2016–17 Serie B

The 2016–17 Serie B (known as the Serie B ConTe.it for sponsorship reasons) was the 85th season since its establishment in 1929. A total of 22 teams were contesting the league: 15 returning from the 2015–16 season, 4 promoted from Lega Pro, and 3 relegated from Serie A.

Serie B

Season	2016–17
Champions	SPAL (2nd title)
Promoted	SPAL Hellas Verona Benevento (by play-off)
Relegated	Trapani Vicenza Pisa Latina (bankruptcy)
Matches played	462
Goals scored	1,021 (2.21 per match)
Top goalscorer	Giampaolo Pazzini (23 goals)
Biggest home win	Virtus Entella 4–0 Brescia (29 October 2016) Cittadella 5–1 Hellas Verona (18 November 2016) Benevento 4–0 Brescia (19 November 2016) SPAL 4–0 Ternana (24 December 2016) Trapani 4–0 Bari (18 March 2017)
Biggest away win	Avellino 0–5 Perugia (4 March 2017)
Highest scoring	Ternana 4–3 Novara (29 October 2016) Benevento 3–4 Bari (24 February 2017)
Longest winning run	5 games Cittadella SPAL
Longest unbeaten run	12 games Pro Vercelli SPAL
Longest winless run	15 games Pisa
Longest losing run	6 games Ternana
Highest attendance	22,671 Bari 2–0 Brescia (27 February 2017)
Lowest attendance	1,566 Virtus Entella 4–1 Cittadella (18 May 2017)
Total attendance	3,192,945
Average attendance	6,911
← 2015–16 2017–18 →

Teams

Stadia and locations

Ascoli

Avellino

Bari

Benevento

Brescia

Carpi

Cesena

Cittadella

Frosinone

Verona

Latina

Novara

Perugia

Pisa

Pro Vercelli

Salernitana

SPAL

Spezia

Ternana

Trapani

Vicenza

Virtus Entella

Location of teams in 2016–17 Serie B

Team	Home city	Stadium	Capacity	2015–16 season
Ascoli	Ascoli Piceno	Del Duca	20,550	15th in Serie B
Avellino	Avellino	Partenio	26,000	14th in Serie B
Bari	Bari	San Nicola	58,270	5th in Serie B
Benevento	Benevento	Ciro Vigorito	12,847	Lega Pro/C Champions
Brescia	Brescia	Mario Rigamonti	16,308	11th in Serie B
Carpi	Carpi	Stadio Sandro Cabassi	4,144	18th in Serie A
Cesena	Cesena	Dino Manuzzi	23,900	6th in Serie B
Cittadella	Cittadella	Pier Cesare Tombolato	7,623	Lega Pro/A Champions
Frosinone	Frosinone	Stadio Matusa	10,000	19th in Serie A
Hellas Verona	Verona	Stadio Marc'Antonio Bentegodi	38,402	20th in Serie A
Latina	Latina	Domenico Francioni	6,850	16th in Serie B
Novara	Novara	Silvio Piola	17,875	8th in Serie B
Perugia	Perugia	Renato Curi	28,000	10th in Serie B
Pisa	Pisa	Arena Garibaldi	14,869	Lega Pro Play-off Winners
Pro Vercelli	Vercelli	Silvio Piola	5,500	17th in Serie B
Salernitana	Salerno	Arechi	37,245	18th in Serie B
SPAL	Ferrara	Paolo Mazza	17,955	Lega Pro/B Champions
Spezia	La Spezia	Alberto Picco	10,000	7th in Serie B
Ternana	Terni	Libero Liberati	17,500	12th in Serie B
Trapani	Trapani	Provinciale (Erice)	7,000	3rd in Serie B
Vicenza	Vicenza	Romeo Menti	17,163	13th in Serie B
Virtus Entella	Chiavari	Comunale	5,535	9th in Serie B

