US Avellino 1912

History

Foundation

The club was founded as U.S. Avellino on 12 December 1912 to give the town of Avellino a footballing representative. The early history of the club is quite obscure as they only competed at a lower level against regional sides. Avellino competed in IV Divisione from 1913 until after the Second World War; today's equivalent of that level is Serie D.

Post-war emergence

For the earlier part of their history the club did not achieve anything of note, until being placed in Serie C for the 1945–46 post-War season. In the 1946–47 season they narrowly missed out on getting through to the interregional final, after finishing third in their group.

Avellino beat out the likes of Catania, Reggina and Messina to win promotion to Serie B at the end of the 1940s. However, the club were accused of match fixing and the federation relegated them to Serie D. Although they were promoted to Serie C after one season, Avellino were relegated to spend six consecutive seasons at Serie D level.

Eventually Avellino returned, but, in six seasons, and Avellino gained promotion to Serie C in three of them and were relegated twice.

1970s and 1980's: Ten consecutive seasons in Serie A and Torneo Estivo 1986

Avellino were promoted to Serie B in 1973 and Serie A in 1978. A truly remarkable feat for a southern provincial side was a 10-year stay in Serie A (1978 to 1988), with the club holding a mid-table place for the majority of that period. Their best finish was 8th in 1987, with a team starring Angelo Alessio, Paolo Benedetti, Franco Colomba and Dirceu. During this decade the Wolves of Irpinia won the Torneo Estivo del 1986, a league-cup contested by all the Serie A eliminated before 1985–86 Coppa Italia semifinals. Avellino won the group B defeating SSC Napoli (5-1), SSC Bari (1-0) and Inter and the second semifinal group against Udinese (5-1) and Juventus (1-0). In the final of LNP Torneo Estivo 1986 they played on 19 June 1986 in Stadio Santa Colomba (Benevento), Avellino defeated 3-2 the il Bari with two goals scored by Alessio and one from Paolo Benedetti

1990s and 2000s: decline, ups and downs, and bankruptcy

The club tended to shift between Serie B and Serie C1 in the decade following relegation from Serie A in 1988.

The club marked a surprising Serie B return after defeating neighbors and football powerhouse Napoli in the 2004-05 Serie C1/B play-off finals. An unsuccessful 2005–06 campaign ended in a loss on relegation playoffs to Albinoleffe (0–2, 3–2). The 2006–07 season, with Giuseppe Galderisi as head coach, then replaced by Giovanni Vavassori, ended in a second place in the Serie C1/B regular season; this was then followed by a successful campaign in the promotion play-offs, in which Avellino defeated Foggia in the finals, being therefore promoted to Serie B once again. However, this was followed by Vavassori's resignations on 16 July 2007, shortly after his confirmation as Avellino boss, being then replaced by Maurizio Sarri two days later. Sarri himself resigned one month later, being replaced by Guido Carboni and later Alessandro Calori. Despite this, the club did not manage to escape relegation, ending the season in 19th place. The club was however readmitted to Serie B later on to fill a league vacancy created by Messina's disbandment.

The team finished second from bottom in the 2008–09 season and was therefore relegated again. On 9 July 2009, the Covisoc (Commissione di Vigilanza sulle Società Calcistiche, Vigilancy Commission on Football Clubs) organization announced that the team did not pass the financial requirements in order to be admitted to the league. The club was allowed to appeal the decision until 11 July 2009. On 11 July, Avellino failed to appeal the exclusion.

Avellino Calcio.12 S.S.D. restarts from Serie D

A new club founded in the summer 2009 as Avellino Calcio.12 S.S.D. restarts from Serie D, finishing 5th, but 4 August 2010 they were later admitted to Lega Pro Seconda Divisione to fill vacancies. This ordeal saw them become the latest in a long line of Italian clubs that have faced severe financial difficulties, such as Napoli and Fiorentina.

From Lega Pro Seconda Divisione to Serie B

In the 2010–11 season the team became Associazione Sportiva Avellino 1912 and played in Lega Pro Seconda Divisione finishing 4th, being defeated by Trapani in the play-off final, but 4 August 2011 it was later admitted to Lega Pro Prima Divisione, again, to fill vacancies. In the season 2012–13 Avellino won Lega Pro Prima Divisione and the team obtained the promotion in Serie B, under manager Massimo Rastelli. In 2014–2015, Rastelli led the team to the play-off semi-finals, when they are eliminated by the more prestigious Bologna team despite a 3–2 win away.

