The 2007–08

Serie B The Serie B (), officially known as 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 b ...

regular season is the seventy-sixth since its establishment. It started on August 25, 2007, and ended with the promotion playoff final on June 15, 2008. At the end of the year, three teams were promoted to

Serie A The Serie A (), officially known as Serie A Enilive in Italy and Serie A Made in Italy abroad for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Italy and the highest tier of the Italian football league system. Establish ...

, the first two via direct promotion (league champions,

Chievo Verona Associazione Calcio ChievoVerona, commonly referred to as ChievoVerona or simply Chievo (, ), is an Italian football club named after and representing Chievo, a suburb of 4,500 inhabitants in Verona, Veneto. It is owned since 2024 by the team' ...

, and

Bologna Bologna ( , , ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the Emilia-Romagna region in northern Italy. It is the List of cities in Italy, seventh most populous city in Italy, with about 400,000 inhabitants and 150 different nationalities. Its M ...

), and the third team after two rounds of playoffs (

Lecce Lecce (; ) is a city in southern Italy and capital of the province of Lecce. It is on the Salentine Peninsula, at the heel of the Italian Peninsula, and is over two thousand years old. Because of its rich Baroque architecture, Lecce is n ...

). Four teams were relegated to

Serie C1 Serie C1 was the third highest football league in Italy. It consisted of 36 teams, divided geographically into two divisions. History Before the 1978–79 season, there were only three professional football leagues in Italy, the third being Se ...

. The bottom three were relegated directly (

Cesena Cesena (; ) is a city and ''comune'' (municipality) in the Emilia-Romagna region of Italy; and - with Forlì - is the capital of the Province of Forlì-Cesena. Served by Autostrada A14 (Italy), Autostrada A14, and located near the Apennine M ...

Spezia La Spezia (, or ; ; , in the local ) is the capital city of the province of La Spezia and is located at the head of the Gulf of La Spezia in the southern part of the Liguria region of Italy. La Spezia is the second-largest city in the Liguri ...

and

Ravenna Ravenna ( ; , also ; ) is the capital city of the Province of Ravenna, in the Emilia-Romagna region of Northern Italy. It was the capital city of the Western Roman Empire during the 5th century until its Fall of Rome, collapse in 476, after which ...

), as was the fourth-to-last team (

Avellino Avellino () is a city and ''comune'', capital of the province of Avellino in the Campania region of southern Italy. It is situated in a plain surrounded by mountains east of Naples and is an important hub on the road from Salerno to Benevento. ...

), since they finished 9 points back of the fifth-to-last,

Treviso Treviso ( ; ; ) is a city and (municipality) in the Veneto region of northern Italy. It is the capital of the province of Treviso and the municipality has 87.322 inhabitants (as of December 2024). Some 3,000 live within the Venetian wall ...

, denying them a chance at a survival "relegation-playoff". The 2007–08 Serie B season marked the first appearance in the division for newly promoted

Grosseto Grosseto () is a city and a ''comune'' in the central Italian region of Tuscany, the capital of the province of Grosseto and the main city of the Maremma region. The city lies from the Tyrrhenian Sea, at the centre of an alluvial plain on the ...

and Chievo returned to the second-highest Italian division after six years, their last time in Serie B having been in 2001 (both, in fact, returned to the leagues from which they'd come after this season).

Pisa Pisa ( ; ) is a city and ''comune'' (municipality) in Tuscany, Central Italy, straddling the Arno just before it empties into the Ligurian Sea. It is the capital city of the Province of Pisa. Although Pisa is known worldwide for the Leaning Tow ...

returned to Serie B after 13 years, surprisingly qualifying for the promotion playoffs.

Teams

Stadiums and locations

The following 22 clubs comprise the Serie B in 2007-08:

Personnel and kits

Events

In November, it was announced that Serie B matches, as well as

Serie C The Serie C (), officially known as Serie C NOW for sponsorship purposes, 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 ...

matches, would be postponed for one week after increasing violence surrounding Italian football matches, in which football fans attacked police, stemming from the shooting of a

Lazio Lazio ( , ; ) or Latium ( , ; from Latium, the original Latin name, ) is one of the 20 Regions of Italy, administrative regions of Italy. Situated in the Central Italy, central peninsular section of the country, it has 5,714,882 inhabitants an ...

fan by a policeman.

matches were unaffected as none were scheduled for that weekend due to an international match between

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

and

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

. On January 19, at the conclusion of the ''andata'' (first half of the league season), Chievo Verona and Bologna were named winter co-champions.

