A championship that was certainly very particular, the one that was experienced in Serie B in the 2003-2004 season; a tournament marked even before its start, because, due to the Catania case, there were structural reforms within football and sports justice. The relegations of the previous season were cancelled, in a completely extraordinary way, with the roster therefore becoming 24 teams, with the famous double jump of Fiorentina who, despite having won the C2, was admitted to Serie B in place of the failed Cosenza skipping directly the year in C1. All this caused quite a bit of discontent, with the FIGC forced, for that year alone, to foresee 5 promotions to Serie A and only three relegations, with a survival play-off to be played between the fourth to last and the fifth to last.
Formula born therefore in that year, that of the playouts, and then remained unchanged. A formula that it was “inaugurated” by Bari and Venice, with the Apulian team who, twenty years old, once again find themselves having to battle in the play-offs to maintain the category. Only the opponent changes: this year it will be Ternana, then it was Venezia, who are now involved in the playoffs.
Tomorrow the lights will be on at “San Nicola”, where a sold out is expected, but where you won’t have to think about what happened in 2004. Because that playout was truly unfortunate: in the first leg the Apulians won 1-0, but then lost 2-0 in the Lagoon, relegated to Serie C. As happened in the 1964-1965 season, when the red and whites, just like this year, changed four coaches. But history is also made to be rewritten…
