Inside Frosinone: Greco’s Tactics, Transfer Window and Best Players

It’s difficult to picture how the past 12 months could have gone worse for Frosinone.

Having seen their Serie A status ripped away from them in the final seconds of last season, I Canarini have failed to recover from the shock and have sunk to the bottom of the second tier heading into 2025.

It all could have been so very different. Eusebio Di Francesco’s side looked to have clinched their great escape with a game to spare, climbing from 18th position to 16th after an impressive run of just one defeat in eight matches.

A home game against fellow strugglers Udinese on the final day of the season presented the perfect opportunity for Frosinone to pick up the point they needed to secure survival. Even then, defeat wouldn’t be the end of the world – so long as Empoli didn’t win against a European-bound Roma side.

Unfortunately, we know how the story plays out, as a 1-0 defeat paired with M’Baye Niang’s last-gasp winner in Tuscany condemned Frosinone to an immediate return to Serie B.

Over the summer head coach Di Francesco departed sticking around in Serie A to take charge of Venezia, with Vincenzo Vivarini arriving to take his place in the Lazio region.

A fresh face in the dugout was also accompanied by an entirely new squad. An incredible 21 players left following relegation, with the current squad unrecognisable from the side that started their final game in Serie A.

Despite a host of fresh faces, the gloom following relegation hasn’t lifted around the club, and they have dropped to the foot of second tier, having picked up just one win in their first 14 matches. It’s a run of form that cost Vivarini his job, with 38-year-old Leandro Greco given the task of lifting the side off the bottom of the table.

Their biggest issue is goals, with no side having scored fewer than the eight they have mustered so far this season. Frosinone have also failed to find the net in eight matches so far this season.

There are chinks of light. Greco’s arrival coincided with a four-game unbeaten run which saw them hold promotion-chasing Pisa with 10 men, while Palermo were also held 1-1 at the Stadio Benito Stirpe.

With January approaching, the need for a player who can put the ball in the net is pressing. Unlock their issues up top, and Frosinone could yet escape a disastrous back-to-back relegation.

Transfers: To call their summer activity busy would be putting it mildly. In essence, Frosinone underwent an entire squad transplant, with 21 players leaving after their drop down to Serie B.

Twelve players returned to their parent clubs after loan agreements ended, with only winger Giorgi Kvernadze’s temporary switch made permanent for €900,000. Once again the club have delved into the loan market this campaign, with 11 arriving on a season-long deal. Those include Napoli’s Giuseppe Ambrosino and Atalanta centre back Giorgio Cittadini. Elsewhere, defensive pair Jeremy Oyono and Davide Biraschi arrived on free transfers.

As well as the 12 loanees who left, Marco Brescianini joined Atalanta on loan, while last season’s captain and vice-captain also departed – Luca Mazzitelli and Simone Romagnoli joining Como and Sampdoria respectively on temporary deals.

Best Performers: Given the position they find themselves in, it’s perhaps unsurprising to learn that Frosinone’s best performer has been their goalkeeper. Ensuring a poor start hasn’t been cataclysmic, Michele Cerefolini has grown into the season, averaging 3.5 saves per game and keeping three clean sheets this far.

Napoli loanee Ambrosino has threatened to spark the attack into life on occasions. The 21-year-old has just one goal to his name but has won two penalties – and his regular appearances for Italy’s Under-21 side point to a bright future ahead.

Tactics: Vivarini had been a staple in the lower leagues of Italian football and impressed last season when leading Catanzaro to the promotion play-offs in Serie B. A sign of the club’s struggles had been his cycle through different formations.

Starting the season with a 3-4-2-1, he switched to a 4-3-3 as he failed to settle on a system. Greco’s arrival has instead seen a return to three at the back and a steadfast belief in a 3-5-2 formation which – the former Roma man will hope – can bring with it an upturn in fortunes on the pitch.