Caserta shows the way: "Catanzaro in the playoffs? Let's keep thinking about something else"

Fabio Caserta's Catanzaro is the team of the moment in Serie B. On Sunday they inflicted their first home defeat of the season on Spezia (0-1, goal by Pittarello), overtook Cremonese in fourth place and brought their streak of positive results to 9 (with 5 wins, the last 2 consecutive), which is the longest open in the tournament. The Calabrians are the only undefeated team in 2025 (the other was Spezia) and for two months they have been slower only than Sassuolo and Pisa. The difficulties of the beginning of the season and the many draws of the first half of the season are behind them.

Caserta, surprised by such a change of direction?

"More than surprised, I'm pleased. It's a very positive period for results, performances and for individual and collective growth. But this is a group that always wants to improve, so I'm not surprised that things are going well. In the period in which we were drawing a lot, however, we didn't lose and we guaranteed ourselves continuity, which in football is the most important aspect".

You started with the goal of staying up. If you had been told in August that after 27 rounds you would have 42 points, would you have believed it?

"Absolutely not, even though I was hoping for constant growth. As for fourth place, now it's relative and I always repeat the same things: let's continue like this without thinking about anything else."

"In Bari, where we drew 1-1 (on October 18, ed.), there was a change in mentality and a tactical turnaround for what happened on the pitch. However, certain things also arise off the pitch and that week I remember a lunch all together, even with the families, which united the group even more".

Who are your role models?

"Tactically one of the best was Pasquale Marino, who I had at Catania. On a character level Antonio Conte when I was at Atalanta, gave a lot to every player. I like their ideas, even if I then reinterpret them".

At the beginning, part of the environment was sceptical towards him, after all he was coming from a dismissal in Cosenza…

"You always have to have time to work. In Catanzaro, after the numbers of the last 2 seasons, it would have been difficult for anyone, but I came here without anxiety because there is an ownership (the Noto family, ed.) in which I believe, which is healthy, solid and strong; a sports director like Ciro Polito, who I knew and with whom I had already worked, there were valuable players to whom valid elements were added and incredible fans, warm and civil, at home and away".

What does someone like Iemmello give?

"In addition to being an important finisher, he makes the team play very well, he is intelligent from a tactical point of view, he looks for plays that the other attackers don't even see. Iemmello is a luxury for the category that we hold on to, also because being from Catanzaro he has Catanzaro in his heart, so he always gives more and makes all his teammates understand what it means to play with this shirt on".

You started off quietly, but now everyone will be waiting for you…

"The paradox is that in our best moment the difficult moment arrives because more and more is expected from Catanzaro. We will have to be good at not underestimating anything or anyone, starting with Reggiana who we will face on Sunday at Ceravolo, and to keep this enthusiasm alive with performances and results".

Will he stop talking about salvation?

"The standings are clear and we all have a huge desire to play the playoffs, but we must not lower our attention and intensity and to achieve this we must not think about it. The victory against Spezia was an important step, but there are still 11 games to try to get the most possible, without being complacent. We'll see where we get to in the end".