2018–19 Serie C

The 2018–19 Serie C was the 60th season of the Serie C, the third tier of the Italian football league system, organized by the Lega Pro.

Serie C

Season	2018–19
Dates	16 September 2018 – 15 June 2019
Champions	Virtus Entella Pordenone Juve Stabia
Promoted	Virtus Entella Pisa Pordenone Juve Stabia Trapani
Relegated	Arzachena (bankruptcy) Albissola (bankruptcy) Cuneo (bankruptcy) Lucchese (bankruptcy) Pro Piacenza (bankruptcy) Siracusa (bankruptcy) Matera (bankruptcy)
Matches played	1,128
Goals scored	2,477 (2.2 per match)
Top goalscorer	Pablo Granoche (20 goals)[1][2][3]
Biggest home win	Vibonese 5–0 Virtus Francavilla (3 November 2018) Catania 5–0 Cavese (23 December 2018) Imolese 5–0 Giana Erminio (19 January 2019)
Biggest away win	Matera 0–6 Reggina (26 December 2018)
Highest scoring	Catanzaro 6–3 Trapani (5 May 2019)
Longest winning run	7 games FeralpiSalò[4]
Longest unbeaten run	28 games Juve Stabia[5]
Longest winless run	18 games Paganese[6] Ternana[7]
Longest losing run	8 games Arzachena[8]
Highest attendance	19,446 Triestina 1–3 Pisa (9 June 2019, Play-off final)[9]
Lowest attendance	23 Rende 0–1 Trapani (20 April 2019)[10]
Total attendance	2,065,818[9][11][10][12]
Average attendance	1,979[9][11][10][12]
← 2017–18 2019–20 →

Teams

The league originally featured 60 teams. However, it saw the bankruptcy and subsequent withdrawal of Andria, Mestre, Reggiana^[13] and Vicenza.

To fill the vacancies in Serie B, Novara, Catania and Siena became the repechage candidates from Serie C, to the objection of Pro Vercelli and Ternana.^[14] However, on 10 August Lega B announced that a 19-team calendar would be commissioned for the 2018–19 and no repechage would take place.^[15]

The first team of Bassano Virtus was relocated to Vicenza as L.R. Vicenza Virtus. While its owner, had also acquired some assets from the liquidators of Vicenza.^[16]

On 3 August 2018, it was officially announced by the Italian Football Federation (FIGC) that Juventus Under 23 would take part in Serie C, making it the first "B Team" in Italy to do so since 1934. Also, Cavese and Imolese were admitted from Serie D to fill the vacancies created.^[17][18]

Due to several issues regarding vacancies and trials at both Serie B and Serie C level, the Serie C league committee delayed the season kickoff day to September, also hinting at the possibility of an indefinite delay because of the unclear situation.^[19] The season eventually kicked off on Saturday 15 September, but saw all games of Novara, Pro Vercelli, Ternana, Siena and Catania delayed indefinitely due to their judicial requests to be admitted to Serie B, as well as Viterbese, after the club threatened not to participate in Serie C due to their opposition to being admitted to the Southern group. Virtus Entella's second game was also delayed after the club was accepted on appeal for being readmitted to Serie B by the Regional Administrative Court of Lazio (Italian: Tribunale Amministrativo Regionale del Lazio, TAR Lazio).^[20]

On 14 February 2019, Matera were excluded from Serie C for missing four consecutive matches^[21] which was followed by the exclusion of Pro Piacenza on 18 February 2019 after missing several games and presenting a makeshift team composed of teenagers and a physiotherapist in their final game, where they were beaten 20-0 by Cuneo.^[22]

Promotion and relegation rule changes

On 30 January 2019, it was announced that five teams rather than the usual four would be promoted to Serie B for the 2019-20 season, after FIGC decided to incorporate an extra club in Serie B to bring the league up to 20 teams.^[23] The decision also meant that only seven clubs would be relegated to Serie D rather than the original eight.^[23]

Due to the exclusions of Pro Piacenza and Matera from the league, the football league committee, in accordance with the Italian Football Federation, agreed on 2 April 2019 to a change in the relegation rules, by decreasing the number of relegations to five as follows:^[24]

