Notes from Verona. Is relegation a necessary evil?  –

Following Hellas Verona’s relegation to Serie B, Richard Hough, creator of Verona Campione, the Miracle of 85, displays on a traditionally dangerous season for the membership and asks if the expertise of the previous can present any options for the long run.

For a membership like Hellas Verona, relegation is generally a essential evil.

This time round (my third relegation in 15 years residing in Verona), it’s a painful however seemingly inevitable corrective realignment after seven consecutive seasons in Serie A.

For a lot of the present marketing campaign, relegation has simply felt inevitable: regardless of some first rate performances, outcomes by no means appeared to materialise (simply two victories in 36 video games!) and Hellas have spent a lot of the season languishing stubbornly within the drop zone.

An early 4-0 defeat towards Lazio on Match Day 2 set the tone for what was to observe. A deflating goalless draw at house towards newly promoted Cremonese was rapidly adopted by a Coppa Italia exit on penalties to Serie B upstarts Venezia.

One other early blow got here when Tomáš Suslov, one in every of Verona’s most vital offensive gamers in latest seasons, suffered a critical ACL harm that sidelined him for a lot of the remainder of the season.

All of this earlier than the top of September meant that Verona’s season was over earlier than it ever actually bought going.

Relegation battle

Whereas spectacular performances at house towards Inter (a slim house defeat), Atalanta (a uncommon victory), Napoli (some extent on the street), and Juventus (one other shock level on the street), it was the failure to select up factors at house towards the likes of Sassuolo, Parma, Udinese and Genoa, whereas additionally struggling towards fellow relegation contenders Lecce, Pisa and Cremonese, that actually sealed the membership’s destiny this season. In any case, Verona’s fortunes are hardly ever judged towards the giants of Milan, Rome and Turin. However, if they’re to outlive within the high tier, they have to compete towards fellow mid-level opponents and relegation contenders. In actual fact, there isn’t any purpose why a membership of Verona’s stature shouldn’t be in a position to compete at that stage.

With a relegation battle looming, the sale of Brazilian striker Giovane to Napoli in January after barely six months in Verona was a transparent assertion of intent – the membership’s priorities have been clearly on the steadiness sheet somewhat than on the pitch. Whilst you may be capable to make a believable financial argument for promoting your best belongings, that hardly ever is sensible on the pitch, and for followers, it’s seen as little extra than asset stripping.

We’re the social gathering

On Sunday towards Como on the Bentegodi, Hellas Verona followers embraced their Serie B standing with trademark irony, internet hosting an unruly celebration that proved extra entertaining than the match itself. Ultras within the Curva Sud displayed huge letter Bs, whereas unfurling a banner that learn: “Perche la festa siamo noi” [“Because we are the party”]whereas within the East Stand followers hosted a riotious seaside social gathering with inflatables, water pistols and questionable swimwear.

Taking the sport too critically

This was clearly a rigorously orchestrated outflanking manoeuvre designed to pre-empt the inevitable ribbing that may come from the Como finish. You possibly can’t mock us, was the message from the Curva Sud, we’re caring for that ourselves.

After all, the ironic celebrations on Sunday afternoon have been additionally directed at the membership’s American house owners, Texas-based non-public fairness agency Presidio Traders, who formally accomplished their takeover of Hellas Verona in January 2025. By ridiculing them and their obvious lack of funding within the membership, the followers have been expressing their “possession” of membership.

However primarily Sunday was nearly having enjoyable.

Generally we will take soccer too critically, so the seaside social gathering within the Poltrone Est on Sunday afternoon was a well timed reminder that soccer is only a recreation and, in between hurling insults at opposition followers and gamers and the ache of seeing your group lose, it’s nonetheless doable to get pleasure from your self on the terraces.

Lesson from the previous

So, what went flawed for Hellas Verona this season and may any classes be drawn from the membership’s previous?

The Coach. Osvaldo Bagnoli was a really distinctive particular person with intensive expertise as a each a participant and a coach. He had a transparent footballing philosophy and knew precisely the type of participant he wished in his group. Like Bagnoli, Paolo Zanetti is an sincere and hardworking younger coach. His most notable achievement was securing promotion to Serie A by way of the 2021 play-offs with Venezia. He was then unexpectedly dismissed by Venezia after a poor begin to his Serie A profession. He was appointed by Verona in June 2024 to succeed Marco Baroni. In his first season he completed in a decent if uninspiring 14th place. Issues by no means actually bought going this season and, in January, when Hellas did not safe a win in eight consecutive matches, together with a catastrophic 4-0 defeat away to Cagliari, Zanetti was lastly dismissed. The choice to exchange him with Paolo Sammarco, a youth group coach with no expertise at senior stage, was a critical failure of competence, ambition and organisation. 

The Squad. Final summer time’s shut season concerned vital participant turnover. Membership stalwarts together with Davidowicz, Lazović, Faraoni and Duda have been launched, and the membership additionally cashed in on the rising abilities of Ghilardi and Coppola. In distinction to the Bagnoli period, when a core squad of gamers was strengthened from one season to the subsequent with the addition of 1 or two new gamers every year, there may be at the moment little continuity from one 12 months to the subsequent, with every new season involving a vital rebuilding mission.  

Identification. Identification, as I say in Verona Campione, is a steadily under-valued part of a profitable soccer membership. A profitable group wants a transparent footballing id: a construction, a method of play and a mentality that’s immediately recognisable. That is pushed by the coach and permeates onto the pitch by means of the gamers. Verona has lacked a coherent footballing id because the dismissal of Igor Tudor in Might 2022. 

Ambition. Excessive managerial and participant turnover factors to a sure lack of ambition on the membership. Verona’s two most profitable coaches in latest seasons (Ivan Juric and Igor Tudor) each left when the membership did not meet their ambitions by way of participant retention and switch finances. Whereas each coaches have struggled elsewhere, they achieved spectacular outcomes throughout their respective tenures at Verona and a few have even been touting Juric’s doable return in latest days.  

Unity. Unity between gamers, coaches, followers and boardroom was a placing function of the Bagnoli-era. From the president down, the gamers, workers and officers have been seen, accessible and dedicated to the identical mission. Within the trendy period of social media and strained relationships between followers, gamers and house owners, such proximity could no longer be doable. In a uncommon “public” look, after the sport towards Como the membership launched a staged interview with Presidio’s Christian Puscasiu that addressed a few of the criticism the membership has confronted in latest months. Whereas it might have appeased some followers, many have been left questioning why it had taken so lengthy.

Finally, after all, the Bagnoli dream led to tears. The membership had over-extended itself and suffered the ignominy of relegation and monetary break. There are numerous different examples of golf equipment in Italy that suffered related fates. So, ought to we applaud Presidio’s cautious method to balancing the books?

Soccer, as each pundit is aware of, is a results-based enterprise. Appointing the fitting coach and investing in a squad able to incomes promotion from Serie B ought to be the over-riding precedence for the membership proper now. Redeveloping the stadium, exploiting business alternatives, and even bettering the fan expertise contained in the stadium, as admirable as these goals are, are all secondary.

That’s why saying the architect for a brand new stadium (which sceptics will inform you’ll by no means occur) earlier than deciding on a coach for the brand new season is like placing the cart earlier than the horse. After all the Bentegodi wants upgrading. However that’s no good if the membership is languishing in Serie B!

Richard Hough is the creator of Verona Campione, the Miracle of 85.