In May of 2015, many thought Pescara’s fairytale season was finished after the Dolphins slid down several spots in the table to one of the lower ranking positions for the Italian Serie B play-offs, leading to the dismissal of Marco Baroni from the bench with only one game remaining. Little did they know that in the coming days, a local legend would return as a catalyst to resurrect the club and carry them into the final of the play-offs, and into the upper echelons of the table.
Fast forward to January of 2016, and the decision to appoint Italian FIFA World Cup champion Massimo Oddo to his first posting, as dubious as it was, appears ingenious. With a young core noted for its inconsistency under the previous regime, this new era’s trademark has been the opposite. Now with seven consecutive victories, Pescara are looking like the real deal. They catapulted up into third these past few months and look to climb higher still.
Things are different this time—the young core now has experience playing in matches of significance, having risen to the occasion when needed to. They’ve also been together for quite a good deal of time for the most part when compared with other second division clubs. Yet, it can also be said that half of their starting eleven were brought in this season, so how did they form these bonds so quickly?
Ties with AS Roma’s youth system arguably are the source of this. Three stalwarts in the youth squads of Roma in the past five years are stalwarts in the starting eleven of Pescara — Gianluca Caprari, Alessandro Crescenzi and Valerio Verre. This is reinforced even more so by the loan signing of another Roma prodigy, Daniele Verde, who along with Caprari and Verre, has played but a handful of games with the capitoline side before being deemed surplus.
This isn’t a new phenomenon by any means; other notable AS Roma youth who suited up for Pescara on loan in the past two seasons include the likes of current Hellas Verona midfielder Federico Viviani, Deian Boldor and Sassuolo winger Matteo Politano.
So how are things different this time around compared to when Zemanlandia cast its spell over Abruzzo?
For starters, the signings have been shrewd, as can be seen above. One major coup was landing the Argentine central defender Hugo Campagnaro in the summer transfer window. Upon arrival he was tasked with organizing the lacklustre defenders, and has done an admirable job despite being 37 years of age. They’re now one of the top defending sides in the second division thanks to him.
The obvious star to emerge this season has been Gianluca Lapadula, a Bosman signing from Parma, who at the time of publication has 14 goals in 25 appearances. Truly a dynamic player at just 25 years of age, he has terrorized opposition along with his striking partner, Gianluca Caprari, who has had his career reinvigorated. Ledian Memushaj has also been a revelation, the Albanian drawing the attention of bigger clubs from around the peninsula.
Perhaps one of the biggest differences this time around is the lack of loan signings; these crippled the club upon its promotion in 2012 under Zeman. Whereas stars like Ciro Immobile and Lorenzo Insigne were returned to their parent clubs, Gianluca Caprari and Gianluca Lapadula are owned by Pescara and Pescara only.
If there is anything to take from Pescara’s performances this season, it’s a sign that their manager will go on to bigger things. Previous managers to have used the club as a stepping stone into Serie A include the likes of Eusebio Di Francesco and Zdeněk Zeman. Di Francesco has excelled for Sassuolo, turning a regional side into a national powerhouse on a shoestring budget; Zdeněk Zeman’s party was cut short with an early dismissal, but it was notable nonetheless. Do not expect Massimo Oddo to remain for long if his former club Lazio beckons, which looks all the more likely.
