Venezia may begin the season as one of the favourites for promotion in Serie B, but Giovanni Stroppa has been busy pouring gallons of cold water over any optimism in the lagoon.

“We’re arriving at the first match of the season unfortunately not in the best way, considering the time of year, the transfer market, and some minor issues,” he said ahead of the Coppa Italia clash against Mantova last week.

“We’re definitely not at 100 per cent, but I like how the team is training and the sacrifice they show on the pitch.”

As it turned out, Stroppa’s concerns were largely unfounded as the Neroverdi ran out 4-0 winners over their fellow second tier opponents courtesy of two goals apiece from Issa Doumbia and John Yeboah to book a place in the Round of 16 tie against Verona.

A similar scoreline against Bari in their Serie B opener on Sunday afternoon would be a resounding statement of intent as the Lagunari look to return to calcio’s top tier at the first time of asking.

Like Filippo Inzaghi, who restored Pisa back to Serie A for the first time in 34 years, Stroppa won promotion last term, leading Cremonese back to the top flight.

And he too has opted to remain in Serie B, swapping Cremona for Venice while 2006 World Cup winner Inzaghi travelled down from Pisa to Palermo.

After working his magic with Crotone, Monza and the Cremonese, Stroppa is aiming for a fourth promotion in six seasons. He will do so with a squad that has been strengthened by the arrivals of of Andrea Adorante, Fali Cande and Seid Korac, who have joined for a combined €5.8million (£5m) from Juve Stabia, Metz and Vojvodina respectively, while Hans Nicolussi Caviglia made his loan move from Juventus permanent for €3.5m.

While the latter is expected to keep the Lagunari‘s midfield ticking over, Adorante is arguably the most exciting signing of the quartet as he looks to fill the Joel Pohjanpalo-shaped hole that has plagued Venezia since the he was sold to Palermo for €4m in January.

The Finn was a cult hero in the Lagoon, firing Venezia to promotion with 22 goals in 2023-24 after netting 19 in his debut campaign.

More to the point, Pohjanpalo’s six Serie A goals accounted for almost a third of the 20 Venezia had scored by the time he was allowed to leave.

In his debut season for Juve Stabia, Adorante rattled in 15 goals last term – the fourth-most in Serie B behind only Armand Lauriente, Francesco Pio Esposito and Pietro Iemmello – and added two more in three play-off appearances as the Wasps’ bid for a second consecutive promotion came unstuck against Stroppa’s Cremonese.

If Adorante is expected to lead the line at the Pierluigi Penzo on Sunday, Bari will have to wait at least a month for their new striker to make his Serie B debut after Christian Gytkjaer was ruled with a foot injury.

The Dane, who joined on a free transfer from Venezia in the summer, will miss the Serie B opener on Sunday and the home fixture against Monza a week later.

Gytkjaer is just one of the new faces at the San Nicola this season, along with Michele Cerofolini, Lorenzo Dickmann and Matthias Verreth. The most important signings of all, however, may be sitting in the dug out with Fabio Caserta replacing Moreno Longo in the hot seat after the latter missed out on the play-offs by four points last season.

Bari’s 18 draws ultimately cost them a shot at promotion, but in Caserta they have hired a man who oversaw a league-high 20 draws while in charge of Catanzaro last term.

The Calabrians, however, reached the play-offs and went all the way to the semi-finals. A similar return for Bari this season would represent a significant step forward.

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