In basketball it is called garbage time, in track cycling it is the surplace, in football it is the so-called melina. In Cesena, there has been great anticipation for over a month. A wait which, after the last day of the Super Cup on Sunday 19 May, will end with the announcement on Domenico Toscano’s future. Given what (did not) happen this month, with the time being increasingly extended, it would be surprising if the Juventus club and the Calabrian coach were to continue arm in arm for at least another season on the upper floor. There is an air of farewell, even if today there is nothing defined and definitive. However, there are four certainties to put on the table and consider.
What we know
The first: Toscano has another year on his contract with Cesena, an automatic extension after the promotion, and wants to stay. Two: Fabio interno, director of the sports area, has no intention of sending him away because he recognizes Toscano’s merits for the victory and the quality of the work done. But in the rooms of Villa Silvia, in view of next season, he would like to change something. After deciding not to confirm the team doctor Vittorio Gemellaro, Arctic would also like to involve the technical staff, an idea that Toscano sees as a sort of “pitch invasion”. Third certainty: on Friday 26 April the Juventus coach met the Aiello brothers, Scotto and Ciaccia, (not ARCTIC, with whom Toscano has never wanted, for now, to plan the future by postponing everything until 20 May), asking them to recognized something for the valorization of young people. That “something” remains to be quantified, but the coach has never asked for a further contract extension. The fourth and final certainty: the requests for Toscano. Catania has already knocked on his door, ready to offer him and his staff a longer contract accompanied by an excellent economic proposal. Triestina is also thinking about Toscano, but has not taken any official steps as the general director Alexander Menta is very close to the Aiello family and does not intend to create problems for his friends.
New identity
While waiting for the end of the season, should it be goodbye with Toscano, all that remains is to ask ourselves one question: what will Cesena lose? First of all, a coach who scored 175 points in two years, the best in terms of average points in the history of Cavalluccio. Serie B is another world, but the very strong impact given by the coach in these two years has been evident and decisive. Recognized by all the protagonists, the keystone of this season was one: the mental strength of the team. The work of Toscano and his staff was painstaking from the first day of training camp and to understand how much he managed to get into the minds of his players just look at what happened after March 30th: Cesena was the only team among all those who have so far celebrated a promotion have practically always won. This mental aspect would be the first pillar of the restart next year in Serie B and would allow us to confirm the backbone and consequently the identity of the team.
The arrival of another coach, on the contrary, would lead to many more changes in the squad. First of all because Toscano could bring with him some of his “his men” and then because the approach of the new guide could be different from that chosen by the man from Calabria. There is no discussion about the confirmation of the young players, but if a coach with the dogma of a four-man defense were to arrive, what would happen in defense and perhaps on the wings? Everything will depend on the choice of ARCTIC.
Double example
Then there is recent history and there are examples to follow or not to imitate. After the last three promotions, Cesena has changed coach twice and only in one case has it chosen to confirm the coach. The example to follow, in the event of a farewell, would be that of the summer of 2010, when Massimo Ficcadenti arrived in Romagna after the much-discussed farewell with Bisoli: sniffed with distrust and never fully appreciated, Ficca completely changed his score and approach, but he managed to snatch a wonderful salvation in Serie A by making the most of many debutants.
Different speech 5 years ago. Cesena, after saying goodbye to Beppe Angelini, chose to change a lot and rely on a young and emerging coach like Francesco Modesto, who deceived everyone in the summer before never making headway in the league and getting sacked a month after the lockdown. Only in 2014 was it decided to confirm the coach after a promotion (Bisoli), but not even Ancelotti and Guardiola would have saved the last Cesena to appear in Serie A.
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