Coach Rolando Maran compares his Chievo to rivals Sassuolo, and opens to a future transfer: 'Scenarios can change'.

While not usually considered among the crop of emerging Italian Coaches, Maran's work this year sees the Mussi Volanti only eight points away from their best result ever in Serie A, and with four games to spare.

“Everything can be said and done,” Maran told La Gazzetta. “But I think it's more realistic to make 56 points and beat Chievo's 2003 record of points in Serie A.

Coach Rolando Maran compares his Chievo to rivals Sassuolo, and opens to a future transfer: 'Scenarios can change'.

While not usually considered among the crop of emerging Italian Coaches, Maran's work this year sees the Mussi Volanti only eight points away from their best result ever in Serie A, and with four games to spare.

“Everything can be said and done,” Maran told La Gazzetta. “But I think it's more realistic to make 56 points and beat Chievo's 2003 record of points in Serie A.

“[Former Coach Gigi] Del Neri? I wouldn't compare myself to him. Back then, in their second year in Serie A, they really wanted to confirm themselves. Now that the category is consolidated, their strong foundations remain. It's typical of Chievo.

“I always told the guys: let's go after the opponent just on top of us. After that, we'll see.”

Chievo's immediate competitor are Sassuolo, who had their second excellent season under Coach Eusebio Di Francesco.

“It's a tight race, but perhaps we deserve to be considered the season's surprise, because they only confirmed what they were already doing last year.

“Our environments are similar, though our financial means are different and certainly cannot be compared.

“They are considered an attacking team, rightly so. But let me point out that Chievo notched two more goals than they did. It's this year's novelty. Our team takes greater care in the attacking phase. You can tell because many of our players score, we're not bound to a single striker.

“I honestly didn't expect such a good season. We always strive to improve, sure, but this team did better than we expected.

“I changed from the 4-4-2 to the 4-3-1-2 because I had very flexible players with the right characteristics. I began on my first day at Empoli. [Valter] Birsa adapted to the trequartista role perfectly, as did [Simone] Pepe, who used to play as a winger or as a supporting striker."

With Milan, and possibly even Roma and Inter, on the lookout for new Coaches next year, Maran could very well upgrade to a big team.

“Me, underestimated? If I reached Serie A late, it means I only deserved it late. I still have another two years on my contract, plus an option for another two. Let's finish strong with Chievo, then we'll see. Scenarios can change.”

Byandrea

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