Daniele De Rossi found life as a head coach was no bed of roses as SPAL split from their head coach on Valentine's Day.

In his place came another member of Italy's 2006 World Cup winning squad, with Massimo Oddo appointed until the end of the season on Tuesday, with a year's extension on offer if he keeps SPAL in Serie B.

SPAL announced De Rossi's dismissal on their website, saying five members of his staff had also lost their jobs.

Oddo has been handed the reins, with fellow former Italy star Stefano Fiore also joining as a technical collaborator.

Appointed in October, Roma legend De Rossi only lasted four months in his first role as a head coach.

The 39-year-old had been an assistant to Roberto Mancini as Italy won the Euro 2020 finals and hoped to achieve success by branching out on his own, but wins were hard to come by.

A 117-cap midfielder for Italy in his playing days, De Rossi leaves a SPAL side who have lost their last three games – to Cagliari, Bari and Venezia – and sit third-bottom in the 20-team Italian second division.

SPAL will be banking on the more experienced Oddo to rescue them. The 46-year-old former Napoli, Lazio and Milan player has previously coached Pescara, Udinese, Crotone, Perugia and Padova.

Claudio Ranieri has been unveiled as the new coach of Cagliari, with the former Leicester City manager returning to his former club for a second stint.

The 71-year-old was previously in charge of the Serie B side between 1988 and 1991, guiding them from the third to the first tier with consecutive promotions.

Ranieri, who was dismissed by Watford in January after just three months in charge, reunites with his old team three decades after his previous spell, with the team down in the bottom half of the second tier.

He succeeds Fabio Liverani, who was sacked following a 2-1 defeat to Palermo last week, and will take charge on January 1 on a contract that runs to June 2025.

"Cagliari is pleased to announce it has reached an agreement with Claudio Ranieri who will take over the technical leadership of the first team," read a club statement.

"Now the return to the Rossoblu, where it all began, to write a new chapter in history. Welcome back Mister, it's nice to hug you again!"

Ranieri, best known for Leicester's stunning Premier League title success, has only coached more games with Chelsea and Fiorentina than he has Cagliari, where he remains a cherished figure.

Daniele De Rossi will take his first steps as a head coach with Serie B club SPAL after the former Italy and Roma midfielder was named as Roberto Venturato's successor.

The 39-year-old De Rossi has signed up to join the team from Ferrara, in Emilia-Romagna, on a contract running until the end of June 2024.

De Rossi had recently been serving as a technical assistant to Italy boss Roberto Mancini but has vacated that post to strike out on his own in Italy's second tier.

SPAL sit 14th in Serie A and have lost their last two league matches, leading to the sacking of Venturato on Sunday.

De Rossi made 616 appearances across all competitions for Roma in an 18-year first-team career, captaining the team in 207 games. Only Francesco Totti has played more games for the capital giants than De Rossi.

He also won 117 caps for Italy, helping the team lift the World Cup in 2006 and playing on until 2017 in the national side.

He left Roma in 2019 and had a brief playing stint at Boca Juniors, before switching to coaching and uniting with Mancini in the Azzurri set-up.

De Rossi was part of Mancini's staff as Italy won the delayed Euro 2020 tournament last year, beating England on penalties in the Wembley final.

His move to SPAL was given the blessing of Italy's football association, the FIGC, with president Gabriele Gravina saying: "To Daniele, I wish you the best of luck for this new professional adventure.

"In the belief that the experience gained in Club Italia will be very useful to him, I thank him for the commitment and passion with which he has always honoured the blue shirt, giving himself and giving us so much satisfaction."

Italy legend Fabio Cannavaro has taken his first coaching role in his homeland with Serie B side Benevento.

The former Azzurri captain was appointed on Wednesday after Fabio Caserta was relieved of his duties.

Caserta was sacked on Tuesday following back-to-back defeats to Cagliari and Brescia.

Cannavaro takes charge with Benevento 13th in the second tier of Italian football, and his first game at the helm will be against Ascoli on October 2.

The 49-year-old's last role was with Chinese Super League side Guangzhou, and he had a brief spell as China boss in 2019.

Cannavaro will be presented to the media at Palazzo Paolo V at 5pm local time on Thursday.

Harry Kane remains at the centre of significant transfer speculation after the Tottenham striker failed to secure a move to Manchester City last year.

The England star appears more settled under Antonio Conte but has been linked with Bayern Munich recently.

