Despite a disturbing summer, Empoli have gone from strength to strength under Marco Giampaolo this season.
Victory at Bologna in Empoli’s final game of 2015 with the added bonus of goalscorer Massimo Maccarone sipping on a cold beer gave the Azzurri the perfect send off ahead of the mid-season break.
A fourth consecutive victory leaves Marco Giampaolo’s squad in eight position in Serie A on 27 points, a haul nobody expected. The club saw it’s heart ripped out during the summer, with Napoli taking not just their talented coach Maurizio Sarri to the San Paolo, but they also saw two of their star performers during the 2014/15 campaign, Mirko Valdiffiori and Elseid Hysaj, follow the Italian tactician to Naples.
Centre-back Daniele Rugani also left the club following his move to champions Juventus.
Best Player
Polish duo Piotr Zielinski and Lukasz Skorupski have both impressed, while Lorenzo Tonelli has marshalled the defence with admirable determination and Riccardo Saponara has linked play with panache. The seven goals and two assists from 36-year-old forward Maccarone means the former Middlesbrough striker has been the stand-out player and leader in a team built on hard work.
Highlight of the season
After consecutive defeats to Chievo and AC Milan and a draw against Napoli at the beginning of the season, the Azzurri travelled to the Stadio Friuli to face Udinese in search of their first win of the season under new coach Giampaolo. Duvan Zapata and Leandro Paredes traded goals before Maccarone volleyed past Orestis Karnezis deep into injury time to seal the three points.
Disappointment
This section is somewhat hard to find candidates for of late, with the aforementioned 2-1 defeat to Sinisa Mihajlovic’s Milan at the San Siro just about edging it’s way to the top. Empoli were by far the superior team on the night and left empty handed after goals from Carlos Bacca and Luiz Adriano.
Mihajlovic said after the match: “The result is the only thing to salvage, nothing else. I saw the players too tense and frightened. Courage and personality was lacking from my players.We won, but I feel like I have lost.”
Transfer hit/flop
Riccardo Saponara made his move to Empoli from Milan permanent in May for €4million and has continued to produce performances oozing with swagger, something the Rossoneri faithful can only dream of in their midfield. Five goals and six assists make the 23-year-old a transfer hit.
Marco Zambelli has looked off the pace at times when called upon since joining from Brescia in the summer.
What next?
Empoli will hope to build on their four consecutive victories – the first time the club has achieved such a feat in Italy’s top flight – when they resume after the Christmas break and entertain league leaders Inter.
If the Azzurri can make one or two quality additions to the squad in January and keep Maccarone and Saponara firing on all cylinders, a challenge for European qualification can be sustained but would largely depend on keeping a fully fit set of players as Empoli don’t have the resources of Serie A’s big guns.
