Time to Celebrate and Ponder the Future

By: Jeremy | May 12th, 2008

Cagliari has now secured another season in Serie A after what looked like almost certain relegation back in February. While fans of any team shouldnt get so excited because they avoided relegation when it is not their first year in the top flight after being promoted, this team has every right to celebrate and they did it in fashion by beating Udinese on the road 2-0. This was an Udinese team that should qualify for the UEFA Cup and still had a shot at the Champions League going into games yesterday.

While ultimately Cagliari did not need to win to secure its safety, they took no chances and showed why they are much improved and should be excited about next year, assuming we can keep all of these players we now have. After a back and forth first half with some chances on both sides, Acquafresca, who really was not expected to play, scored a goal in the 48th minute on a nice pass from Cossu before Udinese realized the second half had started. On minute 56, Foggia stole the ball and passed to Cossu who calmly finished making it 2-0. Udinese seemed disinterested after that and the game ended with a 2-0 win for Cagliari. With a confident Acquafresca and Foggia playing in attack with support from Jeda, a strong midfield performance from Cossu, the running of Biondini, and Canini being a young defender for the future who will only improve, this lineup can win games, even on the road, and they have shown it with huge wins in the second half of the season to push them to safety before the last week of the season. Totally unexpected.

This game showed that Cagliari shouldnt even worry about relegation if it has all of its players and plays them in the right position. Ballardini is the first manager in some time who seems to get it. Mind you, Giampaolo did not have Storari and Jeda to use and Foggia tailed off dramatically after a great start to the season, and while Sonetti was placed in a bad position, with the pressure on, Ballardini used his players correctly and gave them a chance to survive. The combination of new players(Jeda, Storari), a confident young striker given a chance to perform(Acquafresca), the improved midfield play of Conti and Cossu, a young defender to build the backline around(Canini), and an enigma that can help in attack or in midfield tremendously(Foggia), this team can stop thinking about relegation every year if they can keep these players and add a player or two, hopefully on defense.

With the team now safe, we still have one game left at home against Reggina. I was begging for this game to mean something and to think it now means nothing, but with us safe, is almost a dream we must wake up from. Maybe we can give a run to some young players but with this game meaningless for both teams, who should be commended for surviving, my eyes will be watching Roma/Catania and Inter/Parma. I want Roma to win the Scudetto over arrogant Inter and Id love to see Catania survive.

Once the season is concluded, we must discuss what will happen to the players we currently have and how we can add players to what is currently a solid foundation. Without going into too much depth, here are the players and situations that must be addressed:

Coach: Ballardini. Is there any question he will stay? The players like him and that is fueled by success on the field. He should be given a full year to see what he can do next year and that creates stability that a club needs if it is ever going to be more then relegation fodder. The constant changing of coaches by these bottom teams while often helpful initially, do not lend to longterm success. We need to stabalize this role.

Goalie: Storari. Keeping him will be the most vital result in the offseason. He is Milan property and we seem to get along with them so maybe they will make a deal. Storari is the reason we will be in Serie A next year, even more so then Acquafresca, and we have to kiss some Milan ass to keep him. He is the second best goalie in Italy right now behind Buffon and Milan may give him a shot to stabalize their problems in goal. If Im Milan, I bring him back and spend money on other holes they have. I think the odds of us keeping him are 50% but this situation will be key.

Defense: This is an area we must improve. Despite years of loyal service, Lopez needs to go back to Uruguay and Canini is a nice young player for the future. With big teams sniffing around to get him, we may have to sacrifice him to Milan to get Storari. As much as I like Canini, I would do it to keep Storari as our goalie until the California kid is ready. We must add a big time defender to our team in the offseason. Storari paired with a tough as nails defender will make for a great foundation next year.

Midfield. This area is stronger then we think with Cossu, Biondini and Conti leading the group. While Id certainly love to add a midfielder, if we can keep Foggia, this group is fine and we can focus on adding elsewhere. The performance by these guys has been a big reason for our midseason turnaround. If we keep Matri, I think he can be taught to play in an attacking midfield role as I think that is ultimately where he will have Serie A success. He is not a Serie A striker and he needs to play support to a goal scorer like Acquafresca which may lead to more goals then expected and improved confidence because of reduced pressure.

Attack: Acquafresca, Jeda, Foggia. I think we will get to keep Acquafresca for another year and Jeda will be back. Inter is in such disarry that they may decide to clean house and try to bring him back to give their fans some excitement. We own half of him so we should not let him go without a fight and Robert wants to stay as he knows he needs another year dominating at a smaller club. Foggia is another player we co own with Lazio. Id love to keep him, but he wants to play for Napoli and I dont think fits in Sardinia with his teammates or the fans. All those factors will cause him to leave. From a talent standpoint, he is our best player, but he cant seem to play the whole game. He did manage to play the whole game yesterday, so he can do it. You see what a difference he makes. I am a big David Marchini fan so if Foggia leaves, I would expect him to take a bigger role, likely in midfield, but Id still like to keep Foggia. Notice Joaquin Larrivey is not in this discussion and I heard that a slow moving boat left the harbor in Cagliari headed back to Argentina.

With Suazo gone, I fully expected this team to get relegated. However, the players we brought in over the course of the year were so talented, that once given the opportunity to play together, they showed that UEFA Cup football should be the goal, not surviving relegation. The results will follow when a team is talented even when they have a lot to overcome.

We as fans also need to change our attitude from our team being a relegation candidate to mid table, year in year out Serie A team with a chance for European football on occasion. Surviving this dreaded year was a huge step for the future of this club. If we can keep the players we have, we wont be saying relegation next year. However, to expect all of these guys to be back is unrealistic, but players now will want to come to Sardinia and with a good offseason, we can have a better outlook going in to next year.

The players, coaches, and even Cellino for his winter transfers, deserve our praise and credit. Its been a heart stopping year and I am already excited about next year. I cant wait for next weekends matches though and will be pulling heavily for a Roma Scudetto and for Parma to get relegated with Empoli and Livorno.

Forza Cagliari!!