Kane has started this Premier League campaign strongly, netting six goals in seven appearances.

TOP STORY – CHELSEA PLOTTING KANE-LUKAKU SWAP

New Chelsea boss Graham Potter wants to bring Harry Kane across town from Tottenham, claims Calciomercato.

The Blues boss is ready to offer Belgian striker Romelu Lukaku, currently on loan at Inter, as part of an exchange for Kane. The England forward's contract at Tottenham expires in 2024.

Chelsea are at the start of a new era after Potter replaced Thomas Tuchel, while they are set to appoint Salzburg's Christoph Freund as their new sporting director.

ROUND-UP

– Fichajes reports Atletico Madrid are desperate to add a versatile attacker to their squad next year, with Manchester United's Marcus Rashford, Brighton and Hove Albion's Leandro Trossard and Liverpool's Roberto Firmino on top of their wish list.

– Calciomercato claims Liverpool are considering a move for Shakhtar Donetsk winger Mykhaylo Mudryk. Newcastle United, Sevilla, Bayer Leverkusen and Ajax are also tracking the Ukrainian, according to CBS' Ben Jacobs. TalkSPORT reports that the Reds are also keeping an eye on Flamengo midfielder Joao Gomes .

– Manchester City are interested in a big-money move for Milan winger Rafael Leao next year, according to the Manchester Evening News.

– Football Insider reports West Ham have informed Manuel Lanzini he is free to leave the club in January.

– Former Italy international Fabio Cannavaro is close to a return to management with talks to take over at Serie B club Benevento progressing well, according to Fabrizio Romano.

Thierry Henry has joined his former Arsenal team-mate Cesc Fabregas in becoming a part-owner of Serie B side Como.

France and Gunners legend Henry was confirmed as a shareholder of the ambitious club, owned by the Djarum Group, on Monday.

Ex-Spain midfielder Fabregas recently signed a two-year deal with the Italian side, while also becoming a shareholder in the club.

Henry said: "It is with great pleasure that I announce that I will join Como as a shareholder. I had been waiting for a long time to be involved in a project like that of Como. 

"An ambitious club, but above all a club that lives my same values: not just a football team but a reality that helps the local community "

Como chief executive Dennis Wise, a former Chelsea midfielder, said: "It is a great pleasure for us to introduce Thierry Henry, our new shareholder, who doesn't really need many introductions in the world of football. 

"After explaining to him our vision as a club within the community and our ambition to reach Serie A, Thierry has decided to join our journey and we are very happy to have him in Como."

Cesc Fabregas has signed a two-year-deal with Italian second-tier side Como and has also become a shareholder in the club.

The 35-year-old left Monaco at the end of his deal with the Ligue 1 outfit, having played just two league games last season due to injury, but insisted he was not about to retire.

The former Arsenal, Barcelona and Chelsea midfielder was presented to the media as a Como player on Monday and said he was looking forward to getting started in a league he believes to be a strong one.

"The quality of the championship is high, as is that of the relegated teams [from Serie A]," Fabregas said. "I can't wait to start, do well, play and win a lot. And then I would like to do some magic here in Como."

Como finished 13th in Serie B last season, but chief executive and Dennis Wise – another former Chelsea player – eventually hopes to get the club into the top flight, and he revealed Fabregas has also become a shareholder.

"Cesc will become a shareholder of the company, that's another reason why he came here," Wise said. "He will be here longer than expected.

"He wanted to join the club for our ambitions, to fix the stadium, open a new sports centre and get to Serie A."

Fabregas explained the conversations he held with Wise as well as club owners' representative Mirwan Suwarso and general and sporting manager Carlalberto Ludi that led him to accept a move to Italy.

"I have been extremely fortunate that my career has allowed me to play at the most wonderful clubs. Como is no exception," he said.

"After lengthy talks with Mirwan, Dennis and Charlie, they explained in detail one of the most exciting and ambitious projects in football.

"This is why I am looking to build a long-term future here, not just on the pitch but also off it, too. I believed in the vision from the first moment, and I have decided to invest personally to be part of the bigger picture.

"I cannot wait to get out on the pitch and play in front of the fans in such a beautiful setting. The tradition, infrastructure and desire that the owners have to take this club to the next level is inspiring. I cannot wait to start."

Italy great Gianluigi Buffon has no plans to call quits on his playing career in the near future, joking "I could retire at 55".

