Venezia enter the international break at the foot of Serie A without a point, their fifth consecutive defeat leaving Giovanni Stroppa’s position under increasing scrutiny only three months after promotion was celebrated in Piazza San Marco.
A difficult turn after promotion
The mood around the club has changed sharply since the summer. Stroppa, whose side reached Serie A and earned him a new three-year contract, is now facing a run that has left Venezia bottom of the table on zero points. New president Francesca Bodie watched the Lazio defeat from the stands with a sombre expression.
For Stroppa, the result also extended a troubling personal sequence: he has gone 17 Serie A matches without a victory across his spells with Crotone, Monza and Venezia.
- Venezia supporters continued to urge their team forward until the final whistle from referee Sozza.
- After the match, as had happened following the Fiorentina game, Stroppa and his players went beneath the curva to face the supporters’ protests.
- Club ownership must now decide whether to retain the coach, while discussions had already begun after the Lazio match involving general director Filippo Antonelli.
- The long break arrives at a sensitive point, with extended pauses often bringing major decisions for clubs in difficulty.
Stroppa points to performance and missed moments
The Venezia coach argued that the table does not reflect the work being done by his squad. He believed his side had competed well against one of the division’s in-form teams, particularly before the interval, but had again been punished by decisive moments in both penalty areas.
“I am disappointed that we did not score against Lazio,” Stroppa said. “They were better in the key situations. We had six shots and they had two. If I were the president, I would not sack myself.”
He added that Venezia had controlled much of the opening half before Lazio’s penalty changed the direction of the contest. “The penalty made everything harder, but the team kept believing,” he said.
Asked directly about his future, Stroppa did not attempt to dictate the club’s judgement. “There is an enormous amount of work to do, but it is not my decision. It depends on whether results or the work shown on the pitch will be assessed.”
Absences and a search for recovery
Stroppa accepted his share of responsibility while also highlighting the importance of injuries and players still trying to reach full fitness. Busio is absent, while Basic is another player he considers important to the group.
“We are always having to chase things in defence, and I try to select the best players available,” he said. “Some are not yet in condition. With Juan Jesus, the team showed greater personality and a better way of approaching the game.”
The coach’s message ahead of the break was that there is no shortcut out of Venezia’s position. He expects the pause to help restore players and give the squad further time on the training ground.
“You can only improve through work,” Stroppa said. “We can recover a number of players during the break and we must continue. There is no other route. I am proud of how the players work, but it cannot continue like this.”
The penalty discussion
Stroppa also explained the exchange involving Yeboah and Adams when Venezia were awarded a penalty. He intervened to stop the debate between the two players and chose Yeboah as the taker, noting that the player had previously taken spot-kicks.
“I stepped in because I did not want them to keep arguing,” he said. “I decided Yeboah should take it because he had taken penalties before. Perhaps I made a mistake as well.”
For Venezia, the break is therefore more than a chance to reset physically. It has become a period in which the club must weigh a promotion coach’s recent credit against an unforgiving Serie A start, while Stroppa tries to turn performances into the points his side urgently need.