Promotions

With a 1–1 draw away to

on Matchday 41,

mathematically assured themselves of promotion to

. On the final matchday,

's 1–0 victory over

rendered

's victory by the same score immaterial; Bologna secured the second direct promotion. Chievo Verona's 2–2 draw with

Bari Bari ( ; ; ; ) is the capital city of the Metropolitan City of Bari and of the Apulia Regions of Italy, region, on the Adriatic Sea in southern Italy. It is the first most important economic centre of mainland Southern Italy. It is a port and ...

outdistanced the ''rossoblu'', however, giving the ''mussi volanti'' their first league title in 14 years. Lecce were instead left to contest the two-round promotion playoff with AlbinoLeffe,

Brescia Brescia (, ; ; or ; ) is a city and (municipality) in the region of Lombardy, in Italy. It is situated at the foot of the Alps, a few kilometers from the lakes Lake Garda, Garda and Lake Iseo, Iseo. With a population of 199,949, it is the se ...

and Pisa, which will determine the identity of the 20th and final team in Italy's top flight.

Relegations

On Day 40,

became the first team mathematically relegated to

with its 2–1 loss at

. Although Cesena could still have finished 19th at the time, at best it would have been 5 points behind 18th-placed Treviso, a condition that would have made playouts unnecessary. Then on Day 41, another Treviso win—coupled with concurrent losses by

, and

—ensured that none of those three teams would finish within 4 points of the ''veneti'', consigning all three of them to Serie C1.

Final classification

Results

Promotion play-off

:''Semifinals'' :''First legs played June 4, 2008; return legs played June 8, 2008'' :''Finals'' :''First leg played June 11, 2008; return leg played June 15, 2008'' ''Lecce promoted to Serie A''

Top goalscorers

''Players with at least 10 goals'' ; 28 goals *

Denis Godeas Denis Godeas (born 25 July 1975) is an Italian football coach and former player who is assistant coach for Italian Serie D club Cjarlins Muzane. He amassed Serie B totals of 364 games and 109 goals over the course of 13 seasons, mainly at the s ...

''(

Mantova Mantua ( ; ; Lombard and ) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Italian region of Lombardy, and capital of the eponymous province. In 2016, Mantua was designated as the "Italian Capital of Culture". In 2017, it was named as the "European C ...

)'' ; 24 goals * Pablo Granoche ''(

Triestina Unione Sportiva Triestina Calcio 1918, commonly referred to US Triestina or just Triestina, is an Italian football club based in Trieste, in the northern Friuli-Venezia Giulia region. Originally established in 1918, Triestina was one of the fo ...

)'' ; 23 goals * Marco Cellini ''( AlbinoLeffe)'' * Massimo Marazzina ''(

)'' ; 22 goals *

Sergio Pellissier Sergio Pellissier (, ; born 12 April 1979) is an Italian former professional footballer who played as a forward. He is currently working as owner and chairman of AC ChievoVerona, after FC Clivense (a club he founded in 2021) was reestablished ...

''(

)'' ; 21 goals * José Ignacio Castillo ''(

)'' ; 20 goals *

Francesco Lodi Francesco Lodi (born 23 March 1984) is an Italian retired footballer who played as a midfielder. He usually played as a deep lying playmaker, and was known for his passing qualities and free-kick skills. Club career Empoli Lodi started his ca ...

''(

Frosinone Frosinone (; local dialect: ) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Italian region of Lazio, administrative seat of the province of Frosinone. It is about southeast of Rome, close to the Rome-Naples A1 Motorway. The city is the main city of th ...

)'' ; 18 goals * Salvatore Bruno ''(

Modena Modena (, ; ; ; ; ) is a city and ''comune'' (municipality) on the south side of the Po Valley, in the Province of Modena, in the Emilia-Romagna region of northern Italy. It has 184,739 inhabitants as of 2025. A town, and seat of an archbis ...

)'' * Alessandro Pellicori ''(

)'' * Andrea Soncin ''( Ascoli)'' ; 17 goals * Simone Tiribocchi ''(

)'' ; 16 goals * Marco Bernacci ''( Ascoli)'' * Davide Possanzini ''(

)'' * Davide Succi ''(

)'' ; 15 goals * Davide Moscardelli ''(

)'' ; 14 goals * Barreto ''(

)'' *

Zlatko Dedič Zlatko ( sr-Cyrl, Златко, ) is a South Slavic masculine given name. The name is derived from the word ''zlato'' meaning gold with hypocoristic suffix ''-ko'' common in South Slavic languages. Zlatko is a given name. Notable people with the n ...