The veteran goalkeeper made his Parma debut back in 1995, aged 17, and returned to the Stadio Ennio Tardini last year after a season with Paris Saint-Germain either side of two spells with Juventus.

Buffon, who has made a record 176 appearances for the Azzurri, played 26 times for Parma in Serie B in the 2021-22 season as they finished 12th in the Italian second tier.

The 2006 World Cup winner signed a one-year contract extension last season, meaning he will continue playing football past the age of 46 in 2024.

As Buffon prepares for his 28th season as a professional footballer, he suggested he has no desire to hang up his boots just yet.

"I could retire at 55!" he told reporters at a news conference in Ducali on Friday. "I played ten years in Parma in my first life, then twenty years at Juve, one in Paris and now I close the circle again in Emilia.

"And I'm not 100 years old. For ten years I have been thinking about when I will stop, but then I always continue.

"I have had important experiences that have allowed me to know football, but I'm not 100 per cent sure I'll stay in this world [when I do retire]. Maybe I'll experience something else."

Buffon has played alongside some of the finest footballers in the world during his glittering career, in which he has lifted 11 league titles, 14 domestic cups and an unlikely UEFA Cup with Parma in 1999.

The 44-year-old has also finished runner-up in the Champions League on three occasions, and puts Neymar, Cristiano Ronaldo and Kylian Mbappe among the best players he has featured alongside.

"I can say the five strongest Italians: [Roberto] Baggio, [Francesco] Totti, [Alessandro] Del Piero, [Andrea] Pirlo and [Antonio] Cassano," he added. 

"For foreigners, I would say [Lillian] Thuram, Neymar, Mbappe, CR7 and Ibra [Zlatan Ibrahimovic]."

Inter have confirmed the signing of right-back Raoul Bellanova from Cagliari.

The terms of the deal were not revealed on Wednesday, but reports last month suggested the defender was set to join on an initial loan with an obligation to buy.

Serie A officially listed the transfer as a loan on its website on Tuesday.

Bellanova had joined Cagliari permanently in May following a similar agreement with Bordeaux, his prior parent club.

The 22-year-old Italy youth international stood out in Serie A last season, scoring one goal and assisting two more in 31 games. He created 32 chances – the 13th-most among all defenders.

However, Bellanova could not rescue Cagliari from relegation, as they finished a point behind Salernitana in 18th place.

He becomes the fifth new recruit for the 2022-23 season, joining Andre Onana, Henrikh Mkhitaryan, the returning Romelu Lukaku and Kristjan Asllani at Inter.

The Nerazzurri have also made loan moves for Robin Gosens and Joaquin Correa permanent.

Monza have been promoted to Serie A for the first time in their 110-year history thanks to a 6-4 aggregate win over Pisa after extra time in the second leg of their Serie B play-off final.

Although a 2-1 win in Thursday's first leg had Monza in charge ahead of the return game in Tuscany, Pisa raced into a 2-0 lead inside nine minutes on Sunday.

Monza brought it back to 2-2 on the day and appeared to have done enough to seal promotion, but Giuseppe Mastinu struck in the 90th minute to level the aggregate score and force an extra 30 minutes.

Former Juventus defender Luca Marrone scored for Monza early on in extra time and Christian Gytkjaer got his second of the day with 101 minutes played.

Eugenio Lamanna was then shown a straight red card, though the backup goalkeeper was still among the substitutes at the time.

Monza held on to seal a famous win that secured a momentous promotion for a club that has seen its fair share of difficulties.

The club has been mired by financial issues for much of the past 23 years, filing for bankruptcy in 2004 and as recently as 2015.

Three years later, having seen a string of owners fail to provide stability, Monza were bought by an investment group headed by former Italian prime minister Silvio Berlusconi, who also owned Milan and served as the Rossoneri's president between 1986 and 2017.

The billionaire appointed former Milan CEO Adriano Galliani to the board.

Nineteen years earlier, Galliani's relationship with Monza's then-president Valentino Giambelli led to criticism and ultimately the latter's departure, with their status as a feeder club to Milan subsequently ending and financial instability becoming a concern.

But the duo have since been crucial to Monza again establishing themselves in Serie B and now earning promotion to Italian football's top table.

No Italian team had played more Serie B seasons (40) without competing in Serie A than Monza as of the 2021-22 campaign, but Giovanni Stroppa's men have ensured that is no longer the case.

