Monza won the first leg at home on Thursday 2-1. After 10 minutes into the return, Pisa had already completely turned the tables (2-0). The visitors equalized, making the promotion seem in.
Until Mastinu gave Pisa in the 90th minute extra time (3-2). Monza remained in charge with decisive goals from Marrone and Gytkjaer (3-4). A red card from Lamanna no longer mattered.
Goal achieved for Berlusconi, who is now 85 years old. Monza bought it a year after the sale of “his” Milan with the Serie A as its mission. Berlusconi headed that club for over 30 years (1986-2017) turning it into a giant of European football.
“We fought for a year and finally reached this historic milestone. Since 1912 (the founding year, ed.) Monza has never been in Serie A,” Berlusconi triumphed at Sky Sport Italia.
Monza played in Serie C when Berlusconi’s Fininvest Group took over in 2018. Promotion to Serie B came in the second season. Last year things went wrong in the jump-offs.
Monza joins the two clubs that won direct promotion from Serie B: champions Lecce and Cremonese. Monza, which finished fourth in the competition, had to complete jump-offs. Venezia, Genoa and Cagliari drop to Serie B.
