Frantic hours between exemptions and negotiations: this is how the face of the championship is being redesigned
A year ago – 12 November 2022 – Paolo Vanoli picked up a Venezia team in the relegation zone, took them to the playoffs and on that basis built the team that is now second in the standings, two points from the top. There is time to change fate in Serie B and so four teams have decided in one fell swoop – taking advantage of the break – to change coaches and turn the season around. Let’s talk about the Como case, which defies all logic, separately. In the other three it is the most obvious solution, even if the problems of those teams, which have slipped to the bottom of the rankings, are very different.
beavers in Ascoli
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First the sporting director (Marco Valentini), now the coach: William Viali. They paid the price for the problems of an edgy locker room and the theories of owner Massimo Pulcinelli’s consultants. Of course, the league table is precarious and the team is in turmoil, so after the home defeat against Como it was decided to change the coach. To be on the safe side. The new sporting director Marco Giannitti made the same choice as in the summer of 2022, when he brought Fabrizio Castori to Perugia. This time he made him happy because Castori is from the Marche and has always said he is an Ascoli fan, already trained in 2010-11 in similar conditions: arriving after 12 days with the last team, he achieved salvation despite a -6 in the standings. Castori arrived in Ascoli yesterday evening and has signed until June. with automatic renewal in case of reaching the playoffs. Today at 12.30 the presentation and then the first training session.
maran in brescia
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Also for Rolando Maran it is a return to Brescia. After the dismissal of Daniele Gastaldello, the about-face with Stefano Vecchi and the match (0-3 against Cremonese) lost to Luca Belingheri (promoted on an interim basis from the Primavera), the usual Massimo Cellino broke through. He didn’t announce Maran yesterday just because… it was the 13th, but the club will do it today: agreement until June with automatic renewal in case of salvation. And tomorrow first training. Will Cellino leave him alone? Obvious answer, but Maran has broad shoulders. Right in Brescia – but with Gino Corioni as president – he had received a mock dismissal at the beginning of his career. It was 2006, Brescia was fifth and in the running for Serie A and had just won 3-0 against Pescara, but Corioni wanted Zdenek Zeman at all costs and didn’t even manage to make the playoffs. However, Maran remained tied to Brescia, today he lives in Desenzano and starts again from Serie B after the disappointing experience in Pisa, which lasted only 6 days (without a victory). Yesterday the coach returned to Tuscany to terminate the contract and will do the same when he resumes. Because mocking fate wanted his new debut with Brescia to be in Pisa.
of angel food with spice?
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Finally, long reflections are still at Spezia, and still no official decision. Max Alvini’s exemption is only virtual even if it is taken for granted. The square, even after the narrow 2-2 draw with Ternana, took it out on managers Stefano Melissano and Eduardo Macia, as well as on the players: yesterday Verde’s car was also daubed with paint, as he reported his wife on social media. Not with the coach, who in any case pays above all for the third-to-last place, with only one victory. Whose turn is it now? The company has begun its surveys. He also thought about Moreno Longo, fresh off his shock dismissal, but the former Como player didn’t feel like getting back on track immediately in such a complex situation. The hot name is that of Luca D’Angelo, who has given his availability, but no meetings have been scheduled also because a nod from Platek is still awaited. Alternatives? Peppe Iachini, Alfredo Aglietti and Fabio Liverani. We want to think carefully, at Spezia: making the wrong choice now could be fatal. Other than Venice.
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