During Domenico Di Carlo’s first spell in charge of Chievo, his ‘Flying Donkeys’ side were characterised by their ability to stay tight and compact as he registered 16th and 14th place finishes before moving on to the challenge of Sampdoria.
At the Blucerchiati, the loss of first choice strike force Antonio Cassano and Gianpaolo Pazzini, to AC Milan and Inter respectively, meant that extra pressure was put on an already creaking backline which ultimately led to his dismissal and Sampdoria’s consequent relegation. Compare this to the Chievo of his successor Stefano Pioli who led the club to their highest finish in some six years with 11th place and made them much more attack minded.
As Pioli moved on to a new chapter with Palermo in the summer, Di Carlo was brought back in to the Stadio Bentegodi hotseat. Immediately the cynics said that ‘the Gialloblu’ would return to their defensive ways under their old boss.The season began with a 2-2 draw at home to new boys Novara in which they gave away a two goal lead. Early results proved that although the side seemed to find it easy to score goals they were also just as susceptible to concede them and as such results were mixed.
Fast forward to the week before Christmas and despite being hammered in the San Siro 4-0 against Milan, the final game of 2011 saw the ‘Gialloblu’ go the Stadio Olympico and hold Champions League challengers Lazio to a 0-0 draw whilst completely outplaying them from start to finish. This left Chievo 12th over the Christmas period just one position below last seasons remarkable finishing place.
The last two games have seen a brilliant 1-0 win at Genoa thanks to an early Cyril Thereau goal, and on Sunday a second successive 1-0 win this time at home to relegation threatened Cesena, thanks to a late Davide Moscardelli goal. This has left the club on 33 points from 25 games which means that they only need seven more points from their remaining 13 games to avoid relegation and continue the remarkable story that has seen such a small club spend ten of the previous eleven seasons at Italian footballs top table. Those extra seven points will make it eleven of the last twelve as the team currently sit in tenth place, however, Di Carlo is desperate to better Pioli’s eleventh place finish and vindicate President Luca Campedelli’s decision to re-employ him.
On Saturday night, Di Carlo takes his ‘Gialloblu’ side to Turin to face title challengers Juventus in the evening kick-off. This game will bring great memories back to Chievo fans as it was in the corresponding fixture last season that Pioli’s Chievo fought back from 2-0 down to force a 2-2 draw in a game which they really ought to have gone on to win after forcing themselves level. The Juventus of Antonio Conte however is a totally different propersition.
Lasts season’s Juve failed to qualify for Europe whereas for the majority of this season, Conte’s men have blazed a trail at the top of the division and, despite having recently been caught at the top by AC Milan, they are still unbeaten after 24 games. Alessandro Matri’s equalizer seven minutes from time last weekend in the San Siro meant that the top two shared a 1-1 draw.
Juventus achieved a goal-less draw at the Stadio Bentegodi on matchday seven in a drab game which saw Alex Del Piero strike a post and then clear off his own goal-line as both sides created very little. For Di Carlo and his men, another clean sheet will be much desired.
For all the latest Serie A news don’t forget to check out the news section of Forza Italian Football.
Join Forza Italian Football on Twitter and Facebook.
