Unione Sportiva Salernitana 1919, commonly referred to as Salernitana, is an

Italian football Football ( it, calcio ) is the most popular sport in Italy. The Italy national football team is considered to be one of the best national teams in the world. They have won the FIFA World Cup four times ( 1934, 1938, 1982, 2006), trailing on ...

club based in

Salerno Salerno (, , ; nap, label= Salernitano, Saliernë, ) is an ancient city and ''comune'' in Campania (southwestern Italy) and is the capital of the namesake province, being the second largest city in the region by number of inhabitants, after ...

Campania (man), it, Campana (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = , demog ...

. The original club was founded in 1919 and has been reconstituted three times in the course of its history, most recently in 2011. The current club is the heir of the former ''Salernitana Calcio 1919'' and it restarted from

Serie D The Serie D () is the top level of semi-professional football in the country. The fourth tier of the Italian league system, the competition sits beneath the third professional league, Serie C. It is administered by the Lega Nazionale Dilettanti ...

in the 2011–12 season. Salernitana returned to

Serie A The Serie A (), also called Serie A TIM for national sponsorship with TIM, is a professional league competition for football clubs located at the top of the Italian football league system and the winner is awarded the Scudetto and the Cop ...

in 2021, after a break of 23 seasons, having finished second in

Serie B The Serie B (), currently named Serie BKT for sponsorship reasons, is the second-highest division in the Italian football league system after the Serie A. It has been operating for over ninety years since the 1929–30 season. It had been ...

History

From Unione Sportiva Salernitana to Salernitana Calcio 1919

The

-based club was originally founded in 1919 as the ''Unione Sportiva Salernitana.'' The club was known as ''Società Sportiva Salernitanaudax'' for a time during the 1920s following a merger with Audax Salerno. In 1978, the club was renamed ''Salernitana Sport.'' The club has spent the majority of their history at the

and

Serie C The Serie C () is the third-highest division in the Italian football league system after the Serie B and Serie A. The Lega Italiana Calcio Professionistico (Lega Pro) is the governing body that runs the Serie C. The unification of the Lega P ...

levels of

. Salernitana play their home matches at

Stadio Arechi The Arechi Stadium is a multi-purpose stadium in Salerno, Italy. It is currently used mostly for football matches and is the home stadium of U.S. Salernitana 1919. The stadium holds 37,800. The stadium was built to replace the Donato Vestuti s ...

. In their early years, Salernitana competed in the regional

Italian Football Championship Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional ...

. They played at this level for four seasons during the 1920s. Since that time the club returned to the top level of Italian football twice; they played in

during 1947–48 and 1998–99. In 2005, the club went bankrupt but was restarted by Antonio Lombardi, changing the name from ''Salernitana Sport'' to ''Salernitana Calcio 1919''. In 2011, the club did not appeal against a decision by ''Commissione di Vigilanza sulle Società di Calcio Professionistiche'' (Co.Vi.So.C) and was excluded from Italian football.

Club refoundation: from Serie D to the top flight

On 21 July 2011, following the exclusion of the original Salernitana club, Salerno mayor

Vincenzo De Luca Vincenzo De Luca (born 8 May 1949) is an Italian politician, member of the Democratic Party, currently serving as President of the Campania region since 18 June 2015. De Luca also served as Mayor of Salerno for more than 17 years, becoming one ...

, in compliance with

Article 52 of N.O.I.F. ("Article 52 of the Italian Football Federation regulations for internal organisation") governs the status of phoenix clubs in football in Italy. The article was revised in 2004, 2008, 2010 and 2014. Comma 1 describes the matter of the article, wh ...