''(

Piacenza Piacenza (; ; ) is a city and (municipality) in the Emilia-Romagna region of Northern Italy, and the capital of the province of Piacenza, eponymous province. As of 2022, Piacenza is the ninth largest city in the region by population, with more ...

)'' ; 13 goals * Felice Evacuo ''(

)'' * Massimiliano Guidetti ''(

)'' ; 12 goals *

Elvis Abbruscato Elvis Abbruscato (born 14 April 1981) is an Italian former professional footballer who played as a forward; he was a youth coach at Arezzo as of 2016–17 season. Club career Abbruscato played for Arezzo, Torino, Chievo (loan), Vicenza Virtu ...

''(

)'' *

Luigi Beghetto Luigi Beghetto (born 6 July 1973 in Bassano del Grappa, Province of Vicenza) is an Italian footballer who played as a striker. Career Beghetto started his career with hometown club Bassano, then in Serie D. He was then signed by Vicenza in ...

''(

)'' * Jeda ''(

Rimini Rimini ( , ; or ; ) is a city in the Emilia-Romagna region of Northern Italy. Sprawling along the Adriatic Sea, Rimini is situated at a strategically-important north-south passage along the coast at the southern tip of the Po Valley. It is ...

)'' * Daniele Vantaggiato ''(

)'' ; 11 goals *

Adrián Ricchiuti Adrián Ricchiuti (born 30 June 1978) is an Argentine-Italian football coach and a former midfielder. Club career Ternana Calcio Ricchiuti was born in Argentina but moved to Italy in his teens to join Ternana Calcio, in 1994, and the team was ...

''(

)'' * Francesco Ruopolo ''( AlbinoLeffe)'' * Ferdinando Sforzini ''(

)'' ; 10 goals *

Raffaele Biancolino Raffaele Biancolino (born 14 August 1977) is a former Italian footballer who played as a striker. He is currently the head coach of club Avellino. Playing career Born in Naples, Biancolino played for lower-league clubs well into his 20s. He o ...

''(

Messina Messina ( , ; ; ; ) is a harbour city and the capital city, capital of the Italian Metropolitan City of Messina. It is the third largest city on the island of Sicily, and the 13th largest city in Italy, with a population of 216,918 inhabitants ...

)'' *

Alessio Cerci Alessio Cerci (; born 23 July 1987) is an Italian former professional Association football, footballer who played as a Midfielder#Winger, winger. Cerci started his professional football career at AS Roma, Roma, playing four times for the first t ...

''(

)'' *

Vitali Kutuzov Vitali Vladimirovich Kutuzov (; born 20 March 1980) is a Belarusian former professional association football, footballer who played as a forward (association football), forward. Club career Kutuzov was born in Pinsk. He signed with FC BATE Bo ...

''(

)'' *

Davide Lanzafame Davide Lanzafame (; born 9 February 1987) is an Italian football coach and former professional player, who played as a striker or right winger. He is in charge of Eccellenza amateurs Borgaro. Playing career Juventus Lanzafame, born in Turin ...

''(

)'' * Mario Salgado ''(

)''

Managers

2007-08 events

* AlbinoLeffe: on June 18, the club announced separation from head coach

Emiliano Mondonico Emiliano Mondonico (9 March 1947 – 29 March 2018) was an Italian professional association football, footballer and Coach (sport), coach. He played as a winger (association football), winger. His playing career was spent mostly with U.S. Cremon ...

. The next day the club officially unveiled

Elio Gustinetti Elio Gustinetti (born 29 March 1955 in Bergamo) is an Italian football manager. Coaching career From Leffe to AlbinoLeffe Leffe and Albinese Gustinetti started his coaching career in 1988 with Serie D club Leffe, ending the season in third ...

, former club boss in the early Serie B campaigns for the club, as new boss. Under his reign, AlbinoLeffe managed to reach the top position of the league, becoming a potential candidate for a historical direct promotion to Serie A; however, four home consecutive losses in the end of the regular season deprived the ''seriani'' of this chance, just leaving them the opportunity to play the promotion playoffs. A 0–4 home loss to

and a strained relationship between Gustinetti and club chairman Andreoletti led the latter to sack him on May 26, 2008 and appoint youth team coach

Armando Madonna Armando Madonna (born 5 July 1963) is an Italian football manager and former player. Career Playing A midfielder, Madonna made his professional debut in 1981 for Atalanta; he then spent five seasons with Piacenza before to return to Bergamo in 1 ...

at the helm of the team for the remaining final league match and the following promotion playoffs. * Avellino: on July 16,

Giovanni Vavassori Giovanni Vavassori (born 16 January 1952) is an Italian football manager and former player who last managed Verona. Playing career Born in Arcene, Bergamo, Vavassori started his playing career with Atalanta, where he made his Serie A debut in th ...

