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| Serie B: 2008-09 in brief |
Thursday 28 August, 2008
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Another intriguing year beckons in Italy's unpredictable Second Division. Paul Watson profiles the clubs jockeying for position in Serie A's waiting room
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ALBINOLEFFE
Coach: Armando Madonna
Stadium: Stadio Atleti Azzurri d'Italia (24,624)
Last season: 4th in Serie B
A tiny Bergamo club formed by the merger of two regional sides - Albino and Leffe - they share a stadium with Serie A neighbours Atalanta. Despite their tiny fan base they were just 90 minutes from the top flight when they reached the play-off Final last term.
ANCONA
Coach: Francesco Monaco
Stadium: Stadio del Conero (26,000)
Last season: 2nd in Serie C1/B
The Marche outfit are best remembered for the worst season in Serie A history when they mustered just 13 points in 2003-04. The Dorici also have some eminent supporters and have been blessed by Pope Benedict XVI, who was presented with the No 16 shirt.
ASCOLI
Coach: Nello Di Costanzo
Stadium: Stadio Cino e Lillo Del Duca (20,000)
Last season: 8th in Serie B
The Woodpeckers hail from the small town of Ascoli Piceno in central Italy where a huge Renaissance fair is held every August. After competing in Serie A between 2005 and 2007, the Ascolani are back in their natural habitat.
AVELLINO
Coach: Giuseppe Incocciati
Stadium: Stadio Partenio (26,308)
Last season: 19th in Serie B
The Irpini were spared from the third tier by the financial collapse of Messina after finishing last term in the relegation zone. Surrounded by mountains to the north of Naples, Avellino is possibly best known for being the place of origin of TV's Soprano family.
BARI
Coach: Antonio Conte
Stadium: Stadio San Nicola (58,270)
Last season: 11th in Serie B
A well-supported club that spent most of the 1990s in the top flight and employed David Platt at their peak. Antonio Cassano's hometown has been starved of success lately and the vast Stadio San Nicola is rarely more than a quarter full. Coach Antonio Conte hails from hated neighbouring city Lecce.
BRESCIA
Coach: Serse Cosmi
Stadium: Stadio Mario Rigamonti (27,547)
Last season: 5th in Serie B
The Biancoazzurri spent 2000-2005 in the top flight and feel at home amongst the elite but they have become bogged down in Serie B and lost in last year's play-off semi-finals. Just outside Milan, Brescia is seen as an industrial hub but has a stunning Alpine backdrop and is near the beautiful Lake Garda.
CITTADELLA
Coach: Claudio Foscarini
Stadium: Stadio Pier Cesare Tombolato (4,063)
Last season: 3rd in Serie C1/A
A former military outpost of Padua and a favourite haunt of poet Robert Browning, Cittadella negotiated the Serie C play-offs to grab a Second Division spot. Their ground is so small that they will have to start the season 30 miles away in Treviso while they try and get their capacity to 10,000.
EMPOLI
Coach: Silvio Baldini
Stadium: Stadio Carlo Castellani (19,847)
Last season: 18th in Serie A
The newly relegated Tuscans defied logic when they brought Serie A football to a town of just 45,000 residents but have returned to earth. Empoli is a pleasant hilly agricultural centre south of the Arno river.
FROSINONE
Coach: Piero Braglia
Stadium: Stadio Matusa (9,680)
Last season: 10th in Serie B
The small club have dug a nest in the second tier with two survival seasons. Frosinone is located between Naples and Rome - so most people in the area also support Lazio, Napoli or Roma.
GROSSETO
Coach: Elio Gustinetti
Stadium: Stadio Olimpico Carlo Zecchini (10,200)
Last season: 13th in Serie B
The Grifone managed a mid-table finish in their first Serie B season and will look for the same again. Grosseto is in the footballing hotbed of Tuscany and its main attraction is the beautiful Romanesque cathedral.
LIVORNO
Coach: Giancarlo Camolese
Stadium: Stadio Armando Picchi (18,200)
Last season: 20th in Serie A
Last term's emphatic relegation ended a four-year spell in Serie A for the Amaranto. Livorno's Ultras are known for their fierce left-wing views and the club have been put on the map in recent years by former Coach Roberto Donadoni and ex-captain Cristiano Lucarelli.
