2008–09 Lega Pro Prima Divisione

The 2008–09 Lega Pro Prima Divisione season is the thirty-first since its renaming to Serie C1 in 1978, and the first edition since the renaming from Serie C1 to Lega Pro. It was divided into two phases: the regular season, played from September 2008 to May 2009, and the playoff phase from May to June 2009.

Geographical distribution of 2008-09 Lega Pro Prima Divisione teams. Girone A teams are depicted with red dots, whereas Girone B ones were represented with yellow.

The league was composed of 36 teams divided into two divisions of 18 teams each, whose teams was divided mainly according to geographical principles. Teams will play only other teams in their own division, once at home and once away for a total of 34 matches.

Teams finishing first in the regular season, plus one team winning the playoff round from each division, were promoted to Serie B; teams finishing last in the regular season, plus two relegation playoff losers from each division was relegated to Lega Pro Seconda Divisione. In all, four teams was promoted to Serie B, and six teams were relegated to Lega Pro Seconda Divisione.

Events

Start of season

The league was to feature four teams relegated from Serie B in 2007–08; Avellino, Ravenna, Spezia, and Cesena. Two vacancies were created with the re-admission of Avellino[1][2] to Serie B, and the bankruptcy of Spezia.[3]

It featured six teams promoted from 2007–08 Serie C2: Pergocrema, Reggiana, Benevento, Lumezzane, Portosummaga, and Marcianise.

The remaining 26 teams were to come from the teams that played in 2007–08 Serie C1 that were neither promoted nor relegated. Of those, Lucchese[3] (8th in Girone B), and Massese[3] (13th in Girone B) were also banned creating two more vacancies.

Three of the four vacancies were filled by Virtus Lanciano,[4] Pro Patria[4] and Lecco[5] which had lost in last year's Serie C1 relegation playoffs and were destined to play in Lega Pro Seconda Divisione. The fourth vacancy was filled by SPAL,[4] which lost in last year's Serie C2 promotional playoffs and was thus destined to remain there.

Promotions

Cesena won direct promotion to Serie B for the 2009–10 season by finishing first in Girone A. Just one year ago Cesena was directly relegated from the same Serie B for finishing in last place. Gallipoli also won direct promotion to Serie B by being crowned champions in Girone B. It was Gallipoli's third consecutive year in Lega Pro Prima Divisione/C1 after winning promotion from Serie C2 in 2005–06.

Relegations

Legnano and Potenza were the first two teams relegated by finishing last in their respective divisions. Both teams had been in Prima Divisione/C1 for two consecutive years after winning promotion from 2006–07 Serie C2.

Four teams were relegated by losing in the relegation playoffs. Pro Sesto was relegated after 4 seasons in Prima Divisione/C1, winning promotion from C2 in 2004–05. Pro Sesto was forced to play in the playouts two other times, winning one and losing the other in 2006, but asked to remain in C1 to fill vacancies. Sambenedettese also lost in the Girone A playouts after 7 seasons in Prima Divisione/C1, winning promotion from C2 in 2001–02.

In Girone B, Pistoiese and Juve Stabia lost in the relegation playoffs. Pistoiese had been in 2001–02 Serie B, and after being relegated that year, spent the next 7 years in Prima Divisione/C1. Juve Stabia was promoted from C2 2004–05, spending the next four seasons in C1/Lega Pro.

Teams

On 14 August 2008 the following clubs were confirmed to be competing in the division:[5]

Girone A
Club City Stadium Capacity 2007–08 season
A.C. Cesena Cesena Stadio Dino Manuzzi 23,860 22nd in Serie B
U.S. Cremonese Cremona Stadio Giovanni Zini 22,000 2nd in Serie C1/A
Calcio Lecco 1912 Lecco Stadio Rigamonti-Ceppi 4,977 16th in Serie C1/A
A.C. Legnano Legnano Stadio Giovanni Mari 6,600 7th in Serie C1/A
A.C. Lumezzane Lumezzane Nuovo Stadio Comunale 4,150 Serie C2/A Play-off Winners
A.C. Monza Brianza 1912 Monza Stadio Brianteo 18,568 8th in Serie C1/A
Novara Calcio Novara Stadio Silvio Piola 8,810 9th in Serie C1/A
Calcio Padova Padua Stadio Euganeo 32,336 6th in Serie C1/A
U.S. Pergocrema 1932 Crema Stadio Giuseppe Voltini 3,490 Serie C2/A Champions
Calcio Portogruaro Summaga Portogruaro Stadio Pier Giovanni Mecchia 3,335 Serie C2/B Play-off Winners
Pro Patria Busto Arsizio Stadio Carlo Speroni 3,990 14th in Serie C1/A
A.C. Pro Sesto Sesto San Giovanni Stadio Breda 4,500 11th in Serie C1/A
Ravenna Calcio Ravenna Stadio Bruno Benelli 12,020 20th in Serie B
A.C. Reggiana 1919 Reggio Emilia Stadio Giglio 29,546 Serie C2/B Champions
S.S. Sambenedettese Calcio San Benedetto del Tronto Stadio Riviera delle Palme 22,000 12th in Serie C1/B
SPAL 1907 Ferrara Stadio Paolo Mazza 19,000 4th in Serie C2/B
S.S.C. Venezia Venice Stadio Pier Luigi Penzo 10,500 12th in Serie C1/A
Hellas Verona F.C. Verona Stadio Marcantonio Bentegodi 39,211 17th in Serie C1/A

