Once you’re promoted from the Serie B, the main thought is survival. Bari did it last season with fantastic attacking football, Parma also did it by blocking teams and hitting them on the counter, and now, Cesena has to find a way to stay in the Serie A. The club is beginning to change, a lot: plenty of new names, players coming in, and going out with little importance as long as the coach, Ficcadenti, can find a winning formula.

New signings
So far Cesena have bought nine players, among the nine there are some unique signings like left-back Nagatomo from FC Tokyo, 19 year-old “Pirlo-like” midfielder Luca Moscatiello from Fulham, and Ghana international, Stephen Appiah. Other players that Cesena have bought are Bogdani, Albanian forward from Chievo; Pellegrino (central defender) and Caserta (midfielder) from Atlanta; and Swiss international defender Von Bergen. While these new signings aren’t very well known right now, there are some very interesting players that can maybe use Cesena as a springboard in their career, to maybe move on to a bigger club.
What’s missing
Cesena aren’t exactly missing much, but there could be a bit more talent injected into the team, for example a keeper with some Serie A experience would come in handy. A defender would also be useful, this would let young Argentinean-Italian Ezequiel Schelotto (one to look out for) play as a winger, where he’s more effective instead of a full-back. Another area which could use some support is the attack, while Bogdani has Serie A experience, the other two main forwards, Giaccherini and Malonga are facing a new challenge in the Serie A.
Formation
Cesena will probably play a 4-3-3, using Malonga and Schelotto’s speed on the right wing and depending quite a bit on Appiah and Moscatiello for creativity. The starting 11 would look something like this; Antonioli in goal; Schelotto, Von Bergen, Pellegrino, and Nagatomo in defense; Colucci (or Moscatiello), Appiah, and Caserta in midfield; and Malonga, Bogdani, and Giaccherini up front. The only fear for Cesena is that players might get injured, the midfield is light, and the team depends on a lot of new players; if there are a couple of injuries to key players, Cesena could go right back down to Serie B.
But Cesena aren’t in a bad state, and there are certainly players to look out for in the team, Nagatomo at left-back has already played for Japan 30 times and scored in a friendly for Cesena. There’s also Schelotto who plays for the Italy U-21’s and is being dubbed, the new Camoranesi, regarding his Argentinean roots and his speed on the wing. Along with him, Dominique Malonga is a young talent from France, who is a versatile striker, who scores with his head and with long range shots. And as I mentioned before, Moscatiello is a very interesting midfielder who grew up in Inter Milan’s academy and was bought at a young age by Fulham, and maybe he can earn himself a spot in the starting 11, as this new Cesena fights for survival.
How do you think Cesena will do next season? Be sure to share your thoughts by commenting below!

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