US Sassuolo Calcio facts for kids
![]() |
||
Full name | Unione Sportiva Sassuolo Calcio S.r.l. |
|
---|---|---|
Nickname(s) | I Neroverdi (The Black and Greens) | |
Founded | 1920 | |
Ground | Mapei Stadium – Città del Tricolore | |
Capacity | 21,584 | |
Owner | Mapei | |
Chairman | Carlo Rossi | |
Head coach | Fabio Grosso | |
League | Serie A | |
2018–19 | Serie A, 11th of 20 | |
|
Unione Sportiva Sassuolo Calcio, often called Sassuolo, is a professional football club from Sassuolo, Italy. Their team colors are black and green. This is why they are nicknamed Neroverdi, which means "black and greens". Sassuolo plays in Serie A, which is the top football league in Italy.
The club first played in Serie A during the 2013–14 season. They were one of the few teams to reach the top league without being from a big city. Sassuolo stayed in Serie A until the 2023–24 season. They were then moved down to Serie B, the second division. However, they quickly returned to Serie A after just one season.
Top - 0-9 A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z |
Club History
The Sassuolo football club started in 1920. For many years, they played in local amateur leagues. In 1974, different local teams joined together to form US Sassuolo Calcio. In 1984, the club moved up to Serie C2. This was the lowest level of professional football in Italy. They went back down to Serie D in the 1990s. But in 1998, they earned their way back to Serie C2.
Reaching Serie C1
Sassuolo made it to Serie C1 for the first time in 2006. They won the Serie C2 play-offs to get there. In the next few years, Sassuolo tried hard to get promoted to Serie B. In 2007, with coach Gian Marco Remondina, they almost made it. They finished second but lost in the play-offs.
Then, Massimiliano Allegri became the new coach. Under him, Sassuolo won the Serie C1/A title on April 27, 2008. This was a huge moment for the club. It meant they were promoted to Serie B for the first time ever.
Playing in Serie B
After Sassuolo moved up to Serie B, coach Allegri left for a Serie A team. In July 2008, Andrea Mandorlini became the new coach. Sassuolo started the 2008–09 season very well. They were in a good position for promotion for a long time. They finished seventh, which was a great result.

Mandorlini left in 2009, and Stefano Pioli took over. Sassuolo reached the Serie B promotion play-offs twice more. They were eliminated in the semi-finals in both 2009–10 and 2011–12 seasons.
In the 2012–13 season, with new coach Eusebio Di Francesco, Sassuolo was at the top of the league for most of the time. They finally secured promotion to Serie A on May 18, 2013. They won 1–0 against Livorno. Sassuolo won the Serie B title that year. This meant they would play in the top league, Serie A, for the first time in the 2013–14 season. It took them only seven years to go from Serie C2 to Serie A. A young player named Domenico Berardi, who was 18, was key to this success. He even won the league's Player of the Year award.
Life in Serie A
In July 2013, before their first Serie A season, Sassuolo won the TIM Trophy. They beat Juventus and AC Milan. This was special because usually only those big teams won the cup.
Sassuolo played their first Serie A match on August 25, 2013. They lost 2–0 to Torino. In their second match, at home, striker Simone Zaza scored Sassuolo's first Serie A goal. But they lost 4–1 to Livorno. On September 22, 2013, they had a tough 7–0 loss to Inter Milan.
They earned their first point on September 25, 2013, with a 1–1 draw against Napoli. Zaza scored again. Their first home point was a 2–2 draw with Lazio. On October 20, 2013, Sassuolo won their first Serie A game. They beat Bologna 2–1. Goals came from Domenico Berardi and Antonio Floro Flores. This win moved them off the bottom of the league.
On November 3, they won their first away game in Serie A. Berardi scored three goals, a "hat-trick," to beat Sampdoria 4–3. After a 1–1 draw with Roma on November 10, the club was no longer in the relegation zone. On January 12, 2014, Berardi scored four goals in one game. Sassuolo came back from 2–0 down to beat Milan 4–3.
Later in January 2014, Sassuolo was at the bottom again. Coach Di Francesco was replaced by Alberto Malesani. But this change didn't help much. So, in early March, Di Francesco was brought back as coach. Sassuolo then won 4–3 against Fiorentina on May 6, 2014. After beating Genoa 4–2 on May 11, Sassuolo secured their spot in Serie A for the next season. Berardi finished with 16 goals, making him one of the top scorers.

