Big battles are decided on the outcome of smaller skirmishes. And World Cup-winning captain Fabio Cannavaro will tell you that finals are not played; they are only won or lost.

Both apply to Pescara’s promotion to Serie B and their play-off final hero, Alessandro Plizzari, who single-handedly dragged his side to the shootout and saved three of four Ternana penalties.

The 25-year-old played a true captain’s knock, one that lifted the Abruzzese club back to the second tier for the first time in four years.

But while the play-off final began brilliantly for Silvio Baldini’s side with a 1-0 victory in Terni last week, it ended in scenes of nervy drama a in Abruzzo.

Ternana levelled the tie 10 minutes after Pescara were reduced to 10 men, but they could not find the promotion-sealer, not with Plizzari repeatedly putting himself in harm’s way to protect his goal.

For the Pescara skipper, considering the circumstances, the last Serie B promotion place was always destined to be decided from the penalty spot, with Plizzari palming away Alfredo Donnarumma’s attempt to send the Stadio Adriatico into euphoria.  

Fabio Liverani’s Ternana must settle for a second consecutive season in the third tier, with the future of their interim manager yet to be determined.

The outspoken Baldini, always unafraid to shake stones from his shoes, told RAI: “Our best was Plizzari, the goalkeeper. He made miraculous saves and also did great things in the penalties. I hugged him and told him that I love him.”

The Journey to Serie B

It is not the first time 66-year-old Baldini has overseen promotion from Serie C to B. In 2022 he took charge of an underwhelming Palermo and steered them through the play-off series, Matteo Brunori netting 25 times along the way.

This season, Baldini’s tactical versatility, fluctuating between 4-2-3-1 and 4-3-3 early in the season brought nine wins in the first 12 matches as the club set an all-time record with six consecutive away victories.

Accruing 41 points in the opening 18 matches, Pescara finished the first half of the season at the top of Group B, before a decline in form meant the Dolphins were overtaken by Torres, Ternana and Entella – the latter winning automatic promotion.

With three consecutive wins to steady the ship, Baldini’s side earned 26 points during the second half of the campaign to clinch fourth place and avoid the first round of the knockouts.

Then began the precarious path to the final. Following their 2-1 win over Pianese – Davide Merola and Edoardo Pierozzi scoring – Pescara contested the first of three two-legged ties by drawing with Catania 2-2 on aggregate.

The Sicilians were compelled to win, given their lower ranking after finishing fifth in Group C, but Riccardo Tonin and Merola’s strikes were enough to progress.

The statement win would come soon after, as Pescara smashed Vis Pesaro 6-2 in the quarter-final. Despite Pesaro’s two-goal lead in the first leg, Tonin, Lorenzo Meazzi, Accursio Bentivegna and former Serie A veteran Gaetano Letizia all scored, and leading scorer Andrea Ferraris added two more to end the season with 12.

Pescara then got the job done on the road again, this time at Audace Cerignola, with Meazzi and Tonin getting a brace each at the Stadio Domenico Monterisi in a 4-1 win. Merola then secured their place in the final when he snuck in unattended at the back post in the second leg, the Biancoblu advancing 5-2 on aggregate.

Ternana made light work of Giana Erminio and Vicenza en route to their meeting with Pescara, the Rossoverdi benefitting from entering the play-offs in the quarters, scoring five and conceding twice.

Ternana finished their regular campaign in second place and had a seven-point gap over Pescara. Both sides won five and drew two of their final 10 matches of the domestic season. Yet Pescara took four points from two matches between the pair, winning 2-1 away on the opening day and drawing 0-0 just before Christmas.

As Pescara’s key January signing, Letizia did not participate in either. Lured south by sporting director Pasquale Foggia – the pair spent five years together at Benevento – Letizia arrived from Feralpisalo to bolster Baldini’s defensive ranks, bringing a wealth of Serie A and B experience with him.

Off-field decisions like these can often define a club’s fortunes. During the first leg of the final, the 34-year-old’s deflected drive looped over Ternana keeper Gianmarco Vannucchi, earning another vital away triumph.

This meant Pescara could afford one or two hiccups in the second leg at home. And that is precisely what happened at the Adriatico on Saturday night.