Urban Cairo
Yesterday’s defeat against Internew Italian Champion since the victory in the derby against Milan last Monday, it definitively sanctioned the third consecutive season of Torino’s survival in mid-table and extinguished the residual embers that remained of the dream of accessing the Conference League play-offs. Obviously it wasn’t yesterday’s defeat at create regretsnever points that the granata have left on the street mostly with the teams fighting not to be relegated starting with the goalless draw with Cagliari on the first day of the championship and continuing with a scoreless draw with the Veronathe one with the Frosinone on the outward journey then repeated on the return journey, one by one with theUdineseand then after the halfway point another draw without goals and without shots on goal with the Genoa the only opponent not fighting to stay in Serie A, and still draws with Salernitana (0-0), Sassuolo (1-1) culminating in the defeat againstEmpoli and the aforementioned draw with Frosinone. 9 games wasted.
With four days to go before the end of the championship, the season ends which also includes the elimination from the Italian Cup in the round of 32 by Frosinone after extra time, there had also been serious refereeing oversights as happened in more than one championship match, but even taking this into account, the mentioned nine wasted games that weigh like a millstone. Thank you that no one dares to boast about the 17 games without conceding a goal because in contrast there are the 15 without being able to score any goals (8 draws Cagliari, Verona, Frosinone twice, Genoa, Salernitana, Fiorentina and Juventus and 7 defeats Lazio, Juventus, Inter, Bologna, Fiorentina, Lazio and Inter twice). And now for the umpteenth time Torino will turn the page: Juric will leave and the squad will be “revolutionised”.
But let no one have any illusions because it doesn’t matter which coach arrives, with all due respect to whoever is chosen, since in the meantime he will be provided with an incomplete team, it has always happened in recent years. At least one top-quality player will be sold, unfortunately Buongiorno is the number one candidate. Someone will leave at the end of their contract: Rodriguez, who has always done his job, will almost certainly not renew, there is too much distance between request and offer; Djidji; Twin. Players loaned out in the January transfer window who had not convinced them in the Granata and who did not do so even in their new destinations, Radonjic, Seck and Karamoh, will return to base and finding them a place will not be easy, but those sent out will almost certainly return too. elsewhere last summer in particular Bayeye, Ilkhan, Horváth and Rauti, and also N’Guessan who left in the winter transfer market. Those who arrived on loan in January, Lovato, Okereke and Kabic, will hardly be redeemed and perhaps the only one who will be kept is Masina. We will try to sell those who have performed less than expected, above all Ilic (contract until 2027), Lazaro (2027), Vojvoda (2025), Sanabria (2026) and Pellegri (2025), and even in this case it will not be simple and there is a strong risk of capital losses especially with Ilic. Some young players will be sent to gain experience, Popa, Passador and Savva and perhaps even Sazonov. And then a team will be set up with some young prospects hoping to be able to make some shots at Schuurs and players who don’t find enough space elsewhere and need to relaunch themselves. Everything will be conditioned by the sixth consecutive budget in the red for which expenses for players of proven quality will almost certainly not be made and the squad will be set up only after having sold and received money. A turning of the page to always find ourselves, if all goes well, scraping by in mid-table.
