2014–15 Serie B Explained

Competition:	Serie B
Season:	2014–15
Winners:	Carpi (1st title)
Promoted:	Carpi Frosinone Bologna (by play-off)
Relegated:	Cittadella Varese (bankruptcy) Catania (match-fixing)
Matches:	462
Total Goals:	1074
Prevseason:	2013–14
Nextseason:	2015–16

The 2014–15 Serie B was the 83rd season since its establishment in 1929. A total of 22 teams contested the league: 14 of which returning from the 2013–14 season, 5 of which promoted from Prima Divisione, and three relegated from Serie A. The original concept was that due to Siena's exclusion because of financial issues and the fact such vacancy will not be filled in preparation of a future reduction to a league composed by 20 teams, this season featured 21 participant clubs instead of the usual 22. However, on 11 August 2014, Novara won an appeal and the league confirmed a 22nd team.^[1] On 29 August, the league chose Vicenza Calcio as the 22nd participant.^[2]

The series have 42 weeks of play. The opening games of the season began on 30 August 2014, and the final matches took place on 22 May 2015.^[3]

Teams

Relegated from 2013–14 Serie A:

• Catania
• Bologna
• Livorno

From 2013–14 Serie B:

• Latina
• Modena
• Crotone
• Bari
• Spezia
• Lanciano
• Avellino
• Carpi
• Brescia
• Trapani
• Pescara
• Ternana
• Cittadella
• Varese

Promoted from 2013–14 Prima Divisione:

• Virtus Entella
• Perugia
• Pro Vercelli
• Frosinone
• Further: Vicenza, which took the place of Siena.

Stadia and locations

Team	Home city	Stadium	Capacity	2013–14 season
Avellino	Avellino	Partenio		11th in Serie B
Bari	Bari	San Nicola		7th in Serie B
Bologna	Bologna	Renato Dall'Ara		19th in Serie A
Brescia	Brescia	Mario Rigamonti		13th in Serie B
Carpi	Carpi	Sandro Cabassi		12th in Serie B
Catania	Catania	Angelo Massimino		18th in Serie A
Cittadella	Cittadella	Pier Cesare Tombolato		17th in Serie B
Crotone	Crotone	Ezio Scida		6th in Serie B
Frosinone	Frosinone	Matusa		Lega Pro Prima Divisione/B Playoff Winners
Latina	Latina	Domenico Francioni		3rd in Serie B
Livorno	Livorno	Armando Picchi		20th in Serie A
Modena	Modena	Alberto Braglia		5th in Serie B
Perugia	Perugia	Renato Curi		Lega Pro Prima Divisione/B Champions
Pescara	Pescara	Adriatico		15th in Serie B
Pro Vercelli	Vercelli	Silvio Piola		Lega Pro Prima Divisione/A Playoff Winners
Spezia	La Spezia	Alberto Picco		8th in Serie B
Ternana	Terni	Libero Liberati		16th in Serie B
Trapani	Trapani (playing in Erice)	Provinciale		14th in Serie B
Varese	Varese	Franco Ossola		18th in Serie B
Vicenza	Vicenza	Romeo Menti		5th in Lega Pro Prima Divisione/A
Virtus Entella	Chiavari	Comunale		Lega Pro Prima Divisione/A Champions
Virtus Lanciano	Lanciano	Guido Biondi		10th in Serie B