Personnel and kits

Team	President	Manager	Kit manufacturer	Shirt sponsor (front)	Shirt sponsor (back)	Shorts sponsor
Ascoli	Francesco Bellini	Alfredo Aglietti	Nike	Fainplast/CIAM, AMIK	Brosway	Conad
Avellino	Walter Taccone	Walter Novellino	Givova	Sienergia	Gruppo Taccone	Soft Technology
Bari	Gianluca Paparesta	Stefano Colantuono	Umbro	Betaland/Betpoint, Balkan Express/Sly Service Security	None	None
Benevento	Oreste Vigorito	Marco Baroni	Frankie Garage	IVPC, Liquore Strega	Rillo Costruzioni	None
Brescia	Alessandro Triboldi	Luigi Cagni	Acerbis	UBI Banco di Brescia	None	None
Carpi	Claudio Caliumi	Fabrizio Castori	Givova	Gaudì Jeans	None	None
Cesena	Giorgio Lugaresi	Andrea Camplone	Lotto	PLT Puregreen	None	None
Cittadella	Andrea Gabrielli	Roberto Venturato	Garman	OCSA/Gavinox, Gruppo Gabrielli	Metalservice	Veneta Nastri
Frosinone	Maurizio Stirpe	Pasquale Marino	Legea	Banca Popolare del Frusinate, Gala	7Sette	None
Hellas Verona	Maurizio Setti	Fabio Pecchia	Nike	Metano Nord, Extreme Printing/SEC	Chancebet.it	Consorzio San Zeno
Latina	Pasquale Maietta	Vincenzo Vivarini	Givova	Loggia, Innova	Villa Meravigliosa Ricevimenti	None
Novara	Massimo De Salvo	Roberto Boscaglia	Joma	Banca Popolare di Novara, Comoli Ferrari	Cristina Rubinetterie	None
Perugia	Massimiliano Santopadre	Cristian Bucchi	Frankie Garage	Officine Piccini, Fortinfissi	Tedesco Group	None
Pisa	Giuseppe Corrado	Gennaro Gattuso	Kappa	Toscana Aeroporti	Casa di Cura Privata San Rossore	None
Pro Vercelli	Massimo Secondo	Moreno Longo	Erreà	Meeting Art	None	None
Salernitana	Marco Mezzaroma	Alberto Bollini	Givova	Caffè Motta, eté Supermercati	SunTrades	IASA
SPAL	Walter Mattioli	Leonardo Semplici	HS Football	Vetroresina/958 Santero, Magnadyne	ErreEffe Group	Ceramica Sant'Agostino
Spezia	Matteo Volpi	Domenico Di Carlo	Acerbis	Arquati, Carispezia	958 Santero	None
Ternana	Simone Longarini	Fabio Liverani	Macron	None	None	None
Trapani	Vittorio Morace	Alessandro Calori	Joma	Ustica Lines/Liberty Lines	None	None
Vicenza	Alfredo Pastorelli	Vincenzo Torrente	Macron	Banca Popolare di Vicenza, Nordor Batterie	Faizane	GSC Group
Virtus Entella	Antonio Gozzi	Gianpaolo Castorina	Acerbis	Creditis, Arinox	Due Energie	None

Managerial changes

Team	Outgoing manager	Manner of departure	Date of vacancy	Position in table	Replaced by	Date of appointment
Ascoli	Devis Mangia	Sacked	10 May 2016	Pre-season	Alfredo Aglietti	16 June 2016
Frosinone	Roberto Stellone		15 May 2016[1]		Pasquale Marino	6 June 2016[2]
Hellas Verona	Luigi Delneri		23 May 2016[3]		Fabio Pecchia	1 June 2016
Perugia	Pierpaolo Bisoli		24 May 2016		Cristian Bucchi	15 June 2016
Virtus Entella	Alfredo Aglietti	Resigned	26 May 2016		Roberto Breda	1 July 2016
Avellino	Attilio Tesser	Signed by Cremonese	31 May 2016		Domenico Toscano	4 June 2016
Latina	Carmine Gautieri	Sacked	12 June 2016		Vincenzo Vivarini	13 June 2016
Benevento	Gaetano Auteri		14 June 2016		Marco Baroni	1 July 2016
Novara	Marco Baroni	Signed by Benevento	30 June 2016		Roberto Boscaglia	1 July 2016
Pro Vercelli	Claudio Foscarini	Signed by Livorno	30 June 2016		Moreno Longo	1 July 2016
Ternana	Roberto Breda	Signed by Virtus Entella	30 June 2016		Christian Panucci	1 July 2016
Bari	Andrea Camplone	Contract expired	30 June 2016		Roberto Stellone	4 July 2016
Brescia	Roberto Boscaglia	Signed by Novara	30 June 2016		Cristian Brocchi	11 July 2016
Ternana	Christian Panucci	Sacked	14 August 2016[4]		Benito Carbone	14 August 2016
Vicenza	Franco Lerda		2 October 2016	21st	Pierpaolo Bisoli	3 October 2016[5]
Cesena	Massimo Drago		30 October 2016	19th	Andrea Camplone	31 October 2016[6]
Bari	Roberto Stellone		7 November 2016	16th	Stefano Colantuono	7 November 2016
Avellino	Domenico Toscano		29 November 2016	19th	Walter Novellino	29 November 2016
Salernitana	Giuseppe Sannino	Resigned	29 November 2016	14th	Alberto Bollini	30 November 2016
Trapani	Serse Cosmi	Sacked	30 November 2016	22nd	Alessandro Calori	4 December 2016
Ternana	Benito Carbone	Resigned	21 January 2017[7]	21st	Carmine Gautieri	22 January 2017[8]
	Carmine Gautieri		5 March 2017	22nd	Fabio Liverani	6 March 2017[9]
Brescia	Cristian Brocchi	Sacked	12 March 2017	19th	Luigi Cagni	12 March 2017[10]
Vicenza	Pierpaolo Bisoli		18 April 2017[11]	19th	Vincenzo Torrente	19 April 2017[12]
Virtus Entella	Roberto Breda		30 April 2017	10th	Gianpaolo Castorina	30 April 2017[13]