MANTOVA
Coach: Giuseppe Brucato
Stadium: Stadio Danilo Martelli (14,884)
Last season: 9th in Serie B
The team representing the city of Romeo's exile have been exiled from Serie A since their heyday in the 1960s and 1970s. Mantova is a sleepy Lombardy town and the Virgilani's Coach is a former bank manager.
MODENA
Coach: Bortolo Mutti
Stadium: Stadio Alberto Braglia (21,000)
Last season: 16th in Serie B
Last in Serie A in 2004, Modena have a history of prolific strikers, including Enrico Chiesa and Luca Toni. The city was the birthplace of late tenor Luciano Pavarotti and boasts a successful volleyball team.
PARMA
Coach: Gigi Cagni
Stadium: Stadio Ennio Tardini (27,906)
Last season: 19th in Serie A
After 19 years, Parma have been banished to the second tier. The Emilia-Romagna city is home to Parmigiano Reggiano cheese, Parma ham and one of the oldest universities in the world.
PIACENZA
Coach: Stefano Pioli
Stadium: Stadio Leonardo Garilli (21,608)
Last season: 15th in Serie B
Former yo-yo club Piacenza are grounded in Serie B and couldn't match their fourth-placed finish of 2006-07 last season. Pippo and Simone Inzaghi are from Piacenza, as is fashion designer Giorgio Armani. The Emilia-Romagna city is known for its many palaces.
PISA
Coach: Giampiero Ventura
Stadium: Arena Garibaldi (17,000)
Last season: 6th in Serie B
As well as the famous leaning bell tower, Pisa is known for the Square of Miracles, which houses the cathedral. And the Nerazzurri so nearly managed a miraculous second consecutive promotion last term but they fell in the play-offs.
RIMINI
Coach: Elvio Selighini
Stadium: Stadio Romeo Neri (9,768)
Last season: 7th in Serie B
Having been promoted from Serie C in 2004-05, Rimini have become a top-half Second Division side. Most Italians know the city as “the Ibiza of the Adriatic” and it is a holiday city, which becomes a ghost town in the winter. The first century Tiberius Bridge, the Arch of Augustus and the cathedral are the main tourist sights.
SALERNITANA
Coach: Fabrizio Castori
Stadium: Stadio Arechi (37,245)
Last season: 1st in Serie C1/B
Things have been tough for the Salerno side since their heartbreaking relegation in 1998-99. The Seahorses went bankrupt in 2005 but have bounced back under a slightly different name. Salerno is the main town on the Amalfi Coast, which is a tourist hot spot.
SASSUOLO
Coach: Andrea Mandorlini
Stadium: Stadio Enzo Ricci (4,008)
Last season: 1st in Serie C1/A
Playing in Serie B for the first time, Sassuolo have a modest infrastructure and will have to play at Modena's Stadio Braglia. Coach Massimiliano Allegri left for Cagliari after securing promotion. Sassuolo is an industrial town, which was at the centre of the world's tile industry for a century.
TREVISO
Coach: Luca Gotti
Stadium: Stadio Omobono Tenni (9,996)
Last season: 17th in Serie B
It was something of a shock when Treviso reached Serie A in 2005-06 because it is more of a rugby town, which is a rarity in Italy. Treviso also contains the headquarters of clothing company Benetton and is often overlooked by tourists as it is very close to Venice.
TRIESTINA
Coach: Rolando Maran
Stadium: Stadio Nereo Rocco (32,454)
Last season: 12th in Serie B
Last amongst the elite in 1958, the Alarbadati have recently been closer to Serie C. Trieste is a port on the Slovenian border and cites the world's biggest tourist cave, a Roman theatre and the castle of Miramare amongst its attractions.
VICENZA
Coach: Angelo Gregucci
Stadium: Stadio Romeo Menti (17,163)
Last season: 18th in Serie B
European Cup-Winners Cup semi-finalists in 1998, Vicenza have recently been teetering on the edge of the Third Division. Situated west of Venice, the city is home to some fantastic buildings by famous architect Andrea Palladio. It is rumoured that residents ate cat meat to survive a famine in the middle ages and local rivals still chant this at the Berici faithful during games.
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