Football Season Guide

Empoli remain in Serie A after a couple of campaigns in Serie B thanks to a great first half of the season. In mid-December, coach Andreazzoli and his boys sat in the top 10 and were having dreams of European football. The second half of the campaign, though, turned into a nightmare for them, as they won only 2 out of the last 20 fixtures and they had to content themselves with a 14th place finish. With 70 goals conceded, Empoli had the third-to-last worst defence of the Serie A, whilst they held the 12th-best attack with 50 goals scored. Despite leading the team to safe shores, while offering fine football and fielding lots of youngsters, Andreazzoli was let go at the end of the season and he was replaced by Paolo Zanetti, just-relegated with Venezia. Like his predecessor, Zanetti adopts a 4-3-1-2 or 4-3-2-1 formation. Empoli lost several protagonists over the summer. Starting midfielder Zurkowski and left-back Marchizza returned to their parent clubs, Fiorentina and Sassuolo respectively, while 14-goal-scoring Pinamonti returned to Inter. On the other hand, centre-back Viti and playmaker Asllani were attracted by offers that cannot be refused. Several more players left, in particular forwards Di Francesco, Cutrone and La Mantia (10 goals and 4 assists between them) while Benassi and Ujkani will not be missed. Empoli acquired the impressive goalie Vicario and right-back Stojanovic together with left-back Cacace, who is expected to earn more playing time in the new season. Centre-back Luperto saw his loan extended and could become a starter while Marin arrived from Cagliari and he is set to become a leader in the middle of the park. Ebuehi and De Winter were hired to strengthen the defence while the attack was completely renewed with Satriano and Destro leading the line. Empoli are still looking for offensive-minded players, midfielders or forwards, but they are also likely to lose more young stars.