guest writer/Marco Rinaldi

There are worrying signs that the Russian revolution at Venezia may turn out to be yet another nightmare for the fans of the Lagunari.

When Yuri Korablin arrived earlier this year, there were promises of a 100m euro stadium, a revamp of the training facilities including the laying of an artificial pitch, and serious investment in the squad that would see the club back in Serie A before too long.  The optimism that Korablin and his consigliere Samokhin brought with them allowed the oft-tortured fans to take a relaxed view when the club first fell away from a Serie D title challenge and then stuttered to failure in the playoffs.  Don’t worry, they were assured, we will return stronger.  There was talk of ripescaggio into the Lega Pro anyway, possibly even division 1.  After all, who could match our new finances? But soon the worrying signs began to appear.

First, Gianluca Luppi was sacked as manager, despite apparently receiving reassurances that he was safe.  Again, not something the fans rushed to judgement on; though a club hero as a player, Luppi had been parachuted in as an end of season replacement and hadn’t exactly performed wonders.  The replacement, Davide Sassarini, wasn’t exactly star quality, but he is experienced at this level.  No worries there, then.

Next, Andrea Seno, d.s. of Venezia for the past few seasons, and a man who had been at the club for over 20 years as a player and director, was sacked.  That irked some fans, to see a loyal member of the club booted out so unceremoniously.  But again, a decent replacement was hired – Oreste Cinquini, who had worked at Udinese, Juve, Fiorentina.  And so the mutters of discontent were silenced again.

Then came the most worrying signal of all that things were not right.  Although it had been announced there would likely be no ripescaggi, with the exception of Rimini, who had won the playoffs, clubs were still allowed to register an interest in case something happened.  To do so, monies totalling 700,000 euros had to be deposited to show the club was rich enough to cope with the rigours of the Lega Pro.  No problem, Venezia have rich owners now, right? Well, so they thought.

It turns out that the monies were not deposited, despite the club saying that they had been.  The club quickly issued a statement saying there had been a simple delay in the funds due to Korablin being ill in hospital, but it didn’t appease some of the supporters groups, who have demanded a meeting with officials to clarify matters.

Now, it is to be hoped that what the club say is true; that it was all a misunderstanding.  The club have continued to build their squad to challenge for Serie D, the latest signing being Diego Oliviera Santos, a Brazilian midfielder who played last season for Vicenza.  The worry is that it has a familiar smell about it, one that the fans of the Arancioneroverdi know only too well.

Similar promises were made when the Polettis wanted out of the club a couple of seasons ago.  Promises of a rich London Iranian buyer were made, but deadlines kept getting missed until the club (then SSC Venezia) went bust and had to start again from Serie D.  This was only a few seasons after they had gone bust when Dal Cin was in charge and the club was embroiled in the infamous match fixing scandal with Genoa.  Before that of course, Zamparini had walked out, taking most of the playing staff with him to Palermo.

Only time will tell if Korablin and company genuinely want to return the club to Serie A.  For the fans of the Lagunari, they can only hope that this Russian revolution doesn’t lead to more heartache.

Check out more on travel to club and country with FourFourTwo who examine the city of Venezia. You can follow Marco Rinaldi on twitter at MarcoRinaldi

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