Life after the honeymoon period: Serie A’s new coaches face tough tasks

Date: 15th December 2018 at 10:13am
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Sacking coaches at an alarming rate is not a new phenomenon in Italian football and the career of a tactician at certain clubs is often a short one.

Job security is scarce so the onus is on the coaches to obtain results instantly. By the same token, they also need to sustain good runs of form as the season progresses.

Udinese, Empoli, and Chievo are the latest clubs to have changed their coaches in the last month or so and it is up to the new arrivals to stay beyond the honeymoon period.

Davide Nicola replaced Julio Velazquez as coach of the Zebrette and he collected four points in his first two Serie A games in charge but they lost 3-1 at home to Atalanta on Sunday afternoon.

Udinese obtained results against teams in the top half of the table and earned two clean sheets but the former Crotone coach cannot allow the Atalanta defeat to be the catalyst for another form slump.

In the 2017/18 season, Massimo Oddo had replaced Luigi Delneri as the Friulani coach and commenced his stint well, including a 3-1 victory away to Inter but they lost 11 consecutive matches in the second half of the campaign and then Croatian tactician Igor Tudor had to finish the season.

Nicola masterminded a miraculous relegation escape at Crotone in the 2016/17 campaign and he will need to instil the same fighting spirit and determination in Udine to avoid suffering the same fate as Oddo.

Results have improved for the better at Empoli since Beppe Iachini replaced Aurelio Andreazzoli and he has collected three victories and a draw from his first four matches including a 2-1 win against Bologna on Sunday. His teams are known for their work ethic but the 54-year-old has trouble holding onto jobs.

Despite achieving promotion from Serie B via the play-offs in 2011/12, Sampdoria president Edoardo Garrone sacked him because he wanted a coach with a more glamorous reputation in charge of the team, and he was effectively sacked by Sassuolo at the conclusion of the 2017/18 campaign despite avoiding relegation. Roberto De Zerbi has come in and the Neroverdi have played good football and they are in the position to qualify for the Europa League.

Iachini will persist with what he knows best and he has had a good start but he will need to do something special if he wants to remain at the Tuscan club for the long term. Obtaining 10 points out of a possible 12 has been impressive though, the squad had immediately fitted into his 3-5-2 formation, and former Palermo starlet Antonino La Gumina has improved his form with two goals and an assist.

Although Chievo are still in the relegation zone, they have improved since Domenico Di Carlo took the place of Giampiero Ventura, earning three draws in as many games and all against teams fighting for Europe.

Di Carlo is the Flying Donkeys’ third tactician for 2018/19 after Lorenzo D’Anna and the former Italy coach but he has created a hard-working and organised unit as well as reinstated the evergreen striker Sergio Pellissier back into the starting line-up.

He has achieved survival with Chievo previously but he has flopped in his other Serie A jobs at Parma, Sampdoria, Livorno, and Cesena while he also got Novara relegated to Serie C last season.

Ceo are yet to win this season and have a three-point penalty so surviving relegation would be an incredible achievement but any mistakes here and surely the 54-year-old can kiss his career in Italy’s elite level goodbye.

Di Carlo as well as Nicola, Iachini, and now Cesare Prandelli at Genoa will have to keep proving to the presidents of their respective clubs that they make their teams climb up the Serie A table and do it fast.

Longevity is almost non-existent for Italian tacticians so they should acknowledge that the honeymoon period must not provide a false sense of security and they need to keep producing great consistency in their results.

 

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