Appearances should not be deceptive

How can a team in Serie B that has 7 points from the first 9 games be in second to last place in the table? This question is quickly answered. Cosenza had 4 points deducted, which is why only 9 of the 5 points remained on the account.

The reason: In the previous season, not all social and pension contributions were paid regularly. This is why the financial control body (COVISOC) of the Italian Football Association took action and imposed a fine and 4 penalty points on the southern Italians. Bitter for Cosenza, which will appeal against the ruling and hopes to at least get a few points back.

The Marulla Stadium in Cosenza regularly turns into a witches' cauldron. © Social Media

In the meantime, Cosenza has to pull itself out of the bottom of the table. The club is one of the "poorer" clubs in the league. Despite this, the Calabrians are competitive every season and can even flirt with the playoffs now and again. In the current season, they have only lost twice (against Mantova and Sassuolo) and in Massimiliano Alvini they have a coach on the sidelines who stands for a very specific style of football.

This is how Cosenza plays: Vertical and uncompromising Alvini's teams always play attacking football. The Tuscan was never a professional himself and worked his way up from amateur level to Serie A as a coach. His engagement at Cremonese ended prematurely after 20 games. Cosenza is a team that values possession. However, Alvini also plays a very vertical style of football. This means that the team's passing rate is low (only 78 percent successful passes), but is still effective.

The FCS defense must be careful of the “Lupi”. © Social Media

The FCS defense has to prepare for an opponent that will attack at every opportunity. This means that Cosenza has a lot of shots on goal. They don't waste any time, but this comes at the expense of precision. Cosenza has fired the second most shots in the league (an average of 15 per game), but only 0,18 percent of them have found their way into the goal.

Salvatore Molina is out Cosenza's squad includes several former FCS professionals. Simone Mazzocchi scored in the last duel in Cosenza against FCS. Riccardo Ciervo was still in South Tyrol last year. Left-back Tommaso D'Orazio was also with the White-Reds in Serie B. Goalkeeper Alessandro Micai and Filippo Sgarbi played in Bolzano during their third division days.

At FCS, coach Federico Valente will have to do without Salvatore Molina. The winger, who has started all previous matches, suffered a bruised chest against Palermo. He will return after the international break. Molina could be replaced by Hamza El Kaouakibi. Matteo Rover (he recently played on the left) is also an option.

For Valente himself, the match in Calabria is something of a home game. His family's roots lie in Sibari, which is around 40 minutes away from Cosenza. No wonder that his father, who emigrated to Switzerland at the age of 16, is an ardent Cosenza fan.

The Serie B table SP G U V TV P 1. Step on 7 5 1 1 14:8 16 2. Specia 7 3 4 0 11:7 13 3. Brescia 7 4 0 3 11:8 12 4. Sassuolo 7 3 3 1 8:7 12 5. Cesena 7 3 2 2 12:9 11 6. Palermo 7 3 2 2 8:6 11 7. Juventus Stabia 7 3 2 2 7:7 11 8. Cremonese 7 3 1 3 10:8 10 9. Mantova 7 3 1 3 9:11 10 10. Baric 7 2 3 2 9:7 9 11. Reggiana 7 2 3 2 7:7 9 12. FC South Tyrol 7 3 0 4 10:12 9 13. Modena 7 2 2 3 10:10 8 14. Sampdoria 7 2 2 3 9:9 8 15. Salernitana 7 2 2 3 9:10 8 16. Catanzaro 7 1 4 2 5:6 7 17. Cittadella 7 2 1 4 4:8 7 18. Frosinone 7 1 3 3 6:13 6 19. Cosenza 7 2 3 2 7:7 5 20. Carrarese 7 1 1 5 6:12 4

Football

Italy

International leagues

International

Hockey

Tennis

Winter sports

Learn More

Motorsport

Cycling

Watersports

Events

Favorites

Appearances should not be deceptive

Cosenza, FC Südtirol's next opponent (Sunday, 15 p.m.), is in second-to-last place in Serie B. But don't let that fool you, because the Calabrians have picked up just as many points as FCS.

Comments (0)