Salernitana are chasing their third consecutive home win to overtake Pisa and fuel the enthusiasm of a fan base that never ceases to amaze. While waiting for the list of players called up to be announced and for Martusciello to take stock of the situation regarding the infirmary in this morning’s press conference, the Granata team is working hard to adjust a rearguard that has been conceding goals in bunches for three years and that has not been able to guarantee reliability since the days of Fabrizio Castori and his 3-5-2 made of aggression, organization and perfect coverage of spaces. In their very first official matches, the Campanians have conceded 10 goals: 3 in the Italian Cup and seven in the league, with the Arechi goal not remaining intact in league matches since May 2023. On that occasion, the hosts won 1-0 against Atalanta thanks to a goal in injury time by Antonio Candreva. For tomorrow’s challenge, however, the Granata trainer will be able to count on new players with great experience and temperament. It is easy to imagine that, in front of Sepe, there will be Stojanovic and Jaroszynski on the wings and the Ferrari-Bronn duo in the center, although the former Sassuolo player missed the entire retreat and is not yet 100%. The youngsters Gentile, Velthuis and Njoh, therefore, lose positions in the hierarchies while Ruggeri has never been taken into consideration. Obviously a good defensive phase also depends on the midfield’s ability to provide support when not in possession. The choice to focus only on players dedicated to construction and not to interdiction, however, is penalizing. The classic calculated risk that “forces” Salernitana to always play the game.
We were talking about the fans at the beginning. Once again the people of Granata faith have responded present and will guarantee at least 15 thousand spectators. After a relegation, with a company for sale, a resigning president and a less than exciting incoming market. Even in the previous matches Arechi had offered a great view: 7 thousand in the cup with Spezia, 12 thousand at the debut with Cittadella, 16 thousand in the midweek round with Sampdoria. Without forgetting the double sold out at Bolzano and Mantuatwo cities not exactly around the corner and with guest sectors that did not offer a capacity proportionate to the enormous demand for tickets. It is no coincidence that the tickets were sold out in less than 30 minutes. After all, we are talking about a fan base that, even last year, net of last place, brought an average of 1500 people away and 15 thousand at home, with the spectacular scenography on the occasion of the challenge with Verona and a protest that was always very civil and never put before the unconditional support for the shirt.