The importance of Sassuolo in Italian football
If Mancini’s Italy were to face North Macedonia and then Portugal in the week that is starting today, it is almost certain that the best possible option to compose the offensive trident would be to fish only in Sassuolo’s home: with Chiesa, Insigne and Belotti stopped due to injury, the building alone could compete with one of Riccardo Scamacca, Domenico Berardi and Giacomo Raspadori. Who, on their side, have their understanding – they have been playing together since the beginning of this season, and all three are constantly starters – and a very high moment of inspiration. For information, just contact Andreazzoli’s Empoli, one of the most beautiful, sophisticated and surprising teams of this start of the season, which was literally overwhelmed by the three black-green talents.
Sometimes the numbers do not say everything about the strength and status of a player, but in this case they serve to frame the phenomenon well: considering goals and assists, the Sassuolo trident puts together 37 decisive plays for a goal scored – to be precise, Berardi has scored ten times and served nine decisive passes, Scamacca has scored eight and Raspadori has six goals and four assists. Considering that Dionisi’s team has 36 goals this season in 21 Serie A matches, it is clear that the former coach of Venice and Empoli has chosen the right men on which to base his project. And then there is also the explosion of Davide Frattesi, who in turn adds four goals and two assists to the count.
Thanks to his work and his politics, Sassuolo confirms to be a very important team for the development of Italian football. It is a discourse that concerns the entire movement, because the affirmation of today’s talents is identical to that of the various Zaza, Acerbi, Politano, Pellegrini, Sensi, Locatelli all players who have passed from the neroverde club and then were bought by teams first tier – perhaps with mixed fortunes, but the point is the path, not the outcome. The courage and intelligence to insist on ambitious coaches such as De Zerbi and now Dionisi, on technicians who do not mind fielding many offensive players, obviously creates an environment in which young people can feel appreciated, valued, and then give their best. of himself. They succeed over time, perhaps, but in the end they do it: Sassuolo 2021/22, after a not exactly brilliant start, on the 21st matchday has only three points behind the 20/21 edition, the best of the three-year De Zerbi. This too is a fact that seems incredible, but it shouldn’t be surprising. Not anymore.
Empoli-Sassuolo 1-5
The infinite resources of Inter
Lazio was and remains the only Serie A team that beat Inzaghi’s Inter, and last night too showed that they had the characteristics to inhibit the Nerazzurri’s game a little. In the end, however, even Sarri and his men had to give up, they had to accept the superiority of the leaders, they could not resist the shock force of a tactical system that always finds the right answer to adversity, which has infinite resources. Just look at the Inter-Lazio scoresheet to realize it: the two goals that allowed the Nerazzurri to regain the lead in the standings came from as many defenders, from Bastoni (also author of an assist) and from Skriniar; on the other side of the field, Immobile’s goal arrived on one of the two (!) shots on goal granted to Sarri’s team, and following a not exactly flawless exit from Samir Handanovic. For the rest, Inter easily controlled the game and the opponents, they suffered practically nothing, maybe they weren’t the brilliant and irrepressible team seen in other matches, but in any case they put together 17 attempted conclusions (of which six in goal) without showing doubts or yielding. The eight consecutive Serie A victories are a direct and inevitable consequence of this ability to always find a way to deal with every problem, a capacity developed by Simone Inzaghi’s refinement and expansion work, fueled by a group of players. now mature in all its elements, and therefore fully aware of its strength.
The highlights of Inter 2-1 Lazio
Napoli is finally discovering Lobotka
Luciano Spalletti and his Napoli are struggling to re-emerge from a difficult period, in which injuries and absences as well as market events ended up fueling the inevitable decline after a perfect start. The strength of the Tuscan coach and the blue team was fully manifested in one aspect: the ability to respond to emergencies by inventing new solutions. Among these, the centrality of a player who seemed to have no future in our league, and who instead has been fully rediscovered: Stanislav Lobotka. The former Celta Vigo director, who arrived in January 2020 together with Diego Demme, has always been treated as a supporting actor by Gennaro Gattuso. The arrival of Spalletti and the chain injuries of the various Demme, Anguissa and Fabián Ruiz gave him the opportunity to show off in a system evidently closer to his qualities, and today we finally see Lobotka for what he is: a midfielder able to dictate the timing of the game by moving the ball syncopated, a washing machine able to clean a very high number of balls and to produce many useful passes, but also a player able to break the opponent’s lines with feints of the body, pauses and accelerations of great intelligence. After the victory against Sampdoria, which came with a much wider dominance than the final result would suggest (1-0), Spalletti said that Lobotka “touches and moves two thousand balls, you don’t go to bite him, and so he continually creates spaces and puts even the mess that the coach makes is okay ». An important investiture from a coach who has created Pizarro and Brozovic directors in front of the defense, and who is now following the same path with him too. Not bad as premises, as prospects.