Cagliari were relegated from Serie A after only managing a draw against Venezia as Salernitana retained their top-flight status despite being thrashed by Udinese.

Salernitana looked in serious danger of going down when Davide Nicola took charge in February, sitting bottom of the table with three wins from 23 games.

Nicola inspired a resurgence, though, with his side picking up 15 points in a run of seven league games to head into the final matchday two points clear of Cagliari.

However, Udinese were rampant as Gerard Deulofeu, Ilija Nestorovski and Iyenoma Destiny Udogie put Nicola's side 3-0 down before half-time on Sunday.

Udinese captain Roberto Pereyra added a fourth after the interval as the Friulians achieved their best Serie A points haul (47) since the 2012-13 season (66).

That meant Cagliari would have stayed up with a win at already-relegated Venezia, but Alessandro Agostini's could only muster a draw as the Rossoblu were relegated to Serie B for the sixth time in their history.

Cagliari's failure handed Salernitana their first-ever Serie A survival, having failed to do so on their other two attempts in 1947-48 and 1998-99.

Salernitana also became the first team to stay up despite conceding at least 78 goals in a single top-flight campaign after Livorno (79 in 1929-30) and Lucchese (82 in 1947-48, 79 in 1949-50).

Meanwhile, Cagliari join Venezia and Genoa in Serie B and the trio will aim to bounce straight back up next season.

Lecce and Cremonese have earned promotion to Serie A following an eventful final day of action in Italy's second tier.

Cremonese are back in the top tier of Italian football for the first time since 1995-96, while Lecce return after a two-season absence.

Four teams were battling it out for the two automatic promotion spots on Friday, with Monza and Pisa also in contention.

Lecce led the way at the summit entering the final round of games and beat bottom side Pordenone 1-0 at home through a Zan Majer goal to see the job through.

Monza knew that they would join Lecce in the top flight had they defeated Perugia, but Gabriele Ferrarini's goal in the final five minutes condemned them to a shock 1-0 defeat.

Cremonese took full advantage by seeing off Como 2-1 at Stadio Giuseppe Sinigaglia thanks to a couple of goals from Samuel Di Carmine.

That rendered Pisa's 2-1 victory at Frosinone meaningless in terms of the race for automatic promotion, with the Nerazzurri having to settle for a play-off semi-final spot.

Perugia's win against Lecce saw them book a play-off quarter-final place, where Brescia await, while Ascoli will meet Benevento.

It was just as lively at the opposite end of the division, meanwhile, as there was a three-way fight to avoid the one remaining relegation place.

Alessandria's 1-0 loss to fellow strugglers Vincenza saw them join Pordenone and Crotone in dropping out of the division.

Gianluigi Buffon has signed a contract extension with Parma that will keep him at the club until June 2024.

The veteran goalkeeper made his Parma debut back in 1995, aged 17, and after two spells with Juventus and a season with Paris Saint-Germain he returned to the Stadio Ennio Tardini last year.

Italy great Buffon, who has made a record 176 appearances for the Azzurri, has appeared 23 times for Parma in Serie B this season, with Giuseppe Iachini's side currently in 13th.

His efforts have since been rewarded with a one-year extension, meaning he will continue playing football past the age of 46.

Parma president Kyle Krause announced Buffon's renewal at a news conference on Monday.

"I have great news, Gigi has renewed his contract until 2024," Krause said. "He is a great player, a pride for us: Gigi has a great passion for Parma, we are very happy for his support and his commitment."

Buffon lifted the Coppa Italia, Supercoppa Italiana and an unlikely UEFA Cup in 1998-99 with Parma before leaving for Juve in 2001.

His glittering career in Turin included 11 league championships – one of which came when they topped Serie B in 2006-07, Buffon having stayed at the club despite their relegation due to the Calciopoli scandal.

The 44-year-old also won five Coppa Italia titles and six Supercoppa Italiana crowns.

Buffon reached three Champions League finals with the Bianconeri, losing each one, before a brief spell at PSG preceded his return to the Allianz Stadium in 2019.

A winner of the 2006 World Cup, Italy's record cap holder made his final international appearance in a friendly with Argentina in March 2018.

In a wide-spanning career, Buffon has appeared 953 times at club level, which totals at a mammoth 85,286 minutes of action for his 404 clean sheets and 798 goals conceded.