, assigned the new title to Marco Mezzaroma, brother-in-law of

Lazio it, Laziale , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = , demographics1_title2 ...

owner and chairman Claudio Lotito. The new club was admitted to

under the denomination of Salerno Calcio. In the 2011–12 season, Salernitana was immediately promoted to

Lega Pro Seconda Divisione Lega Pro Seconda Divisione was the fourth highest football league in Italy, the lowest with a professional status. Usually it consisted of 36 teams, but in the 2011–12 season, there were 41 teams divided geographically into two divisions of ...

after winning ''Group G'' of

. On 12 July 2012, the club was renamed US Salernitana 1919. In the 2012–13 Lega Pro Seconda Divisione season, Salernitana finished first in Girone B, and was promoted to

Lega Pro Prima Divisione Lega Pro Prima Divisione was the third highest football league in Italy. It consisted of 33 teams, divided geographically into two divisions of 16 and 17 teams for group A and B respectively. Until 2008 it was known as Serie C1. Before the 197 ...

. This was the second consecutive promotion for the team. Finally Salernitana won Group C of Lega Pro and returned Serie B in 2014–15 season. After several seasons at Serie B level, Salernitana won promotion to

at the end of the

2020–21 Serie B The 2020–21 Serie B (known as the Serie BKT for sponsorship reasons) was the 89th season of the Serie B since its establishment in 1929. It started on 25 September 2020 and ended on 10 May 2021. On 5 November 2020, Serie B announced it would ...

season under the tenure of head coach Fabrizio Castori, finishing in 2nd place behind champions

Empoli Empoli () is a town and ''comune'' in the Metropolitan City of Florence, Tuscany, Italy, about southwest of Florence, to the south of the Arno in a plain formed by the river. The plain has been usable for agriculture since Roman times. The comm ...

. Promotion was secured with a 3–0 victory over Pescara on the final matchday. Salernitana's return to Serie A however required Lotito and Mezzaroma to sell the club, due to Italian football laws not allowing two clubs from the same owner to play in the same league. On 7 July 2021, the

FIGC The Italian Football Federation ( it, Federazione Italiana Giuoco Calcio; FIGC), known colloquially as ''Federcalcio'', is the governing body of football in Italy. It is based in Rome and the technical department is in Coverciano, Florence. I ...

Federal Council approved the trust of Salernitana to take control of the club, meaning it was officially enrolled in Serie A for the first time in 23 years.

Return to Serie A: 2021–present

Salernitana's first match in its return to the top flight was a 3–2 defeat against

Bologna Bologna (, , ; egl, label= Emilian, Bulåggna ; lat, Bononia) is the capital and largest city of the Emilia-Romagna region in Northern Italy. It is the seventh most populous city in Italy with about 400,000 inhabitants and 150 different na ...

on 22 August 2021. After a poor start to the season, earning only one point from the first six matches, the club picked up its first Serie A victory against

Genoa Genoa ( ; it, Genova ; lij, Zêna ). is the capital of the Italian region of Liguria and the sixth-largest city in Italy. In 2015, 594,733 people lived within the city's administrative limits. As of the 2011 Italian census, the Province of ...

on matchday seven, winning 1–0 due to a goal from

Milan Đurić Milan Đurić (; born 22 May 1990) is a Bosnian professional footballer who plays as a forward for Serie A club Hellas Verona. Đurić started his professional career at Cesena, before joining Parma in 2010. Later that year, he was loaned t ...

. In October, the Salernitana board fired Castori after a 2–1 loss to Spezia had left the club at the bottom of the table, with four points from their opening eight league games.

Stefano Colantuono Stefano Colantuono (born 23 October 1962) is an Italian football professional football manager and former player, who played as a defender, currently in charge as youth system chief of Salernitana. Playing career Colantuono, a centre back, sta ...

was named as his replacement, returning for a second spell as head coach having previously led Salernitana from December 2017 to December 2018. On 22 May 2022, Salernitana avoided relegation by finishing with the lowest points tally in Serie A history with just 31 points. Salernitana managed to pull off the great escape by securing 18 points from their last 15 matches.

