Serie B

The Serie B (Italian pronunciation: [ˈsɛːrje ˈbi][1]), renamed Serie BKT for sponsorship reasons,[2] 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 organized by Lega Calcio until 2010, when the Lega Serie B was created for the 2010–11 season. Common nicknames for the league are campionato cadetto and cadetteria, since cadetto is the Italian name for junior or cadet.

This article is about the Italian football league. For other uses, see Serie B (disambiguation).
Not to be confused with Campeonato Brasileiro Série B.

Serie B
Organising bodyLega B
Founded1929 (1929)
(pilot in 1922)
CountryItaly
ConfederationUEFA
Number of teams20
Level on pyramid2
Promotion toSerie A
Relegation toSerie C
Domestic cup(s)Coppa Italia
International cup(s)UEFA Europa League
(via winning Coppa Italia)
Current championsFrosinone (1st title)
(2022–23)
Most championshipsGenoa (6 titles)
Most appearancesLuigi Cagni (483)
Top goalscorerStefan Schwoch (135)
TV partnersSky Sport
DAZN
Websitelegab.it
Current: 2023–24 Serie B

History

A junior football championship was created in Italy in 1904; after seven editions of the major tournament of FIGC. It was called Second Category, and was composed of senior squads of town clubs and by youth teams of city clubs. If the first ones won the championship, they would be promoted to First Category, which consequently improved in size: the first team to reach the honour, was Pro Vercelli in 1907, which even won the scudetto in 1908. FIGC attempted many times to introduce relegations on the contrary, but the reform was really adopted only in 1921 by the secessionist CCI in its Northern League, which consisted of a First Division and a Second Division: the first teams to be relegated were AC Vicenza and FC Inter even if, after the reunion with FIGC, the regulations were changed, and Venezia was demoted instead of the Milanese club. Even if part of the same league, differently from First Division, Second Division was based on local group with proximity criteria.

Only in 1928 was the big reform conceived by FIGC president Leandro Arpinati: after a year, a new second division based on the same national format of the major tournament would be born. Serie B began in 1929 with 18 clubs and continued until World War II, after which it was divided again between the northern and the southern part of the country in the aftermath of the war. The championship became national again in 1948, and for many years in the second half of the 20th century, it was played by 20 clubs. In 2003–04, a single group of 24 teams was formed, the largest in the history of all levels of the Italian championship. After 2004, a 22-team format was introduced together with playoffs.

After Serie A split with Serie B to form Lega Serie A, Lega Serie B was reformed on 7 July 2010. The league signed a new sponsor bwin for 2010–11 and 2011–12 seasons; changed the league name from Serie B TIM to Serie Bwin.[3] The League changed again its name in Serie B ConTe.it due to sponsorship reasons.[4]

Serie B is the lowest division in which five clubs have ever played: Torino, Juventus, Milan, Roma and Lazio.

Competition format

Competition

During the regular season each club plays the others twice (a double round-robin system), once at their home stadium and once at that of their opponents, for 38 games. The games of the first leg (andata) and of the second leg (ritorno) are played in the same order. Teams receive three points for a win and one point for a draw. No points are awarded for a loss.

From the 2006–07 season to 2019–20, the Serie B champion was awarded the Ali della Vittoria (Wings of Victory) cup. The trophy was 63 cm high and weighed 5 kg. Its design represented the wings of Nike, the Greek goddess of victory, holding a cup similar to an Olympic flame. From the 2021–22 season, the Coppa Nexus replaced the previous trophy.[5]

Serie B was composed of 20 teams until the 2002–03 season. It was enlarged to 24 teams for the 2003–04 season due to legal problems relating to Calcio Catania relegation. The league reverted to 22 teams for the 2004–05 season, while Serie A expanded from 18 to 20 teams.

Below is a complete record of how many teams played in each season throughout the league's history;

  • 18 clubs: 1929–1933
  • 26 clubs (in two groups): 1933–1934
  • 32 clubs (in two groups): 1934–1935
  • 18 clubs: 1935–1936
  • 16 clubs: 1936–1937
  • 17 clubs: 1937–1938
  • 18 clubs: 1938–1943
  • 60 clubs (in three groups): 1946–1947
  • 54 clubs (in three groups): 1947–1948
  • 22 clubs: 1948–1950
  • 21 clubs: 1950–1951
  • 22 clubs: 1951–1952
  • 18 clubs: 1952–1958
  • 20 clubs: 1958–1967
  • 21 clubs: 1967–1968
  • 20 clubs: 1968–2003
  • 24 clubs: 2003–2004
  • 22 clubs: 2004–2018
  • 19 clubs: 2018–2019
  • 20 clubs: 2019–present

Promotion and relegation

At the end of the season, three teams are promoted to Serie A and four teams are relegated to Serie C.

