It’s never the same story, but it’s always very similar. For the third consecutive year, in the weeks that close a season and which should be used to set the table for the next one, time suddenly stops in Cesena and the days get longer. There is a not-so-subtle thread that unites May 2022, June 2023 and spring 2024 and which always has the same person on the cover: Domenico Toscano.
The voices and the word
Sunday was the two-year anniversary of the terrible Cesena-Monopoli 0-3, the closing theme of the 2021-2022 season, which marked the end of William Viali’s experience on the bench of Cavalluccio. After a couple of days, to try to raise the bar and build a squad capable of fighting for promotion to Serie B, the Juventus club reached an agreement with Domenico Toscano, a winning coach and strong man to entrust the team to, suggested by Massimo Augustines. The co-presidents Aiello and Lewis offer a two-year contract with an extension to 2025 in case of promotion to Serie B and the operation is done in a very short time. We have to wait until June 30th for the announcement, as Toscano is linked to Reggina. Towards the end of May, however, first from Brescia and then above all from Padua (where his great friend and former teammate Mirabelli works as sporting director) the transfer rumors begin. For a couple of weeks doubts surfaced and the situation seemed to get tangled, but it was Toscano himself who declared to the Corriere: «I gave my word to Cesena and I am someone who always respects my word». In fact, on 18 June, a month after the elimination against Monopoli, Cesena made it official that from 1 July Toscano would be the new coach.
The almost goodbye
The choice turns out to be a winning one because the man from Calabria, in his first championship on the Cesena bench, shatters many records and achieves the best points average in the history of Cavalluccio in Serie C, but the cumbersome presence of Luca Lewis and the absurd theater linked to the goalkeepers affect the season and complicate the life of Toscano, who during the course of the work makes some mistakes in the management of some players and loses promotion twice in the sprint: first with Reggiana in the regular season and then with Lecco in the play-offs -off. The enormous disappointment and the painful epilogue are certainly not ideal for a quick restart, which in fact is anything but quick, despite Toscano being tied to Cesena for another year on his contract. The company’s inaction does not help, just like the turbulence linked to the farewell of Robert Lewis, ready to be liquidated by the Aiellos but still within the organization chart in June a year ago. And here begins the new catchphrase linked to Toscano: does he stay or go? This time Vicenza appears, ready to make him sign a two-year contract and to make false claims to entrust him with the reconstruction. The coach thinks about it and seems one step away from the red and white club, who however in the end prefers Diana to him. A phone call from the new sporting director Fabio artigianato then convinces Toscano, the season starts late once again, but luckily it ends in the best possible way.
And today?
Cesena is the first professional team to win promotion, but at the moment it is also the only one that has not announced who will be next year’s coach. There is a season still to be finished and on Sunday there is another trophy up for grabs, but for the third consecutive year the slowdown is clear and evident: no official communications have arrived from the USA except from John Aiello, who reiterated the 29th April that «Fabio artigianato will be the one to make a decision». But Arctic is waiting to understand what the final budget will be (which fluctuates between 10 and 12 million), what the objectives but also and above all whether Melby will complete the takeover of the majority package of Cesena Fc or whether the Aiellos will remain in command of the club. All this while he is also waiting for signals from Toscano, who in the meantime has seen his contract extended until 30 June 2025. So we are in the same situation as a year ago. Toscano is well in Cesena and, in parallel with the work issue that affects him (and which remains the priority for a professional), he would also like to see his daughter Vittoria complete her studies here. But there is Catania who have already sent an interesting proposal to the coach and his staff (the deputy Napoli is very influential in the choices) and there is a Cesena who would like to get their hands on that staff. But this will hopefully be the last week of waiting. A wait that lasted even longer than last year and two years ago.
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