Football Season Guide

Returning to the Serie A after a 2-year absence, last season Lecce achieved salvation following a very odd campaign: until mid-February they were a solid team, capable of giving top sides hard times, but then started an unstoppable fall, which brought them 10 defeats out of the last 15. Had it not been for 2 rare wins, they would have risked relegation. The club and coach Marco Baroni, the architect of both promotion and salvation, eventually decided to part ways and Roberto D’Aversa was hired instead. He did very well at Parma but had a poor experience at Sampdoria two seasons ago. Having built their squad thanks to loans from bigger clubs, Lecce lost some protagonists of the past campaign. Falcone, who had a great season in goal, was re-signed permanently from Sampdoria but they are still on the hunt for a valid back-up. At the back, they lost key centre-back Umtiti, who was often insuperable, and Pongracic, who spent most of the past campaign out injured, should be his natural replacement. Left-back Pezzella also left and this leaves them without a back-up for Gallo. Right-back Venuti’s arrival should give Gendrey also a chance to play at centre-back. Further down the park, they lost back-up midfielder Askildsen and are about to sell Hjulmand, who was their mastermind. Maleh, re-signed from Fiorentina, should become a main protagonist this season while Ramadani, coming from Aberdeen, could also be given a starting role. Up-front, Lecce, who had one of the Serie A worst attacks with only 33 goals scored, lost striker Colombo, 6 goals and 2 assists, and have failed to replace him yet. Moreover, they also lost midfielder/winger Oudin, who was decisive in the final weeks, but Almqvist should represent a valid alternative.