Serie A minnows ready for the big time
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Hailing from towns with an average population of just 50,000, Empoli, Sassuolo, Carpi and Frosinone are the new wave of Italy's Serie A. With their small budgets, unheralded squads and modest stadiums, they have battled their way into the Italian elite by nurturing youngsters with a desire to impress and giving a second chance to players who have failed to make it elsewhere.
More used to life in Italy’s second tier and beyond than the top flight, where they have spent but ten seasons of their near 100-year existence, Empoli were the first of the quartet to put the accent on youth by dedicating €2m – equivalent to 20 per cent of their budget – to youth development. Sassuolo, based in a town that lies south of Modena and has a population of 41,000, began pursuing the same policy at the start of last season, one in which the two upstarts respectively finished 15th and 12th in Serie A.
With Italian football beset by an economic crisis that has restricted the spending power of several of its biggest names, the model chosen by Empoli and Sassuolo is gaining currency. Proof of that has come with Carpi and Frosinone, two other lesser lights who have embraced the same principles and are about to make their top-flight debuts.
Situated 15 kilometres north of Modena, Carpi is home to just 65,000 people. Its local football club went bust in 1999 and, following its subsequent refounding, was floundering in the fifth tier when it was taken over in 2009 by Stefano Bonacini, the owner of a popular ready-to-wear fashion label. In the six seasons since then Capri have secured no fewer than four promotions, with five coaches coming and going in the process.
The most recent of those successful campaigns was overseen by the colourful Fabrizio Castori, who remains in the hotseat. Now into his 60s, Castori moved into coaching in 1987 and has masterminded nine promotions with various lower-league employers, this despite being banned for three years for his part in an on-field altercation following a Serie C promotion play-off final between Cesena – his club at the time – and Lumezzane.
Lessons from life
Explaining his philosophy and what he expects of his players, he said: “I want my teams to play a high pressing game, to keep their shape, play short passes and get the ball forward quickly. Those things all take precedence over tactical systems.”
Though his side enjoyed the least possession of all the teams in Serie B last season and were last but one in terms of the number of passes played, they clinched promotion with four matches to spare and had the tightest defence and the second-best attack in the league. Castori, who has worked hard in learning his trade and experienced failure and success in equal measure, also demands strength, sacrifice and focus from his charges.
“Motivation is the foundation of everything,” he said. “I really like the idea of us coming up against teams who have a lot more money than we do. I don’t envy people who haven’t encountered obstacles in life. It makes you grow little by little and you can learn a lot from your mistakes.”
Just to prove the point that money is not everything, Castori’s team topped the 22-team Serie B last season despite having the second-lowest budget. The veteran coach is relatively unconcerned about the challenges awaiting the modest Carpi in Serie A: “We’ll be going in there with hungry and motivated young players. We’re going to face up to the test. I won’t be changing what I do either. I’m wealthy because I know what poverty is.”
Here to stay
Founded just over 100 years ago, Frosinone are hardly rolling in money either. Based in a town of 50,000 located halfway between Rome and Naples, the club will be embarking on its first appearance in Serie A with a team containing the players that won the Italian U-18 title in 2012 and which has scaled two tiers in two seasons.
A former striker with Napoli and Torino, coach Roberto Stellone ended his playing career with Frosinone in 2011 and has a similar approach to his job to his counterpart at Carpi: “I look for a player’s human qualities more than anything else. My players might be unknown quantities but they’re hungry.”
Setting out his modest objectives for the new season, he added: “We don’t want to be shooting stars: in the elite one minute and gone the next. Staying up would be like winning Serie B again.”
Frosinone have already scored one important victory in obtaining an exemption from the Serie A requirement that clubs must play their home games at a stadium with a minimum capacity of 10,000. Their ageing Stadio Matusa holds just 9,600, too small, no doubt, to satisfy demand when near neighbours Lazio and Roma come calling.
Nevertheless, occasions such as those will provide Serie A’s quartet of modest means with the opportunity to show that they can mix it with the big boys.