Silvio Berlusconi took a risk dismissing Monza manager Giovanni Stroppa for Primavera coach Raffaele Palladino, but this has immediately paid off for the newly promoted side.
The Lombardy club secured their second victory of the Serie A season in today’s 3-0 away win over Sampdoria, helping them climb out of the relegation zone after their terrible start to life in the Italian topflight.
Stroppa brought them up from Serie B but things didn’t go to plan this season and he was dismissed last month after overseeing one draw and five defeats in Serie A. Berlusconi was obviously unhappy and personally stepped in to try and resolve things, hedging his bets on unproven Primavera coach Palladino.
The 38-year-old Italian has not disappointed in the dugout, guiding the team to a shock 1-0 win over Juventus before the international break before following that up with today’s 3-0 win against a struggling Sampdoria.
OptaPaolo highlights how Palladino is the first coach to win his first two games in charge of a newly promoted side since Livorno’s Roberto Donadoni in 2005, justifying Berlusconi’s risk and giving the team a fighting chance of avoiding the drop back into the second division.