, originally confirmed at the helm of the club following their victory in the

promotion playoffs, tended his resignations. Two days later the club announced to have appointed

Maurizio Sarri Maurizio Sarri (; born 10 January 1959) is an Italian professional football manager who is currently manager of Serie A club Lazio. Sarri did not play football professionally, taking part as an amateur centre back and coach while working as a ba ...

as new head coach. But on August 23, only two days before the first Serie B matchday, Sarri resigned too, with

Guido Carboni Guido Carboni (born 27 January 1963) is an Italian football manager most recently in charge of Olbia and a former player, who played as a forward. He is the brother of former Italian international footballer Amedeo Carboni, who also played for Sa ...

replacing him the same day. On March 10, 2008, with Avellino in 20th place, Carboni was sacked by the club management and replaced by

Alessandro Calori Alessandro Calori (born 29 August 1966) is an Italian football coach and former player, last in charge as head coach of Ternana. As a defender, he is mostly remembered for his lengthy spell with Udinese during the 90s, where he also served as th ...

. * Ascoli: on June 15, former

boss

Ivo Iaconi Ivo Iaconi (born 11 March 1956 in Teramo) is an Italian football manager and former player. Playing career A defender, Iaconi played mostly with Serie C and amateur clubs, starting his career with Giulianova in the 1970s. He retired in 1992 aft ...

was unveiled as new head coach, succeeding

Nedo Sonetti Nedo Sonetti (born 25 February 1941) is an Italian football manager and former player, who played as a centre-back. Biography Sonetti was born in Piombino, southern Tuscany and lives now in Gorle. Playing career As a defender, Sonetti played i ...

. * Bari: on December 28, 2007 Giuseppe Materazzi tended his resignations following a clear loss to Lecce in a local derby, and only one day after having been confirmed at the helm of the ''galletti'' by the club management. He was replaced the same day by

Antonio Conte Antonio Conte (; born 31 July 1969) is an Italian professional Association football, football manager and former player who is currently the head coach of Serie A club Napoli. He is widely regarded as one of the best football managers in the wo ...

. * Bologna: on June 11

Daniele Arrigoni Daniele Arrigoni (born 28 August 1959) is an Italian football manager and former player, who played as a defender. Playing career Arrigoni was born in Cesena. A defender, made fifteen Serie A appearances in his first professional playing se ...

was announced as new head coach. * Cesena: on November 11

Fabrizio Castori Fabrizio Castori (born 11 July 1954) is an Italian football coach, currently in charge of club Südtirol. Career Castori was born in San Severino Marche but grew up in Tolentino. He started his coaching career in 1980 at the age of 26 as he ...

was sacked by Cesena following a 4–1 defeat at Rimini in the local derby which left the club down to last place, with

being appointed to replace him the next day. However, on February 25, 2008, following a string of poor results which left Cesena in second-last place, Vavassori was sacked himself, with Castori being recalled at the helm of the ''bianconeri''. * Chievo Verona: the position, left vacant following separation between the club and head coach

Luigi Delneri Luigi Delneri (born 23 August 1950), often incorrectly written as Del Neri, is an Italian football manager and a former player. After a playing career as a midfielder including for several Serie A clubs, he began managing in the lower leagues, a ...

, was filled on June 15 by

Giuseppe Iachini Giuseppe 'Beppe' Iachini (; born 7 May 1964) is an Italian professional football manager and former player in the role of midfielder. Club career Iachini was born in Ascoli Piceno. He started his playing career at Ascoli and made his Serie A an ...

. * Frosinone: on June 22

Alberto Cavasin Alberto Cavasin (born 9 January 1956) is an Italian football manager and former player. Playing career Cavasin, a right back, started his professional career in 1973 for Treviso; he then played for a number of Serie A, B and C clubs, with so ...

was announced as new boss, thus filling the position left vacant following separation between the club and head coach

. * Grosseto: the newly promoted side separated from head coach

Antonello Cuccureddu Antonello Cuccureddu (, ; 4 October 1949) is an Italian association football Association football manager, coach and former player who played as a Defender (association football), defender. He last managed Lega Pro Prima Divisione club U.S. Gros ...

on June 6 and replaced him with

Giorgio Roselli Giorgio Roselli (born 1 October 1957) is an Italian professional football coach and a former player who played as a midfielder. Career Born in Montone, Roselli began playing football with local side Spoleto. In 1975, he signed with Internazion ...

