Football Season Guide

Bari

In


Fedato (att)(Sampdoria on loan); Moras (def)(Verona); Monachello (att)(Atalanta on loan); Martinho (mid)(free-agent); DaprelĂ  (def)(Chievo on loan); Cassani (def)(Sampdoria); Basha (mid)(free-agent)

Out


Guarna (sp)(gk)(Foggia on loan); Puscas (sp)(att)(Inter end of loan); Sansone (r)(att)(Sampdoria end of loan); Porcari (sp)(mid)(Cremonese); Donkor(r)(def)(Inter end of loan); Ligi (sp)(def)(Cesena); Gemiti (r)(def)(Cremonese); Petropoulos (att)(released); Rosina (k)(att)(Catania end of loan); Del Grosso (r)(def)(Atalanta end of loan); Contini (r)(def)(released); Jakimovski (r)(def)(released); Cissokho (r)(def)(Genoa end of loan)

The past one was a disappointing season for the cockerels...back in August they were among the favorites for the title considering the important transfer market made that led in Apulia many important players, they ended the regular season in 5th position and were surprisingly defeated 3-4 by Novara in the playoffs' preliminary round. The team had a very wavering trend, some excellent performances were followed by unexpected defeats, a trend that didn't change despite the change on the bench, from Nicola to Camplone. The problem was possibly both tactical, the team never seemed to be balanced and solid, and psychological whereas they tended to disunite after suffering a goal. This year the club decided to appoint as new coach former Frosinone Roberto Stellone, able to win two consecutive promotions with the canaries, from Lega Pro to Serie A. Stellone will probably opt for a balanced 4-4-2 system of play therefore abandoning the 4-3-3 of his predecessors. During the summer many important players left Bari, above all strikers Rosina and Sansone and experienced centre-back Contini. If in defense the club worked well signing Greek centre-back Moras and former Italy international Cassani, something is maybe missing in attack where the newcomers are Italian Under 21 international Monachello and former Livorno Fedato. The same can be said for the midfield where the only arrival is Brazilian Martinho. It seems that, despite the last couple of years, this time the club wants to rely more on the team play than on individuals. Meanwhile the biancorossi defeated Cosenza in the second round of Coppa Italia, but were then kicked out by Palermo.

Target


Bari are definitively among the favorites to reach the playoffs, they can count on some very experienced players and a good coach. They maybe don't have the same quality as other teams, especially in midfield, but will probably fight for promotion.