It’s the crisis in Sassuolo!

“US Sassuolo Calcio announces that it has appointed Davide Ballardini as technical director of the first team until June 30, 2024. With him, collaborators Carlo Regno, Nicola Tarroni and Daniele Caleca will join the team’s staff first. The Company sincerely thanks Emiliano Bigica for his availability and professionalism. The latter returns to coach the Primavera”. Through a press release published this Friday, Sassuolo formalized the arrival of its new coach, Davide Ballardini. Having passed through Genoa, Bologna, Palermo and more recently Cremonese, the 60-year-old Italian technician will now have the difficult task of reviving Neroverdi from the brink of collapse. Eighteenth in Serie and first relegated before traveling this Sunday to Marc’Antonio Bentegodi to challenge Hellas Verona on the 27th day, Sassuolo is, in fact, swimming in a nightmare.

11 defeats in the last 14 matches…

Despite a rather promising start to the season with three victories in the first six days – including two prestigious successes against Juventus Turin (4-2) and Inter Milan (2-1) – the Italian team has since tumbled into the ranking abyss. The situation is simple. Beaten (0-1) by Monza on October 2, 2023, the USSC subsequently recorded 13 defeats, 5 draws and 3 victories in 21 matches in all competitions. Paying the costs of this endless series of bad results, Alessio Dionisi was finally sacked. If Emiliano Bigica was, for a time, acting as interim manager and the names of Gennaro Gattuso and Fabio Grosso, looking for a new challenge after the end of his adventure at Olympique Lyonnais, were circulated, the Neroverdi therefore bet on Davide Ballardini. A major challenge for the former AC Cesena midfielder given the difficulties currently encountered by the residents of the Mapei Stadium.

More than a lack of offensive efficiency, Sassuolo stands out above all, today, for a dismaying defensive fragility. Latest example? The slap received, at home, against Napoli from Victor Osimhen and Khvicha Kvaratskhelia (1-6). More generally, the Italian club chaired by Carlo Rossi has conceded 21 goals in its last seven league matches, an average of three goals conceded per match… Overwhelming statistics confirming the nightmare experienced by the Green and Black rearguard . However, during the last winter transfer window, Sassuolo tried to cure its ailments. Loaned by AS Roma, Marash Kumbulla has thus come to strengthen the axis of the defense, already composed of Gianmarco Ferrari, captain of the Neroverdi, Ruan Tressoldi, Martin Erlic and Mattia Viti (temporarily transferred by the OGC Nice and currently injured). On the sides and without a real professional left-back, the Italian upper echelons have, moreover, invested 6 million euros in Josh Doig, once announced on the side of Olympique de Marseille. Yes, but nothing works and Sassuolo continues, weekend after weekend, its descent into hell.

Questionable management, Davide Ballardini called to the rescue!

Weighed down by the departures of Manuel Locatelli to Juventus Turin (35 million euros), Giacomo Raspadori to Napoli (€26 million), Hamed Junior Traorè to Bournemouth (around €25 million), Davide Frattesi to Inter Milan (loan ) or Maxime López at Fiorentina (loan), during the summer of 2023, Sassuolo has considerably weakened and can no longer find the necessary resources to move forward. Bad management is also illustrated in the direction of arrivals. Despite more than 80 million euros recovered, the upper echelons of the Italian club did not necessarily have a keen eye when it came to compensating for these various losses. So certainly, Andrea Pinamonti (24), who arrived last summer from Inter for a check for 20 million euros, is now leading the Neroverdi attack with 10 goals in 28 matches in all competitions. If Sassuolo can also rely on the former Merlu, Armand Laurienté (1 goal and 5 assists) or even his eternal Domenico Berardi, at the club since July 2015 and with 9 goals and 3 offerings in 17 matches, the rest has enough to scare you.

Snatched from Genoa for 8 million euros, Luca Lipani disappoints, in this respect, in great ways. An 18-year-old defensive midfielder, he has only played four small Serie A matches since his arrival (204 minutes). Far from meeting expectations despite the hopes placed in him, the native of Genova is thus evolving more regularly with the Primavera. An observation also applicable to Daniel Boloca, recruited from Frosinone for €10 million. Although an indisputable starter since the start of the season, the 25-year-old midfielder is struggling to convince in the midfield and is also suffering from the opposing waves. Finally, and to make matters worse for these inglorious investments, Sassuolo must, today, cope without Jeremy Toljan, who has suffered a muscular injury. Aged 29, the former Borussia Dortmund right-back is the club’s best passer since the start of the year with 6 goals. A frightening general picture at a time when Sassuolo finds itself with its back to the wall in the elite of Italian football.

Considered a specialist in maintenance operations in Serie A, Davide Ballardini – who notably succeeded in saving Cagliari, Palermo and, on several occasions, Genoa upon arriving during the season – therefore has his work cut out for him to turn around an outdated team. technically and mentally fragile. For this, the 60-year-old coach will, however, have to ignore his last experience where he finished in a pitiful 19th place with Cremonese. Now fully focused on its future in Serie A after being knocked out by Atalanta Bergamo in the round of 16 of the Italian Cup (1-3), Sassuolo is preparing, in any case, to start a March was a decisive month for its survival. Opposed to Hellas Verona, 17th, this Sunday, the Neroverdi will subsequently host Frosinone, 16th, and Udinese, 15th. In the meantime, Kristian Thorstvedt’s squad will also have to do well against Daniele De Rossi’s AS Roma, who has been very convincing since taking over the Roman bench…