Girone B
Club City Stadium Capacity 2007–08 season
A.C. Arezzo Arezzo Stadio Città di Arezzo 13,128 7th in Serie C1/B
Benevento Calcio Benevento Stadio Santa Colomba 18,927 Serie C2/C Champions
S.S. Cavese 1919 Cava de' Tirreni Stadio Simonetta Lamberti 16,000 10th in Serie C1/A
F.C. Crotone Crotone Stadio Ezio Scida 9,631 4th in Serie C1/B
U.S. Foggia Foggia Stadio Pino Zaccheria 25,000 5th in Serie C1/A
Foligno Calcio Foligno Stadio Enzo Blasone 5,650 4th in Serie C1/A
Gallipoli Calcio Gallipoli Stadio Antonio Bianco 5,000 9th in Serie C1/B
S.S. Juve Stabia Castellammare di Stabia Stadio Romeo Menti 10,400 15th in Serie C1/B
Real Marcianise Calcio Marcianise Stadio Progreditur 3,000 Serie C2/C Play-off Winners
Paganese Calcio 1926 Pagani Stadio Marcello Torre 3,700 15th in Serie C1/A
Perugia Calcio Perugia Stadio Renato Curi 28,000 5th in Serie C1/B
Pescara Calcio Pescara Stadio Adriatico 22,260 6th in Serie C1/B
A.C. Pistoiese Pistoia Stadio Marcello Melani 13,195 14th in Serie C1/B
Potenza S.C. Potenza Stadio Alfredo Viviani 6,000 11th in Serie C1/B
Sorrento Calcio Sorrento Stadio Italia 3,600 10th in Serie C1/B
Taranto Sport Taranto Stadio Erasmo Iacovone 28,000 3rd in Serie C1/B
Ternana Calcio Terni Stadio Libero Liberati 20,095 13th in Serie C1/A
S.S. Virtus Lanciano 1924 Lanciano Stadio Guido Biondi 7,500 16th in Serie C1/B

League tables

Girone A
Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Promotion or relegation
1 Cesena (C, P) 34 17 9 8 42 26 +16 60 Promotion to Serie B
2 Pro Patria 34 16 10 8 50 27 +23 58 Qualification for Promotion play-off
3 Ravenna 34 15 11 8 48 36 +12 56
4 Padova (O, P) 34 15 9 10 37 31 +6 54 Promotion to Serie B
5 Reggiana 34 14 12 8 34 33 +1 54 Qualification for Promotion play-off
6 SPAL 34 14 11 9 38 30 +8 53
7 Hellas Verona 34 11 15 8 38 32 +6 48
8 Novara 34 11 13 10 36 36 0 46
9 Cremonese 34 11 12 11 38 36 +2 45
10 Lumezzane 34 10 15 9 37 35 +2 45
11 Pergocrema 34 10 14 10 28 28 0 44
12 Portogruaro 34 11 10 13 33 39 −6 43
13 Monza 34 8 14 12 41 48 −7 38
14 Pro Sesto (R) 34 9 10 15 34 49 −15 37 Qualification for Relegation play-off
15 Lecco 34 7 14 13 31 35 −4 35
16 Sambenedettese (R) 34 7 11 16 22 36 −14 32 Relegation to Eccellenza
17 Venezia (R) 34 8 11 15 35 42 −7 31[lower-alpha 1] Relegation to Serie D
18 Legnano (R) 34 7 9 18 31 54 −23 30 Relegation to Lega Pro Seconda Divisione
Updated to match(es) played on 10 May 2009. Source: Lega Calcio Professionistico
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored.
(C) Champions; (O) Play-off winners; (P) Promoted; (R) Relegated
Notes:
  1. 4 points deducted[6]

