Imagine a weekend exploring mountain villages overlooking Lake Como, then head to the Stadio Giuseppe Sinigaglia to end your night at newly promoted Como 1907, home of seven-time European champions AC Milan.
How about Florence on a Saturday night for Fiorentina Juventus and then a casual gondola ride on a Sunday afternoon to the picturesque Stadio Pierluigi Penzo for Venezia FC Inter?
Complemented by the most productive foods and drinks that Veneto has to offer, it is a tasty sporting and culinary concept that will appeal to men, women, young people and everyone in between. And with Venice and Lake Como potentially hosting Serie A matches each. And every fortnight, Italy’s tourism industry, during the autumn and winter months, can reach the next point thanks to football: the faith of the nation far from faith.
While Inter take the title, our attention is naturally focused on the war for places in UEFA competitions, relegation from Serie A and the race for promotion from Serie B. It is here, in the Italian second division, that an exciting trio is played. The fight for automatic promotion is disputed. It is played between Cremonese and two clubs from the country’s most iconic holiday destinations, Venezia FC and Como 1907.
Kyle Krause’s Parma lead the division (at the time of writing) with Cremonese in second position, while Venezia and Como occupy third and fourth positions respectively. There are nine rounds left before the Serie B playoff final begins, the playoff festival that decides the third and final promotional spot for Serie A Paradiso.
It’s not as confusing as a Serie B newcomer might think. In short, the groups that finish in first and second position after 38 rounds automatically advance to Serie A, replacing two of the 3 relegated groups from the first division. The teams in eighth position in Serie B face each other: the last team standing, Cagliari in 2023, gets the third and final position in Serie A for 2024-25.
While Parma won the Serie B title, it was either Venice or Como who finished the season in second place. The other team will have to win the PlayOffs final in May. If any of them are effectively promoted, they will face each other in Serie A for the first time. in history. Since the turn of the century, the Lagunari and the Larianis have only played one season each on the most sensible flight.
Venezia, owned by former NYSE CEO Duncan Niederauer, was relegated from Serie A in 2021-2022. Despite their on-field fashion apparel, dubbed Fashion FC via Esquire, and the addition of USMNT midfielders Gianluca Busio and Andrew Tessman, they finished in 20th position under former coach Paolo Zanetti. Back in Serie B in 2022-23, Paolo Vanoli’s team was eliminated in the Playoffs by Claudio Ranieri’s Cagliari.
VENICE, ITALY – SEPTEMBER 11: Aerial view, from a helicopter, of the Pier Luigi PenzoArray stadium. [ ] in Venice. Located on the island of Sant’Elena, in the Venetian lagoon, it is reminiscent of the pier of aviator Luigi Penzo on September 11, 2019 in Venice, Italy. (Photo by Fabrizio Villa/Getty Images)
Como’s last appearance at its peak was in 2002-03, when head coach Eugenio Fascetti and Nicola Amoruso and Fabio Pecchia led the scoreboard. Like Venice, which also went bankrupt, Como spent years yo-yo in Italy’s lower divisions, before returning to Serie B in 2021, two years after becoming the owner of Indonesia’s Djarum Group.
Enriched through Michael and Robert Budi Hartono, whose net worth is estimated at $48 billion according to Forbes, and sponsored through their Mola TV entertainment platform, Como 1907 is Italy’s richest football club. Former Chelsea player Dennis Wise is the club’s advisor. The board of directors and minority shareholders include former Arsenal and Barcelona players Thierry Henry and Cesc Fabregas, the latter retiring from his professional career in the game after representing Como in the 2022-23 campaign, offering two assists in 17 appearances.
Captains Cesc Fabregas (Como) and Gianluigi Buffon (Parma) the Italian Serie B football match. . . [ ] Como 1907 vs Parma Calcio on March 18, 2023 at the Giuseppe Sinigaglia stadium in Como, Italy (Photo via Nicolas Morassutti/ LiveMedia/ NurPhoto via Getty Images)
This season in Serie B, there have been plenty of innovations for Venezia and Como on the pitch, with both bets encouraging football after disappointing 8th and 13th places in 2022-23.
The one in Venice comes after the incorporation of Finnish foreign striker Joel Pohjanpalo, who arrived in 2022 from Bayer Leverkusen for 4 million dollars. After 19 goals in his first season, Pohjanpalo is once again Serie B’s top scorer, with a 16th on Sunday as Los Arancineroverdi (orange, black and green) beat Bari FC 3-1 and unseated Como in third place.
Despite having two issues with the Venetians, Como is still looking for a top-two finish thanks to Patrick Cutrone’s 90th-minute winner when the two teams met in early March. Destined for a 1-1 draw, Cutrone scored his volley from a tight angle, a purpose that can mean a lot in the grand scheme of things.
The Serie A ‘football breakaway’ scene is already thriving with Calcio purists visiting most of Italy’s 20 regions. The Americans may decide to help American clubs such as Fiorentina, AC Milan, Parma or Roma. The high-speed rail infrastructure can send enthusiasts from Rome to Venice via Florence, with Parma and Bologna, a Canadian company, nearby. Fly into Malpensa or Linate airports to see AC Milan at San Siro, then spend a few days on Lake Como. An hour’s drive to the east, Bergamo is the home of Atalanta, co-owned by Stephen Pagliuca of the Boston Celtics.
In addition, since most of the Serie A season takes place between September and May, convincing tourists to reschedule their dream vacation in the “floating city” will help alleviate the overtourism problems Venice suffers from during the summer months.
Meanwhile, the coincidental promotions of Como 1907 and Venezia FC would bring an unprecedented surprise to Serie A.
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