US Salernitana 1919

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

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]

History

From Unione Sportiva Salernitana to Salernitana Calcio 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 25 September 2024^[21]

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. 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
22	GK	ITA	Gregorio Salvati
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. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.


No.	Pos.	Nation	Player
42	DF	ITA	Niccolò Guccione

Out on loan

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. 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