The new season begins today for Cagliari, with several new features and just over a month before their official debut in the Coppa Italia. At 7:00 PM, the team will gather at the Crai Sport Center in Assemini, where they will undergo their first few days of tests and medicals . Fabio Pisacane, the new coach who, after a very successful two-year stint with the Primavera, was promoted to the first team, will be awaiting the team. Pisacane will be making his Serie A debut as coach after his playing years with Cagliari.
Twenty-eight players will be present today, with the twenty-ninth (Yerry Mina) joining the team directly at the training camp in Ponte di Legno . Cagliari will travel to Lombardy on Sunday, with training in Temù until July 22nd. Among the players called up are several players already called up by Pisacane, such as the returns from loans Nicolò Cavuoti (formerly of Feralpisalò and Olbia, tested by the new coach a month ago at The Soccer Tournament in the United States) and Riyad Idrissi (fresh from a season with Modena in Serie B), plus former Primavera players Nicola Pintus and Alessandro Vinciguerra and the 2006-born Joseph Liteta , Ivan Sulev and Yael Trepy who will still be part of the Under-20 team. Davide Veroli also returns after two years between Catanzaro and Sampdoria (Pisacane met him in 2023).
The first new signing, Gennaro Borrelli, will join shortly. He underwent his medical today before signing a four-year contract (as a free agent, free after Brescia's bankruptcy). It's not out of the question that further developments may occur in the meantime, in addition to the transfer of goalkeeper Alen Sherri, who is not in the squad and is headed to Frosinone.
Cagliari will have to wait until Saturday the 19th at 5:00 PM to see their first friendly in Temù against Ospitaletto Franciacorta, a team fresh from two consecutive promotions and playing in the new Serie C. Then the stakes are raised: on Wednesday the 23rd at 7:30 PM in Linz against Galatasaray, the reigning Turkish champions, who are currently finalizing the permanent acquisition (after having had him on loan last year) of Victor Osimhen from Napoli for €75 million. Then comes the match at Hannover, a German 2nd Bundesliga club, on Saturday the 26th at 2:00 PM, and finally the highly anticipated first match of the Gigi Riva Trophy, on Saturday, August 2nd at 8:30 PM at the Unipol Domus against Saint-Étienne.
After unveiling their new squad to their fans, Cagliari is expected to add another friendly (away) around August 10th. This will be the final test before their official debut, Saturday, August 16th at 8:45 PM at home against the winner of the preliminary round, Virtus Entella-Ternana (Saturday the 9th at 8:30 PM) . From there, the real action will begin, a dress rehearsal for Serie A: the league opener is on Sunday the 24th at 6:30 PM , again at the Domus, against Fiorentina.