The top two teams are automatically promoted and the third place team is only automatically promoted if they are more than 14 points clear of the fourth placed team.

If the third place team is not more than 14 points clear of the fourth place team then the teams from third place to eighth place enter a play-off to decide the final promotion spot.

The play-off system has three rounds and the rules are as follows.[6]


The preliminary round between fifth and eighth and between sixth and seventh are a single match on the ground of the best placed in the regular season . In the event of a tie at the end of normal time, extra time will be played. If the game is still tied at the end of extra time, the highest ranked team goes through, without taking a penalty shootout.

The semi-finals are a two-legged competition with a first leg at home for the teams that played in the preliminary round and a second leg at home for the third and fourth placed teams in the regular season. In the event of a tie in the aggregate result, the best-ranked team in the regular season progresses to the final, without extra time and penalties.

The final is played between the winners of the semi-finals over two legs, the latter at the home of the best-placed team in the league. In the event of a tie, the best-placed team in the regular season is promoted to Serie A, without the need for extra time or penalties. In the event that the two finalists have finished the regular season on equal points, the second leg includes extra time and penalties if required.



In the relegation zone, the three last-placed teams (18th, 19th and 20th) are automatically demoted to Serie C. If the 16th-placed team is 5 or more points ahead of the 17th-placed team, then the 17th-placed team becomes the 4th and final team to be demoted, otherwise, the conditions for a playoff more commonly called playout exist.

If the playout is necessary, the 16th and 17th-placed teams are paired in a two-legged series with home-field advantage in the 2nd leg going to the 16th-placed team. The team with the higher aggregate score remains in Serie B while the loser becomes the fourth team relegated to Serie C. If an aggregate tie exists at the end of regulation play of the 2nd leg, the 16th-placed team is saved, and the 17th-placed team is demoted, unless the two teams ended the season with equal points, in which case there will be extra-time and a penalty shoot-out if still tied.

Clubs

2022–23 members
Location of teams in 2022–23 Serie B
Team Home city Stadium Capacity 2021–22 season
Ascoli Ascoli Piceno Cino e Lillo Del Duca 12,461 6th in Serie B
Bari Bari San Nicola 58,270 Serie C Group C champions
Benevento Benevento Ciro Vigorito 16,867 7th in Serie B
Brescia Brescia Mario Rigamonti 19,500 5th in Serie B
Cagliari Cagliari Unipol Domus 16,416 18th in Serie A
Cittadella Cittadella (Padua) Pier Cesare Tombolato 7,623 11th in Serie B
Como Como Giuseppe Sinigaglia 13,602 13th in Serie B
Cosenza Cosenza San Vito-Gigi Marulla 24,209 16th in Serie B - Playout winner
Frosinone Frosinone Benito Stirpe 16,227 9th in Serie B
Genoa Genoa Luigi Ferraris 36,599 19th in Serie A
Modena Modena Alberto Braglia 21,092 Serie C Group B champions
Palermo Palermo Renzo Barbera 36,365 Serie C - Playoff winner
Parma Parma Ennio Tardini 27,906 12th in Serie B
Perugia Perugia Renato Curi 23,625 8th in Serie B
Pisa Pisa Arena Garibaldi 25,000 3rd in Serie B
Reggina Reggio Calabria Oreste Granillo 27,543 14th in Serie B
SPAL Ferrara Paolo Mazza 16,134 15th in Serie B
Südtirol Bolzano Druso 5,539 Serie C Group A champions
Ternana Terni Libero Liberati 22,000 10th in Serie B
Venezia Venice Pier Luigi Penzo 11,150 20th in Serie A

Seasons in Serie B

This is the complete list of the 142 clubs that have taken part in the 91 Serie B seasons played from the 1929–30 season until the 2023–24 season.[7][lower-alpha 1]

The teams in bold compete in Serie B in the 2023–24 season. The teams in italics represent defunct teams. The year in parentheses represents the most recent year of participation at this level.

The Serie B–C Alta Italia post-war championship

This championship was organized by geographical criteria with only Northern Italy Serie B and the best Northern Italy Serie C teams taking part. Southern Italy Serie B teams took part to 1945–46 Serie A. For this reason, this championship is not included in the statistics.

