Inside Juve Stabia: Pagliuca’s Tactics, Transfer Window and Best Players

From Cesena to Juve Stabia and Mantova, Serie B newcomers have punched above their weight so far this season.

Surprise packages didn’t come much bigger than the Stabians early in the campaign, with the newly-promoted side racking up eight points in their first four games.

Those who thought Juve Stabia were a flash in the pan were made to eat their words as Guido Pagliuca’s men added six more in the next four fixtures and went into the second international break in fourth place, two points behind second-placed Spezia after becoming the first team to beat league leaders Pisa.

But the break seemed to disrupt their rhythm, with the Stabians currently on a seven-game winless run which included defeats against Cremonese and Spezia.

More worryingly, Pagliuca’s men have failed to score in three of their last four outings and remain over-reliant on summer signing Andrea Adorante for goals.

The former Triestina striker has scored five times this season, with Gabriele Artistico, Kevin Piscopo and Fabio Maistro the next best with two apiece.

The good news for Pagliuca’s men is that the defensive solidity upon which they built their promotion campaign has continued to be their cornerstone this term, with 18 goals conceded in 15 matches.

“Our goal remains to avoid relegation,” he told La Gazzetta dello Sport. Yet despite their recent winless run, Juve Stabia are eighth in the table and are right in the play-offs mix.

The Gialloblu have the second youngest squad in the league and Pagliuca has worked brilliantly to integrate the youngsters in his system. A second promotion on the bounce may be a tall order, but it would be a surprise not to see Juve Stabia in Serie B next term.

Transfers: Even by Serie B’s standards, the €450,000 Juve Stabia spent in the transfer window was a very modest outlay. Half of the sum was spent on signing Andrea Adorante from Triestina, who has proved to be a shrewd signing, with the remaining €200,000 on Modena midfielder Nicola Mosti.

Marco Varnier, Elian Demirovic, Riccardo Tonin, Flavio Di Dio and Fabio Maistro, arrived on a free transfer, while Niccolo Fortini and Gabriele Artistico joined on loan from Fiorentina and Lazio respectively, headlining a raft of loan signings.

Best performers: Adorante has wasted no time making an impact since joining from Triestina in the summer, scoring five goals in 15 matches and leading the Stabians attack with aplomb so far.

At the other end of the pitch, Demba Thiam has kept six clean sheets so far this season, the third-most in Serie B.

Tactics: Guido Pagliuca has been firmly committed to a 3-4-2-1 formation with Adorante the focal point of the attack and Mosti one of the two No10s behind him, alongside Kevin Piscopo. Pagliuca has since tinkered with a 3-5-2 and 3-4-1-2 in a bid to end a six-game winless run, with Leonardo Candellone deployed alongside Adorante up front.

Christian Pierobon, Maistro and Davide Buglio have been key figures for Pagliuca’s midfield, while Marco Bellich, Francesco Folino and Marco Ruggero have been regular starters in Juve Stabia’s three-man defence.