League table

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Promotion, qualification or relegation
1	SPAL (C, P)	42	22	12	8	66	39	+27	78	Promotion to Serie A
2	Hellas Verona (P)	42	20	14	8	64	40	+24	74[a]
3	Frosinone	42	21	11	10	57	42	+15	74[a]	Qualification to promotion play-offs semi-finals
4	Perugia	42	15	20	7	54	40	+14	65[b]
5	Benevento[c] (O, P)	42	18	12	12	56	42	+14	65[b]	Qualification to promotion play-offs preliminary round
6	Cittadella	42	19	6	17	60	54	+6	63
7	Carpi	42	16	14	12	41	40	+1	62
8	Spezia	42	15	15	12	38	34	+4	60
9	Novara	42	15	11	16	48	50	−2	56
10	Salernitana	42	13	15	14	44	44	0	54[d]
11	Virtus Entella	42	13	15	14	54	51	+3	54[d]
12	Bari	42	13	14	15	39	44	−5	53[e]
13	Cesena	42	12	17	13	51	48	+3	53[e]
14	Avellino[f]	42	13	13	16	40	55	−15	50[g]
15	Brescia	42	11	17	14	49	58	−9	50[g]
16	Ascoli	42	10	19	13	44	49	−5	49[h]
17	Pro Vercelli	42	10	19	13	35	45	−10	49[h]
18	Ternana[i]	42	13	10	19	42	53	−11	49[h]
19	Trapani[i] (R)	42	10	14	18	45	55	−10	44	Relegation to Serie C
20	Vicenza (R)	42	9	14	19	33	52	−19	41
21	Latina[j] (R, E, R)	42	6	21	15	38	50	−12	35[k]	Relegation to Serie D[l]
22	Pisa[m] (R)	42	6	21	15	23	36	−13	35[k]	Relegation to Serie C

Source: Lega Serie B
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Head-to-head points; 3) Head-to-head goal difference; 4) Goal difference; 5) Goals scored; 6) Draw.^[16]
(C) Champions; (E) Eliminated; (O) Play-off winners; (P) Promoted; (R) Relegated
Notes:

1. Hellas Verona is ahead of Frosinone on head-to-head goal difference: Hellas Verona 2–0 Frosinone, Frosinone 1–0 Hellas Verona.
2. Perugia is ahead of Benevento on head-to-head points: Perugia 3–1 Benevento, Benevento 0–0 Perugia.
3. Benevento was deducted one point.
4. Salernitana is ahead of Virtus Entella on head-to-head points: Salernitana 1–1 Virtus Entella, Virtus Entella 0–1 Salernitana.
5. Bari is ahead of Cesena on head-to-head points: Bari 2–1 Cesena, Cesena 1–1 Bari.
6. Avellino was initially deducted three points due to match fixing. The deduction was later changed to two points.^[14]
7. Avellino is ahead of Brescia on head-to-head points: Avellino 1–1 Brescia, Brescia 0–2 Avellino.
8. Head-to-head points: Ascoli 7 pts, Pro Vercelli 7 pts, Ternana 3 pts. Ascoli is ahead of Pro Vercelli on head-to-head record: Ascoli 3–1 Pro Vercelli, Pro Vercelli 1–1 Ascoli.
9. Since the difference between the 18th-placed team and the 19th-placed team was five points, there was no play-out and the 19th-placed team was relegated directly.
10. Latina was initially deducted seven points. The deduction was later changed to four points.
11. Latina is ahead of Pisa on overall goal difference.
12. Latina was declared insolvent and excluded from the Italian football league system.^[15] The team was later refound in Serie D.
13. Pisa was deducted four points.

