So how does the future look for 09-10?

By: Jeremy | June 17th, 2009

Now that clubs are focused on the transfer season, smaller clubs like Cagliari take a back seat to teams like Real Madrid and Milan who buy and sell world class players with about as much thought as I had when feeding quarters into a Donkey Kong machine years ago. That being said, while we seem to be fighting over the leftovers, decisions we make in the offseason can have just as big an effect on the ultimate results next year in what seems to be a year to year battle to survive.

08-09s 9th place finish, which included many ups and downs, saw us uncover some talent and play some great games giving fans some hope to think we can move from a yearly relegation fighter to a mid table and possibly european contender. However, if we take a deep look at our team, while we have some talent, there is the typical uncertainty and unknown that until it plays itself out, we must still look at our team as one that will be fighting for survival in 09-10.

Lets look at the areas and try to see what we have and what we need to do.

Management/Coaching

Cagliari is still run by the unpredictable yet always exciting Massimo Cellino. With 07-08s wild ride, he made the promise that he would leave after the season as he was getting tired of everything. With a chance to muck with another coach, he wasnt going anywhere and it looked like he fumbled the Ballardini return, which made no sense considering what he did.

After seeing Ballardini leave for Palermo, he brought in former Cagliari player Massimiliano Allegri, a coach with no Serie A experience, to try and lead the team away from relegation in 08-09. After the team lost its first five games, it seemed like total disaster. Instead Cellino stayed quiet and let Allegri work through his growing pains. The end result was a well documented finish and with each point gained, the less Cellino said. As with all personalities like Cellino, winning keeps them quiet and relative to past years he was less visible, which is what we want from our chairmen.

Allegri went from almost fired to finishing the year as Serie As top young coaching prospect. Teams like Milan and Lazio have courted him and although he signed an extension with Cagliari and seems like the loyal type with ties to the club, he will leave for a big team at some point as long as Cagliari maintains a mid table performance. While he expects to lead Cagliari next year, I still say its 50/50 he moves on this summer. If he stays, the team is better and his reputation may bring some players to Cagliari via transfer who would not otherwise look at us. Cellino still must open the wallet, something he failed to do last year for Foggia.

Ultimately coaching stability is important, but you wonder how much difference a coach makes. While Nedo Sonetti isnt ideal, whether you have Ballardini or Allegri or someone on that level, the results will be the same. Its often about perception and motivation and that can cause a team to do well with a run of games. What Cagliari needs to do is try to keep stability in the position. Unfortunately that will not happen unless we establish ourselves as a 10-15th place team year in and year out for the near future. Not bad enough to be relegated but not good enough to where our coach will get a call to a big club.

For now its just a matter of enjoying Allegri and hoping we get that extra year from him like we do any player who is really good that we somehow end up with. He will leave at some point but its better to face that problem then always firing a coach because we are losing.

Current Grade: A

Goalie

The goalkeeping situation basically mirrors our current coaching status. We bring in a goalie in Storari who is the player we can thank for leading us to survival in 07-08 and he is not brought back to the dismay of many fans and he is replaced with a young goalkeeper with no Serie A experience.

It goes without saying that the replacement from Albinoleffe, Federico Marchetti, at age 25, was our MVP this year and like Allegri is now wanted by the big clubs. From what I can gather, we will only have him for one more year as he has been sold to Milan for about 7 million, and Milan will let us keep him for one more year to gain experience. Its a shame to lose him if this is true, but if my teams players are in demand by the big club, then we must be doing well so that is the life of the fan of a smaller club.

As with all good players we get, the odds of them staying is small. We are considered successful if we can unearth a talent, typically from a smaller or unknown league, and have him blossom under our watch. Just like we could not get him if we were trying to do it now, the fact we got him last year means not only a year or two of great performance at a cheap price, but a profit when he is sold, which has to happen and something as fans we have to accept.

We should keep Marchetti for one more year. Lupatelli is a decent back up but I think we need to be ready to bring in Marchettis real replacement at some point next year. With Storari buried on the bench at another club, we need to keep an eye on him and maybe bring him back to Sardinia. For now, we must appreciate the scouts who brought us Marchetti, thank him for this great year, and when he replaces Buffon in the national team, we can say we saw him play for us way back when.

While we have young Simone Aresti and Mauro Vigonte currently learning from Marchetti, we have to wonder where is David Bingham, the stud american who signed with us after turning down a bunch of big name schools. I dont know where he is playing, but at now age 20, in a couple of years, he should be on the radar. There is work to do in this area but with the set up of a small club, we have done great with goalies and in 09-10 we should still be strong with Marchetti and we can worry about the future a little later.

Grade A

Defenders

This is where things get a little dicey and we are reminded that we just are not in a position to be a top level Serie A side. Finishing 9th in the league with all the top teams around is a huge achievement, but when one looks at the field players, there is too much uncertainty to expect an improvement absent some big name signings, none of which are likely to be on defense.

Diego Lopez, the 35 yr old Uruguayan, will likely be back for a 12th season in Cagliari. I guess he is the leader of the defense but if so its by default not because of talent. He does well and loves Cagliari, but he is not the future. He is a nice guy to have around, but his usefullness is best for supporting young talent not young talent supporting him. So who is our young talent?

Pisano age 23 with 29 appearances, Bianco age 22 with 26 appearances, and Canini aged 24, with 22 appearances, are likely to be in the back with Lopez again next year for most games. Carlos Matheu, brought in from Argentina last year made 15 appearances, and at age 24, he is getting lessons from Lopez and should hopefully replace him at some point. Agostini made 34 appearances last year and at age 30, gives us some experience.

