Ideas, scouting, new owners and successful purchases, here is the Carnevali model. And now Muharemovic is already worth 25 million
Two hours after the mathematical relegation to Serie B, Giovanni Carnevali called Fabio Grosso and chose the coach of the new Sassuolo cycle. The following day he showed up at the Mapei Center and went to greet all the employees showing off his most reassuring smile. Nothing happened, he told the people at the club, perhaps surprised by his (hardly credible) serenity. Carnevali burned inside, but his job was to convey calm and confidence. Defeat, after all, is part of sport and knowing how to get back up quickly is an exceptional quality. Sassuolo succeeded very well because a year and a half after that disappointment enjoys eighth place (dreaming of Europe is excessive, but the satisfaction is legitimate) and the 20 points, which are the third best performance in Serie A after 14 rounds: only in 2020-21 (26, with De Zerbi) and in 2015-16 (23, with Di Francesco) had more been scored. Who thought it would be difficult for Sassuolo return to being the wonderful pain in the ass of the championship he had underestimated the club. There is no secret, other than organisation, work, speed in analysis and decisions. Yes, you don’t say much…
The organization
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The “Sassuolo model” provides a streamlined but efficient structure in which all the components go in the same direction. Carnevali collaborates closely with the sporting director Francesco Palmieri and with the head of the scouting area Daniele Cangini. The coach is chosen by evaluating the meeting point between his skills and the project guidelines: space for young people, attention to costs, tactical identity, propensity for an enjoyable game. The structure includes an international scouting area with three people and a data analyst and then a dozen observers who move around the national territory, working for the first team but also for the youth sector. For a couple of years the door has been opened to algorithms, but only as an additional tool: at Sassuolo the human eye always has the first and last word.
The team
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In the summer a revolution was made contrary to the usual strategy of the newly promoted teams, who in order to start off strong tend to increase the quality without changing the group too much. Sassuolo, on the other hand, has changed goalkeeper, most of the defense and two thirds of the starting midfield. The offensive trident was rightly considered the strong point in the chase for salvation: Berardi (Now stopped in the pitsbut Volpato improves) is a totem, Pinamonti is ensuring good performance and Lauriente alternates big plays with moments of pause. But the 20 points derive above all from solidity (17 goals conceded: only in 2015-16 there were fewer, 13), from a midfield that filters and builds and from a tactical organization that is rigid in principles but not in applications, because Grosso asks for courage and clarity in choices. Muric is the classic “crazy” goalkeeper eighties style, Muharemovic from Juve’s regret he has become the object of desire of the Milanese and of the Bianconeri themselves, Idzes mature, Koné he has finally found the dimension in which to express himself. And then there is Maticthe old man of the company: 37 years of experience, class, tactical intelligence. After many seasons in the Premier League and in the big clubs, he has immersed himself perfectly in the black and green reality, understanding well what to do on the pitch and above all off. The Sassuolo model won him over too.
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