Football Season Guide

When he acquired the club more than 20 years ago, President Cairo promised that Torino would have returned among the elite of Italian football. He did not keep his promise, though, as the Bulls actually made Europe on a couple of occasions while they mostly had to fight for their life or content themselves with mediocrity. The past season was not bad after all as, despite some harsh set-backs, like the games against Como or Inter, 16 goals conceded in 3 fixtures, and the sacking of coach Marco Baroni, who was replaced by Roberto D’Aversa at the beginning of March. In fact, they only momentarily looked to be fighting against relegation and they eventually finished in the 12th place, 5 points below the top 10. Despite leading them to salvation, coach D’Aversa was let go and was replaced by Ignazio Abate, who unexpectedly made the Serie B promotion playoffs at the helm of Juve Stabia. Last season, Torino held the next-to-worst defence of the Serie A with 63 goals conceded and the management tried to strengthen their back over the summer. Maripan, who lost his starting status at some point, Ebosse and Marinucci, both returned to their parent clubs, all departed but they signed Comuzzo, a great promise in need of redemption, from Fiorentina and Comert, on a free. They are both expected to earn starting places but more centre-backs may be needed. Then, they lost starting left-back Obrador, and his deputy Nkounkou: no replacement arrived, thus leaving Biraghi, coming off a forgettable campaign, and Cacciamani, returned from a positive stint at Juve Stabia, to fight for a start. On the right, they lost Lazaro and an alternative to Pedersen is thus needed. In the midfield, they let go the likes of Tameze and Prati, while Anjorin is expected to play a major role after spending most of the past campaign injured and 23-year-old Fitz-Jim arrived from Ajax. Attacking midfielder Oristanio should provide cover for fundamental Vlasic. They are also looking for a new keeper, with Israel disappointing last season, while a new striker could also be needed.