 | ||||
| Full name | Unione Sportiva Salernitana 1919S.r.l. | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nickname(s) | I Granata (The Garnets) | |||
| Founded | 19 June 1919; 105 years ago (19 June 1919) (as Unione Sportiva Salernitana) 4 May 1927; 97 years ago (4 May 1927) (refounded as US Salernitana) 2005; 20 years ago (2005) (refounded as Salernitana Calcio 1919) 2011; 14 years ago (2011) (refounded as Salerno Calcio) | |||
| Ground | Stadio Arechi[1] | |||
| Capacity | 37,800[2] | |||
| CEO | Danilo Iervolino[3] | |||
| Head coach | Roberto Breda | |||
| League | Serie B | |||
| 2023–24 | Serie A, 20th of 20 (relegated) | |||
| Website | www | |||
 Current season | ||||
Unione Sportiva Salernitana 1919 is anItalian professional football club based inSalerno,Campania. The original club was founded in 1919 and has been reconstituted three times in the course of its history, most recently in 2011. The current club is the heir of the formerSalernitana Calcio 1919,[4] and it restarted fromSerie D in the2011–12 season.[5][6] Salernitana returned toSerie A in 2021, after a break of 23 seasons, having finished second inSerie B. Their tenure at the top level lasted until the2023–24 season, when they were relegated back to Serie B.[7]
TheSalerno-based club was originally founded in 1919 as theUnione Sportiva Salernitana. The club was known asSocietà Sportiva Salernitanaudax for a time during the 1920s following a merger with Audax Salerno. In 1978, the club was renamedSalernitana Sport. The club has spent the majority of their history at theSerie B andSerie C levels ofItalian football.
Salernitana play their home matches atStadio Arechi.In their early years, Salernitana competed in the regionalItalian Football Championship. They played at this level for four seasons during the 1920s. Since that time the club reached the top level of Italian football twice; they played inSerie A during1947–48 and1998–99.
In 2005, the club went bankrupt but was restarted by Antonio Lombardi, changing the name fromSalernitana Sport toSalernitana Calcio 1919.
In 2011, the club did not appeal against a decision byCommissione di Vigilanza sulle Società di Calcio Professionistiche (Co.Vi.So.C) and was excluded from Italian football.[8]
On 21 July 2011, following the exclusion of the original Salernitana club, Salerno mayorVincenzo De Luca, in compliance withArticle 52 of N.O.I.F., assigned the new title to Marco Mezzaroma, brother-in-law ofLazio owner and chairmanClaudio Lotito. The new club was admitted toSerie D under the denomination ofSalerno Calcio.[1][9][10]
In the2011–12 season, Salernitana was immediately promoted toLega Pro Seconda Divisione after winningGroup G ofSerie D.
On 12 July 2012, the club was renamedUS Salernitana 1919.[4] In the 2012–13 Lega Pro Seconda Divisione season, Salernitana finished first in Girone B, and was promoted toLega Pro Prima Divisione. This was the second consecutive promotion for the team. Finally Salernitana won Group C of Lega Pro and returned Serie B in 2014–15 season.
After several seasons at Serie B level, Salernitana won promotion toSerie A at the end of the2020–21 Serie B season under the tenure of head coachFabrizio Castori, finishing in 2nd place behind championsEmpoli. Promotion was secured with a 3–0 victory overPescara on the final matchday. Salernitana's return to Serie A however required Lotito and Mezzaroma to sell the club, due to Italian football laws not allowing two clubs from the same owner to play in the same league.[11] On 7 July 2021, theFIGC Federal Council approved the trust of Salernitana to take control of the club, meaning it was officially enrolled in Serie A for the first time in 23 years.[12]
Salernitana's first match in its return to the top flight was a 3–2 defeat againstBologna on 22 August 2021.[13] After a poor start to the season, earning only one point from the first six matches, the club picked up its first Serie A victory againstGenoa on matchday seven, winning 1–0 courtesy of a goal fromMilan Đurić.[14] In October, the Salernitana board fired Castori after a 2–1 loss toSpezia had left the club at the bottom of the table, with four points from their opening eight league games.Stefano Colantuono was named as his replacement, returning for a second spell as head coach having previously led Salernitana from December 2017 to December 2018.[15]On 22 May 2022, Salernitana avoided relegation by finishing with the lowest points tally in Serie A history with just 31 points. Salernitana managed to pull off the great escape by securing 18 points from their last 15 matches.[16]In the 2023/2024 Serie A season, Salernitana finished bottom of the table and were relegated back to Serie B.[17]
Salernitana originally wore light blue and white striped shirts, known in Italy asbiancocelesti.[18] The blue on the shirt was chosen to represent the sea, asSalerno lies right next to theGulf of Salerno and has a long tradition as a port city. In the 1940s, the club changed to garnet coloured shirts, which has gained them the nicknamegranata in their homeland.
