Trio with a common objective - avoiding the drop

At some stage or another last season, Cagliari, Lecce and Parma were involved in a nightmarish battle against relegation. All three managed to keep afloat with Parma needing a play-off against Bologna to preserve their status.

Lecce, with Zdenek Zeman at the helm, finished 10th in the final standings. The southerners played some pleasant football and statistics amply testify this.

With 66 goals in favour, Lecce boasted the second most prolific attack (just one goal short of champions Juventus). However, at the same time, they had the worst defensive record in the division (73 goals against).

These characteristics - attack-minded football and a leaky defence - are typical of teams coached by Czech Zeman. On the whole, Lecce were one of the most positive surprises in 2004/05. They survived mainly thanks to their fine early season form and went along to produce some of the most exciting games in the Serie A.

Lecce also fared quite well against the big guns even when taking into consideration that from January they had to do without Valeri Bojinov - the Bulgaria striker. He was sold to Fiorentina for a fee in the region of 15 million euros during the mid-season transfer window.

It was then that Mirko Vucinic came to the picture. His 19 goals helped Lecce collect the necessary points to extend their stay in the top flight by another year.

Zeman is no longer in charge of Lecce. There were times when he was very near to make a headline-grabbing return to the capital this summer. But Lazio and Roma then opted for Delio Rossi and Luciano Spalletti respectively.

Angelo Gregucci, a novice to the division, is the man who has the arduous task to replace Zeman. The 41-year-old is coming from two very positive coaching stints in Serie B, having helped Venezia and Salernitana avoid relegation against the odds.

From a tactical point-of-view, Gregucci is very similar to Zeman in that he usually alternates between a 4-3-2-1 and a 4-3-3 playing system.

With respect to last season, Samuele Dalla Bona (Sampdoria) and Sasa Bjelanovic (Genoa) are the most important players to leave Lecce.

Aware of Lecce's suspect defence, Gregucci has signed Tiziano Polenghi from Salernitana. In midfield, Alfonso Camorani should team up with Alex Pinardi as two supporting strikers behind Vucinic.

All in all, former Lazio and Torino defender Gregucci will find an already-settled base at Lecce. Perhaps, what he needs to do is to instil more consistency in the team play to avoid huge distortions between excellent performances and disappointing defeats.

Zola factor

Will Cagliari be the same without Gianfranco Zola?

This is the million-dollar question Cagliari supporters are surely asking these days.

After positive stints with Napoli, Parma and Chelsea, the stocky Sardinian, fulfilled his lifetime ambition to play for his home club before he retires. In 2003, he quit London to help Cagliari return to the top flight after years in the Serie B doldrums. Last season, Zola provided further inspiration as he helped the southerners finish in a trouble-free mid-table spot.

At 39, Zola decided to hang up his boots. Cagliari will not be the same without him as he still provided inspiration and determination to his team-mates.

Like Roberto Baggio, Zola belongs to that class of players, who irrespective of age, exert a strong degree of influence on team-mates and are highly considered and respected by opponents and referees.

This time last year, Baggio called it a day and now Brescia are back in Serie B. Probably, the Lombardians would have never gone down had Baggio stayed put.

Cagliari supporters are all aware that there exists the risk that their team will find the going tough without Zola, once the understudy of the great Diego Maradona at Napoli.

True, bar Zola, the best players were all retained. But it is equally true that no Cagliari player, including David Suazo and Mauro Esposito, has the charisma and experience Zola had.

Like Lecce, Cagliari, too, will be under the guide of a new coach - Attilio Tesser. He has no Serie A experience.

The 47-year-old, formerly at the helm of Triestina, has to keep up with the good work Daniele Arrigoni achieved during his one-season stint with Cagliari.

Assessing Parma's strengths and weaknesses is rather premature at this stage.

Last week it was made public that Spanish tycoon Lorenzo Sanz is set to take over the full control of Parma.

Sanz had led Spanish giants Real Madrid to various triumphs during his five-year reign at the Bernabeu, including Champions League victories in 1998 and 2000.

Sanz's plans for the future of Parma are somehow still unclear but one believes that he will shortly make his presence felt on the transfer market.

Before Sanz's arrival, Parma had unveiled ex-Ternana and Chievo coach Mario Berretta as their new man in charge while Bernardo Corradi, formerly of Lazio and Valencia, is their major signing so far.

Major signings

Cagliari: Cossu str (Verona), Capone str (Treviso), Canini def (Sambenedettese).

Lecce: Benussi gkp (Venezia), Pecorari def (Triestina), Polenghi def (Salernitana), Camorani mdf (Siena), Pellè str (Catania).

Parma: Corradi str (Valencia), Pasquale def (Siena), Dedic str (Empoli), Lupatelli gkp (Fiorentina).