Benevento Build from the Back for Serie A Debut

Italian football fans will see another provincial club making their debut among Italy’s elite in 2017-18 and the Stregoni or “Witches” have focused on building their backline as well as taking the best talents from their former Serie B rivals

In recent seasons there have been an abundance of clubs that have made their Serie A debuts and the latest team to join that list is Benevento from the southern Italian region of Campania.

The Witches have achieved back-to-back promotions from Lega Pro, and like SPAL, who also achieved consecutive promotions, they have made an abundance of acquisitions to help the squad become competitive in Italy’s top flight.

Although there are some players who have moderate Serie A experience, the focus has been on players who starred throughout the 2016-17 Serie B campaign as well as improving the defence.

One of the keys to Benevento’s success is Coach Marco Baroni, who was a coaching journeyman before finding his niche with the Juventus primavera squad. After stints at Virtus Lanciano, Pescara, and Novara, he joined the Witches in 2016 and has implemented an attacking 4-2-3-1 formation since then.

Although Baroni has used the 4-4-2 in pre-season matches, Benevento president Oreste Vigorito and sporting director Salvatore Di Somma have completed transfers for players that should fit into their tactician’s philosophy.

One of the major acquisitions for the Stregoni is Danilo Cataldi, who has arrived on loan from Lazio with an obligation to be bought outright. The 22-year-old has struggled to establish himself with the Aquile and spent the second half of the 2016-17 on loan at Genoa but a move to Campania might provide him with consistent playing time in central midfield.

Another player that has been acquired by Benevento on loan and has an obligation in his contract to be purchased outright is Atalanta winger Marco D’Alessandro.

The 26-year-old was used sporadically by La Dea tactician Gian Piero Gasperini and played in roles that probably did not suit his natural game so this loan spell could also grant him the chance to play regularly as a right-winger.

The Beneventano defence has undergone a revolution during the summer, with Berat Djimisti also arriving from Atalanta and the central defender joins on loan with an option to make the transfer permanent. The Albanian international was on loan at Avellino last season and played 35 out of a possible 42 Serie B matches.

Another defender that has been signed by the Witches is Andrea Costa from Empoli, who has had Serie A experience playing for the likes of Reggina, Sampdoria, and Parma.

Some of the footballers acquired have arrived from teams the Stregoni defeated in the Serie B play-offs so the old adage “if you can’t beat them, join them” is applicable here.

Left-back Gianluca Di Chiara has joined from Perugia on a permanent deals and he has signed a contract that ends in June 2021 while goalkeeper Vid Belec and defender Gaetano Letizia have been purchased from Carpi on permanent transfers.

Benevento has added some youth to the defence too by acquiring Inter primavera defender Andrew Gravillon, who managed to score six goals in 23 league matches.

Striker Massimo Coda is one of the rare additions to the attack and the former Parma striker has made the permanent move from Salernitana, where he scored 16 goals in 40 Serie B games in 2016-17.

In addition to the new signings, the Beneventani have extended the loans of young striker George Puscas and emerging full-back Lorenzo Venuti extended from Inter and Fiorentina respectively.

Puscas was a hero for the Campanian side, scoring the winner in the 1-0 victory against Carpi in the second leg of the Serie B play-offs.

While those heroics might be hard to replicate in Serie A, Benevento have not gone a huge spending spree to build a team. Like the debutants of recent years, this squad is being shrewdly constructed to suit the philosophy of their coach as well as any realistic goals the club can achieve.