Colours, badge and nicknames

Salernitana originally wore light blue and white striped shirts, known in Italy as ''biancocelesti''. The blue on the shirt was chosen to represent the sea, as

lies right next to the

Gulf of Salerno The Gulf of Salerno (Italian: ''Golfo di Salerno'') is a gulf of the Tyrrhenian Sea in the coast of the province of Salerno in south-western Italy. The northern part of this coast is the Costiera Amalfitana, which ends at Punta di Campanella and ...

and has a long tradition as a port city. In the 1940s, the club changed to garnet coloured shirts, which has gained them the nickname ''granata'' in their homeland. During the 2011–12 season their kit colours were striped blue and deep red, resembling

F.C. Barcelona Futbol Club Barcelona (), commonly referred to as Barcelona and colloquially known as Barça (), is a professional football club based in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain, that competes in La Liga, the top flight of Spanish football. Founded ...

. The symbol of St. Matthew,

patron saint A patron saint, patroness saint, patron hallow or heavenly protector is a saint who in Catholicism, Anglicanism, or Eastern Orthodoxy is regarded as the heavenly advocate of a nation, place, craft, activity, class, clan, family, or perso ...

of Salerno, was also a part of the redesigned kit. Since renaming the club US Salernitana 1919, however, their home colours have again been the traditional garnet. The 100th anniversary logo was announced on June 24, 2019, and appeared on their 2019–20 season kits.

Honours

League

: ::Winners: 1946–47 (Group C), 1997–98 *

Serie C1 Lega Pro Prima Divisione was the third highest football league in Italy. It consisted of 33 teams, divided geographically into two divisions of 16 and 17 teams for group A and B respectively. Until 2008 it was known as Serie C1. Before the 1978 ...

: ::Winners: 1937–38; 1965–66; 2007–08; 2014–15 *

/ Serie C2: ::Winner: 2012–13 *

: ::Winner: 2011–12 (as Salerno Calcio)

Cups

Coppa Italia Serie C Coppa Italia Serie C ( it, Serie C Italian Cup), formerly named Coppa Italia Lega Pro, is a straight knock-out based competition involving teams from Serie C in Italian football first held in 1972. Format There are a total of six rounds in the ...

: ::Winners: 2013–14 *

Supercoppa di Lega di Seconda Divisione The Supercoppa di Lega di Seconda Divisione was an Italian football competition played initially by the three group winners of the Lega Pro Seconda Divisione, formerly Serie C2. It was contested from the 2005–06 season until the 2013–14 seaso ...

: Winners: 2012–13

Divisional movements

Players

Current squad

Other players under contract

Players out on loan

Non-playing staff

National team players

These current and former players have recorded starts for their respective national teams. Players from the Italian national football team: *

Roberto Breda Roberto Breda (born 21 October 1969) is an Italian football coach and former player. He was most recently the manager of Serie B club Pescara. Playing career A midfielder, Breda made his Serie A debut with Sampdoria and later played with severa ...

David Di Michele David Di Michele (; born 6 January 1976) is an Italian football manager and former player in the role of striker, last in charge as head coach of Serie C club Turris. Throughout his playing career, he played for several Italian clubs, and also ...

* Marco Di Vaio * Salvatore Fresi * Gennaro Gattuso * Francesco Caputo *

Walter Zenga Walter Zenga (; born 28 April 1960) is an Italian football manager and former player who last managed Serie A club Cagliari. He was a long-time goalkeeper for Inter Milan and the Italian national team. During his playing career, Zenga was pa ...

* Pasquale Mazzocchi Players from other national football teams: * Franck Ribéry *

Vid Belec Vid Belec (; born 6 June 1990) is a Slovenian professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for Cypriot First Division club APOEL and the Slovenia national team. Club career Internazionale Signed by Internazionale along with Rene Krhin at ...

Stefan Strandberg Ken Remi Stefan Strandberg (born 25 July 1990) is a Norwegian professional footballer who plays as a defender for Eliteserien club Vålerenga and the Norway national team. Hailing from Lyngdal, Strandberg started his senior career for Mandal ...

