The Europa League playoff Sassuolo vs Red Star Belgrade will feature a match up between a former European Cup winner, and a club that has never played in a European cup before.
Red Star Belgrade won Europe’s highest honours in 1991 in Bari against Olympique Marseille. Sassuolo meanwhile has never featured on the European stage. Sassuolo is a small and sleepy town of 40,000 in the province of Modena. Unione Sportiva Sassuolo Calcio didn’t even feature in the Serie A until the 2013-14 season, indeed the club, which was founded 94 years ago, spend most of its history in the Serie D and Serie C2.
In fact it was not until 2008 that the club reached the Serie C1, and from there it steadily rose threw the ranks. In 2009 the club was promoted to Serie B, and almost achieved direct promotion to the Serie A. But after several failed attempts to reach the first division Sassuolo finally joined Italy’s elite in 2013.
Now after two seasons in the Serie A, Sassuolo reached new heights after finishing the 2015-16 Serie A season on sixth place. The club benefited from Juventus Turin’s Coppa Italia victory, which meant that an extra Europa League playoff spot went to the league.
Now, however, Sassuolo has to make the final step against Red Star Belgrade, which despite its strong European history, has recently struggled on the European stage.
In 2014 Red Star Belgrade was disqualified by UEFA due to breaches of Financial Fair Play regulations. Indeed, its finances have been the biggest problem of the Serbian giants, as Serbia’s convoluted club ownership regulations have meant that it is next to impossible for investors to put money into Serbian football.
Furthermore, the fact that the club is technically state-owned, but at the same time is operated by elected officials, has turned Red Star into a hotbed of corruption in which the management has siphoned off profits made from player transfers.
New regulations, and a lavish sponsorship contract with the Russian company Gazprom, have somewhat stabilized the situation at the club, but Red Star, like their city rivals Partizan, are still forced to sell most of their promising talents to clubs from abroad.
The latest talent to leave the club has been Luka Jović, who was sold to Benfica Lisbon in the winter. The transfer is indicative of Red Star’s financial situation, as the transfer rights to the talent were sold to an investor, which meant that Red Star only received a small percentage of the amount paid.
Regardless, there is hope now that with changes to the ownership structure and further investment by Gazprom, Red Star can return to its former glory days. The club dominated the 2015-16 Serbian SuperLiga, and finished the campaign with a 14-point gap to its eternal rival Partizan.
The club, however, has since lost super talent Marko Grujić, who was sold to Liverpool in the winter, but was loaned back to the club until the end of the season. At the same time, top scorer Aleksandar Katai has so far resisted offers from abroad.
Furthermore, Red Star has been able to make some interesting signings in the offseason. The most promising signings include the Costa Rican forward, John Jairo Ruiz, from LOSC Lille, the Gabonese midfielder Guélor Kanga from Rostov, and the Argentinian right-winger Pablo Mouche from the Brazilian club Palmeiras.
Initially Red Star hoped to reach the group stage of the UEFA Champions League, but fell to the Bulgarian club Ludogorets Razgrad in the third round of the UEFA Champions League qualifiers. Hence, the club now has its sights set on the Europa League group stage.
Red Star last reached the group stage of a European competition in 2007, when they played in Group F in the UEFA Cup. For the club this group stage would be an important step towards further stabilizing the club, but Sassuolo will provide Red Star with a tough challenge, as the Italians are masters of getting necessary results when needed most.
Possible Line-ups
Red Star Belgrade:
Formation: 4-2-3-1
Kahriman – Ristić, Phibel, Rendulić, Petković – Le Tallec, Poletanović – Ruiz, Kanga, Katai – Vieria
Manager: Miodrag Božović
Sassuolo:
Formation: 4-3-3
Consigli – Peluso, Acerbi, Cannavaro, Gazzola – Biondini, Magnanelli, Duncan – Sansone, Defrel, Berardi
Manager: Eusebio Di Francesco
COMMENTS