Girone B
Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Promotion or relegation
1 Gallipoli (C, P) 34 20 6 8 55 32 +23 66 Promotion to Serie B
2 Benevento 34 18 10 6 49 31 +18 64 Qualification for Promotion play-off
3 Crotone (O, P) 34 18 5 11 46 37 +9 59 Promotion to Serie B
4 Arezzo 34 15 11 8 56 37 +19 56 Qualification for Promotion play-off
5 Foggia 34 14 14 6 44 33 +11 56
6 Cavese 34 14 11 9 40 35 +5 53
7 Real Marcianise 34 10 13 11 32 33 −1 43
8 Perugia 34 11 10 13 33 30 +3 43
9 Taranto 34 12 6 16 31 41 −10 42
10 Ternana 34 9 15 10 36 34 +2 42
11 Sorrento 34 10 12 12 37 39 −2 42
12 Pescara 34 10 13 11 36 45 −9 42[lower-alpha 1]
13 Paganese 34 9 14 11 21 29 −8 41
14 Virtus Lanciano 34 12 5 17 37 46 −9 41 Qualification for Relegation play-off
15 Foligno 34 8 11 15 35 45 −10 35
16 Pistoiese (R) 34 7 12 15 27 42 −15 33 Relegation to Eccellenza
17 Juve Stabia (R) 34 8 10 16 29 40 −11 32[lower-alpha 2] Relegation to Relegation play-off
18 Potenza 34 7 10 17 24 39 −15 28[lower-alpha 3] Relegation to Lega Pro Seconda Divisione[lower-alpha 4]
Updated to match(es) played on 10 May 2009. Source: Lega Calcio Professionistico
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored.
(C) Champions; (O) Play-off winners; (P) Promoted; (R) Relegated
Notes:
  1. 1 point deducted[7]
  2. 2 points deducted[8]
  3. 3 points deducted[9]
  4. Potenza was reprieved from relegation to fill vacancy.

Promotion and relegation playoffs

Promotion
Promotion playoff semifinals
First legs played 31 May 2009; return legs played 7 June 2009[10]
Team 1 Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score Team 2 1st leg 2nd leg
Reggiana (5) 6–8 (2) Pro Patria 4–5 2–3
Padova (4) 3–2 (3) Ravenna 1–1 2–1
Promotion playoff finals
First legs played 14 June 2009; return legs played 21 June 2009[10]
Team 1 Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score Team 2 1st leg 2nd leg
Padova (4) 2–1 (2) Pro Patria 0–0 2–1
Padova promoted to Serie B

Relegation
Relegation playoffs
First legs played 31 May 2009; return legs played 7 June 2009[10]
Team 1 Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score Team 2 1st leg 2nd leg
Venezia (17) 4–2 (14) Pro Sesto 3–1 1–1
Sambenedettese (16) 0–1 (15) Lecco 0–0 0–1
Pro Sesto and Sambenedettese relegated to Lega Pro Seconda Divisione

Promotion
Promotion playoff semifinals
First legs played 31 May 2009; return legs played 7 June 2009[10]
Team 1 Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score Team 2 1st leg 2nd leg
Foggia (5) 2–2 (2) Benevento 0–0 2–2
Arezzo (4) 1–6 (3) Crotone 1–2 0–4
Promotion playoff finals
First legs played 14 June 2009; return legs played 21 June 2009[10]
Team 1 Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score Team 2 1st leg 2nd leg
Crotone (3) 2–1 (2) Benevento 1–1 1–0
Crotone promoted to Serie B

Relegation
Relegation playoffs
First legs played 31 May 2009; return legs played 7 June 2009[10]
Team 1 Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score Team 2 1st leg 2nd leg
Juve Stabia (17) 2–2 (14) Virtus Lanciano 2–1 0–1
Pistoiese (16) 2–2 (15) Foligno 2–1 0–1
Juve Stabia and Pistoiese relegated to Lega Pro Seconda Divisione

References
  1. "L'U.S. Avellino riammessa in Serie B" (in Italian). Unione Sportiva Avellino S.p.A. - Sito Ufficiale. 2008-07-25. Archived from the original on 2008-07-31. Retrieved 2008-07-25.
  2. "Via libera per l'Avellino: la squadra irpina "ripescata" in Serie B per la stagione 2008/9" (in Italian). Italian Football Federation. 2008-07-25. Archived from the original on 2008-09-24. Retrieved 2008-07-25.
  3. "Covisoc: fuori in nove dai campionati professionistici" (in Italian). Goal.com. 2008-07-22. Archived from the original on 2008-09-29. Retrieved 2008-07-22.
  4. "Calcio: Il Consiglio Federale ha deciso i primi ripescaggi Lega Pro" (in Italian). ASCA. 2008-07-31. Archived from the original on 2009-06-23. Retrieved 2008-07-31.
  5. "Campionati 1^ e 2^ Divisione 2008/09 - Formazione dei Gironi" (PDF) (in Italian). Lega Italiana Calcio Professionistico. 2008-08-14. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-07-16. Retrieved 2008-08-17.
  6. "Venezia, nuova penalizzazione". Archived from the original on 2009-02-02. Retrieved 2009-03-02.
  7. "Pescara, un punto in meno". Archived from the original on 2009-02-19. Retrieved 2009-03-02.
  8. http://www.corrieredellosport.it/Notizie/Calcio/43799/Disciplinare,+riscritte+le+classifiche
  9. "Tre punti di penalizzazione al Potenza, prosciolta la Salernitana". 7 August 2008.
  10. "Comunicato ufficiale N. 162/DIV del 20 Maggio 2009" (PDF) (in Italian). Lega Calcio Professionistico. 20 May 2009. Archived from the original (PDF) on 16 July 2011. Retrieved 22 May 2009.
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