lined up with a 4-5-1 formation that may set a precedent for how to frustrate Hellas. The choice of the 4-5-1 allowed Chievo to swamp and bog down Hellas in midfield, slowing down the direct and fast counterattacks that have served the Butei well so far this season with the three central midfielders of Jorginho, Emil Hallfredsson and Massimo Donati all looking sluggish.

Verona v ChievoBecause of the lack of quality distribution from the central midfielders the creative spark of Juan Manuel Iturbe was extinguished and the shackling of the entire midfield lead talisman Luca Toni isolated up front on his own.

Whilst it is nowhere near time to panic yet, the Mastini will need to tweak their set up a bit as they are running the risk of becoming overly reliant on the axis of Toni, Iturbe and Jorginho, and Chievo and Genoa have shown that that might not be sufficient in many games.

Chievo’s approach to the derby also highlights the fact that some opposing teams now see Hellas as one of the bigger teams following their great start. This has led to teams lining up against them with negative and reactive tactics and the Mastini have displayed in the past few fixtures that they are struggling to break down defences when the opposition has little intention of launching many attacks of their own.

This is obviously problematic for a team that has benefitted from being the underdog and setting up accordingly.  An identity problem may be emerging as the side is no longer sure of where its rightful place is on the Serie A ladder. Against Chievo, Verona had more possession and better passing statistics but the Flying Donkeys managed more shots and crucially one goal more.

Hellas Verona v ChievoHellas will have to learn how to win games when they are expected to be in control and to take the attack to the opposition and that is something that most newly-promoted teams do not usually have to worry about. Let’s make it clear that Verona are by no means doing badly at the moment but they must adapt if they are to avoid becoming a victim of their own success.

With those thoughts in mind, Verona’s trip to Fiorentina may be the type of game that suits them. Facing a more fancied opponent the players may be more aware of what is expected of them and they have already showed in the games against AC Milan and Parma they are capable of challenging technically superior sides.

It will still be at tough game but a more passionate performance, even if ending in defeat, could help lift spirits after the lethargic defeat in a derby that Hellas fans will quickly want to forget.

Verona are not yet in a crisis but they are starting to lose their surprise factor and teams are learning how to deal with them. They are going to need to work on how to beat inferior teams who set up with reactive tactics or else they may slide down the table and see the gap from the relegation zone disappear. The squad and coaching staff have always insisted their aim is simply to get 40 points and stay up so they should be prepared for this challenge.

 

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