During the 2011–12 season their kit colours were striped blue and deep red, resemblingF.C. Barcelona. The symbol of St. Matthew,patron saint of Salerno, was also a part of the redesigned kit.[19]
Since renaming the clubUS Salernitana 1919, however, their home colours have again been the traditional garnet.[4]
The 100th anniversary logo was announced on 24 June 2019, and appeared on their 2019–20 season kits.[20]
| Series | Years | Last | Promotions | Relegations |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| A | 5 | 2023–24 | – |  3 (1948,1999,2024) |
| B | 31 | 2024–25 |  3 (1947,1998,2021) | 6 (1939,1956,1967,1991,2005✟,2010) |
| C +C2 | 55 +1 | 2014–15 | 7 (1938,1943,1966,1990,1994,2008,2015) 1 (2013 C2) | 1 (2011✟) |
| 92 out of 93 years of professional football in Italy since 1929 | ||||
| D | 1 | 2011–12 | 1 (2012) | never |
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined underFIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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 | Staff |
|---|---|
| Sporting director |  Marco Valentini |
| Head coach | Roberto Breda |
| Assistant coach | Vincenzo Melidona |
| Goalkeeping coach | Paolo Di Sarno |
| Athletic coach | Donatello Matarangolo Marco Celia Vincenzo Laurino |
| Match analyst | Sandro Antonini |
| Collaborator interpreter | Pietro Marchesano |
| Team manager | Salvatore Avallone |
| Referee officer | Antonio Iannone |
| Kit manager | Rosario Fiorillo Mario Gaeta Pasquale Gaeta |
| Head of medical staff | Dott.Vincenzo Rosciano |
| Medical area coordinator | Dott.Gennaro Alfano |
| Team doctor | Dott.Catello Di Somma |
| Nutritionist | Dott.Stefano Gallo |
| Physiotherapist - Osteopath | Giuseppe Magliano Massimiliano Greco |
| Massophysiotherapist | Davide Bisogno |
| Physiotherapist | Francesco Minieri Francesco Smargiassi |
| Scientific consultant | Prof.Marcello Zappia Dott.Antonio Lambiase Dott.Daniele Masarone Dott.Luca Bardi |
| Podiatrist | Sergio Di Palma |
| Goalkeeping co-ordinator | Luigi Genovese |
These current and former players have recorded starts for their respective national teams.
Players from the Italy national football team:
Roberto BredaFrancesco CaputoDavid Di MicheleMarco Di VaioSalvatore FresiGennaro GattusoPasquale MazzocchiWalter ZengaPlayers from other national football teams:
Simeon Nwankwo (Simy)Joel ObiThe following players have been selected by their country in aWorld Cup Final Squad, while playing for Salernitana.
Géza Kertész (1929–31)
Pietro Leone (1931–32)Ferenc Hirzer (1936–38)
Attila Sallustro (1939)Ferenc Hirzer (1940–41)Géza Kertész (1943–44)Giuseppe Viani (1946–48)Arnaldo Sentimenti (1950)
Rodolphe Hiden (1951–52)Paolo Todeschini (1956–57)Nicolò Nicolosi (1958–59)
Ettore Puricelli (1960–61)
Gyula Zsengellér (1961–62)Rodolphe Hiden (1963–64)Pietro Magni (1969)Lucio Mujesan (1977)Enea Masiero (1977–78)Lucio Mujesan (1978)Lamberto Leonardi (1980–81)Romano Mattè (1981–82)
Francisco Lojacono (1982–83)Mario Facco (1983–84)Gian Piero Ghio (1984–86)Lamberto Leonardi (1989)Giovanni Simonelli (1991–92)Tarcisio Burgnich (1991–92)Giuliano Sonzogni (1992–93)Delio Rossi (1993–95)Franco Colomba (1995–97)Delio Rossi (1997–99)Luigi Cagni (1999–2000)Nedo Sonetti (2000–01)
Zdeněk Zeman (2001–02)Stefano Pioli (2003–04)Angelo Gregucci (2004–05)Stefano Cuoghi (2005–06)Gianfranco Bellotto (2006–07)Andrea Agostinelli (2007)Fabio Brini (2008)Fabrizio Castori (2008)Bortolo Mutti (2008–09)Fabrizio Castori (2009)Fabio Brini (2009)Marco Cari (2009)Gianluca Grassadonia (2010)Roberto Breda (2010–11)Carlo Perrone (2011–12)Giuseppe Galderisi (2012)Carlo Perrone (2012–13)Stefano Sanderra (2013)Carlo Perrone (2013)Angelo Gregucci (2014)Mario Somma (2014)Leonardo Menichini (2014–15)Vincenzo Torrente (2015–16)Leonardo Menichini (2016)Giuseppe Sannino (2016)Alberto Bollini (2016–17)Stefano Colantuono (2017–18)Angelo Gregucci (2018–19)Leonardo Menichini (2019)Gian Piero Ventura (2019–20)Fabrizio Castori (2020–21)Stefano Colantuono (2021–22)Davide Nicola (2022–23)
Paulo Sousa (2023)Filippo Inzaghi (2023–24)Fabio Liverani (2024–present)
