Cagliari – Building on solid foundations
By David, BettingExpert.com | Published
Volcanic Cagliari boss Cellino did not disappoint his reputation when he fired manager Donadoni a few weeks before the start of the campaign. They did not agree on a player transfer and the president saw it fit not to have anyone at the club disagreeing with him. On comes Ficcadenti fresh from his first season in Serie A with Cesena last year. Off Ficcadenti as well and now it’s Ballardini’s turn.
Manager: Ballardini
Tactics: 4-3-1-2
Players In: El Kabir, Thiago Ribeiro, Ibarbo, Ekdal, Sampaio, Avramov, Gozzi
Players Out: Marchetti, Lazzari
Current Probable Formation: Agazzi, Pisano, Canini, Astori, Agostini, Biondini, Conti, Nainggolan, Cossu, Thiago Ribeiro, Nene
The performances of Cesena were not very exciting under the guidance of Ficcadenti in the top flight. Some may argue it was his first shot at the big league and that he may now have acquired the necessary experience to build a deeper imprint on his teams. Others criticize his cautious approach although he did have a number of strikers and attacking midfielders on the pitch at Cesena.
The truth is that he is not the type to like the glamour and the spot lights. Whenever he has the chance to tip toe away from the cameras and the questions he will take it. Because of that few people have actually cared to analyze his tactical approach in depth.
With Cesena he used to field what looked like a team ready to move the ball around and attack the opponents. The end result would always be that they produced very little in attack and eventually would lose games because of the odd goal that condemned them to defeat. He had some moderately good strikers who were not really consistent but that cannot be the whole explanation. Ficcadenti does demand that the defensive aspect of the game is not neglected. That would have required a lot of sacrifice from his forwards as well.
Ultimately their goal scoring record, excluding the three teams which were relegated, was the second worst in the league together with Chievo’s and just three better than Bologna’s.
Despite all this he is quite a smart coach and considering the similarities he has with Donadoni’s method of setting up the team it may well have been an equally smart move by Cagliari president Cellino. Last season Cagliari played very well in the first part of the season. Right up until February when they had almost made sure of the fact that they would still be in Serie A for the following season. Unsurprisingly, from march until may they won just one game in eleven games. Not worth looking much into that though.
The current crop of players has been playing together for some seasons and more recent inclusions into the stable first eleven like goalkeeper Agazzi and, one of the revelations of last season in Italy, midfielder Nainggolan fit in perfectly into the well oiled mechanisms of this Cagliari side. The three-man midfield he forms with Conti and Biondini is one of the most solid in the whole division with all three easily comparable to each other and ranking very well on points in both the defensive aspect and the attacking one. Each have an innate goal instinct as well and with some great stamina they can cover the pitch very well and help out both the team mates behind and those in front.
Biondini had shown doubts about his permanence on the island of Sardegna and fans had eventually turned against him, booing him off the pitch in pre-season training. Yet the August deadline came to an end and he held on, proving commitment to the club. With the departure of Lazzari to Fiorentina he will be guaranteed more regular football.
In front of the three midfielders floats Cossu and the four of them can e considered the backbone of the current Cagliari side. He is the brains of the team and when on song he can inspire the perfect tune for the team to dance to.
There are no big teams which come to the fore when looking at the defence but the quartet composed of Pisano – Canini – Astori – Agostini has been playing together for quite some time now and when it comes to sealing it tight at the back few backlines are as coordinated as them in Serie A, especially when they can count on cover from the hard working midfielders.
Problems were more concentrated on the opposite side of the pitch where only Nene shined at times. Acquafresca did not deliver as well and was transferred back to Genoa, from where he was loaned to Bologna. Larrivey was not given enough chances. This year the two survivors will be competing for places with newcomers Thiago Ribeiro and Colombian forward Ibarbo. The two new signings look very good and should both be able to help Cagliari solve their goal scoring problems. Midfielders have come in to help on that front last season but a truly ambitious team needs to be able to count on sharp shooters in the opponents’ box in order to travel that extra mile which Cagliari are vying for this year.
Predicted finishing position: 6th
Under Donadoni the team consolidated itself and became one of the floating mines in the Serie A sea from which even the most hardened battleships make sure to steer away from. Ficcadenti should keep faith to that team and if he manages to instill the right kind of self-confidence into the players they can sign off a fantastic season and deliver a place in Europe for next season. He will have to do all this with one eye on his job, seeking to please president Cellino who is known for sacking managers for the most minor of reasons.
UPDATE: Cellino sacked his second manager this season after bringing on Ballardini in place of Ficcadenti. There were personal problems between the manager and his president. The target for Ballardini is now to get the team to score goals and reestablish Cossu’s free role position behind the strikers rather than being forced to defend on one of the flanks.
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