Personnel and kits

Team	President	Manager	Kit manufacturer	Shirt sponsor (front)	Shirt sponsor (back)	Shorts sponsor
Avellino	Walter Taccone	Massimo Rastelli	Givova	Metaedil.com, HS Company	NGM Mobile	CAME Cancelli Automatici
Bari	Gianluca Paparesta	Davide Nicola	Erreà	SuisseGas	NGM Mobile	CAME Cancelli Automatici
Bologna	Joe Tacopina	Delio Rossi	Macron	NGM Smartphones, +energia	NGM Mobile	CAME Cancelli Automatici
Brescia	Luigi Ragazzoni	Alessandro Calori	Joma	UBI Banco di Brescia, FALAR serramenti	NGM Mobile	CAME Cancelli Automatici
Carpi	Stefano Bonacini	Fabrizio Castori	Sportika	Blumarine, Blusport/CAVA International	NGM Mobile	CAME Cancelli Automatici
Catania	Antonino Pulvirenti	Dario Marcolin	Givova	Fortè Hard Discount, TTT Lines	NGM Mobile	CAME Cancelli Automatici
Cittadella	Andrea Gabrielli	Claudio Foscarini	Garman	Gruppo Gabrielli (H)/Gavinox (A), Metalservice	NGM Mobile	CAME Cancelli Automatici
Crotone	Raffaele Vrenna	Massimo Drago	Zeus	V&V Group	NGM Mobile	CAME Cancelli Automatici
Frosinone	Maurizio Stirpe	Roberto Stellone	Legea	Banca Popolare del Frusinate, GALA	NGM Mobile	CAME Cancelli Automatici
Latina	Pasquale Maietta	Mark Iuliano	Givova	Bricofer, Recoma Group	NGM Mobile	CAME Cancelli Automatici
Livorno	Aldo Spinelli	Christian Panucci	Legea	F.O.P. Italia	NGM Mobile	CAME Cancelli Automatici
Modena	Angelo Forcina	Mauro Melotti & Simone Pavan	Erreà	CoopGas, CPL Concordia	NGM Mobile	CAME Cancelli Automatici
Perugia	Massimiliano Santopadre	Andrea Camplone	Frankie Garage	Officine Piccini, Magna Testone	NGM Mobile	CAME Cancelli Automatici
Pescara	Daniele Sebastiani	Marco Baroni	Erreà	Officina Metalmeccanica Angelucci, Pharmapiù	NGM Mobile	CAME Cancelli Automatici
Pro Vercelli	Massimo Secondo	Cristiano Scazzola	Erreà	SeniorService/Punto Service, Riso di Pasta	NGM Mobile	CAME Cancelli Automatici
Spezia	Matteo Volpi	Nenad Bjelica	Lotto	Carispezia	NGM Mobile	CAME Cancelli Automatici
Ternana	Edoardo Longarini	Attilio Tesser	Macron	Banca Mediolanum, Tascout	NGM Mobile	CAME Cancelli Automatici
Trapani	Vittorio Morace	Serse Cosmi	Macron	Ustica Lines	NGM Mobile	CAME Cancelli Automatici
Varese	Nicola Laurenza	Stefano Bettinelli	Zeus	Oro in Euro, Unendo Energia Italiana	NGM Mobile	CAME Cancelli Automatici
Vicenza	Tiziano Cunico	Pasquale Marino	Macron	Banca Popolare di Vicenza	NGM Mobile	CAME Cancelli Automatici
Virtus Entella	Antonio Gozzi	Alfredo Aglietti	Acerbis	Creditis, Arinox	NGM Mobile	CAME Cancelli Automatici
Virtus Lanciano	Valentina Maio	Roberto D'Aversa	Legea	Gruppo Maio, Marfisi Carni	NGM Mobile	CAME Cancelli Automatici

Managerial changes

Team	Outgoing manager	Manner of departure	Date of vacancy	Position in table	Replaced by	Date of appointment
Bologna		End of contract		Pre-season	Diego López^[4]
Carpi					Fabrizio Castori^[5]
Virtus Lanciano		Mutual consent			Roberto D'Aversa^[6]
Bari		End of contract			Devis Mangia^[7]
Pescara					Marco Baroni^[8]
Latina	Roberto Breda^[9]				Mario Beretta^[10]
Livorno		Mutual consent			Carmine Gautieri^[11]
Spezia	Devis Mangia^[12]	Sacked			Nenad Bjelica^[13]
Catania	Maurizio Pellegrino^[14]			20th
Latina	Mario Beretta^[15]	Mutual consent		14th	Roberto Breda^[16]
Vicenza	Giovanni Lopez^[17]	Sacked		20th	Pasquale Marino^[18]
Bari	Devis Mangia^[19]			14th	Davide Nicola^[20]
Brescia	Ivo Iaconi^[21]			18th	Ivan Javorčić (caretaker)
Catania	Giuseppe Sannino^[22]	Resigned		17th
	Maurizio Pellegrino^[23]	Sacked		19th
Livorno	Carmine Gautieri^[24]	Mutual consent		6th
Latina	Roberto Breda^[25]	Sacked		21st
Brescia	Ivan Javorčić^[26]	End of caretaker spell		15th
	Salvatore Giunta^[27]	Sacked		17th
Modena	Walter Novellino^[28]	Mutual consent		18th	Mauro Melotti and Simone Pavan^[29]
Varese	Stefano Bettinelli^[30]	Sacked		21st	Davide Dionigi^[31]
Varese	Davide Dionigi^[32]			22nd
Trapani	Roberto Boscaglia^[33]			18th	Serse Cosmi^[34]
Livorno	Ezio Gelain^[35]			6th
Virtus Entella	Luca Prina^[36]			19th	Alfredo Aglietti^[37]
Bologna	Diego López^[38]			3rd
Pescara	Marco Baroni^[39]			9th

