US Salernitana 1919

Unione Sportiva Salernitana 1919 is an Italian professional football club based in Salerno, Campania. 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,^[4] and it restarted from Serie D in the 2011–12 season.^[5][6] Salernitana returned to Serie A in 2021, after a break of 23 seasons, having finished second in Serie B. Their tenure lasted up until the 2023–24 season, when they were relegated from Serie A.^[7]

Salernitana

Full name	Unione Sportiva Salernitana 1919 S.r.l.
Nickname(s)	I Granata (The Garnets)
Founded	19 June 1919; 105 years ago (19 June 1919) (as Unione Sportiva Salernitana) 4 May 1927; 97 years ago (4 May 1927) (refounded as US Salernitana) 2005; 19 years ago (2005) (refounded as Salernitana Calcio 1919) 2011; 13 years ago (2011) (refounded as Salerno Calcio)
Ground	Stadio Arechi[1]
Capacity	37,800[2]
CEO	Danilo Iervolino[3]
Head coach	Stefano Colantuono
League	Serie B
2023–24	Serie A, 20th of 20 (relegated)
Website	www.ussalernitana1919.it
Home colours Away colours Third colours
Current season

The performance of Salernitana in the Italian football league structure since the first season of a unified Serie A (1929/30).

History

From Unione Sportiva Salernitana to Salernitana Calcio 1919

Main article: History of U.S. Salernitana 1919

The Salerno-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 Serie B and Serie C levels of Italian football.

Salernitana play their home matches at Stadio Arechi. In their early years, Salernitana competed in the regional Italian Football Championship. They played at this level for four seasons during the 1920s. Since that time the club reached the top level of Italian football twice; they played in Serie A 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.^[8]

Club refoundation: from Serie D to the top flight

Salernitana-Cosenza 2014–15

On 21 July 2011, following the exclusion of the original Salernitana club, Salerno mayor Vincenzo De Luca, in compliance with Article 52 of N.O.I.F., assigned the new title to Marco Mezzaroma, brother-in-law of Lazio owner and chairman Claudio Lotito. The new club was admitted to Serie D under the denomination of Salerno Calcio.^[1][9][10]

In the 2011–12 season, Salernitana was immediately promoted to Lega Pro Seconda Divisione after winning Group G of Serie D.

On 12 July 2012, the club was renamed US Salernitana 1919.^[4] In the 2012–13 Lega Pro Seconda Divisione season, Salernitana finished first in Girone B, and was promoted to Lega Pro Prima Divisione. 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 Serie A at the end of the 2020–21 Serie B season under the tenure of head coach Fabrizio Castori, finishing in 2nd place behind champions Empoli. 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.^[11] On 7 July 2021, the FIGC 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.^[12]

Return to Serie A: 2021–present

Salernitana's first match in its return to the top flight was a 3–2 defeat against Bologna on 22 August 2021.^[13] 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 on matchday seven, winning 1–0 courtesy of a goal from Milan Đurić.^[14] 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 was named as his replacement, returning for a second spell as head coach having previously led Salernitana from December 2017 to December 2018.^[15] 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.^[16] In the 2023/2024 Serie A season, Salernitana finished bottom of the table and were relegated back to Serie B.^[17]

Colours, badge and nicknames

Salernitana's original kit

Salernitana originally wore light blue and white striped shirts, known in Italy as biancocelesti.^[18] The blue on the shirt was chosen to represent the sea, as Salerno lies right next to the Gulf of Salerno 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. The symbol of St. Matthew, patron saint of Salerno, was also a part of the redesigned kit.^[19]

Since renaming the club US Salernitana 1919, however, their home colours have again been the traditional garnet.^[4]

The 100th anniversary logo was announced on 24 June 2019, and appeared on their 2019–20 season kits.^[20]

Honours

League

• Serie B:

Winners: 1946–47 (Group C), 1997–98

• Serie C / Serie C1:

Winners: 1937–38, 1965–66, 2007–08, 2014–15

• Lega Pro Seconda Divisione: / Serie C2:

Winners: 2012–13

• Serie D:

Winners: 2011–12 (as Salerno Calcio)

Cups

• Coppa Italia Serie C:

Winners: 2013–14

• Supercoppa di Lega di Seconda Divisione:

Winners: 2012–13

Internationally

• ’’’Anglo-Italian Cup’’’:

