Following a two year absence from Italy’s top flight, not much was expected of Cesena when they reached Serie A at the end of last season through the Serie B promotion playoff, but despite their best efforts relegation soon came.
After achieving a 1-0 victory against a financially-stricken Parma on the opening day of the Serie A season the Cavallucci Marini had little cause for celebration. In just nine rounds Cesena were consigned to the relegation places, failing to escape the bottom three spots since the end of October and offered little resistance conceding 68 goals.
A mid-season coaching change in December did little to break the status-quo with Pierpaolo Bisoli’s replacement, Domenico Di Carlo not finding a victory with his new side in his first five matches.
The club’s inevitable fate was sealed, as they were relegated four weeks before the conclusion of the Serie A season when Di Carlo’s men squandered a two-goal lead, capitulating 3-2 to Sassuolo.
Perhaps Cesena’s biggest highlight was stringing back-to-back wins against Parma and Lazio respectively in the months of January and February. However, the club did not claim three points from early March and registered just four triumphs in total – two less than cellar-dwellers Parma.
A surprise 2-2 draw with champions-elect Juventus back in mid-February displayed the scarce fighting temperament largely non-existent in a squad never up for the relegation scrap. Franco Brienza netted the equaliser 20 minutes from time and were unlucky not to run out as winners.
For the high praise Nicola Leali has previously received, the 22-year-old goalkeeper on-loan from Juventus has not quite lived up to the potential many would have envisaged. The man largely viewed as the heir to Gianluigi Buffon – when he finally hangs up the gloves – was dropped for Federico Agliardi on matchday 31, compounding his chances of returning to the Bianconeri in a starting role.
Player of the Season
Gregoire Defrel has no doubt been an effective outlet in a miserable campaign leading two extremely pertinent statistics. The 23-year-old Frenchman scored nine goals and assisted a further five to be arguably Cesena’s best player.
Spaniard Alejandro Rodriguez was a close contender along with Franco Brienza, who finished second in the goal-scoring tally for the Seahorses. Defrel joined the club in 2012 and it has only until this season that the speedster realised his promise.
Despite his side heading back to Italy’s second tier, the former Parma man will likely remain in Serie A as he has courted interest from Torino, Fiorentina, Palermo, as well as Premier League outfit Everton.
Goal of the Season
The goal of the season accolade is again awarded to Cesena’s player of the season. Gregoire Defrel’s 60th minute screamer opened the scoring against Lazio on February 1, as the Cavallucci Marini secured a rare 2-1 victory over the Biancocelesti.
The French forward received a pass 25 yards out from goal and with an exquisite first touch enabled him to emphatically finish into the top right hand corner, sending the Stadio Dino Manuzzi into scenes of jubilation.
[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yjsdZuOxkME[/youtube]
Best and Worst Signings
As the club obviously have limited resources compared to the financial muscle of Juventus, Roma or Napoli it was imperative the Seahorses were astute in identifying transfer targets. Although it was not the case as the club signed multiple players on-loan and for meagre fees with many unable to deliver.
However, it did not go according to plan with the free signing of Hugo Almeida turning out an absolute disaster. The Portuguese striker was acquired in October on a Bosman, but struggled to make an impact, featuring in just a handful of matches.
The former Werder Bremen man was eventually released in January and was certainly the worst acquisition, given the rather impressive pedigree Almeida could have potentially brought to a side lacking top flight experience.
Ze Eduardo’s move from Parma was in the end futile as he could not influence the destiny of his team. The Brazilian fought with limited match time as well as contending with injury to accumulate under 15 league matches.
Swashbuckling midfielder Carlos Carbonero, and Franco Brienza, both made adequate contributions after signing on-loan from Roma and Atalanta respectively. The former netted three goals, while veteran Brienza found the back-of-the-net on five occasions.
The Coach
Both Pierpaolo Bisoli and Domenico Di Carlo’s efforts were ultimately in vain as neither could string continuous wins and restore some stability in their side. In mitigation, a club of Cesena’s stature does not possess the same financial muscle as their counterparts and therefore find it extremely strenuous to compete with the supreme teams in Italian football.
Nevertheless, both coaches could have been smarter in their transfer dealings and perhaps go for a youthful approach which proved successful for fellow promoted minnows Empoli who impressed as they comfortably avoided the drop.
