After a disappointing season with yet more fan unrest and another failed promotion attempt, Serie B side Torino have made an interesting appointment for next term, we invited Rob Gillman (the excellent Torino Blogger) to tell us more.

In just six years as Torino President Urbano Cairo has overseen the appointment of a remarkable fourteen coaches, with former Bari boss Giampiero Ventura the latest man to be appointed as Torino coach.

After Torino’s failure to reach the Serie B playoffs, the departure of previous coach Franco Lerda was inevitable, and after a week of speculation, including former Foggia coach Zdenek Zemen being linked, it is Ventura who has been entrusted with the task to get Torino back into Serie A.

However, the fact the experienced coach has only been given an initial one year contract does not suggest a willingness on Urbano Cairo’s part to embark on a long term project that Torino so desperately need.

Like so many coaches in Italy, Ventura’s resume consists of a healthy balance between success and failure, and has achieved promotion to Italy’s top division on two occasions, firstly with Lecce in 1997, and then with Cagliari in 1998. In his most recent job, Ventura spent two seasons on the bench of Bari, and was extremely successful in his first season, leading the Puglian club to a tenth place finish. However, after the departures of key defenders Leonardo Bonucci and Andrea Ranocchia, as well as an injury to top scorer Paulo Barreto, Bari were unable to replicate their form of the previous season, and Ventura resigned from the club in February, with Bari routed to the bottom of the Serie A table.

Ventura is known to prefer a 4-4-2 formation that can sometimes resemble a 4-2-4 formation with attacking wingers who push forward. In fact, in the 2009-2010 when Bari finished in tenth position, Bari were known for being one of the most attractive teams in the league. With Torino struggling for goals in recent seasons, only scoring 49 times in 42 league matches last season, then the possibility of attacking football will certainly be an exciting prospect.

The appointment of Giampiero Ventura reunites him with Torino’s Sporting Director Gianluca Petrachi, with whom he worked with at Pisa in 2008 as they unexpectedly reached the Serie B playoffs, and it is thought that Petrachi played a major role in convincing Urbano Cairo to give the Genoa born coach the job.

After the disastrous appointment of Giuseppe Papadopulo, who was sacked after just eleven days as coach in March, Urbano Cairo claimed that he would step down from his position as President at the end of the season. However, with a change in the hierarchy of Torino not appearing to be forthcoming; the appointment of Giampiero Ventura may not be Cairo’s final managerial appointment, but let’s hope he lasts longer than eleven days.

Follow Rob on Twitter here and visit his excellent blog

SerieAWeekly