Serie A news: Giovanni Stroppa, the mastermind behind Venezia’s return to the Italian top flight
Giovanni Stroppa has guided Venezia back to Serie A at the first time of asking after sealing the Serie B title on the final day of the season at a packed Stadio Pierluigi Penzo.
Here, Sports News Blitz writer and Serie A enthusiast Luca Salmasi takes a closer look at Stroppa’s impact in Venice.
Promotion specialist
Stroppa joined Venezia in 2025 after guiding Cremonese to Serie A status with a play-off victory over Spezia.
Having decided to stay in Serie B by swapping Cremona for Venice, he looked to stabilise the club and challenge for another promotion.
The 58-year-old had previously led Crotone to their second-ever top-flight appearance in the 2019-20 season before delivering Monza’s first-ever Serie A promotion in 2022.
His recent promotion with Venezia was thus his fifth promotion in eight years and fourth up to Serie A, putting him amongst the most reliable promotion specialists in Italian football.
Immediate impact
Following Venezia’s relegation, the club restructured its leadership and appointed Stroppa as head coach on a one-year contract with the option of an extension should they be promoted.
From the moment Stroppa arrived in Venice, a strong rapport was fostered that helped the team gel together and created a shared belief in a return to the top flight.
Despite a mixed start to the 2025-26 season, Venezia eventually found their rhythm, only losing one match in their last 20 Serie B fixtures.
The club ended the season on 82 points with 24 wins, 10 draws, and only four loses, sealing promotion with one game to spare.
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Tactical identity
Stroppa operates a 3-5-2 with Gianluca Busio acting as a midfield metronome, Issa Doumbia providing physicality, and Alfred Duncan carrying the ball through the middle.
Wing-backs Antoine Hainaut and Ridgeciano Haps then offer width and energy.
Up front, John Yeboah brings agility and dribbling, offering a quick outlet for counter-attacking football and forming an effective partnership with Daniel Fila after Joel Pohanpalo’s departure to Palermo.
Stroppa’s prospects
While Stroppa is highly successful at getting teams out of Serie B, his brief stints in Serie A have resulted in or come close to relegation.
When Crotone returned for their second stint in Serie A, Stroppa was sacked in March 2021 with the team bottom of the table, having won only three of 24 matches.
Things were similar during his stint at Monza, where he left after picking up one point from the opening six games.
Stroppa’s system has been effective in Serie B, but the step up to Serie A is immense as the sheer gulf in financial resources puts any promoted team at an immediate disadvantage.
Players also operate at higher speeds and are more tactically switched on to punish flaws that went unnoticed in the lower division.
Although Stroppa can be considered a premier Serie B manager, his track record in transferring that success to Serie A is poor, with the tactical quality gap often proving too steep for him to overcome.
However, this time Stroppa has an advantage – his connection with the squad.
The players share his highly motivated work ethic and are all eager to perform under his guidance, which should provide Venezia with the confidence needed to make their mark on Serie A next season.
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