Ownership changes

Team	Previous owner	New owner	Date
Bologna	^[40] ^[41]
Brescia	Gino Corioni^[42]	Profida Italia

League table

Playoffs

Promotion play-offs

Six teams will play in the promotion playoffs. A preliminary one-legged round, played at the home venue of the higher placed team, involved the teams from 5th to 8th place. The two winning teams will then play against the 3rd and 4th-placed teams in two-legged semifinals. The higher placed team plays the second leg of the promotion playoff at home. If scores are tied after both games in the semifinals, the higher placed team progresses to the final. The same conditions apply to the final.

Relegation play-out

In case of an aggregate tie, the higher placed team wins.

The matches later became null and void following Catania’s disqualification.

Statistics

Top goalscorers

Updated including all games played up until May 22, 2015

Rank	Player	Club	Goals
1	Andrea Cocco	Vicenza	19
	Andrea Catellani	Spezia
	Pablo Granoche	Modena
4	Riccardo Maniero	Pescara / Catania	18
	Emanuele Calaiò	Catania
6	Ettore Marchi	Pro Vercelli	17
	Camillo Ciano	Crotone
8	Luigi Castaldo	Avellino	16
9	Jerry Mbakogu	Carpi	15
	Daniele Vantaggiato	Livorno

Source: Official Goalscorers' Standings

Notes and References

1. Web site: Web Server's Default Page.
2. Web site: Serie B, il Vicenza calcio ripescato. Fuori il Pisa: "Mancava un documento". 29 August 2014 . 30 August 2014. Il Fatto Quotidiano .
3. Web site: SERIE B 2014-15 Fixtures. 19 August 2014. Football Italia.
4. News: E' Diego Lopez il nuovo allenatore del Bologna . 26 July 2014 . https://archive.today/20140726180411/http://www.bolognafc.it/news.asp?id=7034%23.U8p-kPl_stc . dead. it . 19 July 2014 . Bologna FC 1909 . 1 July 2014 .
5. News: PANCHINA A CASTORI . it . 19 July 2014 . Carpi FC 1909 . 30 June 2014 . https://web.archive.org/web/20140716161958/http://www.carpifc1909.it/wp/?p=35046 . 16 July 2014 . dead . dmy-all .
6. News: Ufficiale: Roberto D'Aversa nuovo allenatore della Virtus Lanciano: La presentazione lunedì 21 Luglio, ore 10, presso la Sala Stampa del "Biondi". 20 July 2014. 23 July 2014. dead. https://archive.today/20140726180351/http://www.virtuslanciano.it/news/2447_ufficiale-roberto-d-aversa-nuovo-allenatore-della-virtus-lanciano.html. 26 July 2014. SS Virtus Lanciano. it.
7. News: Il Bari si affida a Mangia È l'allenatore per la serie A . it . 19 July 2014 . Corriere del Mezzogiorno . 8 July 2014 .
8. News: Marco Baroni è l'allenatore del Pescara . it . 19 July 2014 . Delfino Pescara 1936 . 28 June 2014 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20151118141838/http://www.pescaracalcio.com/stagione/archivio-news/7469-2014-06-28-09-45-23.html . 18 November 2015 .
9. News: Roberto Breda lascia il Latina . it . 19 July 2014 . US Latina Calcio . 22 June 2014 . https://archive.today/20140623200920/http://www.uslatinacalcio.it/notizie/1977/roberto-breda-lascia-il-latina . 23 June 2014 . dead . dmy-all .
10. News: Primo giorno in nerazzurro per Mario Beretta . it . 19 July 2014 . US Latina Calcio . 1 July 2014 . https://archive.today/20140726180355/http://www.uslatinacalcio.it/notizie/1980/primo-giorno-in-nerazzurro-per-mario-beretta . 26 July 2014 . dead . dmy-all .
11. News: Gautieri nuovo allenatore del Livorno . it . 19 July 2014 . AS Livorno Calcio . 4 July 2014 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20140714163234/http://www.livornocalcio.it/notizie/notizie.php?id=9731 . 14 July 2014 .
