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Sassuolo
US Sassuolo Calcio logo.svg
Full name Unione Sportiva Sassuolo
Calcio S.r.l.
Nickname(s) I Neroverdi (The Black and Greens)
Founded 1920; 105 years ago (1920)
Ground Mapei Stadium – Città del Tricolore
Ground 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.

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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.

Allegri with Milan players (cropped) - 3
Massimiliano Allegri coached Sassuolo in 2008. He led them to win their league and get promoted to Serie B.

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.

Eusebio Di Francesco
Eusebio Di Francesco was the coach who led Sassuolo to their first-ever promotion to Serie A in 2013.

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.

Domenico Berardi, Palazzo Chigi, 2021
Domenico Berardi started his career with Sassuolo in 2012. He helped the team win the Serie B title and get promoted to Serie A. He is Sassuolo's top scorer of all time, with over 100 goals.

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

Reggio Emilia, Stadio Giglio, 2010 (cropped)
The Mapei Stadium – Città del Tricolore, Sassuolo's home stadium.

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 [it] 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

No. Position Player
1 Italy GK Alessandro Russo
2 Italy DF Filippo Missori
3 Scotland DF Josh Doig
7 Italy FW Cristian Volpato
8 Italy MF Andrea Ghion
9 Italy FW Samuele Mulattieri
10 Italy FW Domenico Berardi (captain)
11 Italy MF Daniel Boloca
12 Italy GK Giacomo Satalino
15 Italy DF Edoardo Pieragnolo
17 Colombia DF Yeferson Paz
19 Italy DF Filippo Romagna
24 Italy FW Luca Moro
26 Netherlands DF Cas Odenthal
35 Italy MF Luca Lipani
No. Position Player
40 Italy MF Edoardo Iannoni
42 Norway MF Kristian Thorstvedt
45 France FW Armand Laurienté
77 Italy FW Nicholas Pierini
80 Bosnia and Herzegovina DF Tarik Muharemović
90 Denmark FW Laurs Skjellerup
Italy GK Stefano Turati
Italy GK Gioele Zacchi
Italy DF Simone Cinquegrano
Italy DF Kevin Miranda
Brazil DF Ruan
Italy MF Fabrizio Caligara
Uruguay FW Agustín Álvarez
Italy FW Riccardo Ciervo
Italy FW Andrea Pinamonti

Players on Loan

No. Position Player
Italy DF Francesco Corradini (at Pontedera until 30 June 2026)
Italy DF Alessandro Di Bitonto (at Gubbio until 30 June 2026)
Italy MF Kevin Bruno (at Crotone until 30 June 2026)
Italy MF Justin Kumi (at Avellino until 30 June 2026)
France MF Emerick Lopes (at Alcione Milano until June 2026)
No. Position Player
Italy MF Patrick Nuamah (at Catanzaro until 30 June 2026)
France FW Janis Antiste (at Rapid Wien until 30 June 2026)
Italy FW Luca D'Andrea (at Avellino until 30 June 2026)
Ghana FW Amoako Minta (at Gubbio until 30 June 2026)
Italy FW Flavio Russo (at Virtus Entella until 30 June 2026)

Coaching Staff

Position Staff
Head coach Italy Fabio Grosso
Assistant head coach Italy Raffaele Longo
Goalkeeping coach Italy Paolo Orlandoni
Technical coach Italy Mauro Carretta
Athletic coach Italy Francesco Vaccariello
Italy Stefano Bruno
Italy Vittorio Carello
Chief analyst Italy Marco Riggio
Rehab coach Italy Andrea Rinaldi
Head of medical staff Italy Dott. Roberto D’Ovidio
Club doctor Italy Dott. Luca Terzi
Nutritionist Italy Davide Tonelli
Physiotherapist Italy Emanuele Randelli
Italy Nicola Daprile
Italy Luca Attolini
Italy Luca Traggiai

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 Switzerland Luzern 3–0 1–1 4–1
PO Serbia Red Star Belgrade 3–0 1–1 4–1
GS Spain Athletic Bilbao 3–0 2–3 4th out of 4
Belgium Genk 0–2 1–3
Austria Rapid Wien 2–2 1–1

See also

Kids robot.svg In Spanish: Unione Sportiva Sassuolo Calcio para niños

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