Imagine a weekend exploring a beautiful mountain village overlooking Lake Como, heading to the Stadio Giuseppe Sinigaglia and ending the night at the newly promoted Como 1907, home of seven-time European champions AC Milan.
Watch Fiorentina vs. Juventus in Florence on Saturday night, then take a gondola ride to the picturesque Stadio Pierluigi Penzo on Sunday afternoon to watch Venice vs. Inter Milan.
Topped with the finest food and drink Veneto has to offer, it's a delicious sports and culinary package that will appeal to men, women, children and everyone in between. And with Venice and Lake Como potentially hosting Serie A matches every other week, Italy's tourism industry will be taken to the next level in the fall and winter with soccer, the country's religion apart from religion. right.
With Inter dominating the Serie A title, our attention naturally turns to the battle for UEFA qualification, relegation from Serie A, and promotion to Serie B. Here in Italy's second division, a three-way battle is unfolding for automatic promotion. It will take place between Cremonese and Venice FC and Como 1907, two clubs based in the country's most iconic holiday destination.
Parma, led by Kyle Kraus, leads the division (at the time of writing), with Cremonese in second place, and Venice and Como occupying third and fourth place respectively. Nine rounds left until the Serie B play-off final – a knockout contest that will decide his third and final promotion spot into Serie A. paradise.
How are the Serie B playoffs played?
It's not as complicated as Serie B beginners might think. This means that the teams that finish in first and second place after 38 rounds will automatically qualify for Serie A, replacing two of the three teams that were relegated from the top division. The clubs that finished 3rd to 8th in Serie B then knocked each other out, giving the last team remaining, Cagliari in 2023, the third and final spot in Serie A for the 2024-25 season. It will be done.
Since the beginning of this century, Ragnari and Lariani Each has only played one season in Serie A. Venezia, owned by former New York Stock Exchange CEO Duncan Niederauer, was relegated from Serie A for the 2021-22 season. Despite stylish attire on the field and the addition of USMNT midfielders Gianluca Busio and Andrew Tessman, labeled Fashion FC by Esquire, they finished 20th under former coach Paolo Zanetti. . Despite returning to Serie B in the 2022-23 season, Paolo Vanoli's team were eliminated in the play-offs by Claudio Ranieri's Cagliari.
Como last played at the top level in the 2002-03 season, when Eugenio Facetti was the head coach and Nicola Amoruso and Fabio Pecchia led the scoring. Like Venice, who also suffered bankruptcy, Como bounced around in Italy's lower leagues for years before returning to Serie B in 2021, two years after joining Indonesian company Djarum Group.
Como 1907, financed by husband and wife team Michael and Robert Budi Hartono, who have an estimated net worth of $48 billion according to Forbes magazine, and whose entertainment platform Mola TV sponsors them, is Italy's richest soccer player. It's a club. Former Chelsea player Dennis Wise is the president, and minority shareholders include former Arsenal and Barcelona players Thierry Henry and Cesc Fabregas, the latter of whom will represent Como in the 2022-23 season. He retired from his professional career after appearing in 17 games and recording two assists.
This season in Serie B, the pitches of Venice and Como have been vastly improved, with both teams playing an inspired brand of football after disappointing finishes of 8th and 13th in the 2022-23 season. are doing.
Venice's promotion coincides with the arrival of Finnish international striker Joel Pogiampalo, who joined from Bayer Leverkusen in 2022 for $4 million. Pogiampalo, who scored 19 goals in his debut season, moved up to 3rd place ahead of Como after Arancione Verdi (orange, black, green) defeated Bari FC 3-1 on Sunday, and achieved 16th place on Sunday. He became Serie B's top scorer once again.
Despite being two points behind the Venetians, Como still finished in the top two thanks to Patrick Cutrone's 90th-minute winner when the two teams met in early March. The aims. It was destined to be a 1-1 stalemate, but Cutrone volleyed home from a poor angle, and the goal could be significant in the grand scheme of things.
Use this method for vino, pasta, and calcio.
Serie A's 'football holiday' scene is already booming. Calcio Purists regularly visit most of Italy's 20 regions. North American fans can choose from American-owned clubs such as Fiorentina, AC Milan, Parma, and Roma. High-speed rail infrastructure allows fans to travel from Rome to Venice via Florence, with Parma and the Canadian capital Bologna nearby. He watches AC Milan at the San Siro and spends a few days at Lake Como. He is an hour's drive east to Bergamo, home of Atalanta, co-owned by Stephen Pagliuca of the Boston Celtics.
Moreover, since the majority of the Serie A season takes place from September to May, convincing tourists to change their dream vacation to the “floating city” is a challenge because of the excesses that Venice has all summer. It will help alleviate tourism problems.
Given that England's premier PINC League dominates the airwaves and checkbooks, Italy could look to that league. Instagrammable To enhance the attractiveness of the city and landscape during a transition period that could bring a new stadium and American game day experience.
The promotion of Como 1907 and Venice FC will bring an unparalleled element of surprise to Serie A.
follow me twitter. check out my website.
