The painful promotion to Serie B lasted only for a year: in 1931 the Lucchese lost the salvation play-off in Bologna against Udinese and sadly returned to the third series. However, the play-offs did not bring good results for the “RossoNeri”: in 1933, Viareggio goes to Serie B to the detriment of Lucchese at the end of a match played in Livorno.

Promotion was only postponed for a year: it arrives in 1934 with the “RossoNeri” making the breakthrough. The club is solid and in the hands of engineer, Giuseppe Della Santina, who will be able to give continuous satisfactions. 

By giving the city the stadium Porta Elisa, first, with extraordinarily fascinating architectural lines in its rationalist style, whose official inauguration, after construction in record time, is held in January '35.
Then he built a team that is able, in the 1935-36 season, to conquer the Serie A and to take numerous satisfactions even against the big teams.

Behind the triumphs on the football field - both the return to Serie B and the arrival in Serie A - there is not only Della Santina, but also an extraordinary coach, who will later become a legend: Egri Erbstein.
The Magyar coach, at the forefront both as a tactician and in the management of human relations, lives in Lucca until 1938, when he moves to Torino and repeatedly triumphes, taking with him, among others, the World Champion goalkeeper, Aldo Olivieri.

Olivieri is footballing genius who will became a legend in 1949, after the terrible crash of the plane bringing the “Granata” (Turin football team) back to Turin after an away trip to Portugal.

In his third season in the top division in the 1938-39 championship, the coach's departure marks its relegation to the last place of Serie B.

Della Santina tried to bring the club straight back to the Olympus of football, but has to be content with a third place, while the guns rang out again: Italy enters the World War in 1940. The championships, however, went on for the time being.