Football Season Guide

26 years after their last appearance in the top flight, Cremonese returned to the Serie A thanks to a second-place finish at the end of a hard-fought Serie B campaign. In fact, they were in the top 3 from mid-February and only lost the title of the league because of 3 defeats in the last 5 rounds. Although they only had the 6th-best attack and the 8th-best defence of the league, Cremonese won more games than any other contenders, 20, and deserved promotion. Coach Fabio Pecchia left, lured away by Parma money, and the management found a replacement in 52-year-old Massimiliano Alvini, with a careerr in the lower leagues, with 6 promotions under his belt but no Serie A experience, and whose biggest achievement was an 8-place finish in Serie B with Perugia last season. He usually adopts a very defensive 3-5-2 or 3-4-1-2 formation and his sides tend to concede few goals, while not scoring much. Relying heavily on loans from bigger clubs, Cremonese saw some of their promotion heroes departing over the summer. This was the case for goalkeeper Carnesecchi and centre-back Okoli, both returning to Atalanta, midfield mastermind Fagioli and creative genius Gaetano, back to Juventus and Napoli respectively. And more followed also among the back-up players. However, they managed to acquire permanently left-back Sernicola and central midfielder Valzania after positive loans. In terms of new signings, Cremonese opted for youngsters with some experience, 32-year-old centre-back Chiriches being the exception. They also picked up centre-back Vasquez, excellent at Genoa despite relegation, unimpressive goalie Radu, just 3 games played in the last 2 and a half years, and forward Okereke, who displayed some potential at Venezia, who are all likely to earn starting roles. Then, they invested in holding midfielders Pickel and Ascacibar, for their first taste of Italian football, also in contention for a start. Cremonese are still hunting for depth in all areas but they are especially looking for weight for the attack and creativity in the midfield.