All the pieces of the mosaic are falling into place and unless there are sensational last-minute developments, US Catanzaro will immediately have the new DS and immediately after the new Mister. President Floriano Noto, in the now famous interview given on the sidelines of the Nicola Ceravolo Award, announced the arrival of a new general director as a priority. And immediately afterwards the excellent Paolo Morganti was announced, a young manager of great quality and experience who comes from the Juventus world, where he carried out extremely important organizational work in the youth sector and in the development of the Vinovo centre. Before his appointment at Juve as general director of the entire youth sector and the second team, he had worked his way through the ranks at Novara in Serie C, then reaching the top position of DG. He is already operational and present alongside Floriano Noto in important institutional meetings.
Today Ciro Polito should arrive in the city, a former goalkeeper with a long career behind him, who then took the managerial path as DS with truly remarkable results. A promotion to Serie B with Juve Stabia in the year of his debut as manager, then the move to Bari with another promotion to Serie B and the subsequent cadet championship which ended in third place with 65 points. The promotion to Serie A faded only because in the 92nd minute, the Cagliari of our great ex Claudio Ranieri, found the winning goal with a feat by Pavoletti. The last season was very difficult, with salvation only achieved in the play outs, but the difficult relationship with a cumbersome character like De Laurentis jr must also be considered.
Finally there should be the investiture most awaited by the fans and that is the announcement of the new coach identified in the person of Alberto Aquilani. The young Roman coach (he will turn 40 on July 7th) yesterday announced his consensual separation from Pisa football and, as already pointed out by Passione Catanzaro, with the not inconsiderable like approval on social media from Captain Pietro Iemmello . In summary…new DG Paolo Morganti, 45 years old and already made official. New DS Ciro Polito, 45 years old about to be one. And new coach Alberto Aquilani, 40 years old, also very close to the appointment.
As regards DG and DS, the level in my opinion rises significantly. The results achieved, considering the chronological age, say so. As far as the coach is concerned, the discussion is more complex, given that Aquilani also mainly plays with a pure 3 5 2 and a disguised 4 4 2, which is no small matter if we are looking for continuity. Vivarini certainly had more experience and knew this team in detail, having shaped it over a three-year period. But when Vivarini was chosen by the club, he was a coach on the margins and with little general consideration, in Catanzaro he relaunched himself in a big way. He came from three consecutive dismissals with Empoli, Bari and Virtus Entella, perhaps undeserved, but that’s it. Aquilani was coach of Fiorentina Primavera for three years, winning three Italian Cups and two National Super Cups.
First year as a professional last championship in Pisa, with an excellent level of play, in an overall positive season, always spent in positions of absolute tranquility and limited by numerous injuries to the players. At a certain point in the championship it seemed like it could strongly aspire to the play offs, which in the end it escaped by just three points. And then if we want to make comparisons, which among other things can also be risky or unpleasant, let’s make them with careers in a compatible way. Vivarini led a team in Serie B for the first time in 2017, he was 51 years old and was sacked by Empoli after 19 matchdays. Previously he had stood out for the great championship won in Serie C in Teramo (a promotion that was later not approved due to serious corporate defaults) whose attackers were Donnarumma and Lapadula. For the rest little else with Chieti, Aprilia and even smaller teams. Aquilani won a lot and repeatedly with the Fiorentina Primavera and coached Pisa for the first time in Serie B at the young age of 39.
A precociousness far superior to that of Vivarini, certainly favored by a career as a high-level footballer with Roma, Liverpool, Juventus, Milan and Fiorentina, also topped by 38 appearances with the Italian national team. These are the premises, we are waiting for everything to be made official and for us to be able to work incisively on building a strong and competitive team, while respecting the budget and sustainability.
