After guiding Pisa to the bright lights of Serie A for the first time in 34 years, Pippo Inzaghi decided to walk away.

Instead building on the work he started last season, Inzaghi will be back in the league he excels best in as a coach: Serie B.

Palermo came calling, and while the Rosanero are a level below Pisa in the pyramid thanks to Inzaghi, there is little doubt who the bigger side is.

Pisa might be having their time in the sun, but Palermo have bigger and bolder ambitions.

Inzaghi, after his €1million release clause was paid, will now be tasked with achieving promotion to Serie A for a third time next season.

But what about the club he just left?

The Tuscan outfit looked at two names: Alberto Gilardino and Marco Giampaolo.

Gilardino had been out of a job since his sacking at Genoa last November, while Giampaolo guided Lecce to Serie A safety in 2024-25 despite winning six games from 26.

On the one hand, Giampaolo has the experience of keeping clubs alive in Serie A, very much Pisa’s objective ahead of 2025-26, while Gilardino’s brand of football is more in keeping with the kind Inzaghi led with last term.

Moreover, Gilardino is popular with the Italian media. Giampaolo, by contrast, is a bit more gruff, a bit more surly, very much in the Gian Piero Gasperini and Maurizio Sarri mould of coaches who hold a simmer of disdain when it comes to conducting press conferences and fielding questions.

In the end, the Nerazzurri handed the reins to Gilardino, switching from one 2006 world champion to another.

Yet it is a bit of a gamble. The former Parma and AC Milan striker’s record as a manager is inconsistent, at best.

Following their relegation to Serie B at the end of the 2021-22 season, Genoa installed Gilardino as head coach midway through the next campaign, as results stuttered under German Alexander Blessin.

Winless in five games and coming off the back of consecutive defeats by Perugia and Cittadella, the Rossoblu made the call to switch managers, and Gilardino’s effect was immediate.

Five wins in his first six games stabilised Genoa, and by the end of the season they secured promotion by finishing second, seven points behind Frosinone, but eight points clear of third-placed Bari.

Gilardino suffered only one defeat in 22 games, winning 13. This run led the club to handing him the role on a permanent basis ahead of their return to Serie A.

Back in the big time, Genoa surpassed all expectations. They finished 11th, with Gilardino unearthing Albert Gudmundsson and giving him the space to thrive.

The Icelandic forward was one of Gilardino’s best performers, a player who could score and assist. Gudmundsson claimed 24 goals and produced nine assists across his 18 months under Gilardino’s tutelage.

Gilardino masterminded some impressive results: there was the 4-1 home demolition of Jose Mourinho’s Roma; draws against Juventus, Napoli and Inter; they took four points from Thiago Motta’s Bologna.

The beginning of the end for Gilardino was his apparent refusal to sign a new deal with the Rossoblu a year ago, perhaps sensing where things were going with the club as owners 777 Partners teetered on the brink of financial collapse.

The American owners lasted slightly longer than Gilardino, as they were bought out by Romanian Dan Sucu a week before Christmas.

After seeing out the rest of the 2024-25 season in the stands, Gilardino is now back, having signed a two-year deal.

So, what can Pisa fans expect?

Like many in Serie A, Gilardino’s tactic of choice was a 3-5-2 system. This will give the Pisani some measure of consistency considering Inzaghi also implemented a three-man backline in the promotion campaign.

Pisa and Gilardino will be up against it. The last time they won promotion to Serie A their stay was brief, a single season in 1990-91 then 34 years in the wilderness, looking on as even their most-hated rivals Livorno enjoyed productive, and consecutive, years in the top-flight spotlight.

There is talent for Gilardino to work with. The likes of Matteo Tramoni, Idrissa Toure and Alexander Lind possess the quality to make the leap, but it is obvious the club will need to invest in the summer transfer market if they are going to survive.

Tramoni could become Gilardino’s Gudmundsson in Tuscany. The Frenchman scored 13 goals last season and while he is a different kind of player to the Icelandic forward, Gilardino could propel him to the next level, much as he did with Gudmundsson.

The objective for Pisa is to avoid an immediate return to Serie B and not have history repeat itself. 

It is still early days and the start of the season is a long way off, but hiring Gilardino is a positive start, albeit a calculated gamble.

Will it pay off?