Balotelli, a Brazil winger and the bid for Serie D promotion

AC Chievo Verona boast the distinction of being the only club in Italian football to climb every rung of the pyramid to reach Serie A in 2001.

The Flying Donkeys, from a small district of Verona, spent 17 out of 18 seasons in the Italian top flight before finishing bottom of Serie A in 2019.

Two years later, on the back of financial struggles and tax-related issues following the Covid pandemic, they were expelled from professional football and declared bankrupt.

After starting again from the bottom, on Sunday they will look to continue their rise in the Serie D play-offs - doing so with a former Brazil international in their side, one introduced to the club by Mario Balotelli.

The club was effectively rescued by Sergio Pellissier, their top scorer, who founded his own club, Clivense, in 2021 and after promotion to Serie D acquired the historic Chievo Verona brand in May 2024.

Pellissier remains honorary president and sporting director, leading the club alongside president Pietro Laterza, who also owns Al-Ittifaq, a Dubai-based club playing in the UAE second division and home to Balotelli.

The club's ambitions are considerable. Laterza and his staff have invested heavily in infrastructure, acquiring and renovating the Bottagisio training centre, as well as in the squad, which includes young prospects as well as former Serie A players Alberto Paloschi and Daniele Baselli.

The icing on the cake, though, was the January signing of 35-year-old former Brazil, Bayern Munich and Juventus winger Douglas Costa.

"I was about to sign for a South American club and had invited Mario to spend some time with me at the beach in Brazil," Douglas Costa tells BBC Sport.

"He told me he couldn't because he was travelling to Dubai, and then asked me whether I'd be interested in joining him in the UAE.

"The foreign-player slot at Al-Ittifaq was already occupied, so they suggested I come here for six months to stay fit.

"I love Italy very much, so deciding to return was easy. On top of it, I scored a goal against Chievo with Juventus, so I had something to make up for and I want to help them get back into professional football."

The forward's career has at times been disrupted by injuries and off-field issues. His contract at Sydney FC was mutually terminated, external in 2025 when he was unable to return to Australia because of a legal dispute over child maintenance in Brazil.

However, he arrived in Verona with 24 trophies to his name - among them Bundesliga titles for Bayern and three successive Serie A crowns with Juventus, the most recent of those in 2020.

"Young players need experience. Champions like Douglas or Mario are a huge source of inspiration and motivation, and give them an idea of what is possible in life," president Laterza tells BBC Sport.

"Youngsters are our future. We have a brand new academy with over 300 kids - the idea is to provide them with a pathway into professional football.

"The initial plan was for Douglas to finish the season here before moving to Dubai. Right now, though, the main objective is to finish the campaign as strongly as possible and give everything to achieve promotion. After that, we'll see."

Costa adds: "At Bayern I was young, and I was the one who had to learn from the experienced players. Today, I'm the one who has to help the coach and my team-mates. But football in Serie A and Serie D is still football - the dynamics are similar."

Beating Casatese Merate in their Serie D play-offs final on Sunday won't guarantee Chievo a Serie C place for next season - in a complicated system, the league decides which of the play-off winners will fill any Serie C vacancies.

But given the economic situation of several third-tier clubs, often on the verge of declaring bankruptcy or simply without the necessary means to afford the category, their target is still very much within reach.

Costa has not hit the heights of earlier in his career so far in Verona, but a decisive goal in their play-offs semi-finals against Milan Futuro - AC Milan's Under-23 club - could prove vital.

"I'm here to help the team, both on and off the pitch," says the Brazilian winger. "My role is also to help change our mentality and approach things like professionals - before, during and after matches.

"If I played here for a whole year, things might have gone even better. Being here for three months is not easy, even if you are a high-level player.

"But more than anything else, football is joy for me: when the ball is at my feet, I'm happy. I still have a young mentality and I don't want to grow old. We're here together to learn and laugh, and that motivates me every day."

Despite a scintillating career, the former Gremio and Shakhtar Donetsk winger has adapted well to his new reality.

"In 20 years of professionalism I've played for major clubs in Brazil, Ukraine, Germany, Italy, the United States and Australia," he says.

"I've won a lot and worked with great coaches like Mircea Lucescu, Pep Guardiola, Massimiliano Allegri and Carlos Dunga.

"My challenge has been adapting to amateur football and trying to raise the level of the league, even though the environment is completely different from anything I've known before.

"The beautiful thing is that sometimes, when I get the ball in away games, even the opposition fans cheer for us because they expect something special from me! I'm extremely happy to be here. Italy is a country that changed my life."

Costa adds: "The club does everything to put us in the best conditions to succeed, but once we step on to the pitch, it's up to us players. And that's where I leave space for the talent God gave me.

"It was the same at Bayern: they told me to track back and defend, and I did - but when I had the ball, I did whatever I wanted."

Balotelli and Dubai can wait - at least for now. Much to the delight of Chievo's fans, who dream of seeing their club return to the professional game and Costa pushing for more in their yellow and blue shirt.