Benevento Calcio facts for kids
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| Full name | Benevento Calcio S.r.l. | |||
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| Nickname(s) | Gli Stregoni (The Sorcerers) I Giallorossi (The Yellow and Reds) I Sanniti (The Samnites) |
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| Founded | 1929 1938 (refounded) |
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| Ground | Stadio Ciro Vigorito, Benevento, Italy |
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| Capacity | 16,867 | |||
| President | Oreste Vigorito | |||
| Manager | Gaetano Auteri | |||
| League | Serie B | |||
| 2018–19 | Serie B, 3rd of 19 | |||
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Benevento Calcio, often just called Benevento, is a professional football club from Benevento, Italy. The club was first started in 1929. It was then re-founded in 2005. Currently, Benevento plays in Serie C, which is the third tier of Italian football. They moved down from Serie B after the 2022–23 season.
Contents
Club History and Achievements
How Benevento Calcio Started
The club began as Associazione Calcio Benevento in 1929. Their first home ground was called Meomartini.
In their early years, Benevento slowly moved up through Italy's lower football leagues. By the 1934–35 season, they reached Prima Divisione. This was Italy's third-highest professional league at the time. They stayed in this third tier, which was later renamed Serie C, for the 1935–36 season.
Benevento in the 21st Century
The club known as F.C. Sporting Benevento S.r.l. closed down in 2005. Right after that, a new club, Benevento Calcio S.p.A., was created. This new club used the same stadium and played in the same kit.
In the 2007–08 Serie C2 season, Benevento finished first in their group. This win meant they were promoted directly to Lega Pro Prima Divisione for the 2008–09 season. In their first season in Lega Pro Prima Divisione, they finished in 2nd place. This allowed them to play in a two-game play-off. They won their first play-off but lost in the final to Crotone by a score of 2–1 over two games.
Gaetano Auteri became the head coach for the 2015–16 season. During this season, Benevento won their league. This victory helped them reach Serie B for the very first time in the club's history. They officially secured their promotion on April 30, 2016, after beating Lecce 3–0.
On June 8, 2017, Benevento made history again. They were promoted to Serie A, Italy's top football league, for the first time ever. They achieved this by beating Carpi 1–0 in the Serie B play-offs. It was amazing because they got promoted to Serie A in their very first season in Serie B.
The club had a tough start in their first top-flight season, the 2017-18 season. Benevento set a record for the worst start in any of Europe's top five leagues. They lost their first 14 Serie A matches. This losing streak finally ended on December 3, 2017. Their goalkeeper, Alberto Brignoli, scored a goal in the 95th minute. This amazing header led to a 2–2 home draw against A.C. Milan.
Benevento's time in Serie A lasted only one season. They were relegated after finishing in last place. However, their performance improved a lot after their difficult start. They managed to win six of their last 23 games that season.
On June 22, 2019, Benevento hired Filippo Inzaghi as their new manager. In June 2020, with seven matches still left in the league season, the club won promotion back to Serie A. This was thanks to a very strong performance in the Serie B campaign.
Benevento's second season in Serie A also ended in relegation. However, the team played much better, especially in the first half of the season. By the middle of the season, Benevento was in 10th place in Serie A. They had won six matches and only lost one in eight games. It looked like they would finish in the middle of the table.
But their form dropped sharply from January until the end of the season. They scored only 16 goals and won just one of their final 22 matches. This meant the club went back to Serie B for the 2021–22 season. Interestingly, the only match they won during that tough period was a 1–0 away victory against Juventus on March 21. Benevento finished 18th, four points behind Torino, who stayed in Serie A.
In the next season, Serie B, the team finished 7th in the regular season. This allowed them to enter the promotion play-offs. They beat Ascoli but were then knocked out by Pisa in the semifinals.
The team struggled during the 2022–23 campaign. They spent most of the season at the bottom of the league table. On the second-to-last matchday, it was confirmed they would be relegated to Serie C. They ended up finishing last in the Serie B table.
Team Colours and Badge Meaning
The team's main colours are yellow and red. Their badge shows red and yellow stripes. It also features a black image of a witch riding a broom. Benevento is often called the Stregoni, which means "sorcerers" in Italian. Sometimes, they are called the Streghe, meaning "witches". This nickname comes from old legends from the 13th century about the witches of Benevento.
Home Stadium
Benevento plays their home matches at the Stadio Ciro Vigorito. Construction on the stadium started in 1976 and it opened in 1979. It can hold up to 25,000 people.
The stadium was first named Santa Colomba. It was later renamed to honor Ciro Vigorito. Ciro was the brother of the club's president, Oreste Vigorito. Ciro was a successful businessman and sports manager. He was the managing director and looked after the youth teams at Benevento from 2006 until he passed away in 2010.
Team Players
Current Squad Members
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Coaching Staff and Medical Team
| 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 |
Famous Former Players
Players in the World Cup
The following players were chosen to play for their country in the World Cup Finals while they were playing for Benevento:
Massamasso Tchangai (2006)
Kamil Glik (2022)
Notable Former Managers
- 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)
Club Honours and Trophies
- Serie B
- Winners: 2019–20
- Play-off winner: 2016–17
- Serie C
- Winners: 2015–16
- Serie C2
- Winners: 2007–08 (Group C)
See also
In Spanish: Benevento Calcio para niños
