Torino are coming off of their most successful season since the mid-90’s, finishing a eye-catching seventh, in large part thanks to the dynamic Italian international attacking duo of Alessio Cerci and Ciro Immobile scoring a combined 35 goals. But with Immobile already settling in at Borussia Dortmund and Cerci also potentially departing to one of Atletico or Milan, Torino appear to have a difficult season ahead. Head coach Giampiero Ventura has to find a way to maintain the formula for domestic granata success while potentially competing in the Europa League… all without last season’s clinical attacking partnership.
2014-2015 Serie A preview: Torino unlikely to replicate last season’s success
Last season, Torino nudged their way into a Europa League place. But with their best player gone and another rumored to be on his way, it’s unlikely they’ll do the same in 2014-2015.
Gabriele Maltinti
Torino F.C.:Turin, Piedmont Last season: 7th (Europa League via the disqualification of Parma)Coach: Giampiero Ventura
Things do not, unfortunately, get much better for Toro, looking at the players added over the summer, with some of the moves downright depressing. Antonio Nocerino and Ruben Perez are serial loanees who will bring very little if anything to the Torino midfield, and while Fabio Quagliarella is capable of scoring tremendous goals, he has been little more than a benchwarmer for over a year.
All the same, there are some reasons to believe that Torino will be able to avoid a disastrous season. Ventura has assembled an intriguing core of technical but tactically disciplined players which he consistently organizes competitively, and he has proved to be quite good at extracting the full potential from skillful youngsters. Torino will hope that Ventura can work similar magic on new South American recruits Josef Martinez and Juan Sanchez Miño. Additionally, the core of the granata defense remains intact, led by gritty captain Kamil Glik.
Key Player
Fabio Quagliarella
Many people would have said Alessio Cerci, and they would be right in their way (although his imminent potential departure may end that debate). My argument is simple: Quagliarella is the man that has been brought in to replace Immobile, the departed top scorer; if the ex-Juventus and Napoli is able to finally find the scoring consistency that matches his capacity for brilliance, then Toro may still have quite a good season. If not, it could be a particularly poor season for Ventura’s men.
Key Departures and Arrivals
IN: Ciro Immobile (to Borussia Dortmund)
OUT: Juan Sanchez Miño (from Boca Juniors), Antonio Nocerino (loan from Milan), Gaston Silva (from Defensor Sporting), Josef Martinez (from Young Boys), Quagliarella (from Juventus), Vlada Avramov (from Cagliari)
Reason to Watch
Despite their fundamentally counterattacking approach, Torino under Ventura have an odd habit of being involved in lots of really exciting, high scoring games. In all of last season they had but one goalless draw; they had four 2-2 draws and THREE 3-3 scorelines.
Where They Might Finish
Given the loss of their top scorer and the extra energy needed for the Europa League, they will have a lot of trouble replicating last season’s results with or without Cerci, but Ventura and the squad have enough experience and ability to avoid a relegation dogfight. Anticipate Torino to finish solidly mid-table, and for the granata to remain a very tough opponent for the big clubs to play in Turin.
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