Who will be relegated from Serie A?

Who do we think will be relegated from Serie A?

The battle at the bottom of the table is often overlooked in favour of the battle at the top. As a supporter, I have to say that I would rather my club was in a relegation battle than having a boring mid-table season. Of course, that is only true if you manage to avoid relegation in the end.

Last season, Bologna and Chievo were the teams who managed to survive by three points and four points respectively. Catania were relatively comfortable, another five points further away.

Scrap

The question is, will Bologna and Chievo find themselves in another scrap trying to avoid the dreaded drop into Serie B?

Of course, both Bologna and Chievo did well to survive their first season in the top flight after gaining promotion in the previous season. They now face that most difficult of seasons known as ‘second season syndrome’. The third promoted club from the season before, Lecce, were less fortunate and went straight back down finishing in last place.

Fight

It seems then, that in common with most leagues, we can expect the promoted teams to be involved in the relegation fight as well. This season will see Bari, Parma and Livorno, taking on the big boys. Can any or all of them survive? Bari and Parma were well clear of the rest in last season’s Serie B and may be more confident than Livorno who came up via the play-offs.

Livorno may be becoming something of a ‘yo-yo’ team as they gained their promotion in the first season after being relegated out of Serie A. Parma were one of Italy’s most successful teams in the 1990s and early 2000s, but financial difficulties off the field and relegation on it have seen them going through a particularly difficult time. Bari are another ‘yo-yo’ club as their nine top two finishes in Serie B go to show.

Settle

It is hard to see any of the three promoted clubs doing particularly well in the top division and I’m sure that any of them would settle now for a fourth from bottom finish.

Perhaps the team I fear for most is Bologna. The good news for them is that coach Giuseppe Papadopulo, who guided them to Serie A safety on the last day of last season, has confirmed that he will stay in charge for this season. The sixty-one year old only took over on April 14th this year, but he quickly established himself as a hero by keeping them up.

Difficult

With a whole season ahead of him, Papadopulo may find things more difficult. He has managed fifteen clubs since 1987 and rarely stays longer than a season or two. He will be hoping for a longer, successful stay at Bologna.

Other good news is that twenty-four goal top-scorer Marco Di Vaio has also agreed a new two-year deal at the club.

Bologna President, Francesca Menarini is confident about the season,

“Continuity will be our main strength next season. If this year our aim was to avoid the drop, next year we aim to point higher and finish in mid-table.”

I fear that mid-table is a little ambitious and like so many other sides around Europe they will find their second season in the top flight even harder than they found the first.

I’m sorry to say that they are my tip for the drop. What do you think?