Champions and promotions
Season Champions Runners-up Other promoted
1929–30CasaleLegnano
1930–31FiorentinaBari
1931–32PalermoPadova
1932–33LivornoBrescia
1933–34SampierdareneseBaria
1934–35GenoaBari
1935–36LuccheseNovara
1936–37LivornoAtalanta
1937–38ModenabNovarab
1938–39FiorentinaVenezia
1939–40AtalantaLivorno
1940–41SampierdareneseModena
1941–42BariVicenza
1942–43ModenaBrescia
1945–46AlessandriaPro PatriaaNapoli

1946–47		 Northern champions Central champions Southern champions
Pro PatriaLuccheseSalernitana
1947–48

NovaraPadovaPalermo
Champions Runners-up Other promoted
1948–49ComoVenezia
1949–50NapoliUdinese
1950–51SPALLegnano
1951–52RomaBresciaa
1952–53GenoaLegnano
1953–54CataniaPro Patria
1954–55VicenzaPadova
1955–56UdinesePalermo
1956–57Hellas VeronaAlessandria
1957–58TriestinaBari
1958–59AtalantaPalermo
1959–60TorinoLeccoCatania
1960–61VeneziaMantovaPalermo
1961–62GenoaNapoliModena
1962–63MessinaBariLazio
1963–64VareseCagliariFoggia
1964–65BresciaNapoliSPAL
1965–66VeneziaLeccoMantova
1966–67SampdoriaVarese
1967–68PalermoHellas VeronaPisa
1968–69LazioBresciaBari
1969–70VareseFoggiaCatania
1970–71MantovaAtalantaCatanzaro
1971–72TernanaLazioPalermo
1972–73GenoaCesenaFoggia
1973–74VareseAscoliTernana
1974–75PerugiaComoHellas Verona
1975–76GenoaCatanzaroFoggia
1976–77VicenzaAtalantaPescara
1977–78AscoliCatanzaroAvellino
1978–79UdineseCagliariPescara
1979–80ComoPistoieseBrescia
1980–81MilanGenoaCesena
1981–82Hellas VeronaPisaSampdoria
1982–83MilanLazioCatania
1983–84AtalantaComoCremonese
1984–85PisaLecceBari
1985–86AscoliBresciaEmpoli
1986–87PescaraPisaCesena
1987–88BolognaLecceLazio, Atalanta
1988–89GenoaBariUdinese, Cremonese
1989–90TorinoPisaCagliari, Parma
1990–91FoggiaHellas VeronaCremonese, Ascoli
1991–92BresciaPescaraAncona, Udinese
1992–93ReggianaCremonesePiacenza, Lecce
1993–94FiorentinaBariBrescia, Padova
1994–95PiacenzaUdineseVicenza, Atalanta
1995–96BolognaHellas VeronaPerugia, Reggiana
1996–97BresciaEmpoliLecce, Bari
1997–98SalernitanaVeneziaCagliari, Perugia
1998–99Hellas VeronaTorinoReggina, Lecce
1999–2000VicenzaAtalantaBrescia, Napoli
2000–01TorinoPiacenzaChievo, Venezia
2001–02ComoModenaReggina, Empoli
2002–03SienaSampdoriaLecce, Ancona
2003–04PalermoCagliariLivorno, Messina, Atalanta, Fiorentinac
2004–05EmpoliTorinoaTreviso, Ascoli
2005–06AtalantaCataniaTorino
2006–07JuventusNapoliGenoa
2007–08ChievoBolognaLecce
2008–09BariParmaLivorno
2009–10LecceCesenaBrescia
2010–11AtalantaSienaNovara
2011–12PescaraTorinoSampdoria
2012–13SassuoloHellas VeronaLivorno
2013–14PalermoEmpoliCesena
2014–15CarpiFrosinoneBologna
2015–16CagliariCrotonePescara
2016–17SPALHellas VeronaBenevento
2017–18EmpoliParmaFrosinone
2018–19BresciaLecceHellas Verona
2019–20BeneventoCrotoneSpezia
2020–21EmpoliSalernitanaVenezia
2021–22LecceCremoneseMonza
2022–23FrosinoneGenoaCagliari

a Not promoted for Serie A reduction.

b Modena and Novara were both awarded champions in 1937–38.

c Six teams were promoted in 2003–04 due to the expansion of Serie A from 18 to 20 teams.