12. News: Mister Devis Mangia non proseguirà con le Aquile . it . 19 July 2014 . Spezia Calcio . 23 June 2014 .
13. News: Ufficiale: Nenad Bjelica è il nuovo allenatore dello Spezia . it . 19 July 2014 . Spezia Calcio . 23 June 2014 .
14. News: Maurizio Pellegrino sollevato dall'incarico, Giuseppe Sannino è il nuovo allenatore del Catania . it . 14 September 2014 . Calcio Catania . 14 September 2014 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20140919161447/http://www.ilcalciocatania.it/article.php?id=30910&l= . 19 September 2014 .
15. News: Beretta non è più l'allenatore del Latina . it . 14 October 2014 . US Latina Calcio . 6 October 2014 . https://web.archive.org/web/20141012224337/http://www.uslatinacalcio.it/beretta-non-e-piu-lallenatore-del-latina/ . 12 October 2014 . dead . dmy-all .
16. News: Breda è il nuovo tecnico: conferenza alle 12.30 . it . 14 October 2014 . US Latina Calcio . 6 October 2014 . https://web.archive.org/web/20141016211711/http://www.uslatinacalcio.it/breda-e-il-nuovo-tecnico-conferenza-alle-12-30/ . 16 October 2014 . dead . dmy-all .
17. News: DISPOSTO L'ESONERO DEL TECNICO GIOVANNI LOPEZ . it . 30 October 2014 . Vicenza Calcio . 29 October 2014 . https://web.archive.org/web/20150627055212/http://www.vicenzacalcio.com/disposto-lesonero-del-tecnico-giovanni-lopez/ . 27 June 2015 . dead . dmy-all .
18. News: PASQUALE MARINO È L'ALLENATORE DEL VICENZA . it . 30 October 2014 . Vicenza Calcio . 30 October 2014 . https://web.archive.org/web/20150626130406/http://www.vicenzacalcio.com/pasquale-marino-e-lallenatore-del-vicenza/ . 26 June 2015 . dead . dmy-all .
19. News: DEVIS MANGIA ESONERATO. 16 November 2014. 16 November 2014. dead. https://archive.today/20141116191118/http://www.fcbari1908.club/devis-mangia-esonerato/. 16 November 2014. FC Bari 1908. it.
20. News: NICOLA NUOVO TECNICO DELLA FC BARI 1908 . it . 17 November 2014 . FC Bari 1908 . 17 November 2014 . https://archive.today/20141117205157/http://www.fcbari1908.club/nicola-tecnico-fc-bari-1908/ . 17 November 2014 . dead . dmy-all .
21. News: Comunicato ufficiale Brescia Calcio . it . 15 December 2014 . Brescia Calcio . 15 December 2014 .
22. News: Giuseppe Sannino rassegna le dimissioni, Maurizio Pellegrino alla guida della prima squadra . it . 21 December 2014 . Calcio Catania . 19 December 2014 . 4 March 2016 . https://web.archive.org/web/20160304220803/http://www.calciocatania.it/article.php?id=31202 . dead .
23. News: Dario Marcolin alla guida del Catania, Maurizio Pellegrino torna a dirigere il Settore Giovanile . it . 3 January 2015 . Calcio Catania . 3 January 2015 . 4 March 2016 . https://web.archive.org/web/20160304083537/http://www.calciocatania.it/article.php?id=31225&l= . dead .
24. News: Ezio Gelain nuovo allenatore del Livorno Calcio . it . 4 January 2015 . AS Livorno Calcio . 4 January 2015 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20150104190418/http://www.livornocalcio.it/notizie/notizie.php?id=10258 . 4 January 2015 .
25. News: Breda sollevato dall'incarico, squadra affidata a Mark Iuliano . it . 5 January 2015 . US Latina Calcio . 5 January 2015 . https://web.archive.org/web/20150104171006/http://www.uslatinacalcio.it/breda-sollevato-dallincarico-squadra-affidata-a-mark-iuliano/ . 4 January 2015 . dead . dmy-all .
