It looked set to be doom and gloom for Torino with many thinking that Giampiero Ventura's side were destined to a huge drop-off after surprising everyone with Europa League qualification last term. The summer brought the devastating double departure of the strikeforce who had fired them into that position as both Ciro Immobile and Alessio Cerci joined bigger clubs. Fabio Quagliarella was the only real established replacement brought in and he, along with the whole team initially struggled for goals. It was a difficult start for the Granata and many of those early season premonitions looked set to come true. However, Quagliarella soon started rolling back the years and firing up front whilst at the back Kamil Glik was a clear standout as the Pole not only remained a rock in defence but he added seven goals - showing his major threat from set-pieces. Most also thought that the team would struggle to cope with the rigours of juggling Serie A with European football but Torino's Europa League campaign turned out to be one of the stories of the season. It was highlighted by a thrilling tie against Athletic Bilbao in which the first game in Turin was drawn 2-2 but Toro made history by becoming the first ever Italian side to win at the San Mames in a stunning 3-2 success. They eventually went out to Zenit Saint Petersburg in another brave effort against the Champions League drop-outs. Maxi Lopez proved a shrewd signing to bolster the attack in January and got his share of goals as the club achieved their second top ten finish in a row. Their were many highlights throughout the season. Bruno Peres scored one of the best goals anywhere in Europe with a run from almost his own touchline but it was in another painful loss to Juventus. However, they managed to finally exact their revenge on their local rivals with their first win over them in 20 years later in the campaign. Ventura deserves tremendous credit and is surely a candidate for manager of the season with the way he was able to cope with the loss of star players yet still maintain a top ten finish and compete in Europe. Torino now look a fully established Serie A side thanks to him.
