During the week there was even talk of a position in the balance in the event of defeat in Palermo. In reality, the club and CEO Maurizio Milan had been clear in recent days, officially and publicly shielding him “for having accepted the challenge in a particularly delicate moment and for having given play and ideas to a team that has found its heart again after the bad relegation of last season.” Of course, the results had not all been positive and the rankings caused some concern, but in the press conference he had reassured the environment by recalling that “we are emerging now, 8 points are not few and a coach must not be influenced by the results. We are working well and soon we will reap the fruits of what we have sown.” And yesterday was above all the victory of Giovanni Martusciello, a coach in his second experience as first after the Empoli adventure and who has every intention of making the most of this opportunity, in a prestigious place like that of Salerno which welcomed him to better by recognizing those human and professional qualities that pushed international technicians to choose him as their main collaborator. AND MartuscielloSarri school, immediately tried to convey his ideas by proposing an unscrupulous, offensive Salernitana team, capable of making seemingly impossible comebacks and who, on points, would have deserved more against Pisa, Reggiana and Catanzaro.
Yesterday was a tactical masterpiece, an afternoon full of emotions and content that allowed him to demonstrate even to the most skeptical that he was not a fundamentalist but that he knew how to read the game by adapting to the moment, as had happened in the recent past also against Spezia – in Italian cup – Cittadella and Sampdoria. There Salernitanaat Barbera, started with the classic 4-3-3, in the second half at times lined up with the 4-4-2 in the non-possession phase, taking advantage of the flexibility of several players, then closed with a sort of 3- 5-2 making a conservative change with the exit of Kallon and the entry of Jaroszinski. And it’s not for everyone, in this category, to face an absolute big team in a stadium 25 thousand spectators building from the bottom to bring seven outfield players close to the Rosanero penalty area with suffocating pressing. And in the last 15 minutes, when there was suffering, we saw a combative, courageous Salernitana, with an incredible spirit of sacrifice and collective participation even on the part of those players who did not take the field.
That “sweaty shirt” attitude that the fans have been asking for since the first day of training camp. It was not easy, nor obvious, to create such a united and compact group after a retreat carried out in open construction mode and with many members who trained knowing they would have to leave at any moment. The squad is still incomplete and would require a strong right central defender, a midfielder dedicated to interdiction and a second striker who has different characteristics than Torregrossa, Wlodarkzyk and Simy who are similar and unlikely to be able to play in pairs. Martusciello, however, never lost heart and, although he remembered the difficulties of his journey, he never clung to any alibi. Even when he had to invent himself Tongya midfielder or rely on some young players from the Primavera due to numerical shortages in the staff. And today Salernitana, after two years of negative records, has also found defensive compactness and tactical balance: the Granata have not conceded a goal for over 300 minutes, they have kept a clean sheet for three games in a row and at the same time they have built an average of seven clear chances per game, both home and away. And now a stop that will allow us to intensify the athletic work with those elements who arrived in bits and pieces and who have not done the preparation. With Spezia, in an Arechi with 15 thousand spectators that can make the difference, there will be the first, great opportunity to send an unequivocal message to the championship. Always remembering that there is a three-year project based on self-financing with a company for sale, but also that Salernitana – at full strength and playing like this – can be the loose cannon of Serie B. Especially if Petrachi fills the gaps in January.