Position: 15th
Points: 42
Previous season: 17th, 31 points
Best Serie A scorer: Boulaye Dia, 16 goals in 33 games
Rating: 7/10
Season Overview
The history of Salernitana has always been one of ups and downs, promotion is always followed by immediate relegation back down to Serie B. That trend seemed inevitable last year until Davide Nicola’s miraculous comeback, but with President Danilo Iervolino taking more control after the club purchase in December 2021, the bar was raised. Nicola was sacked in February and replaced by Paulo Sousa, who brought more stability to the squad with a long positive streak, even if most of them were draws. At no point did Salernitana drop into the relegation zone and that is already a huge improvement.
Turnaround moment
Their heaviest defeat in the history of Serie A was something that simply could not be ignored. Nicola stayed on for three more games, but that 8-2 humiliation at the hands of Atalanta on January 15 was the death knell for his tenure. It was already 5-1 by half-time and rarely has a top-flight team looked that much out of their depth. The most worrying thing was that if not for Guillermo Ochoa and the crossbar, it would’ve been an even worse result, with Federico Fazio left looking like a tortoise chasing hare Rasmus Hojlund.
The coaches – Davide Nicola and Paulo Sousa
Nicola made his name as the coach of miracle comebacks at Crotone, Genoa and then Salernitana last season, but has yet to show he can command a team from pre-season to comfortable safety. His all-or-nothing approach resulted in an 8-2 defeat to Atalanta and dismissal in mid-February. Sousa has perhaps a better reputation than his results actually deserve, the last few roles ending early amid tension, but he brought stability to the Stadio Arechi. A series of draws was ultimately all they needed to steady the ship with a calm figure at the helm.
Player of the Season – Boulaye Dia
The Senegal international really proved to be a bargain, signed on loan for €1m from Villarreal with an option to buy for a further €12m, but his performances in Serie A this season have seen that transfer market value skyrocket. With an impressive 16 goals and six assists in 33 Serie A matches, he seemed to particularly enjoy facing the big guns, bagging a hat-trick in the 3-3 draw with Fiorentina and scoring the goal that forced Napoli to postpone their Scudetto party. Dia can play as a centre-forward or off a striker with more freedom to roam with pace and power to trouble opposition defences.
Disappointing Player of the Season: Federico Bonazzoli
The centre-forward was decisive in Salernitana’s safety last season after arriving on loan from Sampdoria, convincing the club to shell out €5m to make the move permanent. However, the striker seen this time around was a pale shadow of the one who got 10 goals that helped avoid relegation. Bonazzoli found the back of the net only twice, neither of them proving crucial to get results, and lost his place in the team entirely once Paulo Sousa took over. Now 26 years old, he remains a promising Italian striker who never really made that step up to match his early potential.