Novara's fairytale return to Italy's top flight after a 55 year absence ended in heartbreak as they were sent straight back down. Nevertheless, they will take some fond memories from their stay in Serie A. Prime candidates for the drop after coming up as play-off winners, Novara had a monumental task to try to stay up. Attilio Tesser, the man who had guided the club through consecutive promotions, was charged with that challenge. In their first home game in Serie A for 55 years, they shocked the world by conquering giants, Inter Milan. However, it proved to be a momentary glimmer of hope, just one of two victories for Tesser in the first twenty matches of the season. The team were leaking goals with the worst defence in the league at the turn of the year. Up front, they were without a real goalscorer. Marco Rigoni did his best to carry the can throughout the season but needed help. Tesser was sacked at the end of January - a decision which was met by great indignation by the home faithful.
His replacement was the experienced Emiliano Mondonico. For a while, he improved the team immensely at the back. They recorded an impressive three clean sheets in February. Despite that, Mondonico was dismissed after just six games. His style was not welcomed by the supporters who had always wanted Tesser back. They got their wish and he showed he could match his predecessor with three consecutive clean sheets and two wins to restart his reign. Nevertheless, Novara ran into some difficult fixtures during the run-in and their relegation was soon confirmed. They were always destined to struggle to stay in the division and perhaps the experience will stand them in good stead for the future if they ever make it back up.