He has managed 2,001 minutes on the pitch in the league for Parma this season, conceding 23 goals, as many appearances as he has made, while earning just the one shutout.

Buffon will hope to deliver his second clean sheet in Serie B at Monza on Wednesday.

If you want a true renaissance team, one that epitomises a city, look no further than Venezia.

From bankruptcy and the lower echelons of Italian football to a global fashion icon, the small side from the iconic city of Venice are the club on so many lips, attracting worldwide interest.

A football team on the water, literally, Venezia are setting trends with their must-have kits as they enjoy life back in Serie A for the first time in almost two decades, but it has not been an easy road for I Leoni Alati – the Winged Lions–, who resided in the depths of Serie D just five years ago.

Founded in 1907 and with their most significant achievement to date being victory in the 1940-41 Coppa Italia, Venezia were relegated from Serie B in 2005 and went bankrupt.

Businessman owner Maurizio Zamparini had left for Palermo in 2002, taking with him 12 players in a move dubbed locally as the "furto di Pergini" – the "theft of Pergine".

Venezia were re-founded twice – at the end of the 2008-09 and 2014-15 seasons – having been declared insolvent on both occasions. It led to the 2015 arrival of a group of American investors, and while they have been in the ascendency at Stadio Pier Luigi Penzo ever since, Venezia have soared to new heights under president Duncan Niederauer.

A former CEO of the New York Stock Exchange, Niederauer arrived in early 2020 and it coincided with Venezia going from Serie B battlers to Serie A newcomers after a breathtaking and dramatic play-off in May of this year, which led to the Venetian version of a street party – fans jumping into the canals and players celebrating on gondolas.

 In an interview with Stats Perform, Niederauer – whose Venezia have five points from seven rounds to start the 2021-22 campaign – said: "When we took over in early 2020, I think step one was just to survive in Serie B to be perfectly honest. The team was struggling in the second division. Then last season, from the outset, I thought we would be very, very competitive. I thought we built a very good team. I don't think the experts agreed with me, but we declared early in the season last year that I thought we could compete for a spot in the play-offs. The team backed that up and was really in the play-off discussion all season.

"Somewhat unexpectedly to just about everybody, we got through the play-off battles. One of the things we hoped to accomplish was to get to Serie A in two-three years. We're kind of a couple of years ahead of schedule. The good news is you're ahead of schedule. The other news when you're in Serie A for the first time in two decades, you probably don't have the infrastructure that you need, you don't have the organisational construct that you need and that was certainly true for us. While it's been very exciting to be in the first division, we've had a lot of work to do to try to get ourselves prepared as a team and organisation to be in the first division. That's where a lot of the focus was spent on in the summer. We had to upgrade the stadium, we had to add to the organisation and re-think the roster to be competitive in Serie A while respecting our approach and budget."

Venezia captured the attention of millions with their last-gasp play-off win over Cittadella – Paolo Zanetti's men were down a man and trailing 1-0 after 36 minutes, and appeared destined for another season in the second tier.

But, with virtually the last kick of the game, Riccardo Bocalon's strike three minutes into stoppage time salvaged a 1-1 draw and a 2-1 aggregate win to send Venezia back to Serie A for the first time since 2001-02.

It sparked wild scenes on the pitch as Niederauer celebrated promotion with Venezia. While the team exceeded expectations externally, their president always believed.

"We have a really different philosophy with this team. Our culture is very much one of a family. I was discouraged by many others from getting close to the players," Niederauer said. "I was told if you get close to the players, it will cloud your judgement and it won't work. I fundamentally disagree with that in any business I've ever run. If you take care of your people, they can do great things, right?

"I remember saying to the players early in the season, 'Just to be clear, I work for you, you don't work for me. You tell me what you need to be successful, I just want to clear all the clutter so you can play.' They really took it to heart and they knew they could count on me. I think what you saw was a group of guys, who throughout the season, believed more and more in themselves. It culminated in that evening in late May... the players on the field, I said, 'Guys, that was unbelievable'. They said, 'Pres, not really, that's what family does'. We didn't want the story to be about Pasquale Mazzocchi's red card but about our promotion to Serie A... I thought that was a pretty strong culture which benefited a lot.

