The Ciociari, top of the table with Monza, are in 15th place in the special ranking with an average of 47%, while the Brianza are fifth with 53.87%, on par with Modena, 6th. Mantua, third from last, has the greatest possession (62.60%), 2nd is Venezia, the only one in the top 4
The last label on the Mantova weighs discreetly and contains a nine-letter definition: paradox. That is, from the dictionary: “Phenomenon or reaction that takes place in the opposite direction to what in principle should happen”. Translated into football terms: Possanzini’s red and whites closed the fifteenth matchday recording 76% of ball possession, with 677 passes in total (against 211 for Reggiana, less than a third). Where is the paradox? That Mantua lost the match. And the great thing is that, if we broaden the discussion to Serie B, the strangeness becomes the rule: the teams that boast the most ball possession, except one, are not even among the top six in the league.
sterile
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Tell me how much you dribble and I’ll tell you who you are. In Mantua they took it particularly seriously, as a phrase: the red and whites concluded the match with Reggiana by putting numbers on the scoresheet like Guardiola. Yet they lost without even managing to score. A ball possession which, looking at the graphs at the end of the match, seems dominant, but instead becomes sterile as soon as you enter the penalty area: within sixteen meters Mantova only touched 33 balls, compared to 18 for Reggiana. Not only that: with 76% of ball possession it would be reasonable to predict five-figure expected goals, but instead the statistics said 0.78 for the red and whites and 0.64 for Reggiana. A pittance, in theory; everything according to script however for the overall statistics of this Serie B.
the leaders
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Yes, because after 15 days of the championship the numbers speak for themselves: among the top of the class, ball possession is not a fundamental requirement. Take the leading pair: Monza has the fifth average possession in Serie B (53.87%, on par with Modena), while Frosinone actually places fifteenth in the special ranking with 47%. The paradox that becomes the rule: Mantova are third from last and at serious risk of relegation, yet they are the team with the highest average ball possession in Serie B with an abnormal 62.60%. Another oxymoron-like pill: Possanzini’s red and whites have the worst attack in the championship, with only 13 goals. Quoting Shakespeare, much ado about nothing.
in the lagoon
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Returning to the special ball possession ranking, in second place with 61.87% is the only team in the top four in both rankings: Venezia, currently fourth in Serie B together with Palermo and Modena. Unlike Mantua, however, the lagoon players demonstrated that they have very clear ideas even in the final meters of the pitch, if it is true that they boast the second best attack (26 goals). The other two masters of possession are Catanzaro (third place here with 55.27% average, but seventh in the league) and Juve Stabia (fourth here with 54.5%, but eleventh in the standings).
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