Tag Archives: SPAL 2013

Champions League Race: A Comprehensive Breakdown

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With the Champions League race going down to the wire in Serie A, the final match-day promises to make for exciting viewing. Atalanta, Inter and Milan are separated by a mere point, while the possibility of Roma sneaking in can’t be discounted either.

At the moment, it is Gasperini’s men, and Spalletti’s nerazzurri that control their own fate, while the other two sides are on the outside looking in – albeit a little too close for comfort. As entry to Europe’s elite competition promises a pitfall of cash and prestige, achieving Champions League football is of the utmost importance, and could have serious repercussions on any of these sides’ transfer windows.

Let’s being with Gasperini’s Atalanta. Against all odds, gli Orobici find themselves in third, and control their own destiny in their final game. Win, and they qualify for the Champions League. After an impressive season that saw them play high-flying football, and reach the Coppa Italia final, Atalanta could cap it off with a berth in next season’s Champions League.

While technically they are the home side for this clash, Atalanta have recently been remodelling their stadium, conveniently relocated all their remaining home games to Sassuolo. As luck would have it, Atalanta’s last game is, of course, against Sassuolo.

The neroverdi have nothing to play for, but have always proven to be a difficult opposition. However, in their first game, Gasperini’s men dispatched them rather easily, pumping six past Sassuolo. With Duvan Zapata, Alejandro Gomez, and Josip Ilicic firing on all cylinders, they should have enough to beat the “visitors”.

Inter, on the other hand, take on Empoli at the San Siro. With Empoli languishing in and around the relegation zone, the Tuscan-based outfit will be fighting for their life, and won’t be easy to overcome. In fact, Aurelio Andreazzoli’s men have been one of the league’s most in-form sides, winning their last three games. As a result, this clash won’t be as straightforward as the table suggests, and the nerazzurri will need to be at their best.

Inter’s cross-town rivals, Milan, will be travelling to the Stadio Paolo Mazza to take on SPAL 2013. After months of being in the top four, the rossoneri now find themselves in fifth, however, just one point back of Atalanta and Inter. Should Gattuso’s men claim the victory, and either of their competitors drops points, Milan will be making their long-awaited return to Champions League football. If they don’t, however, they will be kicking themselves, as they were in the driver’s seat for the most part of the season.

While Milan will need some help to qualify, at the very least, their odds are better than Roma’s. Ranieri’s men will need a small miracle to qualify on the final match-day. They’ll need to beat Parma by five clear goals, while Milan and Inter lose, and Atalanta avoid defeat. Unlikely.

Otherwise, they’ll need to win, while all of their other competitors lose their games. Another unlikely scenario. Much like Milan, Roma have themselves to blame for this, and have been dropping points to the league’s provinciali all season.

In any case, whichever way this race ends, there will be fireworks. Either Gasperini’s Atalanta cap off their phenomenal cinderella season in impressive fashion, or both Milan giants will be returning to Europe’s elite competition together. And Roma, well, best of luck. You’ll need it.

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SPAL 2013: Serie A’s Ambitious Party Crashers

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petagna

After declaring bankruptcy in 2005, SPAL’s future as a club was put into serious doubt. In order to stay alive, they moved the club to the city of Ferrara in 2012, and just five years ago, the Serie A minnows renamed themselves to SPAL 2013. Competing in Italy’s third tier, Lega Pro, SPAL 2013 started from square one and knew they faced an uphill battle at subsistence.

Today, SPAL are sitting comfortably in mid-table, securing their place in Italy’s top division for consecutive seasons. Not even the most optimistic SPAL supporter would have envisioned their meteoric rise in recent years. While their return to Serie A was filled with hardships and uncertainty with their survival going down to the wire, this season was everything but that.

The Emilia-Romagna based outfit, led by Leonardo Semplici, have played some sensational football to date, beating the likes of Roma, Lazio, and Juventus on their way to salvation. However, this season represented much more than just surviving another year. With Semplici at the helm, SPAL pride themselves on playing attractive football, and are one of the few sides within the peninsula that blend experience with youth.

Last summer, fresh from avoiding the drop, SPAL turned to the transfer window, and signed experienced Serie A players. Their mission was clear. They wanted to do more in Serie A than simply make up the numbers, and sent a clear message of intent to the rest of the league with their acquisitions. Andrea Petagna and Jasmin Kurtic were brought in from Atalanta, while Sassuolo’s Simone Missiroli was identified to tidy up the midfield.

Armed with their experience, SPAL understood they had more than enough to guarantee their Serie A status for another season. In Petagna, SPAL have a target man capable of scoring with his head and both feet for years to come. Currently, the Atalanta loanee is on 15 goals on the season, and counting. Missiroli, by contrast, joins Kurtic and Pasquale Schiattarella in what is an overall experienced midfield, and remain one of the league’s underrated trios due to their age.

Semplici’s men, however, would not stop there, and also brought in a number of young prospects including goalkeeper Alfred Gomis, Torino’s Kevin Bonifazi, Hellas Verona’s Mohamed Fares, Lazio’s Alessandro Murgia among others. Together, these players offered some much needed depth, and youth at crucial times throughout the season. Factor in club veteran Manuel Lazzari’s industrious nature on the right wing along with these acquisitions, and it’s clear, SPAL possess a truly dynamic and versatile roster capable of hurting any side in Italy on their day. After all, this season they beat Roma, home AND away.

Off the pitch, SPAL have emerged as an example for the rest of the league’s provinciali, as well. When they made the leap to Serie B, the club restructured their stadium to comply with the league’s safety and comfort guidelines.

In the summer of 2018, the Stadio Paolo Mazza went under further construction, and their seating capacity was raised from 13,135 seats to 16,134. In an era where most Italian clubs get bogged down by bureaucracy and paperwork, including some of Serie A’s major players, SPAL have been able to carve out a home for themselves within Ferrara, and don’t look like they’re ready to stop anytime soon. While modest in size, SPAL possess one of the more modern grounds within the league.  

If their plans for expansion are anything to go by, expect to see Semplici’s men continue their rise for years to come. After all, despite suffering countless set-backs, SPAL 2013 have shown they’re ready to roll with the punches and adapt. At a time where most Italian football sides are content with maintaining the status quo, SPAL are holding their own, and redefining boundaries within the Italian game in the process. And for that, they should be commended.

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