Sunday's opponent: Sassuolo

"Comrade Ferrandini is coming from Rome, let's remove the image of Stalin" "Ah, for me it can stay there too". Comrade Ferrandini was an Emilian elected as a member of parliament in the PCI and, despite the fact that we are in the late 1950s, in the period of Khrushchev, of communism with a human face and the repositioning of the PCI, still the base and many of the leaders are linked to the myth of Stalin. All this is described in the fictional book "The Communist" by Guido Morselli, but it is very relevant to the reality of that time. The PCI had to decide whether to remain tied to the myth of Stalin or to follow Khrushchev and, more specifically, to follow its own path which will then materialize in the eurocommunism by Berlinguer. The picture is however realistic of Emilian communism: a communism that mixes the Cuban salsa of the dance halls, the myth of Stalin and the USSR, a production system based on cooperatives with Chinese GDP numbers, excellent gastronomy, advanced welfare and an evolved and visionary educational (in Emilia the kindergartens are universally considered the best in the world) reminiscent of Scandinavian socialism. Now we know that Stalin was a bloodthirsty dictator, but the Emilia of that time was not interested in the politician, but in the symbol: the man who had defeated Nazism as many Emilian partisans had defeated fascism, as Stefano Bonaccini has recently defeated the Lega in that region. To better understand that area of Emilia, you can also see the saga di Don Camillo e Peppone by Guareschi and the film Novecento by Bernardo Bertolucci with youngs Donald Sutherland, Gerard Depardieu and Robert De Niro. Today, this Emilia's area, between the Reggio Emilia and Modena's province, is described perfectly by the singer Luciano Ligabue.

The city of Sassuolo is a small town in those parts. A few years ago, the club was bought by the Squinzi family, who made it a fearsome, fierce and courageous team, also buying and rebuilding the old Reggiana stadium (currently in Serie B) in Reggio Emilia, which has been renamed Mapei Stadium. This year, Sassuolo turns 100.

De Zerbi deploys 4231 which becomes 433 on defense. They play boldly. They have the attitude a little sborone of those parts. They build ball and chain from behind. They seek possession of the ball and the conquest of the territory. They want to lead the game. On the corners they mark zone hybrids with one / two players marked by men. Corner to exploit or be careful of the consequent counterattack. The two central defenders (especially Ferrari) are not very good at construction. If we do the pressing well, we can make several goals. They play with pervert footed wings. Berardi is the right attacker, but he is left. During the construction phase he helps the right back (Toljan or Muldur) to get out of the pressure, mainly looking for the free kicks in favor (like when they build on the left, looking for Boga). During the offensive phase, Toljan-Berardi-Maxim Lopez dialogue to create a game. Berardi is dangerous when he goes towards the center to shoot with his left, but he is even more dangerous when he returns to the left to cross. In this situation he can look for the side change, going to find Boga (right). Boga (the left forward) can look for either the assist with the left (which we prefer), or the shot with the right, with which he is dangerous even from very difficult positions. They can suffer from pressing, especially with Locatelli. Djuricic is also dangerous, the attacking midfielder, especially when he starts from the left, with dribbling and a right shot. Also beware of Raspadori good with both feet.

We will win if we defeat pressing with our construction and if we defeat their construction with our pressing. We start favorites. It is up to us to prove that the bookmakers are not wrong. Daje Roma!

Giordano Sepi