Consolidation was key for Hellas Verona this season after being the surprise package of last term, achieving a top half finish in their first campaign back in the premier tier of Italian football. It was a much less specular effort this time around from Verona as they didn't quite have the same surprise element that they brought with them last year. Despite that, they never at any point in the season truly looked like a side who were going to go down or even be involved in a relegation tussle. They were inconsistent and had some very poor performances and results which even at times threatened the job of Andrea Mandorlini which seems absurd given what he has done for the club. He always managed to keep their heads above water and he was mostly helped by the mercurial Luca Toni rolling back the years to score 22 goals in Serie A to finish as joint-top scorer at 38 years old. It was quite an incredible feat playing at such a modest club and without the service of a star player from last season in Juan Iturbe who left to join Roma in the summer. The main concern for Mandorlini was his defence - only the three relegated clubs leaked more goals than his side this season. It's something that will need to be addressed in the summer and there's the added problem of a reliance on an ageing Toni in attack who may even look for a new challenge elsewhere which would be a huge loss for the club.
