Venice's pride, Venezia Football Club is one of those mid-table clubs whose story is sure to inspire you. Founded in 1907, the club has mostly dwelled in the lower leagues, with occasional visits to the Italian top flight. Venezia home ground is the Pier Luigi Penzo stadium, which has been a witness to many scintillating matches over the years and is an important part of Venezia's history. Venezia quickly became the favourite of the people of Venice, as they punched higher than their weight at times. Their Coppa Italia triumph in 1941 still remains one of the most famous wins in the club's history. Venezia were relegated from Serie A after finishing 17th in the table last season and now sit in sixth position in the Serie B table.
Let's take a look at Venezia history. The club was founded on 14th December, 1907, in Venice, as a result of the merger of the football sections of the Martial Gymnastics Society and Costantino Reyer. What's more amusing is that this club was born in a restaurant in Venice named Da Nane in Corte dell'Orso. Some of the notable founding members were Davide Fano (the first President), Walter Aemisseger (the first coach and captain of the club), Guido Battisti, Antonio Borella, and Gerardo Bortoletti. In the initial days, Venezia used to play in the pine forest of Sant'Elena. In 1913, the Venetian stadium on the island of Sant'Elena, Campo Sportivo Comunale di Sant'Elena, was opened as the Venezia stadium with a capacity of just 500 spectators. The club's first Serie A promotion came in the 1938/39 season, when they defeated Atalanta by a scoreline of 0-1 in Bergamo on the final day of the season. Following Venezia's promotion, the stadium's capacity was increased to 22,000.
The 1940/41 season remains one of Venezia's most dreamy runs, as they won the Coppa Italia, their first major trophy, by defeating AS Roma in the second leg of the final. They followed it up by finishing third in the league in the following season, which still remains their best-ever finish in the league to date. The later years saw a lot going downhill, as they even got relegated to Serie D at one point, but the club stood strong against all odds. They returned to Serie A in 1997/98, after a 31-year-long absence, but failed to keep up with the other teams in the top division. Following three bankruptcies in 10 years and constantly battling relegations, it was in 2015 when a group of American investors bailed the club out of their struggles. In the COVID-hit 2019/20 season, Venezia secured promotion back to the Italian top flight again after 19 years. However, fate had other ideas, as they finished in the last position in the following season and were relegated again. Venezia history proves that with constant fight, anyone can overcome the obstacles and make a name for themselves in the world of football.