Overall this is a solid if not spectacular group. They gave up 50 goals last year as a group and more likely if not for Marchetti. Canini, once looked at by the big clubs, has fought injuries and inconsistency and next year will be big for him if he is really going to emerge. Pisano and Bianco are decent young players who can emerge so they are good to keep. With youngsters like Astori, Maggliochetti and even Di Laura waiting in the wings, we have some potential but what is lacking is that above average player with experience who is not considered old. With holes up front, any new defenders will likely be for depth with the hope they may surprise. This is a group worth watching, but not one that excites me. Improvement is needed.

Grade C+

Midfield

Cagliari has made the most of its limited resources to build a solid midfield with a mix of youth and experience who perform better then their pay and noteriety. I really like this group and would spend money elsewhere assuming we can bring everyone back.

The midfield is lead by Cossu, who at age 29, has been around awhile and really emerged last year in his role of bridge to the strikers. He is an offensive force and is currently being looked at by some bigger clubs. He may not be back but we need to keep him as he played in 33 games for us last year and was a tireless worker and producer.

Another player who really emerged last year was Biondini. He has always been a fan favorite and I have always appreciated his work rate which made up for his fringe Serie A talent. After last year, he not only continued to work but showed improved talent and he can finish and score when given the opportunity. At age 26, he is the ideal background player for Cagliari in the midfield. Our teams success really is determined by how players like him do. Where he might be considered a liability, his improvement and play will tend to tell you where the team is going.

Danielle Conti is our solid midfield leader and has been in Cagliari for 10 years and should be back. He has had opportunity to leave, but he is basically Gattuso light and while he just isnt quite good enough to play for an elite Serie A team, he is invaluable to a team like Cagliari.

Fini has signed on for another year and at age 35, he has experience and seemingly still has pace and made a big difference for us last year. He is a solid player that we will be glad to have back.

The depth in midifield is so strong that in addition to the players mentioned, we have some youngsters who if given a chance could be really good. Lazzari, the transfer from Atalanta was a pleasant surprise and earned some starts and was a key sub for us. He played in 36 games and at age 25 is maturing to fight for a starting job.

Parola played in 26 games for us but at age 30 he may not be one for the future as he cant crack the lineup any more and the youngsters are likely to be given a chance over him.

Youngsters to watch out for include Sivakov, who we got from the top Byellorussian team Borisov Bate, is ready to challenge for time and at age 21 he has Champions League experience. He is one of those players we get under the radar that could emerge and be sold for big money later. He will be a key for us in 09-10, especially if we lose Cossu. We also have 20 yr old Raphael Acosta from Venezuela who is improving and wants some time.

This is probably the strength of our team right now in the field. We have youth and experience that played great for us last year. If we can keep what we have, it will be considered a great offseason. We need to focus our funds toward improving other areas of the team.

Grade B+

Forwards

As with the defense, things are a little tricky here but it is because of the future being so unknown, not for past performance. Our two year enjoyment of Acquafresca seems likely to end and if he leaves, combined with Jeda certainly getting looked at, we could end up with a striker partnership of Matri and Ragatzu which would mean our downfall next year.

Acquafrescas talent and story is well known so I wont over analyze it, but he seems to be pegged for Genoa next year. While that is not certain and we would like to have him back, I cant see it unless we somehow get an opportunity to purchase him outright at what might be a discount now. If he is going to be loaned out by whoever owns him, it has to be a team who can play in Europe so that way he feels like he is progressing. My point is that as far as our future goes, he is not likely a part of it.

With Acquafresca gone, that leaves Jeda as the remaining member of last seasons solid strike partnership. He is a great second striker but not a guy who we feel can truly be that dominant striker. Roma wants him for depth and other teams have sniffed, but I think he comes back. Ultimately serious effort needs to be made to bring in Acquafrescas replacement. We need a number one striker and without him, we are back in the relegation fight.

Matri still managed to get into 31 games last year and scored some key goals, but he is like a good utility infielder in baseball. He is not going to determine our future but he can occasionally help. I would like to see him as the 4th striker behind our next sensation Ragatzu. Just aged 18, he managed to appear in 5 games for us last year, typically at meaningless times, but his talent is there. If we can land that big name striker to pair with Jeda, he can learn and grow and might surprise next year. With Larrivey hopefully not leaving South America, we are better by subtraction. We have a couple of young strikers in Gallon and Caschili, but they are so far away that they wont be a factor next year.

Grade: Incomplete

Transfers

With the big clubs still sorting out which big players will end up where, there are not really any solid transfer targets to mention at this point. While ultimately the goal is to get a young player on loan from a big team to gain experience. we need to be prepared to spend some money on a talented striker. I would hope we would secure such a young player on loan or even permanently from Milan in the Marchetti deal. I know there is a young striker who is owned by Fiorentina that played for QPR last year who we might luck into, but for now until a player is actually signed, I think its too early to assume we are the favorites for anyone meaningful.

With strengths in goal and in midfield, too much uncertainty in the back and upfront, we need to do something to not only stay safe, but to also appease the fans who will have expectations of Europe in their heads because of this year.

Its always going to be a year to year thing for us, but we are in a position to solidify the team and make the most of our assets so lets hope Cellino and his crew can continue to bring in the right players. For all the frustrations we have felt, despite duds like Larrivey arriving on occasion, they really have done well to bring in players that have helped. The problem is we bring them in and wont take that extra step to keep them once they perform. Unfortunately until we find a way to keep some of these players, we are playing roulette when it comes to surivival. The failure to secure Foggia in the offseason last year when given a chance is a prime example that even as a small club, you must do just a bit more when given a chance to get a player. Serie A will be better next year so the team needs to work even harder to get players who can help.

Lets see what happens over the summer and I will try to post notes as the players come in or leave.