The 2011/12 Serie A season is fast nearing its halfway mark. With five games to go before the end of the first round, the table is taking shape, providing indications about the contenders for the Scudetto and the other two Champions League spots, the likely challengers for qualification to the Europa League as well as the teams that will be battling it out to avoid relegation.
As things stand, Inter and Fiorentina still have a long way to go to pull clear of the teams in the danger zone. Suffice to say Fiorentina are only four points ahead of third-from-bottom Cesena.
With 15 points, Bologna are engaged in the relegation fight along with Siena on 14. Cesena have 12 points, one ahead of Novara with Lecce a further four points adrift in bottom place.
In the last month or so, Cesena have improved significantly.
They began the season under the charge of coach Marco Giampaolo who was axed after Cesena collected only three points from their first nine league games.
Several coaches, including Luigi De Canio and Davide Ballardini who then went to Cagliari, turned down the offer to replace Giampaolo.
De Canio and Ballardini knew that a mountainous task awaited Giampaolo’s successor as Cesena were struggling badly at the time.
It was Daniele Arrigoni who eventually accepted the Cesena job. He was unlucky on his debut as Cesena suffered a 1-0 home setback to Lecce in what was re-garded as a vital basement clash.
However, Cesena bounced back immediately as they won 1-0 at Bologna in another bottom-end encounter.
Cesena maintained their im-provement in a convincing 2-0 home win against Genoa.
The following weekend, many wrote off Cesena’s chances of producing a bold performance in their clash with Serie A leaders Juventus. But Arrigoni and his players had other ideas as Cesena went down fighting, giving Antonio Conte’s side a good run for their money.
Last weekend, Cesena rose to the occasion as they handed Palermo their first home defeat after six consecutive wins at the Renzo Barbera stadium.
In the meantime, on November 30, Cesena also secured qualification to the last 16 of the Coppa Italia thanks to an emphatic 3-0 home win against Serie B outfit Gubbio.
Indeed, Cesena have reached a new level under Arrigoni but it would be wrong on their part to assume that their recovery period is over as more challenging tests lie ahead.
This weekend, Cesena take on Inter at their Dino Manuzzi stadium before travelling to Bergamo to cross swords with the in-form Atalanta before the Christmas recess.
Arrigoni knows only too well that, to avoid the drop, Cesena must improve ther scoring record as their blunt attack has hindered the side’s progress in no small way.
Former Romania forward Adrian Mutu, Cesena’s star player, has finally started to make his mark, scoring three goals in the last three games.
Cesena, who returned to the top flight last season after a 19-year absence, have netted only seven times in 14 outings.
Their defensive record – 15 goals against (four conceded from penalties) – is not bad considering that they are third from bottom.
Cesena look to be on the right track after a dismal start.
Of course, they have more to do if they are to move out of the drop zone but if their last outings are anything to go by, their chances of retaining their Serie A status look fairly good.
Statistics
2 penalties were converted last weekend. Zlatan Ibrahimovic put Milan temporarily 2-1 ahead against Bologna in the 72nd minute. David Di Michele broke the deadlock for Lecce in their 2-3 home defeat against Lazio by converting an 11th-minute penalty. On Monday, Francesco Totti saw his second-half penalty blocked by Juventus keeper Gianluigi Buffon. Of the 46 penalties given so far, 10 went off target. Meanwhile, two players – Nicolas Spolli (Catania) and Ezequiel Munoz (Palermo) – received marching orders.
3rd win for back-to-form Cesena in five games under Daniele Arrigoni. Cesena caused arguably the biggest surprise of the weekend as they condemned Palermo to their first home defeat after six wins. Genoa bounced back from back-to-back 0-2 defeats to Cesena and Milan with a 2-0 away success over Siena. Siena, alongside Fiorentina, Palermo and Novara, are still in search of their first away win.
11 years have passed since Fiorentina’s last positive away result against Inter. A goal in each half were enough to steer Inter further away from the relegation zone and condemn the Viola to their fifth defeat in seven away matches. Cagliari-Parma shared the spoils in a dull game which ended 0-0. Parma’s most recent win in Sardinia dates back to March 2000 (3-2).
23 goals were scored on the 15th day: 11 coming from the hosts and the remaining 12 from the visitors who managed three wins. Foreigners contributed with 11 goals while there were seven first-half strikes. Total number of goals so far is 327. Miroslav Klose (Lazio) grabbed the only brace. Three players – Simone Tiribocchi (Atalanta), Lorik Cana (Lazio) and Alberto Paloschi (Chievo) – came on as substitutes and scored. German Denis (Atalanta) and Antonio Di Natale (Udinese) are the leading scorers with 10 goals each.