Allegri Figures It Out and Saves His Job..For Now.

By: Jeremy | November 1st, 2009

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If you dont think as recent as a week ago Coach Allegri was spending extra time looking over his shoulder for Cellino thinking he could be replaced any second, then you dont know Cagliari and you dont know Italian football.

Just a week ago, Cagliari was fresh off a loss to Catania, one of three worst teams in Serie A, leaving them sitting just above the relegation zone, and heading into a three game stretch against Genoa, Lazio, and Atalanta, not an easy run in a weeks time. With the state of his teams play, especially at home, any more then a combined three points from those three games would have been surprising and such results likely to have seen the coach fired as the downward spiral may not have been able to have been turned around.

What a difference a week makes as Cagliari won all three games and now sits on 16 points, well above safety, and tasting the European positions. Can we have those games back against Siena and Catania?

Italian football is probably the sport with the least job security for a coach as any game with a major following. Other then Mourinho(and dont think he is not under more pressure then anyone considering Inters woeful Champions League performances), is there a coach in Serie A who does not have to worry about getting axed if they lose a few in a row or have a bad game(Juve)or sit in 14th place after a quarter of the season when the fans want you to be in 5th(Lazio). Even in the NFL or NBA, its rare a coach is getting axed after a quarter of the season no matter how bad they are. It happens, but not like it does in Italian Fooball.

Allegri was close to being the next victim of the game and league we all love and he made some adjustments knowing he had little time to turn things around.

Say what you want about foreign players needing time to adjust to the Italian league, but a striker with real finishing ability cannot be buried on a bench, especially when you paid big money for him and allowed his equivalent to walk without much of a fight. Despite the improvement in overall depth, Acquafrescas leaving left a big hole and his chosen replacement was getting splinters and pundits wondering why.

Allegri dusted off his most expensive asset and Nene showed today why Cagliari will extend the budget and spend big bucks for a player like him while Matri, despite his occasional flashes, is the type of player Milan pays us to take the other half of his contract and own him outright.

Yeah I know I bash Matri quite a bit and it must be noted that he has had some big goals for us(I still remember the game against Napoli when we scored two in the final 5 minutes to steal a game), but a striker who has a nose for goal and can finish with authority is worth much more then a guy whose goals are typically scored with little authority and who is likely more suited for midfield. Nene has this talent. Acquafresca has it. Matri and Larrivey do not.

Nene today through down the gauntlet and showed aspects of his game that Cagliari needs if they are to not only be safe but to be real players in this league. That first goal was a header with authority, not a Matri type flick that if it goes in is by pure luck, and that second goal was about beating a lazy defender to a spot and finishing. With Cossus crossing ability this is a dangerous combination and Nenes presence will do so much for the whole team and will make Matri or Jeda look a lot better.

Allegri got him in the lineup this week and he was helpful in a grinded out win at Lazio and the smash the opponent and rub his face in it win today against Atalanta. Teams without that kind of striker cant have games like they did today.

Allegri can say all he wants that it took time for Nene to adapt to the league, but you cant adapt if you dont play. Maybe he has actually adapted faster then we thought. While he wont have games like this every week, we are a better team with him as a starting striker. Period. Maybe Allegri finally gets it and took the club to hit rock bottom to make him see if that was true.

While Allegri tries to fend off expectations by talking about us now being 24 points from safety rather then a just a few points from the Champions League, expectations have to be higher then just survival if Nene is the player I think he is. For all the bad about coaching an Italian team, the good is that most of the clubs are so close, that winning 3-4 games in a row will turn your team from a relegation struggler to a fighter for a European spot. We are now in the latter and with Allegri seemingly now ready to use his expensive weapon regularly, this club could move up higher then where we sit today.

Are you ready Sampdoria? We are coming for you next week.