’’’Quarter Finalist’’’: 1994-1995

Divisional movements

Series	Years	Last	Promotions	Relegations
A	5	2023–24	–	3 (1948, 1999, 2024)
B	31	2024–25	3 (1947, 1998, 2021)	6 (1939, 1956, 1967, 1991, 2005✟, 2010)
C +C2	55 +1	2014–15	7 (1938, 1943, 1966, 1990, 1994, 2008, 2015) 1 (2013 C2)	1 (2011✟)
92 out of 93 years of professional football in Italy since 1929
D	1	2011–12	1 (2012)	never

Players

Current squad

As of 19 November 2024^[21]

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player 1 GK  ITA Vincenzo Fiorillo 2 DF  ITA Davide Gentile (on loan from Fiorentina) 4 DF  NED Tijs Velthuis (on loan from Sparta Rotterdam) 7 MF  ITA Franco Tongya 8 MF  AUS Ajdin Hrustić 9 FW  NGA Simy 10 FW  VEN Ernesto Torregrossa 11 FW  SLE Yayah Kallon (on loan from Hellas Verona) 12 GK  ITA Francesco Corriere 13 DF  ITA Fabio Ruggeri (on loan from Lazio) 14 FW  CHI Diego Valencia 15 DF  TUN Dylan Bronn 17 DF  FRA Lilian Njoh 19 MF  FRA Jeff Reine-Adélaïde 20 FW  POL Szymon Włodarczyk (on loan from Sturm Graz)

No. Pos. Nation Player 21 MF  ITA Roberto Soriano 23 MF  ITA Nicola Dalmonte 24 FW  NED Jayden Braaf (on loan from Hellas Verona) 25 MF  ITA Giulio Maggiore 29 DF  ITA Paolo Ghiglione 30 DF  SVN Petar Stojanović (on loan from Empoli) 31 FW  ITA Daniele Verde (on loan from Spezia) 33 DF  ITA Gian Marco Ferrari 44 DF  POL Paweł Jaroszyński 45 MF  ITA Rocco Di Vico 55 GK  ITA Luigi Sepe 70 MF  COL Andrés Tello (on loan from Catania) 73 MF  ITA Lorenzo Amatucci (on loan from Fiorentina) 77 MF  ROU Andres Șfaiț

Salernitana Primavera

As of 31 October 2024.

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player 42 DF  ITA Niccolò Guccione 43 FW  ITA Gerardo Fusco

Out on loan

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player — DF  CRO Domagoj Bradarić (at Hellas Verona until 30 June 2025) — DF  AUT Flavius Daniliuc (at Hellas Verona until 30 June 2025) — DF  FRA Junior Sambia (at Empoli until 30 June 2025) — DF  ITA Matteo Lovato (at Sassuolo until 30 June 2025)

No. Pos. Nation Player — MF  POL Mateusz Łęgowski (at Yverdon-Sport until 30 June 2025) — MF  ITA Antonio Pio Iervolino (at Taranto until 30 June 2025) — MF  CYP Grigoris Kastanos (at Hellas Verona until 30 June 2025) — FW  SEN Boulaye Dia (at Lazio until 30 June 2026)

Non-playing staff

As of 31 October 2024^[22]

Position	Staff
Sporting director	Gianluca Petrachi
Head coach	Stefano Colantuono
Assistant coach	Roberto Miggiano
Technical collaborator	Luca Spadafora
Goalkeeping coach	Paolo Di Sarno
Athletic coach	Giacomo Cofano Marco Celia Vincenzo Laurino
Match analyst	Sandro Antonini
Collaborator interpreter	Pietro Marchesano
Team manager	Salvatore Avallone
Referee officer	Antonio Iannone
Kit manager	Rosario Fiorillo Mario Gaeta Pasquale Gaeta
Head of medical staff	Dott.Vincenzo Rosciano
Medical area coordinator	Dott.Gennaro Alfano
Team doctor	Dott.Catello Di Somma
Nutritionist	Dott.Stefano Gallo
Physiotherapist - Osteopath	Giuseppe Magliano Massimiliano Greco
Massophysiotherapist	Davide Bisogno
Physiotherapist	Francesco Minieri Francesco Smargiassi
Scientific consultant	Prof.Marcello Zappia Dott.Antonio Lambiase Dott.Daniele Masarone Dott.Luca Bardi
Podiatrist	Sergio Di Palma
Goalkeeping co-ordinator	Luigi Genovese

National team players

These current and former players have recorded starts for their respective national teams.

