Venezia coach Giovanni Stroppa hailed the club’s “incredible journey” back to Serie A as they secured promotion from Serie B on the same day that Pisa and Verona were relegated from the top flight.
Stroppa’s side let a two-goal lead slip against Spezia on Friday, but a 2-2 draw proved enough to seal an immediate return to Serie A with a game to spare as third-placed Monza lost 3-2 to Mantova.
“It’s been an incredible journey, starting the first day I arrived in Venice,” Stroppa said. “The first thank you I feel compelled to give is to Sporting Director Filippo Antonelli, who managed to bring the team together and instilled an enthusiasm never seen before after a relegation.
“Antonelli made my job incredibly easy; from day one, I realised the players were so focused and eager to be coached by me. We immediately created a connection, a rapport that has brought us to this point. I extend my thanks to all the members and owners of the club; we have a training centre that allows us to work at our best.
“I thank the entire team behind the scenes that keeps the club running: the offices, the warehouse workers, the staff. When these goals are achieved, they deserve to be shared with everyone. Above all, thank you to our people; seeing the stadium full and always engaged has certainly made the difference.”
Captain Michael Svoboda added: “There is so much pride in this promotion: we have done a lot of things in the right way. Since the start of training camp, we knew we had something special, and now we have managed to crown this dream.
“We had an incredible staff, who always prepared us at best, and this was seen throughout the championship. The draw came because we were not ready on the second balls and we conceded something in the duels. We didn’t know what was happening in the other games, but when the fans started singing I realised that we were close to the goal.
“Having fans like that is something special: in every game they were by our side and pushed us to win this promotion. Now I want to enjoy the party, but also close this season in first place and win the championship: this is our goal, then we can celebrate.”
Serie A’s bottom side Pisa were condemned to an immediate return to Serie B as they were beaten 2-1 at home by fourth-bottom Lecce, who moved four points clear of the drop zone.
The result also means second-bottom Verona will be playing second-tier football next season after seven consecutive seasons in the top flight, with Lecce’s win leaving them 13 points adrift of safety with four games to play.
