Top flight action around Europe has taken a new spin this season. The likes of Nottingham Forest are reentering the Premier League for the first time in 23 years, with clubs like Auxerre in France rejoining the Ligue 1 ranks after lengthy spells in tiers below.
Over in Italy, A.C. Monza were back in Serie B after a 19-year absence in 2020 before they hit superstardom last season and stunningly earned promotion into the first division.
5 giorni alla prima in @seriea ⏳ Tutti allo stadio 🏟 Impossibile non esserci! 🔥⚪️🔴#ACMonza #Monza #SerieA pic.twitter.com/YpBZCdajd8— AC Monza (@ACMonza) August 8, 2022
5 giorni alla prima in @seriea ⏳ Tutti allo stadio 🏟 Impossibile non esserci! 🔥⚪️🔴#ACMonza #Monza #SerieA pic.twitter.com/YpBZCdajd8
Here’s everything you need to know about this new Serie A club who have finally made it into the big time in Italian football.
As opposed to the consistency of clubs like Fulham and Norwich continuing to go up and down in the Premier League, every now and then, a new Serie A club is brought to our attention. Venezia were an example last year, but this time around, Monza are entering the Serie A season after 40 years in Serie B.
In fact, no side out there has managed to play more seasons in the second tier of Italian football than they have prior to the move back into Serie A and with their 40 seasons being played out in that league acros 109 years of activity, it means generations of fans gone by have witnessed nothing but second tier action.
Monza's season last time out saw them in Serie B for the second year in a row, and promotion was not really expected of them. However, following on from winning 19 games from the 38 fixtures, the club finished fourth and earned a place in the playoff spots.
Under the guidance of Giovanni Stroppa, Monza finished fourth in Serie B. This then forced a playoffs route in attempts to get into the top flight at the first time of asking. First up was Perugia in the preliminary round, and the club would win 3-2 after extra time and just before penalties. In the semi-finals, Brescia awaited, and a 2-1 win across both legs resulted in a 4-2 aggregate victory for Stroppa's men.
In the final, it was another two-legged encounter as Pisa were up next. The first leg ended 2-1 in favour of the fourth-placed Serie B side, before beating Pisa 4-3 in extra time soon after to earn their way into Serie A for the first time in their 109-year history.