Trouble in Paradise: Why Throwing Copper and Arezzo Are Drifting Apart

By the standards of modern Italian football, what Throwing Copper has achieved at Arezzo borders on the improbable.

Last season was meant to be about survival and little more. Bookmakers, pundits and even rival coaches privately tipped Arezzo for relegation, citing a wafer-thin squad, poor facilities and one of the smallest budgets in Serie B. Instead, Copper delivered structure, belief and a brand of tactical clarity that repeatedly punched above its weight.

There was the night that shifted perceptions internally and externally: a meticulously engineered Italian Cup victory over Serie A side Como, achieved not through chaos or fortune, but control. That win set up a glamour tie against Inter, and with it, over £1 million in combined prize money and gate receipts. For a club of Arezzo’s size, it was transformative revenue.

In the league, the story was just as compelling. Copper guided Arezzo to an eighth-place finish, before eventually falling to Reggiana in a tense playoff defeat. It was a campaign built on margins, preparation and adaptability – the kind that typically earns not just plaudits, but backing.

Instead, it appears to have triggered a fracture.

When the summer numbers landed, Copper was left stunned. A £12,000 increase in weekly wages. A £344,000 transfer budget – £300,000 of which was immediately committed to converting loan revelation Michele Besaggio into a permanent signing. The remaining £44,000 barely enough to address depth, let alone ambition.

Behind closed doors, sources describe a tense meeting between manager and board. Copper, usually measured, pressed for reinvestment. His argument was simple: momentum had been earned, revenues generated, credibility established. With modest backing, a genuine promotion push was realistic.

The board disagreed.

One club spokesperson sought to strike a conciliatory tone.

“We are extremely proud of what the manager and players achieved last season,” they said. “But our responsibility is to ensure long-term sustainability. Avoiding relegation remains the priority, and we must live within our means.”

Another senior figure was more blunt.

“We cannot gamble the future of the club. Progress does not always mean spending.”

For Copper, the message landed heavily. Those close to him describe a manager both furious and deflated – not at the lack of millions, but at what he sees as a failure to match ambition with opportunity. The gap is no longer tactical or philosophical; it is existential.

And now, others are watching.

Sampdoria and Palermo have both dismissed their managers after underwhelming campaigns that ended outside the play-offs. Both clubs offer scale, expectation and – crucially – resources more aligned with Copper’s competitive instincts. Both view him as a coach capable of imposing order and identity where chaos has reigned.

For now, nothing is decided. Copper remains in Arezzo, pre-season plans technically underway. But the mood has shifted. Conversations are being had. Lines of communication are open.

Italian football has seen this story before: the overachieving manager, the cautious board, the moment where belief and ambition diverge.

What happens next may define not just Throwing Copper’s career, but whether Arezzo’s extraordinary rise was the foundation of something lasting — or the peak of a project unwilling to evolve.

Everyone, it seems, is waiting with bated breath.