For 19 years, Venezia FC did not make it to Serie A.

However, they are now re-writing history by making it back to the top of the league.

First, Venezia FC’s problem went over and above their performance on the pitch. They battled three bankruptcies in a period of 10 years.

According to BBC Sport, each of this three claims saw the club get a new lease of life to the fourth tier but they are now back to Serie A.

Last season, Venezia held a jubilated celebration on a gondola – a boat on a waterway. In Italy, there is nothing like open-top buses like in Europe to celebrate football victory. They do it on gondolas.

Venezia FC Back To Top Tier

Venezia played against Cittadella FC at the Pier Luigi Penzo Stadium when they scored their goal of victory in the 93^rd minute.

Jubilation marked by a line of boats on the waterway painted a glamorous scene of success in which fans – in land and water – joined in.

In 19 years, this was the first reminder of how the club celebrated its wins in Italian culture where boats take center stage.

Paolo Poggi, a former striker with Venezia and now its technical director said this was like a dream.

“This is the way the club always celebrated “To see the happiness in the eyes of the players, the staff, and the owners and to enjoy it with all the supporters on the bridges – for me it was like a dream, it was a dream come true.”

Poggi has beautiful memories of Venezia given that it was his hometown club where his football career ended.

He is grateful that the club was able to rise against odds in a year that Italy was battling thousands of death due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

How Venezia FC Collapsed

The technical director recalls that in the past 12 years, Venezia lost thousands of fans adding to its problems.

“In the past 12 years the club had a lot of problems, big problems. We lost an entire generation of supporters, we lost the soul of the club. It was not easy. Luckily we are still here but it could have been different,” he says.

The rain started beating Venezia FC after the 2002 season when Maurizio Zamparini – the club’s owner then – sold it up. By then, they had been relegated from Serie A.

He took all the players and their manager to Palermo.

What followed was a club battling in the fourth tier in 2005, 2009, and 2015 when it filed for bankruptcy. It was the most challenging time in its history as it stared at inevitable financial ruin.

However, luck seems to be on the club’s side. After its fourth tier placing in 2015, Venezia FC tremendously rose to the top. In just six seasons, it earned promotions in the league three times.

Rescue By American Investor

Joe Tacopina, an American tycoon rescued Venezia from oblivion. His salvage efforts brought on board former AC Milan boss Filippo Inzaghi and oversaw the club’s promotion to Serie B.

Filippo was a former AC Milan manager and Tacopina poached him at the opportune moment. Duncan Niederauer the former New York Stock Exchange chief took over the club as president.

Under the able hands of Paolo Zanetti, the coach, the club is looking at better days ahead. He signed a contract with the club until 2025.

Bright Future

He says that his involvement with the club as a coach gives him a lot of satisfaction since he never made it to play in Serie A.

“I never had the chance to play with the club in Serie A so to be part of it now means a lot to me,” he remarks.

Zanetti always had a soft spot for Venezia. He grew up watching its players training at the stadium daily. His parents’ home was not far away from here.

 

He is very intentional now in

amplifying the club’s name to the world. First, Venezia plays on an island where the oldest stadium in Italy – Pier Luigi Penzo Stadium – sits.

This on its own is a big thing and so unique to the world. It brings a different feel about football and the level of support from supporters.

Zanetti also aims at having his club in the Serie A every season. He cannot help but think of more victory celebrations for the club on a gondola for every season.