26. News: Salvatore Giunta nuovo allenatore del Brescia Calcio . it . 21 January 2015 . Brescia Calcio . 21 January 2015 .
27. News: Alessandro Calori nuovo allenatore del Brescia Calcio . it . 18 February 2015 . Brescia Calcio . 1 March 2015 .
28. News: COMUNICATO STAMPA DEL 28 FEBBRAIO 2015 . it . 28 February 2015 . Modena FC . 1 March 2015 . https://web.archive.org/web/20150402123548/http://www.modenafc.net/news/dalla-societo/item/2047-comunicato-stampa-del-28-febbraio-2015 . 2 April 2015 . dead .
29. News: COMUNICATO STAMPA DEL 1 MARZO 2015 . it . 1 March 2015 . Modena FC . 1 March 2015 . https://web.archive.org/web/20150402155531/http://www.modenafc.net/news/dalla-societo/item/2048-comunicato-stampa-del-1-marzo-2015 . 2 April 2015 . dead . dmy-all .
30. News: Bettinelli esonerato . it . 28 February 2015 . AS Varese 1910 . 1 March 2015 . https://web.archive.org/web/20150606101340/http://www.varese1910.it/it/news-173.html . 6 June 2015 . dead . dmy-all .
31. News: Davide Dionigi nuovo allenatore del Varese . it . 1 March 2015 . AS Varese 1910 . 1 March 2015 . https://web.archive.org/web/20150606040703/http://www.varese1910.it/it/news-174.html . 6 June 2015 . dead . dmy-all .
32. News: Serie B: il Varese richiama Bettinelli . it . 1 April 2015 . La Gazzetta dello Sport . 9 March 2015 .
33. News: Trapani: esonerato il tecnico Boscaglia . it . 1 April 2015 . La Gazzetta dello Sport . 10 March 2015 .
34. News: Trapani, Cosmi nuovo allenatore . it . 1 April 2015 . La Gazzetta dello Sport . 11 March 2015 . 13 November 2016 . https://web.archive.org/web/20161113202935/http://www.gazzetta.it/notizie-ultima-ora/Calcio/Trapani-Cosmi-nuovo-allenatore/11-03-2015/2-A_016140839.shtml . dead .
35. News: Livorno, ufficiale l'arrivo di Panucci . it . 1 April 2015 . La Gazzetta dello Sport . 18 March 2015 . 24 September 2015 . https://web.archive.org/web/20150924165106/http://www.gazzetta.it/notizie-ultima-ora/Calcio/Livorno-ufficiale-arrivo-Panucci/18-03-2015/2-A_016229957.shtml . dead .
36. News: Entella:esonerato Prina dopo ko a Modena . it . 14 May 2015 . La Gazzetta dello Sport . 12 April 2015 .
37. News: Entella: Aglietti al posto di Prina . it . 14 May 2015 . La Gazzetta dello Sport . 12 April 2015 .
38. News: Bologna, esonerato Diego Lopez: arriva Delio Rossi . it . 14 May 2015 . La Gazzetta dello Sport . 4 May 2015 .
39. News: Comunicato Stampa: Baroni sollevato dall'incarico . it . 23 May 2015 . Pescara Calcio . 16 May 2015 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20150518094632/http://www.pescaracalcio.com/stagione/archivio-news/8330-comunicato-stampa-baroni-sollevato-dallincarico.html . 18 May 2015 .
40. News: Joe Tacopina è il Presidente del Bologna . https://archive.today/20141015160734/http://www.bolognafc.it/news.asp?id=7596 . dead . 15 October 2014 . it . 15 October 2014 . Bologna FC 1909 . 15 October 2014 .
41. News: Il Bologna è di Tacopina e Saputo Dopo mezzanotte le firme (a distanza) . it . 14 October 2014 . Corriere di Bologna . 14 October 2014 .
42. News: Brescia calcio: nuova proprietà, a Corioni restano briciole . it . 1 March 2015 . BSnews.it . 26 February 2015 . https://archive.today/20150301193642/http://www.bsnews.it/notizia/39002/26_02_2015_Il_Brescia_Calcio_a_Profida_Italia_solo_il_2_alla_famiglia_Corioni_ancora_per_poco_ . 1 March 2015 . dead . dmy-all .