2018 Serie B exclusion

In 2018, Avellino was excluded from Serie B due to submitting a league membership paperwork that was deemed as incomplete, due to a late bank guarantee. Due to this, a new club was re-founded within days in order to submit application to play at Serie D instead. In 2019 Avellino won Serie D and the Scudetto Serie D, reaching the promotion in Serie C for the next season. In 2020–2021, they once again reached the play-off semi-finals, losing to Padova.

Colours and badge

Its traditional colours are green and white. Avellino are nicknamed the "Lupi", which means wolves, and their club crest displays a wolf head.

Players

Out on loan

Club staff

Retired numbers

10 – ITA Adriano Lombardi, Midfielder (1975–79) – posthumous honor, number retired in 2007.

Notable former players

Notable former coaches

• Italy Antonio Vojak (1947)
• Italy Oronzo Pugliese (1974–75)
• Italy Giuseppe Baldini (1976–77)
• Brazil Luís Vinício (1980–82)
• Italy Giuseppe Marchioro (1982)
• Italy Fernando Veneranda (1982–84)
• Italy Ottavio Bianchi (1983–84)
• Yugoslavia Tomislav Ivić (1985–86)
• Brazil Luís Vinício (1986–88)
• Italy Enzo Ferrari (1988)
• Italy Eugenio Fascetti (1988–89)
• Italy Nedo Sonetti (1989–90)
• Italy Adriano Lombardi (1989–90)
• Italy Bruno Bolchi (1991–92)
• Italy Francesco Graziani (1991–92)
• Italy Adriano Lombardi (1992–93)
• Italy Giuseppe Papadopulo (1994–95)
• Poland Zbigniew Boniek (1994–96)
• Italy Corrado Orrico (1995–96)
• Italy Giuliano Zoratti (1996–97)
• Italy Adriano Lombardi (1997–98)
• Italy Giuliano Sonzogni (2001–02)
• Italy Massimo Ficcadenti (2002)
• Czechoslovakia Zdeněk Zeman (2003–04)
• Italy Antonello Cuccureddu (2004–05)
• Italy Franco Colomba (2005–06)
• Italy Giuseppe Galderisi (2006–07)
• Italy Giovanni Vavassori (2007)
• Italy Maurizio Sarri (2007)
• Italy Guido Carboni (2007–08)
• Italy Alessandro Calori (2008)
• Italy Giuseppe Incocciati (2008)
• Italy Salvatore Campilongo (2008–09)
• Italy Giovanni Bucaro (2011–12)
• Italy Massimo Rastelli (2012–15)
• Italy Attilio Tesser (2015–16)
• Italy Walter Novellino (2016–18)
• Greece Nikos Anastopoulos (1987–1988)

Honours

National titles

• Torneo Estivo del 1986
  • Winners: 1986
• Serie B
  • Runners-up: 1977–78
• Supercoppa di Lega di Prima Divisione
  • Champions: 2013
• Coppa Italia Serie C
  • Runners-up: 1972–73
• Scudetto Serie D
  • Champions: 2018–19

Interregional titles

• Serie C1
  • Champions: 2002–03, 2012–13
  • Runners-up: 1994–95, 2004–05, 2006–07
• Serie D
  • Champions: 1961–62, 1963–64, 2018–19

Competitions

References

References

1. (9 July 2015). "Ritorna lo storico logo "UNIONE SPORTIVA AVELLINO SPA 1912"". Irpinia24.
2. "Storia del Club".
3. Avellino supera il Bari e vince il Torneo estivo, ''[[La Stampa]]'', 20 giugno 1986, p. 27./
4. US Avellino. (16 July 2007). "ALLENATORE PRIMA SQUADRA".
5. (18 July 2007). "ALLENATORE PRIMA SQUADRA". US Avellino.
6. (8 July 2009). "Iscrizioni: 16 squadre non iscritte in Lega Pro". tuttosport.com.
7. (11 July 2009). "CALCIO, TREVISO: NIENTE LEGA PRO, QUATTRO ANNI FA ERA SERIE A". La Repubblica.
8. (11 July 2009). "Da Venezia ad Avellino, l'Italia cancellata". La Gazzetta dello Sport.
9. (21 July 2009). "COMUNICATO UFFICIALE N. 24/A (2009–10)". FIGC.
10. "CALCIO, LEGA PRO; RIPESCAGGI: 5 IN I DIVISIONE E RIMINI IN II – Sport – Repubblica.it".
11. "U.S. Avellino 1912 Away 2016/2017 Football Shirt".
12. "Prima Squadra".