Venezia have chosen to interrupt Giovanni Stroppa’s second Serie A attempt before the season has found any rhythm, dismissing the coach after Monday’s defeat in Bergamo made it six losses from the opening six league rounds. The decision closes a difficult chapter for the man who had led the club to promotion with a dominant Serie B campaign, but it opens another urgent one: Napoli are due at the Penzo in three days and the replacement has yet to be confirmed.
A promotion project halted by Serie A reality
Stroppa leaves despite having been central to Venezia’s recent rise. His side won promotion as Serie B champions, combining the division’s strongest attack with its best defence and an attractive, effective style. Only four months ago, the club had underlined its faith in that work by giving him a three-year contract.
Yet the principles that flourished in the second tier did not bring results at the higher level. Stroppa remained committed to an attacking approach and to his preferred 3-5-2 structure, asking his team to spend as much of the match as possible in opposition territory. Venezia initially stayed with him, giving him additional time after the poor start, but the wait has cost three further weeks in a season already slipping away.
- Venezia have lost each of their first six Serie A matches.
- The final match of Stroppa’s spell was Monday’s loss in Bergamo.
- His promotion-winning campaign featured the best attack and best defence in Serie B.
- The next league fixture is a demanding home meeting with Napoli at the Penzo.
Nicola remains the leading candidate
Davide Nicola is the preferred option, although two separate issues still need to be resolved. The Turin-born coach remains contracted to Cremonese until the end of the current season, so an agreement to terminate that deal is required before he can take another job.
There had been talk of Nicola travelling to Cremona to discuss his departure. Cremonese would not necessarily oppose a settlement, given that Marco Giampaolo is also on their payroll, but no progress had emerged by late evening.
Venezia must also complete their own negotiations with Nicola. A deal running to the end of the season, with an option for a further year, has been discussed, though the duration and financial terms have not been settled. Sporting director Filippo Antonelli and Nicola had not yet held their decisive meeting, with talks planned for the following morning.
A coach with a survival record
If Venezia appoint Nicola, they will turn to a coach whose reputation has been built in difficult relegation fights. He has delivered major escapes at Crotone, Cagliari, Genoa and Empoli, while his work at Salernitana still carries particular weight in Venice.
In February 2022, Nicola inherited Salernitana at the foot of Serie A, on 13 points after 23 matches. His team collected 18 points over their final 15 fixtures and stayed up, while Venezia went down to Serie B. That history makes him the familiar figure in a crisis: a manager valued for personality, emotional drive and attention to a squad’s mental condition, rather than rigid attachment to one formation.
His record is not without setbacks. At Cremonese, he began the previous season strongly after the newly promoted club opted not to retain Stroppa. Cremonese recorded 10 unbeaten results in their first 14 games, but then took only four points from the next 15. Nicola was dismissed after 29 matches.
Zanetti and D’Aversa remain in contention
Nicola remains ahead of the other candidates, but Venezia have kept alternatives in view while the negotiations continue.
- Paolo Zanetti had appeared the likeliest successor three weeks earlier, following the defeat to Lazio. He knows the club and retains support among Venezia followers after his 2020-22 spell, which included promotion to Serie A.
- Zanetti was removed with six matches remaining of Venezia’s later Serie A campaign, when survival was still possible. Then-president Duncan Niederauer acted two days after issuing a statement supporting the project despite an eight-match losing run. The coach made no secret of his disappointment, and lingering tension from that episode may have affected the prospect of a return.
- Roberto D’Aversa remains another possibility. He was present in Bergamo for Monday night’s match.
The immediate decision will shape Venezia’s first attempt to stop the slide. Stroppa’s departure marks more than a routine change on the bench: it is a move away from the long-term footballing idea that delivered promotion, towards a coach expected to manage an emergency in the opening weeks of the Serie A season.
