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| Full name | Benevento CalcioS.r.l. | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nicknames | Gli Stregoni (The Sorcerers) I Giallorossi (The Yellow and Reds) ISanniti (The Samnites) | |||
| Founded | 1929; 96 years ago (1929) 1938 (refounded) | |||
| Ground | Stadio Ciro Vigorito, Benevento, Italy | |||
| Capacity | 16,867 | |||
| President | Oreste Vigorito | |||
| Manager | Gaetano Auteri | |||
| League | Serie C Group C | |||
| 2024–25 | Serie C Group C, 6th of 20 | |||
| Website | www | |||
 Current season | ||||
Benevento Calcio, commonly referred to asBenevento, is an Italian professional football club based inBenevento, Campania. The club was originally founded in 1929 and then re-founded in 2005. They currently compete inSerie C, having been relegated fromSerie B in the2022–23 season.
The club was founded asAssociazione Calcio Benevento in 1929,[1] their original home was theMeomartini which was built by Ciccio Minocchia.[2]
After working their way up the country's lower divisions during their early years, Benevento reachedPrima Divisione, Italy's third highest professional league at the time, in the 1934–35 season. They finished above clubs such asReggina during the club's first season within the league. Although they did not win promotion toSerie B, the team did remain in the third tier of Italian football for the 1935–36 season, re-organized to a smaller 64-team league renamedSerie C.
The clubF.C. Sporting Benevento S.r.l. folded in 2005. At the same timeBenevento Calcio S.p.A. was founded, using the same stadium and playing kit.
In the2007–08 Serie C2 regular season the team finished first in Girone C, winning direct promotion to the now calledLega Pro Prima Divisione for the 2008–09 season. In the 2008–09 season, Benevento's first season in Lega Pro Prima Divisione, they finished in 2nd place. This meant Benevento would be in a two-legged play-off. They won their first two-legged play-off, but lost toCrotone 1–0 (2–1) on aggregate in the final.
Gaetano Auteri was appointed as the head manager for the2015–16 season. In this season, Benevento won its league and reachedSerie B for the first time in its history. The mathematical certainty arrived on 30 April 2016, after defeatingLecce 3–0.[3]
On 8 June 2017, they were promoted toSerie A, for the first time in their history, after defeatingCarpi in theSerie B play-offs 1–0 on aggregate, remarkably winning promotion in their inaugural season in Serie B.[4] The club struggled in its top-flight debut in the2017-18 season as Benevento set a record for the worst start to a season in any ofEurope's top five leagues by losing their first 14 Serie A matches.[5] This streak ended on 3 December 2017, with a 95th-minute equalising header from goalkeeperAlberto Brignoli for a 2–2 home draw againstA.C. Milan.[6][7] Benevento's time in Serie A lastedone season and they were relegated after a last-place finish, although there was a clear uptick in form after their dismal opening to the campaign, ultimately winning six of their last 23 games.
On 22 June 2019, Benevento hiredFilippo Inzaghi as their new manager.[8] In June 2020, with seven matches still left in the league season, the club won promotion back to the first-division of Italian football following an impressive Serie B campaign.[9]
Benevento'ssecond season in Serie A was unsuccessful, ending with another relegation, but the club was much more competitive, especially in the first half of the season. By the campaign's midway point, Benevento was 10th in Serie A, having won six matches and experienced a run of only one loss in eight matches, appearing well-set for a mid-table finish.[10] However, a dramatic downturn in form from January until the end of the campaign, scoring only 16 goals and winning just one of the final 22 matches in that time, meant that the club again fell back into Serie B for the2021–22 season. The match they won was a 1–0 away victory on 21 March againstJuventus, with the reverse fixture finishing in a draw. Benevento eventually finished in 18th place, with four points fewer thanTorino in the final non-relegation position.[11]
In the following season'sSerie B, the team finished the regular season in 7th place, gaining access to the promotion play-offs by overcomingAscoli. They were later eliminated byPisa in the semifinals.
The team declined during the2022–23 campaign. The team spent most of the season at the bottom of the table, and on the penultimate matchday, relegation toSerie C was confirmed and the team ultimately finished last in the Serie B table.[12]
The team's colours are yellow and red, and their badge features red and yellow stripes and the black image of a witch riding a broom. Benevento are nicknamed theStregoni, Italian for sorcerers, or, occasionally, theStreghe, Italian for witches, a reference to the legends dating to the 13th century of thewitches of Benevento.
Benevento plays their home matches at theStadio Ciro Vigorito. Building on the stadium broke ground in 1976 and it was opened in 1979. It is able to hold 25,000 people.[13][14]
The stadium was originally named Santa Colomba but was renamed to honorCiro Vigorito who was the brother of club presidentOreste Vigorito. Ciro was a successful entrepreneur and sports manager who was the managing director and oversaw the youth sector at Benevento from 2006 until his death in 2010.[15]
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined underFIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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Note: Flags indicate national team as defined underFIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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| Position | Name |
|---|---|
| Head coach |  Gaetano Auteri |
| Assistant coach | Lorenzo Cassia |
| Goalkeeper coach | Antonio Chiavelli |
| Fitness coach | Andrea Molteni |
| Scouting First Team | Andrea Innocenti |
| Physiotherapist | Ernesto Galliano |
| Physiotherapist | Luca Lepore |
| Physiotherapist | Giorgio Policastri |
| Physiotherapist | Raffaele Marinaccio |
| Chief Doctor | Walter Giorgione |
| Club Doctor | Franco De Cicco |
| Club Doctor | Raffaele Fuiano |
| Club Doctor | Mario De Vita |
| Club Doctor | Luca Milano |
The following players have been selected by their country in theWorld Cup Finals, while playing for Benevento.
Giuseppe Zilizzi (1935–36)Giuseppe Viani (1945–46)
Francisco Lojacono (1974–75)Gastone Bean (1981–83)Giuseppe Materazzi (1984–85)Adriano Lombardi (1995–96)Massimo Silva (1996–98)Nello Di Costanzo (2002–04)Giovanni Simonelli (2006–08)Antonio Soda (2008–09)Leonardo Acori (2009)Andrea Camplone (2009–10)Leonardo Acori (2010)Giuseppe Galderisi (2010–11)Giovanni Simonelli (2011)Carmelo Imbriani (2011–12)Guido Ugolotti (2012–13)Guido Carboni (2013–14)Gaetano Auteri (2015–16)Marco Baroni (2016–17)Roberto De Zerbi (2017–2018)Cristian Bucchi (2018–2019)Filippo Inzaghi (2019–2021)Fabio Caserta (2021–2022)Fabio Cannavaro (2022–2023)Roberto Stellone (2023)
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