Advancing for the third time in history and after 22 years. How will Salernitana fare among Italy’s top teams?

U.S. Salernitana 1919, a likable club from Salerno in Campania, will start its third season in the top Italian football competition. The last time the club played in this competition was in the 1998/99 season, when it finished 15th and was relegated. They were also relegated in their first season in 1947/48, when they finished 18th. Fans of this Italian club hope that their stay in Serie A will last longer. However, it won’t be easy.

Salernitana made it to the top flight with an excellent performance in Serie B last season, when they finished second with 69 points, just behind champions Empoli from Tuscany.

The team is led by 67-year-old Fabrizio Castori, the only coach, along with Maurizio Sarri, who has managed to make it through all the competitions of the Italian Football Federation.

He managed to lead Carpi to a historic promotion in the 2014/15 season. Unfortunately, he was not so successful in Serie A and the team was relegated. That was his only coaching stint in Serie A. So Castori doesn’t have much experience with Italy’s top competition, which could prove fatal for the club.

The likable Italian side conceded only 34 goals last season, the second best in the league in this statistic. Slovakian stopper Norbert Gyömbér, who was one of the cornerstones of the defensive line last season, is also playing in Salernitana and it should be no different in the new season. Atalanta Bergamo’s big talent, 19-year-old left back Matteo Ruggeri, is also coming on loan.

However, the offensive didn’t look so great last season. They only scored 46 goals, which was only the tenth best attack last season in Serie B. Moreover, Gennaro Tutino, who was only on loan at the club and now wears the Parma jersey, accounted for 16 of those goals. Cedric Gondo and Andre Anderson, who both scored five goals each, also left the team.

The goalscoring will therefore be mainly down to Milan Djuric, who did not do well last season, and the new signings. The striker Federico Bonazzoli, who has already managed to score two goals in the cup, comes on loan from Sampdoria Genoa.

Fans also have high hopes for offensive midfielders Lassana Coulibaly, who played last season at Angers, and Grigoris Kastanos, who comes on loan from Juventus.

Although the task of staying in Italy’s top competition is very difficult, it is far from impossible. For Salernitana, the key games will be against opponents that are on paper comparable. Perhaps this Sunday in the first round against Bologna.

Source: U. S. Salernitana 1919, Transfermarkt