Club performances
Main article: List of Serie B champions and promotions

Performance by club

Updated as of 2022–23 season

Club Winners Runners-up Winning years
Genoa 6 2 1935, 1953, 1962, 1973, 1976, 1989
Atalanta 5 3 1940, 1959, 1984, 2006, 2011
Palermo 5 2 1932, 1948, 1968, 2004, 2014
Bari 4 6 1935, 1942, 1946, 2009
Brescia 4 6 1965, 1992, 1997, 2019
Hellas Verona 3 5 1957, 1982, 1999
Como 3 2 1949, 1980, 2002
Torino 3 2 1960, 1990, 2001
Varese 3 1 1964, 1970, 1974
Vicenza 3 1 1955, 1977, 2000
Fiorentina 3 – 1931, 1939, 1994
Novara 3 3 1927, 1938, 1948
Empoli 3 1 2005, 2018, 2021
Venezia 2 3 1961, 1966
Napoli 2 3 1946, 1950
Lecce 2 2 2010, 2022
Pescara 2 2 1987, 2012
Udinese 2 2 1956, 1979
Ascoli 2 1 1978, 1986
Livorno 2 1 1933, 1937
Bologna 2 1 1988, 1996
Salernitana 2 1 1947, 1998
Sampierdarenese 2 – 1934, 1941
Lucchese 2 – 1936, 1947
Milan 2 – 1981, 1983
SPAL 2 – 1951, 2017
Modena 1 4 1943
Pisa 1 4 1985
Cagliari 1 3 2016
Padova 1 3 1948
Lazio 1 2 1969
Perugia 1 2 1975
Pro Patria 1 2 1947
Alessandria 1 1 1946
Catania 1 1 1954
Foggia 1 1 1991
Frosinone 1 1 2023
Mantova 1 1 1971
Piacenza 1 1 1995
Reggiana 1 1 1993
Sampdoria 1 1 1967
Siena 1 1 2003
Ternana 1 1 1972
Benevento 1 – 2020
Carpi 1 – 2015
Casale 1 – 1930
Chievo 1 – 2008
Juventus 1 – 2007
Messina 1 – 1963
Roma 1 – 1952
Sassuolo 1 – 2013
Triestina 1 – 1958
Spezia 1 – 1929
Legnano – 4 –
Catanzaro – 2 –
Cesena – 2 –
Cremonese – 2 –
Crotone – 2 –
Lecco – 2 –
Parma – 2 –
Pistoiese – 1 –
Treviso – 1 –

Titles by region

Updated as of 2022–23 season

Region Titles Winning club(s) (titles)
 Lombardia 20 Atalanta (6), Brescia (4), Como (3), Varese (3), Milan (2), Mantova (1), Pro Patria (1)
 Toscana 12 Empoli (3), Fiorentina (3), Livorno (2), Lucchese (2), Pisa (1), Siena (1)
 Veneto 10 Hellas Verona (3), Vicenza (3), Venezia (2), Chievo (1), Padova (1)
 Liguria 9 Genoa (6), Sampierdarenese (2), Sampdoria (1), Spezia (1)
 Emilia-Romagna 9 Bologna (2), SPAL (2), Carpi (1), Modena (1), Piacenza (1), Reggiana (1), Sassuolo (1)
 Piemonte 8 Torino (3), Novara (3), Alessandria (1), Casale (1), Juventus (1)
 Puglia 7 Bari (4), Lecce (2), Foggia (1)
 Sicilia 7 Palermo (5), Catania (1), Messina (1)
 Campania 5 Salernitana (2), Napoli (2), Benevento (1)
 Friuli-Venezia Giulia 3 Udinese (2), Triestina (1)
 Lazio 3 Frosinone (1), Lazio (1), Roma (1)
 Abruzzo 2 Pescara (2)
 Marche 2 Ascoli (2)
 Umbria 2 Perugia (1), Ternana (1)
 Sardinia 1 Cagliari (1)

