Vardy suddenly involved in relegation battle with Cremonese
Jamie Vardy’s side, Cremonese, have surprisingly been involved in the Serie A survival race despite a stunning start to the season.
When Vady joined Cremonese on deadline day last summer, the newly promoted side had just shocked Serie A giants Milan at San Siro in the opening game of the campaign, securing a 2-1 victory.
Just a few weeks ago, Cremonese thought they were in a safe position, and very few would have expected to see them fighting for survival in the last two months of the campaign.
Yet this is exactly what’s going on as the relegation fight in Serie A is heating up, with sides like Cagliari, Lecce and Cremonese showing real fight and belief, proof that when the stakes are high, teams can rise to the occasion, much like choosing to play Rocketplay casino for real money and going all in on a winning run.
Vardy, a Leicester City legend, has scored five goals and provided two assists in 25 Serie A matches this term. Cremonese still expected a tough campaign, despite a very positive start to the season.
“We’ve always looked for hungry players, eager to keep the standard high,” Cremonese director Simone Giacchetta said in September, right after Vardy’s signature.
“One day, the idea came up to approach Vardy. We’re talking about a player who was a top scorer in the Premier League and has won so much.
“He knows sacrifice and thrives in adversity. I believe we are alike in this. He is an excellent embodiment of the philosophy that if you genuinely believe, dreams do come true.”
Cremonese sadly had to sack their coach, Davide Nicola, in mid-March, calling Serie A veteran Marco Giampaolo to replace him.
The Grigiorossi had gone 15 games without winning, collecting just four points in the process, so the decision on Nicola felt inevitable.
Giampaolo’s impact has already brought positive results as the ex-Milan coach won his first game in charge away at Parma, boosting Cremonese’s survival hopes, yet their job is far from finished.
Currently, Cremonese are level on 27 points with Lecce, technically just outside the relegation zone thanks to goals scored, but if the two sides find themselves with the same amount of points at the end of the season, then the team dropping to Serie B will be determined by a dramatic relegation play-off after the regular season.
Pisa and Hellas Verona’s fate seems already sealed as the two sides have earned just 18 points each and are currently nine points below safety.
Lecce and Cremonese, on the other hand, will battle it out with Fiorentina (29 points) and Cagliari (30), while Torino, Genoa and Parma look safer as they are much closer to the 40-point mark that usually means survival.