Promotion play-offs

According to the regulations, third-placed Frosinone would have avoided the play-offs if they had ended the regular season 10 points clear of fourth place. However, in the last round, Perugia and Benevento won their matches to leave the gap at nine points.^[17]

Six teams contested 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 played against the 3rd and 4th-placed teams in two-legged semi-finals. The higher placed team played the second leg of the promotion playoff at home.

	Preliminary round					Semi-finals							Final
						7	Carpi	0	1	1
	6	Cittadella	1			3	Frosinone	0	0	0
	7	Carpi	2										7	Carpi	0	0	0
													5	Benevento	0	1	1
						5	Benevento	1	1	2
	5	Benevento	2			4	Perugia	0	1	1
	8	Spezia	1

Top goalscorers

Rank	Player	Club	Goals
1	Giampaolo Pazzini	Hellas Verona	23
2	Fabio Ceravolo	Benevento	20
3	Francesco Caputo	Virtus Entella	18
	Mirco Antenucci	SPAL
5	Federico Dionisi	Frosinone	17
6	Daniel Ciofani	Frosinone	16
	Massimo Coda	Salernitana
8	Kevin Lasagna	Carpi	14
	Andrea Caracciolo	Brescia
	Camillo Ciano	Cesena
11	Gianluca Litteri	Cittadella	13
	Matteo Ardemagni	Avellino
	Samuel Di Carmine	Perugia
14	Pablo Granoche	Spezia	12
	Daniele Cacia	Ascoli
	Andrey Galabinov	Novara
	Felipe Avenatti	Ternana

Source:^[18]

Results

Home \ Away	ASC	AVE	BAR	BEN	BRE	CRP	CES	CIT	FRO	HEL	LAT	NOV	PER	PIS	PVE	SAL	SPA	SPE	TER	TRA	VIC	VET
Ascoli		2–0	1–1	1–1	0–0	1–2	0–0	2–1	1–1	1–4	2–2	1–2	2–2	2–4	3–1	0–0	1–1	0–2	1–2	2–2	2–0	2–1
Avellino	1–2		1–1	1–1	1–1	1–0	1–1	0–1	0–1	2–0	2–1	1–1	0–5	1–0	3–2	3–2	1–0	1–0	1–0	0–0	3–1	2–2
Bari	0–1	2–1		0–4	2–0	2–0	2–1	1–2	1–0	0–2	2–0	0–0	0–0	0–0	2–0	2–0	1–1	1–1	3–1	3–0	2–1	1–1
Benevento	0–0	2–1	3–4		1–0	3–0	2–1	1–0	2–1	2–0	2–1	1–0	0–0	1–0	1–1	1–1	2–0	1–0	2–1	1–3	0–0	0–0
Brescia	1–0	0–2	1–1	1–0		2–2	3–2	4–1	2–0	0–1	1–1	0–0	1–1	1–1	2–1	1–1	1–3	1–1	2–1	2–1	2–1	2–2
Carpi	0–2	1–1	2–0	1–1	2–1		1–2	2–0	0–0	1–1	2–0	2–0	0–0	1–1	0–0	2–0	1–4	1–0	1–1	2–1	0–0	2–1
Cesena	2–2	3–0	1–1	4–1	1–1	1–0		3–0	1–1	0–0	2–2	0–1	1–1	2–0	1–2	0–0	1–1	1–0	1–0	3–1	1–1	0–1
Cittadella	0–1	1–3	2–0	1–0	0–3	4–1	2–3		2–3	5–1	2–1	3–1	1–1	1–0	0–0	2–0	1–2	1–0	2–0	3–2	2–0	2–1
Frosinone	3–1	1–1	3–1	3–2	1–0	1–0	2–1	1–1		1–0	2–1	2–3	1–2	0–0	2–1	1–3	2–1	2–0	1–1	1–0	3–1	2–0
Hellas Verona	0–0	3–1	1–0	2–2	2–2	1–1	3–0	2–0	2–0		4–1	0–4	2–2	1–1	3–0	2–0	0–0	0–1	2–0	2–0	3–2	1–0
Latina	0–0	0–0	2–1	1–1	1–1	0–1	1–1	0–2	0–1	2–0		0–1	2–2	1–1	0–0	1–1	1–2	0–0	1–1	2–0	0–1	1–1
Novara	1–0	1–0	1–0	1–0	2–3	2–1	3–1	1–1	1–2	2–2	2–2		0–1	1–1	0–0	1–0	0–1	2–1	2–2	2–2	2–1	2–0
Perugia	0–0	3–0	0–1	3–1	3–2	0–2	3–3	2–0	1–1	1–1	1–1	0–0		2–2	1–0	3–2	1–0	0–0	1–1	1–1	1–0	0–0
Pisa	2–1	0–1	0–0	0–3	1–0	0–0	0–1	1–4	0–0	0–0	1–1	1–0	0–1		1–1	0–1	0–1	0–0	1–0	1–0	0–1	1–1
Pro Vercelli	1–1	1–1	1–0	0–1	2–2	0–0	1–0	1–5	2–0	1–1	1–1	2–1	0–1	0–0		0–0	3–1	0–2	1–0	1–3	1–1	1–0
Salernitana	2–0	2–0	0–0	2–1	2–0	1–2	1–1	0–0	1–3	1–1	0–2	0–0	2–1	0–0	1–1		1–2	1–0	4–2	2–0	2–3	1–1
SPAL	1–1	3–0	2–1	2–0	3–2	3–1	2–0	2–1	0–2	1–3	0–0	2–0	2–0	1–1	0–0	3–2		2–1	4–0	2–1	3–0	2–2
Spezia	2–1	2–1	1–0	1–3	2–0	0–1	1–0	1–1	0–0	1–4	3–2	1–0	2–1	0–0	2–1	1–1	0–0		2–0	2–2	0–0	2–0
Ternana	0–1	4–1	0–0	0–1	1–0	0–0	1–1	1–0	2–0	0–3	0–1	4–3	0–1	1–0	1–2	1–0	2–1	1–1		2–1	1–2	3–0
Trapani	1–1	0–0	4–0	1–0	0–0	0–1	1–2	0–2	1–4	0–2	1–1	2–1	3–0	1–0	1–1	1–0	1–1	0–0	2–2		0–1	2–0
Vicenza	1–1	0–0	0–0	0–0	1–1	0–2	0–0	2–0	1–1	1–0	0–1	3–1	1–4	2–1	0–1	0–1	1–1	0–1	0–1	0–1		2–2
Virtus Entella	2–1	2–0	2–0	3–2	4–0	2–0	2–1	4–1	2–1	1–2	0–1	4–1	2–1	0–0	0–0	0–1	0–3	1–1	1–1	2–2	4–1

