Who are Serie A newcomers Frosinone?

Who are Serie A newcomers Frosinone?

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When Roma take to the field at the Stadio Matusa this weekend, they will be in unfamiliar surroundings.

This will be Roma’ first top flight visit to Frosinone. In fact, it will be all other 19 Serie A teams’ first trip to the Gialloblu in the Serie A. But just who are the minors Frosinone and how have they found themselves amongst such established company?

Frosinone is located in the southern part of the Lazio region in Italy. Being just under 100km away from Italy’s capital, this weekend’s game against Roma is a sort of local derby. Frosinone have always been the third team in Lazio behind the two Roman giants. Their main rivals in recent years have been Latina, with those duals coming in the third tier of Italian football.

With a population of just over 45,000, minors is certainly the appropriate term for Frosinone.

Meanwhile, Carpi, the other new boys in Serie A, reside within a population of 76,000. With such a tiny number, you would expect Frosinone’s rise to be on the bankroll of a multi-millionaire spending his way to the top. But it has been far from that. Frosinone have stuck to their roots and been the typical underdogs.

Frosinone have secured back-to-back promotions to get to Serie A. At neither starting point were Frosinone fancied by the bookies. In fact at the start of last season, Frosinone were more likely to be relegated from Serie B than gain promotion to the promised land.

Another sign of Frosinone believing in what they do is their coach. Thirty-seven-year-old Roberto Stallone played for Napoli and Torino before ending his career at Frosinone. After retirement, he took over the youth team of the Gialloblu. After achieving national success at youth level, Stallone took on the main job and never looked back, consolidating in his first season in charge with a seventh-placed finish in the third tier. Stallone has gone on to mastermind Frosinone’s incredible back-to-back promotions.

Once in Serie A, Stallone and Frosinone have not gone about it in the conventional way either. Many newly-promoted sides would add to their squads with seasoned professionals, experienced players who know what the league is all about. But Frosinone has taken a different road in the hope of securing survival.

Daniele Verde, Samuele Longo and Nicola Leali have all been brought in on loan from Roma, Inter and Juventus respectively. None have established themselves in Serie A after impressing at youth level for both club and country. All have a lot to prove and will be keen to impress. They will be hugely boosted by the knowledge they will play week in, week out. It is an interesting way to build a squad but so far it has not borne results.

A newly-promoted side will always earmark games where they believe they could pick up points. Torino at home and away at Atalanta would certainly be two such fixtures. Yet after their first two rounds in Serie A, Frosinone are pointless having scored just one goal. That will certainly disappoint Stallone considering they were Serie B’s second highest goalscorers last season.

It is fair to say they have not been blown away in either of their games though. Their work rate and effort which got them to this level has been clear for all to see. All this has not, however, stopped most pundits claiming Frosinone are doomed for an immediate return to Serie B.

Frosinone can take heart from some of the opposition they will face this year in Italy’s top flight. The likes of Chievo, Empoli and Sassuolo are hardly giants of the Italian game and on paper should not be in Serie A. Yet they have all proven the odds can be defied and underdogs can triumph.

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One-hundred-and-three years is a long time to wait for top flight football. Frosinone are determined to do more than just enjoy it.

“Roma are certainly a very strong opponent but in football anything can happen…. We are not afraid of Roma, all the pressure is on them,” Leali said ahead of the Giallorossi‘s visit. Frosinone will relish the big day after over a century in the wilderness.

Whether they will have anything to celebrate at the end of the season, only time will tell.

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