Torino Club Focus: The Perfect Foundation

Make no mistake, Torino’s win against Sassuolo on Sunday night was an important one.

Coming on the first day of the season against a side who were coming up as champions and who had not a lot to lose and everything to gain from the fixture, it was an important three points.

Having already crashed out of the Coppa Italia at the hands of Pescara at home, there was discontent among the supporters especially after the summer losses of Rolando Bianchi, and Angelo Ogbonna to Juventus, the latter of which rightly provoked the ire of fans.

Had the Neroverdi came to Turin and left with a result, it would not have made for pretty sitting around the Olimpico but that is irrelevant now given that Matteo Brighi and Alessio Cerci stepped up to quell any opening night jitters.

Thankfully though, there were not too many and it was as composed and promising a performance as could be expected from a group of players adjusting to playing in a new 3-5-2 formation after 4-2-4 had been persevered with during the last campaign.

I wrote a feature for Forza Italian Football recently too in which I lamented the purchase of Ciro Immobile if a quality and suitable striker was not found to play alongside him but Giampiero Ventura has perhaps pulled off a master stroke by simply handing Cerci a free reign in this side and he could be the man to feed the ex-Genoa man the goals in the ensuing 37 games.

The maverick new hero in claret is probably the best winger Italy has produced in a long, long time (given the peninsula’s inability to find players for this position) but he was against the Serie B champions he was deployed in a free role roaming around Immobile in the final third and he provided an assured display as is so often witnessed from him, more impressive when you consider he is not at 100% yet.

Ironically though given his potential new position, his goal came by popping up wide on the right where he was so often a threat during his sensational season last year and unleashing a bullet to put the game beyond all doubt.

Wherever he plays though, the main thing is that he plays and continues to put in these kind of top performances and although he was not fully fit at the start of the game, the fans demanded his inclusion from the outset: “Cerci on the field, no ifs or buts!”

This Club Focus does not want to simply focus on the main star of the side, which it would be easy to do given just how important he can be, as it was a solid team performance that helped deliver all three points on Sunday night.

It is the perfect start to a season that Toro could struggle in if the end of last year is anything to go by but signs were certainly encouraging.

Giuseppe Vives had a solid game in the middle of the park but remains a frustratingly inconsistent player while Alexander Farnerud’s league debut was very disappointing.

The backline to a man had a relatively easy night at the office as they were never put under any periods of extreme pressure that required them to show there is life after Ogbonna.

Brighi was in top form and could be the star signing of the summer for Torino amid all of the furore over Immobile and Nicola Bellomo’s acquisitions, there is no doubting that if he can stay fit then he can be a serious player this season as he would have been last year had he spent more time on the field and less time on the treatment table.

This result could proven even more key when you consider their next five fixtures. Although tough ties (albeit at home) are included against AC Milan and Juventus, they do face Atalanta, Bologna and Hellas Verona which does give them more than a decent shout of putting some early daylight between themselves and the bottom of the table.