Source: Eurosport
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

Attendance data

Pos	Team	Total	High	Low	Average	Change
1	Bari	342,944	22,671	13,519	16,331	−23.7%†
2	Hellas Verona	310,246	20,848	12,342	14,774	−18.8%1
3	Cesena	259,125	17,048	11,177	12,339	+1.1%†
4	Salernitana	229,398	19,709	8,120	10,924	−10.1%†
5	Perugia	196,959	12,811	7,641	9,379	+1.5%†
6	Benevento	170,722	11,521	6,807	8,130	+94.1%2
7	SPAL	165,302	9,238	6,411	7,872	+53.4%2
8	Vicenza	163,626	10,697	6,249	7,792	+1.5%†
9	Brescia	161,791	14,358	6,441	7,704	+0.5%†
10	Spezia	149,151	8,690	6,335	7,102	−2.2%†
11	Pisa	143,326	8,645	2,722	6,825	+8.5%2
12	Frosinone	124,378	7,229	5,340	5,923	−18.7%1
13	Ascoli	115,848	7,128	4,784	5,517	−16.1%†
14	Avellino	107,462	9,500	3,500	5,117	−19.0%†
15	Trapani	106,215	6,345	4,322	5,058	−0.6%†
16	Novara	88,259	7,402	3,644	4,203	−14.0%†
17	Ternana	84,216	9,939	2,166	4,010	+16.9%†
18	Cittadella	63,981	5,967	2,120	3,047	+55.6%2
19	Pro Vercelli	60,147	4,582	2,218	2,864	−6.0%†
20	Latina	51,467	4,485	1,867	2,451	−21.4%†
21	Carpi	51,089	3,683	1,643	2,433	−72.9%1
22	Virtus Entella	47,293	4,505	1,566	2,252	+3.7%†
	League total	3,192,945	22,671	1,566	6,911	−3.5%†

Source: ^[19]
Notes:
1: Team played last season in Serie A.
2: Team played last season in Lega Pro.