Returning to Serie A only 2 years after their relegation to Serie B, Crotone mostly strengthened the squad over the summer with promising youngsters or players in need of a redemption while coach Stroppa was confirmed at the helm.
It was immediately clear that their season would not be an easy one as they obtained just 2 draws, curiously enough against Juventus and Torino, from the initial 10 weeks. While they had troubles scoring, they conceded too many goals.
Between weeks 11 and 14 Crotone seemed to have steadied the ship as they managed to defeat Spezia and Parma, while drawing against Udinese. It was just an illusion, though, as they would lose 9 out of the following 10 games, only beating Benevento 4-1. As the team was losing touch from the safe zone, coach Stroppa was fired and replaced by Serse Cosmi, for his first experience in Serie A since 2012.
Results would not improve much, as Crotone would keep conceding masses of goals, but they at least managed to score more. Simy, who had been quite disappointing until then, benefited from Cosmi’s arrival and scored 13 goals in the last 14.
While relegation had become the logical conclusion to a disastrous season, they conceded 92 goals in the end, more than any other sides in almost 90 Serie A years, Crotone displayed some pride in the final weeks and, thanks to their best run of the campaign, 1 win and 2 draws, they left the bottom of the table and even condemned Benevento to the fall.
As Cosmi honestly declared, Crotone simply did not belong to Serie A but they had the in above-mentioned Simy, on-loan Ounas and wizard Messias, an amateur-become-professional at 28, players who deserved better fortunes.
If they aim at a return to the top flight, Crotone will have to make plenty of changes over the summer but coach Cosmi could be the right man in the right place.