Players from the Italy national football team:

Italy

• Roberto Breda
• Francesco Caputo
• David Di Michele
• Marco Di Vaio
• Salvatore Fresi
• Gennaro Gattuso
• Pasquale Mazzocchi
• Walter Zenga

Players from other national football teams:

Albania

• Erjon Bogdani
• Frédéric Veseli

Argentina

• Federico Fazio
• Diego Perotti

Australia

• Danny Tiatto

Austria

• Flavius Daniliuc

Bosnia and Herzegovina

• Milan Đurić

Cameroon

• Rigobert Song

Cape Verde

• Jovane

Chile

• Diego Valencia

Croatia

• Domagoj Bradarić

Cyprus

• Andreas Karo
• Grigoris Kastanos

France

• Benoît Costil
• Franck Ribéry

Ivory Coast

• Marco Zoro

Jamaica

• Trivante Stewart

Mali

• Lassana Coulibaly

Mexico

• Guillermo Ochoa

Netherlands

• Tonny Vilhena

Nigeria

• Simeon Nwankwo (Simy)
• Joel Obi

Norway

• Emil Bohinen
• Erik Botheim
• Stefan Strandberg

Peru

• Roberto Merino

Poland

• Mateusz Łęgowski
• Krzysztof Piątek

Romania

• Andrei Cristea
• Radu Drăgușin

Russia

• Ruslan Nigmatullin

Senegal

• Mamadou Coulibaly
• Boulaye Dia

Serbia

• Ivan Radovanović

Slovakia

• Norbert Gyömbér

Slovenia

• Vid Belec
• Domen Črnigoj

South Africa

• Phil Masinga
• Siyabonga Nomvethe

Sweden

• Riccardo Gagliolo

Switzerland

• Francesco Di Jorio^[23]

Tunisia

• Dylan Bronn
• Wajdi Kechrida

Turkey

• Bülent Eken

Uruguay

• Wálter López

World Cup players

The following players have been selected by their country in a World Cup Final Squad, while playing for Salernitana.

• Krzysztof Piątek (2022)
• Boulaye Dia (2022)

• Dylan Bronn (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 (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 (1980–81)
• Romano Mattè (1981–82)
• Francisco Lojacono (1982–83)
• Mario Facco (1983–84)
• Gian Piero Ghio (1984–86)
• Lamberto Leonardi (1989)
• Giovanni Simonelli (1991–92)
• Tarcisio Burgnich (1991–92)
• Giuliano Sonzogni (1992–93)
• Delio Rossi (1993–95)
• Franco Colomba (1995–97)
• Delio Rossi (1997–99)
• Luigi Cagni (1999–2000)
• Nedo Sonetti (2000–01)
• Zdeněk Zeman (2001–02)
• Stefano Pioli (2003–04)
• Angelo Gregucci (2004–05)
• Stefano Cuoghi (2005–06)
• Gianfranco Bellotto (2006–07)
• Andrea Agostinelli (2007)
• Fabio Brini (2008)
• Fabrizio Castori (2008)
• Bortolo Mutti (2008–09)
• Fabrizio Castori (2009)
• Fabio Brini (2009)
• Marco Cari (2009)
• Gianluca Grassadonia (2010)
• Roberto Breda (2010–11)
• Carlo Perrone (2011–12)
• Giuseppe Galderisi (2012)
• Carlo Perrone (2012–13)
• Stefano Sanderra (2013)
• Carlo Perrone (2013)
• Angelo Gregucci (2014)
• Mario Somma (2014)
• Leonardo Menichini (2014–15)
• Vincenzo Torrente (2015–16)
• Leonardo Menichini (2016)
• Giuseppe Sannino (2016)
• Alberto Bollini (2016–17)
• Stefano Colantuono (2017–18)
• Angelo Gregucci (2018–19)
• Leonardo Menichini (2019)
• Gian Piero Ventura (2019–20)
• Fabrizio Castori (2020–21)
• Stefano Colantuono (2021–22)
• Davide Nicola (2022–23)
• Paulo Sousa (2023)
• Filippo Inzaghi (2023–24)
• Fabio Liverani (2024–present)

