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Benevento
Benevento Calcio logo.svg
Full name Benevento Calcio S.r.l.
Nickname(s) Gli Stregoni (The Sorcerers)
I Giallorossi (The Yellow and Reds)
I Sanniti (The Samnites)
Founded 1929; 96 years ago (1929)
1938 (refounded)
Ground Stadio Ciro Vigorito,
Benevento, Italy
Ground Capacity 16,867
President Oreste Vigorito
Manager Gaetano Auteri
League Serie B
2018–19 Serie B, 3rd of 19
Third colours

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.

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

No. Position Player
1 Italy GK Alessandro Nunziante
3 Italy DF Francesco Sena
4 Italy MF Antonio Prisco
6 Italy DF Biagio Meccariello
7 Italy MF Ernesto Starita
9 Italy FW Jacopo Manconi
14 Italy MF Marco Pinato
17 Italy DF Gennaro Acampora
18 Italy MF Pier Luigi Simonetti
20 Italy DF Filippo Berra
21 Italy MF Davide Agazzi
23 Italy DF Marco Ciurleo
24 Italy MF Mattia Viviani
25 Italy DF Angelo Viscardi
28 Italy FW Giuseppe Borello
31 Italy MF Filippo Nardi
32 Italy DF Antonio Ferrara
33 Italy FW Mario Perlingieri
No. Position Player
35 Italy FW Lorenzo Carfora
38 Italy MF Angelo Talia
44 Italy DF Vincenzo Avolio
68 Italy GK Igor Lucatelli
73 Italy MF Davide Lamesta
Italy GK Manuel Esposito
Italy GK Gianmarco Vannucchi
Italy DF Vincenzo Guerra
Italy DF Edoardo Pierozzi
Italy DF Francesco Rillo
Italy DF Raffaele Romano
Italy DF Pietro Saio
Italy MF Vincenzo Bisogno
Italy MF Mattia Maita
Greece MF Angelos Tsingaras
Italy FW Francesco Salvemini
Italy FW Samuele Sorrentino

Coaching Staff and Medical Team

Position Name
Head coach Italy Gaetano Auteri
Assistant coach Italy Lorenzo Cassia
Goalkeeper coach Italy Antonio Chiavelli
Fitness coach Italy Andrea Molteni
Scouting First Team Italy Andrea Innocenti
Physiotherapist Italy Ernesto Galliano
Physiotherapist Italy Luca Lepore
Physiotherapist Italy Giorgio Policastri
Physiotherapist Italy Raffaele Marinaccio
Chief Doctor Italy Walter Giorgione
Club Doctor Italy Franco De Cicco
Club Doctor Italy Raffaele Fuiano
Club Doctor Italy Mario De Vita
Club Doctor Italy 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:

Notable Former Managers

  • Italy Giuseppe Zilizzi (1935–36)
  • Italy Giuseppe Viani (1945–46)
  • Argentina Francisco Lojacono (1974–75)
  • Italy Gastone Bean (1981–83)
  • Italy Giuseppe Materazzi (1984–85)
  • Italy Adriano Lombardi (1995–96)
  • Italy Massimo Silva (1996–98)
  • Italy Nello Di Costanzo (2002–04)
  • Italy Giovanni Simonelli (2006–08)
  • Italy Antonio Soda (2008–09)
  • Italy Leonardo Acori (2009)
  • Italy Andrea Camplone (2009–10)
  • Italy Leonardo Acori (2010)
  • Italy Giuseppe Galderisi (2010–11)
  • Italy Giovanni Simonelli (2011)
  • Italy Carmelo Imbriani (2011–12)
  • Italy Guido Ugolotti (2012–13)
  • Italy Guido Carboni (2013–14)
  • Italy Gaetano Auteri (2015–16)
  • Italy Marco Baroni (2016–17)
  • Italy Roberto De Zerbi (2017–2018)
  • Italy Cristian Bucchi (2018–2019)
  • Italy Filippo Inzaghi (2019–2021)
  • Italy Fabio Caserta (2021–2022)
  • Italy Fabio Cannavaro (2022–2023)
  • Italy 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

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