Lecce And Cremonese Reach Serie A Promotion In Dramatic Season Finale

Last night, as Serie B’s final match day was about to kick off, the table read: Lecce 68, Monza 67, Cremonese 66 and Pisa 64.

With just the first two positions granting straight promotion to Serie A, these four teams were very well aware of the importance of the last 90 minutes of the 2021/22 season.

In a league that delivered drama all year long, the final match day was no exception.

At half time, as Lecce were stuck on a 0-0 draw against Pordenone, the 30 thousand fans at Via del Mare stadium feared that their team would not be able to break the deadlock. The highly-anticipated goal, however, came in the second half, courtesy of Slovenian midfielder Zan Majer. After taking the lead, Lecce were masters at putting the game to bed and thus clinching the three points.

Lecce can now celebrate their return to Serie A after two seasons in the second division. The club, which is located in the beautiful Salento region at the heel of the Italian “boot,” is rich in tradition, as it has already featured 16 times in Italy’s top-flight.

In its Serie A history, the red-and-yellow club has been home to very talented players that eventually went on to establish themselves as protagonists in the league. It is the case of Juan Cuadrado, the Columbian right winger that boasts several Scudetti with Juventus, and Luis Muriel, whose prolific goal-scoring rate has been key in helping Atalanta shine domestically and, against all odds, even in the UEFA Champions League.

In their game at Como, Cremonese took care of business from the get-go. After 50 minutes, they were safely ahead by two goals thanks to a brace by Samuel Di Carmine.

But a win would not have been enough for Cremonese, who were sitting in third position in the table prior to yesterday’s fixtures: In order to jump into second place, they needed Monza to stumble in their game against Perugia.

Monza, the club that since 2018 has been owned by Italian businessman and former Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, has never competed in Serie A, which is why last night was filled with expectations for the Biancorossi fans. In the very last game of the season, however, the team failed to deliver, falling 1-0 to Perugia in a hard-fought game and thus abandoning their Serie A dreams.

Monza’s loss represents yet another twist in a Serie B season that has been rife with unexpected results. The upset allowed Cremonese to climb back to second place and secure their return to Italy’s grandest soccer stage 26 years after last time. It will be the eighth Serie A appearance in the history of the gray-and-red club, which is based in the city of Cremona, about 50 miles southeast of Milan in the Lombardy region.

Amid all these twists, Pisa, the team that is owned by British businessman Alexander Knaster, pulled off a solid 2-1 victory over Frosinone. The three points, however, were not enough to push the Tuscan club into the Serie B top-two spots, meaning they will have to battle it out in the upcoming league playoffs.

The transition to Serie A, Italy’s most popular and remunerative professional sports league, brings excitement, prestige and financial benefits.

Half of the proceeds from the league’s lucrative broadcasting agreements are distributed to the 20 participating teams, meaning they are guaranteed to pocket about $25 million a year. What is more, clubs will be granted extra amounts according to their position in the table at the end of the season.

The perks of joining the elite Serie A group are not just limited to the vast allocation of money coming from television rights. In fact, newly-promoted teams can leverage the league’s large visibility to strike bigger sponsorship deals compared to those they might have had in place while in Serie B.

The winner of the Serie B playoffs will be the third and last team to earn promotion to Serie A for the next season.