Salernitana’s dream only lasted two years. This Friday evening, the club from the city of Salerno experienced another heavy defeat on the lawn of Frosinone, the 23rd of the season. And one too many since with only two victories in Serie A, the club has just been officially condemned to relegation. Red lantern of the championship, the former team of Franck Ribéry 13 points behind the first non-relegation with 4 days to go and will therefore not be able to return. A bitter failure for the management of the club who had not hesitated to recruit confirmed and experienced players to help maintain their position this season.
Last summer, Salernitana notably chose to recruit a certain Benoit Costil to put him in competition with Guillermo Ochoa, the Mexican goalkeeper. The French international who started the season on the bench ended up playing several matches in the middle of the season after disappointing performances from Ochoa. But things were hardly better for him since he was never able to prevent the rout of his people. In 13 games, he conceded 29 goals and was only able to keep a clean sheet once. On the other hand, he can congratulate himself on having been lined up in the cages during his team’s only two victories in Serie A. But it is a very meager consolation prize for the 36-year-old goalkeeper who has just experienced his third relegation in three years. After conceding a record number of goals during the descent from Bordeaux, he also experienced a dark season with Auxerre last year and this new descent into Ligue 2.
Three relegations in a row for Benoît Costil
With the relegation of Salernitana, Benoit Costil continues this difficult series. A failed bet for the Granata who had also tried to strengthen themselves during the winter transfer window. Management had also decided to trust Jérôme Boateng for a 6-month contract. The former OL, in total decline for several months and mired in cases with the justice system for domestic violence, had to bring his experience to a defense in the street. But after more than 6 months without a club, the German international did not arrive in optimal shape in Italy. On the contrary.
After an unconvincing start, and notably an exit in the 24th minute after a catastrophic start against Inter, the 35-year-old defender lost his place in the team. And as if that wasn’t enough, he made multiple visits to the infirmary and therefore only played 7 short matches during his time at the club. He will leave the club at the end of the season and therefore seems far from his best years. Salernitana will therefore return to Serie B next season and may regret having tried bets that were perhaps too irrelevant…
