The first cold weather arrives, but not for the coaches. In fact, on the Serie A benches the climate is always hot, and it doesn't matter whether it's summer or winter. The technician's job is a tough one, albeit well paid. In fact, the results are the masters and they are forced to live in a perennial Russian roulette, where the croupiers (the presidents) have the power to stop the ball at any moment. This risk has now become a habit for Massimiliano Allegri, the most discussed coach of the moment (and not only). In fact, even when his Milan won, Berlusconi did not spare him notes and criticisms, let alone now that things are going really badly. The Rossoneri are in 12th place in the standings, with only 8 points collected in 7 days, on a par with newly promoted Livorno, 13 points behind leaders Roma and 5 behind third last Sampdoria. It is therefore normal that Allegri is under discussion, despite Via Turati acknowledging some undeniable extenuating circumstances. Injuries (traumatic obviously), suspensions (Balotelli) and last year's precedent, that's what's keeping the coach from Livorno still standing. In short, not much to feel solid; the club wants an immediate turnaround, otherwise the nightmare of not making the next Champions League could become reality. Ironically, the team that is doing best of all is Roma, the very one that had been looking for him for a long time in the summer. Who knows if Allegri, in his heart, regrets the choice made a few months ago? Probable, but the Giallorossi club will hardly be doing the same. Rudi Garcia has conquered everyone, succeeding in the miracle (it is appropriate to say it) of relaunching an environment that was devastated by last season. Character, planning and a lot, a lot of work, here it is the recipe of the sergeant of France, which led Roma to first place, moreover with full points after seven days (absolute record for the club).
It is undeniable that behind so much grace there is his hand: first he defended the team from environmental disputes, then he restored courage (the sentence on the eve of the match against Lazio is memorable: "Derbies are not played, they are won!"), finally led her to gamble with everyone. Walter Mazzarri knows something about it, and he is experiencing the break for the national teams with a pinch of bitterness. Just a week ago the Tuscan coach was on the crest of a wave, then his Inter took a nice home blowout with Roma. Let's be clear, the judgment remains more than positive, but the Nerazzurri have undoubtedly come out downsized. Too early to understand where they will arrive, but Mazzarri's hand is there and it shows. After all, the team is practically the same as last year, except for the faithful Campagnaro and a couple of good backups (Taider, Icardi). But if the classification in May saw it close in ninth place and today it sees it in an encouraging fourth, it must mean something…The Thohir issue, which has held Corso Vittorio Emanuele in check for quite some time, should not be underestimated. On the pitch, however, nobody seems to think about it, also, if not above all, thanks to Mazzarri and his hard punch. When it comes to rules and discipline it is impossible not to think of Antonio Conte. His Juve has lost a few shots compared to last season, but the results come anyway. The merit of the coach is even more evident if one considers that, almost always, the victories came from a comeback in the second half. Let's imagine Conte's outbursts in the interval… For the rest, Juve suffers for a period of poor physical brilliance, perhaps due to a precise choice to then reach the top in the hot phase of the season. Of course, the plan still envisaged at least 4 points between Copenhagen and Galatasaray, instead only 2 have arrived and this complicates the European path quite a bit, but all in all there is still room for optimism. In Serie A things are going well and Real Madrid, the great bogeyman of the Champions League, is not going through a good period at all. Rafa Benitez's Napoli, now known as Don Rafè, is also smiling. So they renamed it in the shadow of Vesuvius, testifying that the Spaniard has integrated perfectly into the Neapolitan mechanism. The results helped, some spectacular (2-1 over Borussia Dortmund vice champion of Europe), others historic (victory at San Siro over Milan after 27 years of waiting), such as not to be affected even by setbacks (defeat against Arsenal, 1-1 home against Sassuolo). Napoli is finally acquiring the mentality of growing up, a quality that everyone attributes to Benitez, whose palmares actually speaks for itself. Instead, Vincenzo Montella and Vladimir Petkovic were postponed, whose performance was a bit too fluctuating. The bad defeats against Juve (8 goals conceded between the Super Cup and the championship) and Roma weigh on Lazio, the stop at San Siro and home draws with Cagliari and Parma weigh on the Florentine.
Four promoted (Garcia, Mazzarri, Conte, Benitez), two postponed (Montella, Petkovic) and only one rejected (Allegri): at the moment this is the balance of the big players on the Italian bench. But pretty soon the roulette will start spinning again, and then, just like at the table, anything could really happen.