Frédéric Veseli Frédéric Shtjefan Veseli ( sq, Frederik Shtjefan Veseli; born 20 November 1992), also known as Freddie Veseli, is a professional footballer who plays as a defender for club Fatih Karagümrük and the Albania national team. His main position ...

* Mamadou Coulibaly * Lassana Coulibaly * Wajdi Kechrida *

* Simeon Nwankwo (Simy) *

Joel Obi Joel Chukwuma Obi (born 22 May 1991), known as Joel Obi, is a Nigerian professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for the Nigeria national team. Club career Inter After winning the "Allievi Nazionali" Under-17 championship in 2008 und ...

Erjon Bogdani Erjon Bogdani (born 14 April 1977) is an Albanian professional football coach and former player. He is nicknamed "Bogu" or "Er-Bomber". Regarded as one of the most successful Albanian players of all time, Bogdani began his career at Partizani ...

* Andrei Cristea *

Francesco Di Jorio Francesco Di Jorio or Franco Di Iorio (born 22 September 1973) is a former Swiss footballer. He played over 300 games in Swiss Super League. Honours FC Zürich *Swiss Cup The Swiss Cup (; ; ; ) is a football cup tournament that has been o ...

* Bülent Eken * Krzysztof Piątek *

Norbert Gyömbér Norbert Gyömbér (, ; born 3 July 1992) is a Slovak professional footballer who plays as a defender for Serie A club Salernitana and the Slovakia national team. Club career Dukla Banská Bystrica Born in Revúca, Gyömbér started playing f ...

* Tonny Vilhena * Phil Masinga * Roberto Merino * Ruslan Nigmatullin * Siyabonga Nomvethe * Rigobert Song * Danny Tiatto *

Marco Zoro Marc-André "Marco" Zoro Kpolo (born 27 December 1983) is an Ivorian former professional footballer who played as a central defender. Club career Born in Abidjan, Zoro started his career in Italy, first with U.S. Salernitana 1919, without howe ...

* Diego Valencia * Guillermo Ochoa

World Cup players

The following players have been selected by their country in the World Cup Finals, while playing for Salernitana. * Krzysztof Piątek ( 2022) * Boulaye Dia ( 2022)

Managers

* Géza Kertész (1929–31) * Pietro Leone (1931–32) * Ferenc Hirzer (1936–38) * Attila Sallustro (1939) * Ferenc Hirzer (1940–41) * Géza Kertész (1943–44) * Giuseppe Viani (1946–48) * Arnaldo Sentimenti (1950) * Rodolphe Hiden (1951–52) *

Paolo Todeschini Paolo Todeschini (22 September 1920 – 30 March 1993) was an Italian professional footballer, who played as a midfielder, and football manager. Honours Club *Napoli **Serie B The Serie B (), currently named Serie BKT for sponsorshi ...

(1956–57) * Nicolò Nicolosi (1958–59) * Ettore Puricelli (1960–61) * Gyula Zsengellér (1961–62) * Rodolphe Hiden (1963–64) * Pietro Magni (1969) * Lucio Mujesan (1977) * Enea Masiero (1977–78) * Lucio Mujesan (1978) *

Lamberto Leonardi Lamberto Leonardi (8 August 1939 – 22 February 2021) was an Italian professional football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normal ...

(1980–81) * Romano Mattè (1981–82) *

Francisco Lojacono Francisco Ramón Lojacono (, ; 11 December 1935 – 19 September 2002) was an Italian Argentine football player and manager. A midfielder, he began his playing career in Argentina with San Lorenzo, before moving to Italy to play with Vicenza, ...

(1982–83) * Mario Facco (1983–84) * Gian Piero Ghio (1984–86) *

(1989) *

Giovanni Simonelli Giovanni Simonelli (born 23 October 1952) is an Italian professional football manager, who is currently out of work after a spell as manager of Benevento Calcio. Managerial career After spending his much of his early year managing many of the min ...

