US Avellino 1912
Italian football club with ten straight Serie A seasons.
Unione Sportiva Avellino 1912, usually called US Avellino 1912, is a professional football club from Avellino, in the Campania region of Italy. The team currently plays in Serie B, the country’s second division. The club is best known for its ten straight seasons in Serie A, running from 1978–1979 through 1987–1988.
The original club, U.S. Avellino, was founded on 12 December 1912 to give the town a football team. Its early years are poorly documented, as it only faced local sides in lower leagues. From 1913 until after World War II, Avellino played in the IV Divisione, roughly equivalent to today’s Serie D.
For most of its early history, the club achieved little. It was placed in Serie C for the 1945–46 postwar season, and in 1946–47 it narrowly missed the interregional final, finishing third in its group. At the end of the 1940s, Avellino beat Catania, Reggina, and Messina to win promotion to Serie B. However, the club was then accused of match-fixing and relegated to Serie D by the federation. After one season, it returned to Serie C, only to be relegated again and spend six straight years in Serie D. Over the next six seasons, Avellino bounced between Serie C and Serie D, winning promotion three times and being relegated twice.
Avellino reached Serie B in 1973 and Serie A in 1978. For a small southern club, staying in the top flight for ten years (1978 to 1988) was remarkable. The team usually finished mid-table, with its best result being 8th place in 1987, featuring players like Angelo Alessio, Paolo Benedetti, Franco Colomba, and Dirceu. During that decade, Avellino also won the Torneo Estivo del 1986, a league-cup for Serie A teams eliminated before the Coppa Italia semifinals. They won Group B by beating Napoli (5-1), Bari (1-0), and Inter, then topped the second semifinal group against Udinese (5-1) and Juventus (1-0). In the final on 19 June 1986 at Stadio Santa Colomba in Benevento, Avellino defeated Bari 3-2, with two goals from Alessio and one from Benedetti.
After relegation from Serie A in 1988, the club spent the next decade moving between Serie B and Serie C1. A surprise return to Serie B came after beating Napoli in the 2004–05 Serie C1/B playoff finals. The 2005–06 season ended with a relegation playoff loss to Albinoleffe (0-2, 3-2). In 2006–07, under head coaches Giuseppe Galderisi and then Giovanni Vavassori, Avellino finished seco
- born
- 12 December 1912
- field
- Stadio Santa Colomba (Benevento, used for 1986 final)
- nationality
- Italian
- known_for
- Ten consecutive Serie A seasons (1978–1988); Torneo Estivo 1986 winner
Lore & Background
The club was founded as U.S. Avellino on 12 December 1912 to give the town of Avellino a footballing representative. Its early history is obscure, competing only at lower levels against regional sides, including IV Divisione from 1913 until after World War II. After the war, Avellino was placed in Serie C for the 1945–46 season and narrowly missed an interregional final in 1946–47. The club won promotion to Serie B at the end of the 1940s but was later relegated to Serie D due to match-fixing accusations. It returned to Serie C after one season but then spent six consecutive seasons at Serie D level, with promotions and relegations alternating.
Reader's Guide
US Avellino 1912's significance lies in its remarkable ten-year stay in Serie A from 1978 to 1988, a feat for a southern provincial side, during which it held a mid-table place and finished 8th in 1987. The club also won the Torneo Estivo del 1986, a league-cup contested by Serie A teams eliminated before the Coppa Italia semifinals, defeating SSC Napoli, SSC Bari, Inter, Udinese, and Juventus en route to a 3-2 final victory over Bari. The club underwent two major reboots: in 2009 after bankruptcy and in 2018 after exclusion from Serie B, each time restarting from Serie D. Its traditional green and white colours and wolf crest reflect its nickname 'Lupi'. The number 10 shirt is retired in honor of midfielder Adriano Lombardi. The club's history includes multiple promotions and relegations between Serie B and Serie C, as well as a 2018 exclusion due to incomplete league membership paperwork.
Did You Know?
- Avellino won the Torneo Estivo del 1986, defeating SSC Napoli 5-1 and Juventus 1-0.
- The club was renamed Avellino Calcio.12 Società Sportiva Dilettantistica in 2009 after bankruptcy.
- Avellino's number 10 shirt is retired in memory of midfielder Adriano Lombardi.
- The club was excluded from Serie B in 2018 due to a late bank guarantee on league membership paperwork.
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