Titles by city

Updated as of 2022–23 season

City Titles Winning club(s) (titles)
Genoa 9 Genoa (6), Sampierdarenese (2), Sampdoria (1)
Bergamo 6 Atalanta (6)
Palermo 5 Palermo (5)
Turin 4 Torino (3), Juventus (1)
Verona 4 Hellas Verona (3), Chievo (1)
Bari 4 Bari (4)
Brescia 4 Brescia (4)
Como 3 Como (3)
Florence 3 Fiorentina (3)
Varese 3 Varese (3)
Vicenza 3 Vicenza (3)
Novara 3 Novara (3)
Empoli 3 Empoli (3)
Ascoli Piceno 2 Ascoli (2)
Bologna 2 Bologna (2)
Ferrara 2 SPAL (2)
Lecce 2 Lecce (2)
Livorno 2 Livorno (2)
Lucca 2 Lucchese (2)
Milan 2 Milan (2)
Naples 2 Napoli (2)
Pescara 2 Pescara (2)
Rome 2 Lazio (1), Roma (1)
Salerno 2 Salernitana (2)
Udine 2 Udinese (2)
Venice 2 Venezia (2)
Alessandria 1 Alessandria (1)
Benevento 1 Benevento (1)
Busto Arsizio 1 Pro Patria (1)
Cagliari 1 Cagliari (1)
Carpi 1 Carpi (1)
Casale Monferrato 1 Casale (1)
Catania 1 Catania (1)
Foggia 1 Foggia (1)
Frosinone 1 Frosinone (1)
La Spezia 1 Spezia (1)
Mantua 1 Mantova (1)
Messina 1 Messina (1)
Modena 1 Modena (1)
Padua 1 Padova (1)
Perugia 1 Perugia (1)
Piacenza 1 Piacenza (1)
Pisa 1 Pisa (1)
Reggio Emilia 1 Reggiana (1)
Sassuolo 1 Sassuolo (1)
Siena 1 Siena (1)
Terni 1 Ternana (1)
Trieste 1 Triestina (1)

Promotions by region

Updated as of 2022–23 season

Region Promotions Promoted clubs (263)
 Lombardia 51 Atalanta (12), Brescia (12), Como (5), Cremonese (5), Varese (4), Legnano (3), Mantova (3), Lecco (2), Milan (2), Pro Patria (2), Monza (1)
 Veneto 28 Hellas Verona (10), Venezia (6), Vicenza (5), Padova (4), Chievo (2), Treviso (1)
 Emilia-Romagna 27 Modena (5), Cesena (5), Bologna (4), Parma (3), Piacenza (3), SPAL (3), Reggiana (2), Carpi (1), Sassuolo (1)
 Toscana 27 Empoli (7), Livorno (6), Pisa (5), Fiorentina (4), Lucchese (2), Siena (2), Pistoiese (1)
 Puglia 26 Bari (11), Lecce (10), Foggia (5)
 Liguria 16 Genoa (9), Sampdoria (4) Sampierdarenese (2) Spezia (1)
 Sicilia 16 Palermo (9), Catania (5), Messina (2)
 Piemonte 14 Torino (6), Novara (4), Alessandria (2), Casale (1), Juventus (1)
 Campania 11 Napoli (5), Salernitana (3), Benevento (2), Avellino (1)
 Lazio 9 Lazio (5), Frosinone (3), Roma (1)
 Calabria 7 Catanzaro (3), Reggina (2), Crotone (2)
 Friuli-Venezia Giulia 7 Udinese (6), Triestina (1)
 Marche 7 Ascoli (5), Ancona (2)
 Sardinia 7 Cagliari (7)
 Abruzzo 6 Pescara (6)
 Umbria 5 Perugia (3), Ternana (2)

See also

Footnotes
  1. The championship was suspended from 1943 to 1945 due to WWII, and the 1945–46 northern edition is not statistically considered by FIGC, even if its promotion result was official.

References
  1. Luciano Canepari. "serie". DiPI Online (in Italian). Retrieved 26 March 2021.
  2. Redazione (22 June 2018). "La B cambia nome: si chiamerà Serie BKT fino al 2021".
  3. "Dalla nuova Lega Serie B, nasce il campionato Serie bwin". Lega Serie B (in Italian). 7 July 2010. Archived from the original on 12 July 2010. Retrieved 7 July 2010.
  4. "Ecco il calendario ufficiale della Serie B ConTe.it". legab.it (in Italian). Lega Nazionale Professionisti Serie B. 27 August 2015. Retrieved 11 November 2015.
  5. "Presentata la Coppa Nexus". Lega B (in Italian). 4 May 2022. Retrieved 14 June 2022.
  6. "COMUNICATO UFFICIALE N. 22/A" (PDF). 20 July 2017. Archived from the original (PDF) on 26 May 2018.}
  7. Mariani, Maurizio; Di Maggio, Roberto. "Italy – Serie B All-Time Table since 1929". RSSSF. Retrieved 22 August 2020.
  8. Pursuant to the Federal Internal Organizational Rules of the Italian Football Federation (NOIF, art. 20, subsection 5)
    • 16 seasons: Arezzo (2007), Unione Calcio Sampdoria inherits and continues the sporting tradition of its most valuable ancestor, A.C. Sampierdarenese, which played at Serie B for 5 seasons.
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