References

1. "Codice promozione SNAI Maggio 2021 - "SNAIMAX17" | Tutte le promo". Codice promozione SNAI. Archived from the original on 13 May 2021. Retrieved 13 May 2021.
2. "Biglietteria – US Salernitana 1919 | Sito ufficiale della U.S. Salernitana 1919". Archived from the original on 2 May 2021. Retrieved 13 May 2021.
3. "Salernitana, Danilo Iervolino nuovo proprietario: Conferma dalla FIGC". 31 December 2021. Archived from the original on 1 January 2022. Retrieved 1 January 2022.
4. "UFFICIALE. Da adesso chiamatela U.S. SALERNITANA 1919 – Salernitana – Resport". Resport.it. Archived from the original on 18 February 2013.
5. "Salerno Calcio, c'č l'iscrizione Oggi la presentazione dello staff – Corriere del Mezzogiorno". Corrieredelmezzogiorno.corriere.it. Archived from the original on 2 October 2011. Retrieved 14 June 2012.
6. "Modifica dell'art. 52 delle Norme Organizzative Interne della FIGC (Titolo sportivo)". Civile.it. Archived from the original on 31 March 2012. Retrieved 14 June 2012.
7. "Serie a 2023-24: Salernitana Relegated After 0-3 Loss to Frosinone in Italian Football League - in Pics". 27 April 2024. Archived from the original on 2 May 2024. Retrieved 2 May 2024.
8. Cianfanelli, Marco (9 March 2017). "UNIONE SPORTIVA SALERNITANA 1919 - Collezione di Marco Cianfanelli". PennantsMuseum (in Italian). Archived from the original on 7 July 2023. Retrieved 7 July 2023.
9. "Lotito, show a Salerno "Torneremo in alto"". Repubblica.it. 26 July 2011. Archived from the original on 13 December 2022. Retrieved 14 June 2012.
10. "E' nata la nuova Salernitana Il Salerno calcio sarà "blau-grana" Lotito: non è un satellite della Lazio" (in Italian). Ilmattino.it. Archived from the original on 7 February 2016. Retrieved 24 August 2011.
11. "Il paradosso della Salernitana" (in Italian). Il Post. 11 May 2021. Archived from the original on 13 December 2022. Retrieved 13 May 2021.
12. "Official: Salernitana are officially returning to Serie A after 23 years". Football Italia. 7 July 2021. Archived from the original on 25 June 2022. Retrieved 5 August 2021.
13. "Bologna 3-2 Salernitana: De Silvestri double rescues Rossoblu". Football Italia. 22 August 2021. Archived from the original on 25 June 2022. Retrieved 25 August 2021.
14. "Salernitana 1-0 Genoa: Granata finally get first win". Football Italia. 2 October 2021. Archived from the original on 25 June 2022. Retrieved 11 December 2021.
15. "Salernitana appoint Colantuono after Castori sacking". Reuters.com. 17 October 2021. Archived from the original on 13 December 2022. Retrieved 11 December 2021.
16. "Salernitana avoid relegation with record low points total". forzaitalianfootball.com. 23 May 2022. Archived from the original on 13 December 2022. Retrieved 6 July 2022.
17. "Salernitana relegated from Serie A after defeat". www.northerndailyleader.com.au. 26 April 2024. Archived from the original on 8 June 2024. Retrieved 8 June 2024.
18. "La Storia: 1910–1919" (in Italian). Salernitana.it. 24 June 2007. Archived from the original on 27 February 2008.
19. "Sarà "Salerno Calcio" il nome della nuova società calcistica della città. Lotito e Mezzaroma hanno presentato i loro progetti" (in Italian). 12mesi.it. 26 July 2011. Archived from the original on 10 May 2019. Retrieved 24 August 2011.
20. Il logo ufficiale della Salernitana per la stagione numero 100 Archived 13 December 2022 at the Wayback Machine (in Italian)
21. "PRIMA SQUADRA" (in Italian). Salernitana. 28 August 2024. Retrieved 28 August 2024.
22. "Staff Tecnico" (in Italian). U.S. Salernitana 1919. Retrieved 31 October 2024.
23. "Francesco Di Jorio". National Football Teams. Benjamin Strack-Zimmermann. Retrieved 31 July 2012.

Further reading

• Giovanni Vitale (2010). Salernitana storia di gol sorrisi e affanni. International printing. ISBN 978-88-7868-094-4.

External links

• Official website (in Italian)