"To be there in person. It's a weekend, my wife and I, we will never forget. It's our favourite city in the world. We were there together the night of the match. I held it together surprisingly well until I saw her on the field and then I burst into tears because I think I was just so proud of them for what they did. If you watch the celebration, it's not a group of people who sort of like each other, sort of know each other, it's a family celebrating a shared success. Lots of tears and joy. If I had a do-over, I don't think I'd jump in the canal again, but at the moment, the players were doing it and seemed like the right thing to do. We had been in it together, so how could I not do it? It was a surreal experience. The celebration over the weekend... I said to my wife, when we don't remember each other's names, we will remember floating down the canal during that parade because it's like no other celebration in the world. It's a long emotional answer, but it was a really, really special evening."

Having stepped into the precarious world of Italian football, Niederauer added: "People ask me, what other sporting ventures are you going to do in Europe and the answer is none. Our second home is in Italy. My wife and I spend a lot of time in Italy. Venice has been our favourite city for a long time.

"When the opportunity came up to do this and do something special for these kids and this city, I don't think we would've done this anywhere else to be honest. I wasn't on the hunt for a football team to run from the United States. I just thought all the stars aligned and it seemed like an opportunity to do something really, really special. The pay-off was watching these young men perform above everyone's expectations except ours. I said to them at the start of the season, 'Guys, you're really, really good. Don't let anyone tell you you're not good. You're a good team and if you play for each other like family plays for each other, you can do spectacular things this year.' That's what happened, it's not any more complicated than that."

Fast forward to this season and Venezia are riding an unprecedented wave. During the 2020-21 campaign, their popular Nike jerseys – both home and away – were a hot commodity, despite the team being a relative minnow.

But at a time when the jersey industry is booming, and fashion and football more entwined than ever, Venezia have hit record heights since switching to Italian manufacturer Kappa. All three jerseys – now collectors' items – were swiftly sold out.

While a strategic plan to turn heads on and off the pitch, it's something not even Niederauer could have anticipated following the collaboration with a brand closely tied to Italian football.

"If you're in the city like Venice which is at the centre of art, fashion and history, I think it's incumbent on us to do our best to have the club aligned with the virtues of the city and the strengths of the city," Niederauer said as he discussed the global branding and fashion-forward identity ahead of Monday's clash with Fiorentina.

"Step number two which was a little less obvious, I like and respect Nike a lot. The current CEO is someone I've known for a long time. In fairness to Nike, we weren't big enough as a small second division club in Italy that had not been particularly well run previously. I don't blame them for not spending a lot of time with us. If I'm honest, I probably would've made the same decision if I were Nike. It seemed like it was time for us to find a partner that was closer to home who we could really collaborate with and almost co-author the designs.

"I thought this year was a really, really important year to make a statement. We left it to the design team and the design team collaborated with Kappa. It was a little bit rushed, but you see the results of what they produced... we're about to drop the fourth jersey in a couple of weeks here. All three we have released are all in the top 20 globally. That was purposeful. I don't know if we will hit all the right tones again every year, but for this year, I thought it was really important we take some risks and go over the top to design something special. Kudos to the design teams. I had basically nothing to do with it except turn them loose. What I like about the third and fourth jerseys, both were down in collaboration with foundations which support sustainability in Venice. We think part of our purpose as a club is we have to be part of the community and part of the city. Venice is obviously beautiful but not without its challenges with climate change. Proceeds from the third and fourth jersey go towards those organisations. We've tried to position ourselves as a global brand. It's early, early days but the jerseys are helping us do that. Now it will come down to can we perform in Serie A and stick around for a while?"

A few years ahead of schedule, now is when Niederauer's ambitious plan of turning Venezia into a viable business clicks into gear, with the former Goldman Sachs banker leaning on his financial background as the club learn from past mistakes.

"Our philosophy is you do your best to leave every situation better than when you found it. That's already been accomplished. I think our next objective is to build a sustainable club that, I don't think is competing for Champions League in the next few years, but at least is a club that you come into every season not solely focused on salvation," he said, with Venezia since signing former Manchester United and Argentina goalkeeper Sergio Romero as the club benefit from the picturesque city as a recruiting tool.

"You come into the season where you're expected to be a mid-table team. A mid-table team in Serie A given our investment approach and how we identify players, we have a long way to go to be as great as Atalanta have become at this. But if you built the foundation in the youth academy that we're doing and on your first team, and if you can get to that point where you're mid-table pretty predictable, I think we can run quite a profitable and sustainable franchise. We wouldn't look beyond that yet. We would have another decision to make. It would be arrogant to start thinking of those things before we prove ourselves. The next three years is about proving that the model works, proving we can stay in Serie A, proving that we can be a mid-table team and then hopefully start to reap all the seeds we planted in the youth academies, which were grossly underinvested."

