Venezia sack Giovanni Stroppa after pointless start to Serie A season

Venezia have brought Giovanni Stroppa's time in the dugout to an end. The club from the Veneto region announced the head coach's dismissal on Tuesday, a decision that comes after the team opened its Serie A campaign with six defeats from six matches following its return to the top level of Italian football.

The faith placed in Stroppa had not brought the expected results at the start of the season, even though his name was closely tied to the recent success of the Venetian project. The Lombardy-born coach took charge in the 2025/26 campaign and guided the arancioneroverdi back to the top division after an impressive season in Serie B.

• Venezia lose their first six league matches and sit bottom of the table with no points.
• Giovanni Stroppa secured promotion to Serie A in his first season at the club.
• The only win of the campaign came in the Coppa Italia against Modena (3-2).
• The club thanked the coach and his staff for their professionalism and commitment.

A Serie A start with no room for error

Venezia's patience ran out after an opening schedule that left little doubt. In the league, the side lost at home to Lecce, Fiorentina and Lazio, and fell on the road against AC Milan, Frosinone and Atalanta. Six matches, six defeats and a record that placed the club in an emergency situation before the first stretch of the campaign had even ended.

The only breathing room came away from the domestic competition: in the first knockout round of the Coppa Italia, Venezia beat Modena 3-2. The joy did not last long, however, as Udinese knocked them out in the next round. The overall picture left the team with no safety net and the coach without enough credit to continue.

Stroppa's legacy: promotion that took Venezia back to the top

Despite the outcome, Stroppa's time at the Venetian club cannot be reduced to this season's poor start. Under his leadership, Venezia sealed promotion to Serie A in the 2025/26 campaign, completing an outstanding run in the second tier of Italian football.

The club itself made a point of recognising that work in its official farewell statement. Venezia expressed its gratitude to Stroppa and his coaching staff for the work done, as well as for the professionalism, dedication and commitment shown during his spell in the city of St Mark's Lion.

What is now at stake for Venezia in Serie A

With the team rooted to the bottom of the table and no points on the board, the decision to part ways with Stroppa responds to an urgent need for a reaction. Survival stands out as the main goal of the season, and in a league as balanced as Serie A, six consecutive defeats to open a campaign can shape an entire year's fate.

The next man in the dugout will face the task of rebuilding a group that has taken a hit and of finding the attacking and defensive solutions that have so far been missing. The club's board is hoping that a change of direction in time will allow Venezia to compete with real chances of staying up.

Venezia's numbers under Stroppa this season

The sequence of results under Stroppa in the current campaign reflects the crisis that has triggered his departure. Only one match ended in victory, the cup tie against Modena, while the subsequent elimination at the hands of Udinese closed the domestic cup chapter with another setback.

The club wishes to thank Giovanni Stroppa and his coaching staff for the work carried out, as well as for the professionalism, dedication and commitment shown during their time at Venezia FC.

In Serie A, the record is entirely negative: no wins, no draws and no statistics that invite optimism. The contrast with the previous season, in which the team dominated much of Serie B, explains the harshness of a decision that few expected so early but that the league table made difficult to postpone.

Frequently asked questions about Stroppa's sacking at Venezia