 The club ultimately ended the season in ninth place, well below their initial expectations.Former AS Roma playing hero Giuseppe Giannini was successively appointed as new head coach for Gallipoli's 2008–09 campaign, which ended in triumph, as the "giallorossi" won a historic first promotion to Serie B as league winners in the final week.In July 2009, the club's future was put in doubt when President of the club, oil businessman and Senator Vincenzo Barba, announced that the club was up for sale at no cost.