Pescara’s season, which began in September with an illusory 3-1 victory at the Adriatico against Juventus Next Gen, ended – ironically – in the second round of the playoffs with a defeat suffered in the same stadium, by the same opponent and with the same score; after Sekulov’s instant advantage for Juventus, it was the injury time that held the greatest excitement: Guerra’s second goal for the host in the 91st minute, Milani’s goal in the 97th minute to give the Bianconeri extreme hope (for whom even a draw would have been enough ) and a final seal in the 99th minute from Mbangula, whose celebration under the Curva Nord sparked a final brawl (Sasanelli and Pedro Felipe sent off).
Thus ends one of the most disappointing years in the history of the Dolphin, negative from all points of view. The crisis of results (only a sixth place in the regular season, with a 41 point gap from leaders Cesena) was accompanied by an even more serious crisis of play, with terrible performances in particular against opponents of very modest caliber. The three coaches who succeeded one another on the bench (Zeman, Bucaro and Cascione) tried in vain to give a physiognomy to the team, constantly changing the interpreters and sometimes even the module; in fact there has never been a starting eleven. Not even the calendar was favorable to the blue and whites, with an exhausting series of matches played at night (especially in the cold months) and on weekdays, which in fact contributed to keeping the public away from the Adriatico stadium. Added to all this were other events off the pitch, from Mr. Zeman’s health problems to the private legal troubles of some players, up to the growing opposition of the fans towards the management, which further complicated the team’s path.
It is difficult to predict who, among managers, coaches or players, will remain next season, given that even president Sebastiani himself seems intent on handing over the reins of the club. Certainly this time it will not be enough to put a few patches, but a radical reconstruction will have to be carried out. Once the corporate structure is defined as soon as possible, serious and long-term planning will need to be carried out, because a place like Pescara does not deserve a show like the one staged this year.
