Lecce, Di Francesco prepares the revenge

The week that begins today will be the official start of the relationship between Lecce and Eusebio Di Francesco. The coach from Abruzzo will take over the leadership of the Salento team, signing the contract that will bind him to the club on Via Colonnello Costadura. The parties have sorted out every detail of the operation and now they just have to put pen to paper. Then the president Saverio Sticchi Damiani, the head of the technical area Pantaleo Corvino and the sports director Stefano Trinchera will present the new Giallorossi trainer, who will turn 56 on September 8. What is about to begin will be Di Francesco's second adventure on the Lecce bench, about 15 years after the previous one, which lasted from June 24 to December 4, 2011, or rather related to the initial phase of the 2011/2012 championship.

The coach from Abruzzo had brought Pescara from Serie C to Serie B in 2009/2010, taking over from Antonello Cuccureddu at the beginning of January and had performed well in Serie B, always with the white and blue team. Having received a call from the Salento club, which offered him the opportunity to try his hand at the top division for the first time, he did not hesitate to accept the offer, despite being tied to the Adriatic club by another year of contract. His adventure in Salento, however, lasted only a few months, as he was fired after 13 games, with a record of 2 wins and 2 draws against 9 defeats, with a haul of 8 points, which meant last place in the standings.

Di Francesco made his debut on the Lecce bench on August 21, 2011, at the "Via del Mare", suffering elimination from the Coppa Italia at the hands of Crotone (0-2). He then missed the first day of the Serie A tournament, which would have included the away match against Inter (then rescheduled on December 21, when the Pescara coach was no longer in charge of the team), due to the strike proclaimed by the Italian Footballers' Association.

His league debut coincided with the Lecce-Udinese match (September 11), which ended 0-2, with two goals conceded from the 2nd to the 16th minute. The following week (September 18), in Bologna-Lecce 0-2 (goals by Guillermo Giacomazzi and Carlos Grossmuller) came his first success on the bench of the Giallorossi team. Three defeats followed, in Lecce-Atalanta 1-2 (September 21), Siena-Lecce 3-0 (September 25) and Lecce-Cagliari 0-2 (October 2).

The negative cycle was interrupted by the goalless draw on Genoa's pitch (October 16). Then, on October 23, in the early match scheduled for 12:30, Di Francesco's eleven hosted Milan in a packed "Via del Mare".

The Giallorossi closed the first 45 minutes, leading 3-0, thanks to goals from Giacomazzi, Massimo Oddo (penalty), and Grossmuller. The enthusiasm, however, turned into despair in the second half. Between the 49th and 63rd minutes, in fact, Kevin Prince Boateng, with a hat-trick, brought the Rossoneri to 3-3. Finally, with 7 minutes to go, the mockery was total, as Mario Yepes gifted the Milanese the 3-4. This was followed by the defeat in Palermo-Lecce 2-0 (October 27), the draw in Lecce-Novara 1-1 (October 30) and the victory in Cesena-Lecce 0-1 (November 6, goal by Juan Cuadrado).

The one achieved with the black and whites was the last exploit of the Salento team with Di Francesco at the helm, as, immediately after, the defeats suffered in the matches Roma-Lecce 2-1 (November 20), Lecce-Catania 0-1 (November 26) and Napoli-Lecce 1-0 (December 3) matured. The defeat suffered against the Neapolitans, the ninth in the championship, the tenth of the season if you consider the one in the Italian Cup, proved fatal for the Pescara coach, who the following day was relieved of his duties and replaced by Serse Cosmi.

Now Di Francesco will lead Lecce again and will have the opportunity to try to redeem the previous negative experience he had in Salento, but also the two relegations he has just experienced, leading Frosinone and Venezia. The Giallorossi fans hope so.