Inside Reggiana: Viali’s Tactics, Transfer Window and Best Players

It would be ungenerous to file Reggiana into the folder of the big Serie B underachievers so far this season, as the likes of Frosinone, Salernitana and Sampdoria are each far more deserving of that title.

And yet, it is simultaneously hard to argue that the Granata have fallen way short of expectations in the first four months of the campaign. An 11th-place finish in their return to Serie B after two years had set a solid platform upon which William Viali was expected to build upon.

That, however, hasn’t come to pass. Viali, who took charge of Reggiana after leading Cosenza to safety last season, hit the ground running with a draw and two wins in the opening three matches, but his team has won just once in the next 11 fixtures.

The dismal run has left Reggiana in 16th place, just two points above the relegation zone and if the season were to end today the Granata and Sudtirol would face off in a relegation play-off. Serie B’s convoluted relegation system means the 17th-placed team automatically joins the bottom three through the trap door if it trails the 16th-placed team by five points or more, otherwise the two square off in a play-off.

Conversely, the ultra-competitive nature of the current Serie B season also means that Reggiana are only three points away from a promotion play-off spot and their fortunes could improve swiftly were they to string together a winning run.

That is easier said than done considering the Granata have won once in the past three months and face league leaders Sassuolo on Friday, before taking on fifth-placed Cremonese a week later.

At the same time, over the past month there have been encouraging signs Reggiana may be turning the corner. Viali’s move to a 3-5-2 may be yet to deliver a win, but his side are unbeaten in the past three fixtures and have scored five goals after failing to find the net in five of their previous six outings.

“I’m pleased we’ve had three positive results in a row,” Viali said ahead of the derby against Sassuolo.

“Of course, a win would have been even better for our development, but we’re still happy and we’ll keep working hard.”

The clash against the league leaders on Friday will be particularly felt in Reggio Emilia as Mapei – the company that owns Sassuolo – bought Reggiana’s Citta del Tricolore stadium after the club went bankrupt a decade ago and made the home of the Neroverdi.

The Granata have since returned to Serie B, but are effectively tenants in their own home and pay Mapei €500,000 a year to use their stadium and Friday will mark the first time the two teams collide in Reggio Emilia – their only other meeting in 2008 took place in Modena.

“It’s definitely a special game for the whole city,” Viali explained.

“We’re determined to put in a strong performance. It’s a very unusual match because there are two teams playing a home game, even though they’re not from the same city.”

Transfers: Reggiana spent a modest €400,000 (£330,000) on players this summer, the bulk of which went on signing Cosenza right winger Manuel Marras, while left winger Matteo Maggio arrived from Pro Vercelli for €50,000.

The loan market delivered the centre-back duo of Alessandro Fontanarosa and Lorenzo Lucchesi from Inter Milan and Venezia respectively, while midfielders Lorenzo Ignacchiti, Leo Stulac and Alessandro Sersanti joined from Empoli, Palermo and Juventus Next Gen.

Elsewhere, Andrea Meroni, Oliver Urso and Cedric Gondo arrived on a free from Cosenza, Novara and Cremonese respectively.

Best performers: Genoa loanee Manolo Portanova is Reggiana’s top scorer with three goals in 14 appearances from midfield, while Antonio Vergara, who is on loan from Napoli, has registered two goals and three assists in just nine Serie B starts this season.

Francesco Bardi, meanwhile, has kept five clean sheets in 14 appearances and the Granata could be even further down the table if it wasn’t for him. Elsewhere, summer arrivals Sersanti and Meroni have developed into regular starters.

Tactics: Having begun the season with his colours tied to the 4-3-3 mast, William Viali turned to a more compact 4-3-2-1 by mid-September, before adopting the 3-5-2 that is currently so en vogue across Serie B.

In the latter system Vergara partners Gondo up front, with Portanova anchoring the midfield, alongside Ignacchiti and Tobias Reihnart, with Marras and Sersanti out wide.