Paolo Bianco puts the brakes on Pisa’s immediate promotion to Serie B and hasn’t forgotten Monza: “My respect for them is gone”
Paolo Bianco spoke with *La Gazzetta dello Sport* and made no secret of his goal. “This is a two-year project; we need to become strong right away and get promoted in two years, building something that will stand the test of time. Pisa wants to return to Serie A and stay there. This applies to both the team and the club, with the training center set to be ready this spring.”
After securing promotion to Serie A in Monza, it seemed he was going to stay in Brianza. But instead… “It was a strange moment; I didn’t expect it. In the end, I decided not to stay—I realized the mutual respect was gone. In Pisa, the players are different. We’ve brought in players with the right qualities for this league, who raise the level of play, whereas in Monza there were still strong players, but ones who weren’t quite suited for Serie B.”
Among the most significant reinforcements arriving this summer, Andrea Petagna stands out—a player Bianco was determined to bring with him to Pisa as well. The Trieste-born forward, a key player in Monza’s promotion to Serie A, moved to Tuscany on a permanent basis after four seasons in Brianza—interrupted by a loan to Cagliari in 2023–2024 — during which he had made 79 appearances and scored 14 goals. The decision by the new Biancorossi head coach, Ivan Juric, also played a role in the transfer; Juric had already identified Patrick Cutrone as his first choice at center forward, relegating Petagna to a marginal role within the club’s pecking order.
The Nerazzurri’s start to the season was not without its difficulties: on opening day, Pisa lost at home, along with the other two relegated teams, Cremonese and Verona. Bianco’s team, however, was able to bounce back quickly, stringing together consecutive wins that propelled them into the upper echelons of the standings. Petagna leads the attacking trio, rounded out by Leris and Tramoni, with Leone, Correia, and Vural dictating the pace in midfield.
