31 March 2023
Club football resumes this weekend after a hectic international break and for Juve it is a return to action at the Allianz Stadium against Hellas Verona on Saturday 1 April, with kick-off at 20:45 CEST.
The visitors find themselves in the third relegation slot, five points adrift of safety. So far, Verona have collected 19 points from four wins, seven draws and 16 defeats, but have only managed to earn five points outside of their Bentegodi stadium - the lowest return away from home throughout Seire A this season.
Let's find out how the Gialloblù's season has evolved.
THE SEASON SO FAR
Verona were stranded in last place when Serie A was put on hold for the Qatar World Cup. The change on the bench, when Salvatore Bocchetti replaced Gabriele Cioffi after matchday 9, did not improve the team's results. At the pause Verona had won just one fixture, against fellow strugglers Sampdoria on matchday 5.
However, when Serie A resumed in January, Verona produced an upturn in form. With Marco Zafferoni at the helm, and Bocchetti as his assistant, Hellas won three and drew three of the opening seven games in 2023. The only defeat in that run was away to Inter. Those 12 points, from victories against Cremonese, Lecce and Salernitana and draws with Torino, Udinese and Lazio, threw the relegation battle wide open, pulling Verona up the table to third from bottom.
However, the side from the capital of the Veneto region have not gained further ground on their rivals outside of the drop zone due to three defeats and two draws from the most recent five outings. The last match was a 3-1 defeat at Sampdoria, which saw the Blucerchiati close the gap on Verona to four points.
THE COACH
Marco Zaffaroni was nominated first team coach for the resumption of club footbal after the World Cup due to the expiry of the special derogation that had allowed Bocchetti to assume full coaching functions despite not being in possession of the UEFA pro licence.
The 54 year old was born in Milan and as a player made 500 appearances in Serie C and 88 in Serie B. As coach his career has likewise been spent in the lower leagues, especially Serie C and D. His one experience in Serie B was a short-lived spell as Cosenza coach in 2021.
His debut as top-flight coach came against Torino on January 4. The 1-1 draw brought an end to Verona's losing streak after 10 successive losses.