The plan for Venezia goes beyond the first team, with the increased infrastructure leading to the establishment of their first ever women's team on top of a revamped stadium and facilities – a new headquarters set to open next September – as Niederauer bets on the future.

Niederauer – whose Venezia could draw three consecutive Serie A games for the first time since April 1962 – added: "You have to be conscious about the past because if you don't look back a bit to understand what you can learn from history, you're making a big mistake. Our approach was really simple and I think we were fortunate in the pandemic because as a Serie B team who weren't really drawing a lot of fans and didn't have a global brand, the revenue that ticket sales and merchandise were accounting for before we really organised and set ourselves on a better path, was small enough that it didn't poke a big hole in our boat last year. Our salaries were well under control – I think we had the 13th or 14th highest payroll in Serie B. We are pretty thoughtful about it. Our approach this season hasn't changed too much. We obviously want to be competitive and would like to stay, so you're willing to spend a bit of money to do that. I would bet you that our payroll is the lowest in the league. I would bet you our coach is not only the youngest coach but probably one of the lowest paid, but we think he is one of the best and that's why he has a four-year contract. We believe in him and are willing to bet on him. The players deserve continuity. We're not the type that would change coaches if the team isn't performing. That's on us more than it's on him – we are the ones that assembled the roster. It's up to Zanetti to do the best he can with it.

"We didn't overspend. We stuck to our strategy – we find young talented players. We did spend a little money acquiring some of them? Yes. My background would suggest that if you buy undervalued assets in the long run, as long as you take a long view, your returns will be just fine. That's what we convey in every decision. These are long-term investments. We didn't panic when we lost the first two games of the season. When you have a strategy, you don't divert from it and you don't let your emotions get the best of you. I don't find it that complicated. We have a challenge ahead of us. Serie A is a great league but I think we've built a really good roster. We're improving with every match. I like our chances of surviving and then the sky is the limit after that."

"Last year, at the start of the season, in Italian football everyone talks about salvation," he continued, with Venezia boasting the youngest player in Serie A this season with at least one goal and one assist – 19-year-old American sensation Gianluca Busio. "I said, 'Guys, I know I'm going to sound a lot like Ted Lasso here, I apologise, but we're not going to talk about salvation'. And they're like, 'Pres, what do you mean? We all talk about salvation.' I said, 'I'm going to stand up and say you're a play-off team, I believe that you are. I believe you will be in the conversation for promotion this year. So if that's our goal, why would we talk about salvation? We're not going to talk about salvation, I don't want you talking about it in your interviews and I won't in my interviews other than to dismiss it.' They were completely confused.

"At the beginning of this season, I said, 'I'm not a hypocrite, but this year we talk about salvation. This year it would not be realistic not to talk about salvation. So this year it's OK to talk about salvation.' But last year, we did not say a word about it on purpose because I thought our ambition should not just be about to survive but to win. I think they got it. It's a little bit unorthodox for Italy, but I think we have a few people starting to mimic what we're doing.

"There's a lot of people betting on this project and I like our chances, if we can stick to the long-term view and not waver from it, I really like what we're building here."

Mario Balotelli has completed a move to Turkish Super Lig side Adana Demirspor.

The 30-year-old striker spent 2020-21 with Monza in Serie B, where he scored six goals in 14 league appearances.

The former Manchester City forward has now joined the ambitious side from Adana, who secured promotion to Turkey's top flight last season.

The news was announced via a video released through the club's Twitter account.

Balotelli has now been signed to five different clubs since 2019, having spent three years with Nice after leaving Liverpool on a permanent deal in 2016.

The 36-cap Italy international will link up with former Napoli midfielder Gokhan Inler and ex-Montpellier star Younes Belhanda at the New Adana Stadium.

Balotelli was a three-time Serie A winner with Inter and was part of Jose Mourinho's treble-winning squad in 2009-10.

He then joined City, winning the FA Cup in 2010-11 and the Premier League title in 2011-12, before signing for Milan.

A single-season return to England with Liverpool came in 2014-15 before he went back to the Rossoneri on loan, after which he moved to Ligue 1.