It has taken Cesena a couple of seasons to bounce back to the top flight after being miserably relegated from Serie A in last place, and they’re hot favourites to have a similarly glum campaign on their return to the top table. Just surviving relegation would be a huge achievement for the Emilian minnows.
2014-2015 Serie A preview: Cesena set for long relegation battle
Cesena relied on the Serie B playoffs to win promotion last season, and are expected to find their return to the top flight difficult.
Giuseppe Bellini
AC Cesena:Cesena, Emilia-Romagna Last season: 4th in Serie B, promoted via playoffsCoach: Pierpaolo Bisoli
En route to an unlikely playoff win last season, the Emilian side played some of the most exciting football in Serie B. Coach Pierpaolo Bisoli was quite happy to alternate between three and four-man defences, though preferred to utilise the wing-play of the squad’s star wide men Grégoire Defrel and Marco D’Alessandro. Parma have let Defrel return to the Dino Manuzzi this season, though D’Alessandro has sadly been snapped up by Atalanta.
A brief look at Cesena's squad overall does little to allay pre-season panic, with barely any of the seahorses' players having much experience of the top flight at all. The few summer arrivals that do, like Stefano Lucchini, Luigi Giorgi and Franco Brienza -- all of whom arrived from Atalanta -- already couldn't cut the mustard at about an average a Serie A team as you'll find.
There’s no doubt that coach Bisoli did a magnificent job turning such a young and inexperienced team from relegation strugglers to a formidable second-tier outfit, though barring some spectacular late transfer business, it’s difficult to envisage Cesena being able to keep their heads above water in Serie A.
Key player
Nicola Leali, goalkeeper
Cesena have stocked up on goalkeepers this summer, with the experienced Federico Agliardi and Walter Bressan joining from Bologna and Varese respectively. However, it's the 21-year-old Juventus loanee, Nicola Leali, that has been given the No. 1 shirt, and it's the youngster who'll probably be in Pierpaolo Bisoli's starting lineup on the opening day of the season. Once touted as Gianluigi Buffon's successor, Leali's development has stalled of late, but he'll have to be back at his best this season if Cesena are to stand any chance of surviving the drop.
Key departures and arrivals
In: Nicola Leali, Stefano Lucchini, Constantin Nica, Riccardo Cazzola, Luigi Giorgi, Emmanuel Cascione, Zé Eduardo, Hördur Magnússon, Franco Brienza
Out: Nicola Ravaglia, Luca Ceccarelli, Nicolò Consolini, Marco D'Alessandro, Luca Belingheri, Michele Camporese, Achille Coser, Roberto Gagliardini
Reasons to watch
No one does nicknames better than Cesena, who are known the cavallucci marini, or seahorses, thanks to the creature emblazoned on their club crest. Their young Spanish striker Alejandro Rodríguez goes by the nickname ‘Peter Pan,’ though hopefully that isn’t because he’ll never grow into a first-team regular -- Cesena will need all the help they can get in attack this season.
What’s more, the Emilians are also one of the few teams in the league to have a sensibly-proportioned stadium. With a capacity of just 23,860, it’s actually possible for the seahorses to generate a pretty intimidating atmosphere in the boxy Stadio Dino Manuzzi. Home advantage here could be more significant than elsewhere.
Where they might finish
It’s tough to see Cesena escaping the bottom three this season.
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