US Salernitana 1919 is enjoying its longest Serie A run in the clubโs 104-year history. Reconstituted three times, most recently in 2011, Salernitana is propping up the top division in 2023/24. Signs are, if club President Danilo Lervolinoโs recent press conference is anything to go by, that I Granata is in for a very long season.ย
The Serie A relegation favourite, with 2/9 odds of going down according to online sportsbooks listed in SafeBettingSites, has only won once in 15 league games this season. Salernitana only sits four points off safety, though, due to the similar poor form of the other relegation candidates. Empoli (4/5), Verona (17/20), Calgiari (7/4) and Udinese (7/2) occupy the 19th to 16th positions in Serie A.ย
The Salerno-based club remains within a few decent results of moving clear of the drop zone, partly due to its five drawn Serie A matches this season. It seems that turning draws into wins is only one of Salernitanaโs challenges in 2023/24.ย ย ย ย
In a tumultuous press conference on 14 December, Lervolino essentially confirmed the rumours of player unhappiness under new manager Filippo Inzaghi circulating in the Italian media.ย The President began by apologising to Salernitanaโs supporters, although he later was less than complimentary to those involved in a protest following the recent 1-2 loss to Bologna.ย
โIโll say right away that Iโm very sorry that the fans and I are experiencing a moment of discomfort. We are last in the table, and this is not a team built to be there โฆ
I didnโt feel like I disrespected anyone, that wasnโt my intention. Iโve always said that Iโm madly in love with the city, with the public, with their way of supporting us and I apologize when things go wrong. However, I didnโt expect the banners, lack of gratitude, threatening banners, a part of the fans who donโt represent everyone [to] ask me for a meeting and to show face and humility โฆ
I do not accept compromises or violence, I will never be bent or condescending towards ways of doing things that I repudiate. If they thought they were provoking something in their favour, they made a big mistake. We need the fans, we all have to row on the same side.โ
The President aimed much of his unhappiness at the clubโs playing staff, offering no compromises to unhappy players while stating he was willing to sell them all when the transfer window opened.ย
โLast year we had an important season, we are participating in Serie A for the third time in a row and we donโt deserve a team that doesnโt want to sweat or that has lazy legs โฆ
Many players want to leave, they donโt like Salernitana. They are here but would like to be elsewhere. We have very high salaries, [and] expensive players and they have disregarded all their commitments โฆ
I will have a very hard fist with many of them. In January I will sell all those who donโt want to stay, from now on we will only keep people who have a mad desire to stay in Salerno, to love these colours and this city and to always make themselves available.โ
Lervolino threw his support behind manager Inzaghi, who replaced Paolo Sousa in October, saying he has โcarte blancheโ and โmust be totally authoritativeโ with the players.
Danilo Lervolinoโs press conference revealed that Salernitana is currently a club in turmoil, both from a league-standing perspective and internally. It remains to see whether the public attack on his players will motivate positive change or further fuel the growing fire of discontent within the club.ย