The team had a much better 2014–15 Serie A season. They finished in 12th place, far from the relegation zone. Berardi was again their top scorer with 15 league goals.
Sassuolo improved even more in the 2015–16 Serie A season. They finished in sixth place, ahead of big teams like Milan and Lazio. This season included wins against Napoli, Juventus, and Inter Milan.
On May 21, 2016, Sassuolo qualified for the Europa League for the first time. This happened because Juventus won the Coppa Italia. On August 25, 2016, Sassuolo reached the Europa League group stage. They beat Red Star Belgrade 4–1 over two games.
For the next three seasons, Sassuolo finished in the middle of the table. They were 12th in 2016–17 Serie A, then 11th in 2018 and 2019. Club captain Francesco Magnanelli played his 400th game for Sassuolo in February 2018. He had been with the club since 2005 and helped them get promoted three times. In June 2018, Roberto De Zerbi became the new manager. He was known for his attacking style of play.
The 2019–20 season was better for Sassuolo. They finished 8th, just missing out on the Europa League. This was their second time finishing in the top half of Serie A. De Zerbi's attacking style led to a club record of 69 goals scored in Serie A. Francesco Caputo scored 21 league goals. Wingers Jérémie Boga and Domenico Berardi also scored many goals.
The club continued to be a top 10 team in Serie A the next season. They broke their points record from 2015–16, finishing 8th with 62 points. They started the season very strong, even beating Napoli 2–0 away. Berardi had his best season with 17 league goals. He reached 100 goals for Sassuolo in all competitions. De Zerbi left the club at the end of the season. On July 11, 2021, Sassuolo players Manuel Locatelli, Domenico Berardi, and Giacomo Raspadori were part of the Italy national squad that won the UEFA Euro 2020 final.
In the 2023–24 season, Sassuolo finished 19th and were moved down to Serie B. This ended their 11-year stay in the top league. However, they won Serie B in 2025 and were promoted straight back to Serie A.
Home Stadium and Team Kit
Sassuolo's original home stadium is the Stadio Enzo Ricci in Sassuolo. It's still used for training. But it's very small, so the club played Serie B games in Modena at the Stadio Alberto Braglia.
Since the 2013–14 season, Sassuolo plays its home games in Reggio Emilia. They use the Mapei Stadium – Città del Tricolore. They share this stadium with another club, Reggiana. Sassuolo's parent company, Mapei, actually bought the stadium.
The club first wore yellow and red. These were the colors of the city of Sassuolo. Sassuolo started wearing their current green and black colors in the 1970–71 Serie D season. Some stories say they wore green and black since the 1920s because of an English team called 'Lancaster Rovers', but this is not true.
Team Players
Current Squad
|
|
Players on Loan
|
|
Coaching Staff
Position | Staff |
---|---|
Head coach | ![]() |
Assistant head coach | ![]() |
Goalkeeping coach | ![]() |
Technical coach | ![]() |
Athletic coach | ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Chief analyst | ![]() |
Rehab coach | ![]() |
Head of medical staff | ![]() |
Club doctor | ![]() |
Nutritionist | ![]() |
Physiotherapist | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Club Honours
Sassuolo has won several titles throughout its history:
League Titles
- Serie B:
- Winners: 2012–13, 2024–25
- Serie C1:
- Winners: 2007–08 North
- Serie D:
- Winners: 1983–84 Emilia zone, 1997–98 Emilia zone
- Promozione Emilia-Romagna:
- Winners: 1980–81
Cup Titles
- Supercoppa di Serie C:
- Winners: 2008
Sassuolo in Europe
Sassuolo has played in European competitions once:
Season | Competition | Round | Club | Home | Away | Agg. | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2016–17 | Europa League | QR3 | ![]() |
3–0 | 1–1 | 4–1 | |
PO | ![]() |
3–0 | 1–1 | 4–1 | |||
GS | ![]() |
3–0 | 2–3 | 4th out of 4 | |||
![]() |
0–2 | 1–3 | |||||
![]() |
2–2 | 1–1 |
See also
In Spanish: Unione Sportiva Sassuolo Calcio para niños