two days later. On September 10, following three disappointing losses in the first three league days, Roselli was sacked. Consequently, on the following day the management announced the appointment of

Stefano Pioli Stefano Pioli (born 20 October 1965) is an Italian football manager and former player who played as a defender. He is currently manager of Serie A club ACF Fiorentina. Pioli has managed several clubs in Serie A, including Bologna, Lazio, Int ...

as new boss. * Mantova: on June 11, 2007

Attilio Tesser Attilio Tesser (born 10 June 1958) is an Italian football manager and former player, currently in charge of club Triestina. Playing career A full-back, Tesser started his playing career with Treviso. He moved to Napoli in 1978, where he play ...

was announced as new head coach, replacing Domenico Di Carlo, who chose not to renew his contract with the ''virgiliani''. Mantova started their season as a strong candidate for immediate promotion to Serie A, but they struggled to do so and Tesser was consequently sacked on February 24, 2008 after a 1–1 home tie with relegation-battling

which left the ''biancorossi'' seven points behind the last promotion playoff spot. The next day, Giuseppe Brucato was named new head coach for the remainder of the season. * Messina: on June 18, 2007

Nello Di Costanzo Cuono "Nello" Di Costanzo (born 26 July 1961) is an Italian association football, football coach (sport), manager and former player, who played as a Forward (association football), forward. Career Playing A Striker (association football), strike ...

Venezia Venice ( ; ; , formerly ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 islands that are separated by expanses of open water and by canals; portions of the city are li ...

was announced as new boss. * Modena: on April 20, 2008 the Modena club management decided to sack

Bortolo Mutti Bortolo Mutti (born 11 August 1954) is an Italian football manager and a former player, who was most recently manager of Livorno. His older brother Tiziano Mutti also played football professionally. To distinguish them, Tiziano was referred to ...

from the team's head coaching post, re-appointing former boss Daniele Zoratto back at the helm of the ''gialloblu''. * Piacenza: the position, left vacant following

's departure to Chievo, was filled on July 2, 2007 with the appointment of former

Sassuolo Sassuolo (; ) is an Italian town, ''comune'', and industrial centre of the Province of Modena in Emilia-Romagna. Standing on the right bank of the river Secchia some southwest of Modena, the town is best known for being the centre of the Ita ...

boss

Gian Marco Remondina Gian is a given name of Italian origin. It is a shortened version of Giovanni, another name of Italian origin. Notable people Notable people whose name is now typically expressed as Gian include: * Gian Paolo Lomazzo, Italian painter * Gian Lore ...

. As Remondina does not have a valid coaching licence valid for the Serie B league (known as ''Patentino di Prima Categoria'', "first category licence"), he will officially appear as assistant coach beside former youth team coach Felice Secondini. On October 23 Remondina was however sacked due to poor results and replaced with former

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 River, Arno in a plain formed by the river. The plain has been usable for agriculture since Ancient Ro ...

and

boss

Mario Somma Mario Somma (born 17 September 1963) is an Italian football manager. Playing career 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 ...

. * Pisa: on June 19, only two days after being promoted to Serie B through playoffs, the club announced separation from head coach Piero Braglia. On June 25, the club announced

Giampiero 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 197 ...

's appointment for the 2007–08 season. * Ravenna: on December 2, the newly promoted Serie B side announced to have dismissed Dino Pagliari from his head coaching position, as he struggled to keep the team off the relegation zone, appointing

Franco Varrella Franco Varrella (born 25 January 1953) is an Italian football manager and former player. He is best known as the manager of the San Marino national football team. Varrella was born in Rimini in 1953. His short playing career consisted of a spel ...

as his replacement the next day. On January 14, 2008, as Ravenna failed to improve their results, Varrella was axed himself and Pagliari was called back at the helm of the ''giallorossi''. Pagliari lasted only three months, being ultimately sacked once again on April 7, 2008 with Ravenna lying in last place with eight matches remaining. The same day Ravenna choice to reinstate Varrella at the head coaching position. * Treviso: on June 16 Giuseppe Pillon was officially unveiled as new head coach. * Triestina: on June 13 the club management announced to have appointed

Rolando Maran Rolando Maran (born 14 July 1963) is an Italian football manager. His playing career as a defender was spent mostly with Chievo. He then managed several Serie B clubs, and after losing the promotion play-off final with Varese in 2012, had his f ...

as new head coach for the 2007–08 season, thus replacing former boss

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:2007-08 Serie B Serie B seasons 2007–08 in Italian football leagues