Back with another superb look at football in Italy is and the story of Nocerina

Whilst most football observers in Italy over the Easter holiday were focused on AC Milan’s seemingly inevitable stroll to the Serie A championship, down in the Campania region of the Bel Paese , another club nicknamed the Rossoneri, were celebrating their return to Serie B after 32 years.

Associazione Sportiva Giovanile Nocerina, to give them their full title, wrapped up the Lega Pro C1 B division over the Easter weekend after dominating from virtually the first week of the season. Affectionately known by the locals as the Mastini (Mastiffs), they have ripped apart all challengers over the past nine months to send their devoted supporters into dreamland.

Coach Auteri Gaetano must take great credit for the team’s domination during this season. His team have the best goals for record in the division and also the best goals against ratio. They have lost only three matches all season, ironically, one of them was two weeks ago when another club from Campania Juve Stabia, put the promotion party on hold by grabbing a surprising 2-1 win at the Stadio San Francesco. There was no need to worry however as last Saturday, their coronation was confirmed as Gaetano’s men won 1-0 away in Foggia to secure their place in the second tier of Italian football next season.

Gaetano’s 4-3-3 system has paid dividends and his forward line has been nothing short of sensational all season. 23-year-old Lecce born hit man Negro Maikol has fired in 12 goals in 29 appearances, Neapolitan Luigi Castaldo has found the net on 10 occasions and Sicilian Emanuele Catania has also grabbed 10 goals for the club from Nocera Inferiore, a town which lies at the foot of the Monte Albino around 20 kilometres South East of Naples.

The 2010-11 campaign has been wonderful for the Southerners. It started with the club celebrating its centenary and has ended with their appearance in next seasons Serie B championship which they have graced on two other occasions, in 1948 and 1979. Both times the club lasted just one season before being relegated back to the third tier of Italian football.

The supporters have been waiting for this moment for the past couple of months as the finishing line got ever closer. Before their last home game against Juve Stabia, the clubs president Giovanni Citarella, made an extraordinary plea to the fans to calm down as expectations hit fever pitch with many supporters gaining access to the Stadio San Francesco for previous matches without paying a penny by clambering over the exterior walls in a quest to be part of the festivities. Since last Saturday, the town has been engulfed in celebration with supporters young and old descending onto the streets for the biggest Easter jamboree for many a year.

The tifosi will get a chance to welcome their heroes this coming Sunday when the Rossoneri entertain Foligno at the San Francesco in what is sure to be a wonderful occasion. Just five years ago, Nocerina was a club playing in Serie D in the amateur ranks of Italian football pyramid – it has been a meteoric rise for this small provincial side. Many observers will be expecting the club to have only another brief stay in Italy’s second tier but right now, everyone associated with the club couldn’t care less as they prepare for a summer of celebration before the real work begins again in August.