Lecce restarts from Genoa. The first home match will be against Milan

LECCE - Lecce's adventure in Serie A 2025/2026 will begin in Genoa, against the "Grifone". The start is scheduled for the weekend of August 23-24. The start with an away match, due to issues related to the renovation work at the "Via del Mare" and the coincidence with the celebration of the city's patron saint, was a request from the Giallorossi club.

On the second day, Milan will be on stage in Salento, while the third round will see Federico Baschirotto and his teammates busy in Bergamo, against Atalanta. The club chaired by Saverio Sticchi Damiani will then have two home matches in a row, with Cagliari and Bologna. From the sixth to the eighth, away to Parma, home match with Sassuolo and away match with Udinese.

On October 29, the Italian champion Napoli, led by the former and Salento native Antonio Conte, will arrive at the "Via del Mare". Then Lecce will go to Florence, host Verona, visit Lazio and will be busy in front of their home fans with Torino. In the fourteenth and fifteenth rounds, a double challenge with the newly promoted Cremonese (in Lombardy) and Pisa (in Salento). On December 21 and 28, Inter-Lecce and Lecce-Como will be played. The first leg will end at the beginning of 2026, with Juventus-Lecce, on January 3, and Lecce-Roma, on January 6.

This is Lecce's schedule, announced yesterday in Parma, as part of the "Serie A Festival".

Today, meanwhile, at the home of the Giallorossi club, the "ball" will pass to the head of the technical area Pantaleo Corvino and to the sports director Stefano Trinchera who will meet the press in the morning at 10:00. The championship that has just been archived will be discussed, but also the guidelines that will be the basis of the programming for next season.

There should be some information on the relationship with the coach Marco Giampaolo. It is known that the contract of the Abruzzo coach was automatically renewed following the salvation, but then we will have to understand if, on both sides, there is the will to continue together, if the club's plans coincide with those of the coach and vice versa. It is a common opinion that we are moving towards a separation, but in football what seems probable today is not likely tomorrow. Imagine for a topic on which there have only been rumors and no official position taken by the club or the coach.

Beyond the bench knot to be untied, Corvino and Trinchera are expected to work hard on the market. After the sales of Marin Pongracic and Valentin Gendrey completed last summer and that of Patrick Dorgu made in January of this year, with a more solid than ever balance sheet, the club of via Colonnello Costadura does not need to sell its "valuable pieces". At the same time, Lecce is not used to holding on to players who intend to move elsewhere, but only on the condition that the clubs that want to buy them satisfy the economic demands of the Giallorossi club. As already underlined in the past, among other things, certain sales will have to take place in good time to allow the technical area to find suitable alternatives on the market. The first step will be to communicate to the entourage of each individual member who is and who is not included in the plans for next season.

There is widespread awareness among Lecce supporters that it will be highly unlikely to retain centre-forward Nikola Krstovic. Numerous clubs (including Roma) are interested in the Montenegrin, who also deserves the chance to fight for a more prestigious goal than permanence. This means that, barring any sensational twists, the striker will be sold and will guarantee another sumptuous capital gain. At the same time, Corvino and Trinchera will have to completely rebuild the front line, as Ante Rebic will also be leaving, coming off a tournament with very few lights and many shadows. But, considering that this eventuality has been budgeted for some time, we can be sure that the two market men have a clear idea of ​​how to operate.

The other moves will depend on the requests made by the coach, who will indicate the characteristics of the players to be hired, while the technical area manager Corvino and the sports director Trinchera will identify the right men based on Lecce's economic parameters.

As has been the case for several years, barring exceptions justified by the contingency, only players who can arrive in Salento on a permanent basis will be signed. Another important chapter in the Giallorossi market will be that of the surplus. Almost all the players who will return to Lecce at the end of their loan, in addition to those who will not return to the mister's good graces, will be placed elsewhere.