(1991–92) *

Tarcisio Burgnich Tarcisio Burgnich (; 25 April 1939 – 26 May 2021) was an Italian football manager and player, who played as a defender. Throughout his career, Burgnich played for Udinese, Juventus, Palermo, Internazionale, and Napoli; although he won title ...

(1991–92) * Giuliano Sonzogni (1992–93) * Delio Rossi (1993–95) * Franco Colomba (1995–97) * Delio Rossi (1997–99) *

Luigi Cagni Luigi "Gigi" Cagni (born 14 June 1950 in Brescia) is an Italian former football player, who played as a defender. He most recently served head coach of Brescia in the Serie B league in the final weeks of the 2016–17 Serie B season. Playing c ...

(1999–2000) * Nedo Sonetti (2000–01) * Zdeněk Zeman (2001–02) * Stefano Pioli (2003–04) *

Angelo Gregucci Angelo Adamo Gregucci (born 10 June 1964) is an Italian football coach and former player. Career Player Born in San Giorgio Ionico, Province of Taranto, Gregucci started his playing career in 1981 with Taranto, before moving to Alessandria th ...

(2004–05) * Stefano Cuoghi (2005–06) * Gianfranco Bellotto (2006–07) *

Andrea Agostinelli Andrea Agostinelli (born 20 April 1957) is an Italian football coach and former professional footballer. He played as midfielder. Coaching career In April 2013, he was hired by Varese Varese ( , , or ; lmo, label= Varesino, Varés ; l ...

(2007) * Fabio Brini (2008) * Fabrizio Castori (2008) * Bortolo Mutti (2008–09) * Fabrizio Castori (2009) * Fabio Brini (2009) * Marco Cari (2009) * Gianluca Grassadonia (2010) *

(2010–11) * Carlo Perrone (2011–12) *

Giuseppe Galderisi Giuseppe Galderisi (; born 22 March 1963) is an Italian football manager and a former footballer who played as a forward, most recently in charge as head coach of Serie C club Mantova. Club career At club level, Galderisi played for several ...

(2012) * Carlo Perrone (2012–13) * Stefano Sanderra (2013) * Carlo Perrone (2013) *

(2014) *

Mario Somma Mario Somma (born 17 September 1963) is an Italian football manager. Career Player Somma, who was born in Latina, Lazio, started his career with Genoa and then spent his later years mostly at the Serie C1 and Serie C2 level, playing for several ...

(2014) *

Leonardo Menichini Leonardo Menichini (born 11 December 1953) is an Italian football manager and former player. He is currently in charge of Serie C club Monterosi. Career Playing A defender, Menichini played for several top-flight teams, including AS Roma and Ca ...

(2014–15) * Vincenzo Torrente (2015–16) *

(2016) *

Giuseppe Sannino Giuseppe "Beppe" Sannino (born 30 April 1957) is an Italian professional football manager and former player, currently in charge of Swiss 1. Liga club FC Paradiso. Playing career Born in Campania, Sannino relocated to Turin with his family afte ...

(2016) * Alberto Bollini (2016–17) *

(2017–18) *

(2018–19) *

(2019) *

Gian Piero Ventura Gian Piero Ventura (; born 14 January 1948) is an Italian football manager. His playing career as a midfielder was spent in the lower leagues, having not made the grade at Sampdoria, where he began his coaching career with the youth team in 1 ...

(2019–20) * Fabrizio Castori (2020–21) *

(2021–22) * Davide Nicola (2022)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Salernitana Football clubs in Italy Football clubs in Campania Association football clubs established in 1919 2005 establishments in Italy 2011 establishments in Italy Serie A clubs Serie B clubs Serie C clubs Serie D clubs 1919 establishments in Italy Phoenix clubs (association football) Coppa Italia Serie C winning clubs