Frosinone have emerged as Serie A’s unexpected early-season contenders, sitting sixth in the table with the division’s third-highest scoring total under Massimiliano Alvini.
The Lazio club are three points ahead of Juventus and Napoli, both competing for a Champions League place, after a run of eye-catching results. Their latest success was a 2-0 win over Torino, following a 5-1 victory against Lecce, a thrilling 4-4 draw at Atalanta and a 4-2 triumph over Sassuolo.
Those results have taken Frosinone to 24 goals, level with league leaders Lazio. The performances have transformed a side expected to focus on avoiding relegation into one of the most entertaining teams in Italy.
Frosinone average just 42.6% possession, among the lowest figures in the league, but Alvini’s team dictate matches through their work out of possession. Their approach is based on immediate, vertical pressing, with players attempting to win the ball high up the pitch and move towards the opposition goal at speed.
The system begins with an open, aggressive 4-2-3-1 that creates opportunities for individual duels. In midfield, playmaker Giacomo Calo has scored in each of his past four appearances, while the movement around him gives the team additional flexibility.
When possession is regained, Frosinone look to play forward quickly, either finding the striker or releasing the pace of their wide players, Giorgi Kvernadze and Fares Ghedjemis. Attacking midfielder Romano Schmid provides further support in the final third.
The collective is central to their success, although Antonio Raimondo has been the standout contributor. The 22-year-old is Serie A’s second-highest scorer, with eight goals in 10 matches, accounting for one-third of Frosinone’s total.
Raimondo’s ankle injury, which will rule him out for more than a month, has forced a change to Alvini’s personnel but not to the team’s approach. He will be replaced by 26-year-old Romanian Daniel Birligea, who has scored twice in five appearances.
Frosinone’s next match is against Cagliari on Saturday afternoon, when they will attempt to continue a campaign in which they have already produced one of Europe’s most productive attacking collectives. Among clubs in Europe’s top five leagues, they have the highest number of players to have contributed to at least five goals this season.
Their attacking depth has also been assembled at relatively low cost. The combined gross wages of Ghedjemis, Schmid, Kvernadze and Raimondo are less than €2.4 million.
With little external pressure, Frosinone are enjoying the most successful period in their history while competing with the clubs from Rome that have drawn away so many local supporters in recent years.
Their long-term prospects remain impossible to predict, but the present is compelling. At the Benito Stirpe Stadium, supporters are watching a team built on bold, coordinated football that challenges traditional Italian stereotypes.