• Group A, which originally featured 20 teams, later reduced to 19 following the exclusion of Pro Piacenza, will have no direct relegation unless there are eight or more points between the last and second-last placed team at the conclusion of the regular season. In the case of less than eight points between the two bottom teams, a two-legged relegation playoff will be played.
• Group B (20 teams), as the only one that was not affected by league exclusion, will have a direct relegation for the bottom placed team in the regular season, plus a two-legged relegation playoff between the 18th and 19th placed team.
• Group C (19 teams, later reduced to 18 teams due to Matera's exclusion) will feature the same relegation system as in Group A.
• The two relegation playoff winners from Group A and Group C (or the respective second-last placed teams in the regular season, in case of no relegation playoff being held) will subsequently take part in another relegation playoff to determine the fifth team relegated to Serie D in 2019–20.

Relegated from Serie B

• Novara
• Pro Vercelli
• Ternana
• Virtus Entella

Promoted from Serie D

• Gozzano (Girone A winners)
• Pro Patria (Girone B winners and 2017–18 Serie D title holders)
• Virtus Verona (Girone C winners)
• Rimini (Girone D winners)
• Albissola (Girone E winners)
• Vis Pesaro (Girone F winners)
• Rieti (Girone G winners)
• Potenza (Girone H winners)
• Vibonese (Girone I winners)
• Imolese (Girone D runner-up and playoff winner)
• Cavese (Girone H runner-up and playoff winner)

Repechage

• Juventus U23 (newly founded B team)

Stadia and locations

Group A (North & Central West)

7 teams from Tuscany, 6 teams from Piedmont, 2 teams from Emilia-Romagna, 2 teams from Sardinia, 2 teams from Liguria and 1 team from Lombardy.

Albissola

Alessandria &
Juventus U23

Arezzo

Arzachena

Carrarese

Cuneo

Gozzano

Lucchese

Novara

Olbia

Piacenza&
Pro Piacenza

Pisa

Pistoiese

Pontedera

Pro Patria

Pro Vercelli

Siena

Virtus Entella

Location of teams in Serie C (Group A) 2018–19

Arezzo

Carrarese

Lucchese

Pisa

Pistoiese

Pontedera

Siena

Location of teams in 2018–19 Serie C (Group A) (Tuscany)

Club	City	Stadium	Capacity
Albissola	Albissola Marina Albisola Superiore	Comunale (Chiavari)	5,535
Alessandria	Alessandria	Giuseppe Moccagatta	5,827
Arezzo	Arezzo	Città di Arezzo	13,128
Arzachena	Arzachena	Biagio Pirina	3,100
Carrarese	Carrara	Dei Marmi	9,500
Cuneo	Cuneo	Fratelli Paschiero	4,000
Gozzano	Gozzano	Alfredo d'Albertas / Silvio Piola (Vercelli)	400 / 5,500
Juventus U23	Torino	Giuseppe Moccagatta (Alessandria)	5,827
Lucchese	Lucca	Porta Elisa	7,386
Novara	Novara	Silvio Piola (Novara)	17,875
Olbia	Olbia	Bruno Nespoli	3,200
Piacenza	Piacenza	Leonardo Garilli	21,668
Pisa	Pisa	Arena Garibaldi – Romeo Anconetani	25,000
Pistoiese	Pistoia	Marcello Melani	13,195
Pontedera	Pontedera	Ettore Mannucci	5,000
Pro Patria	Busto Arsizio	Carlo Speroni	4,627
Pro Piacenza	Piacenza	Leonardo Garilli	21,668
Pro Vercelli	Vercelli	Silvio Piola (Vercelli)	5,500
Siena	Siena	Montepaschi Arena	15,373
Virtus Entella	Chiavari	Comunale	5,535

Group B (North & Central East)

5 teams from Lombardy, 4 teams from Marche, 3 teams from Emilia-Romagna, 2 teams from Friuli-Venezia Giulia, 2 teams from Umbria, 2 teams from Veneto, 1 team from Abruzzo and 1 team from Trentino-Alto Adige.

AlbinoLeffe

Fano

FeralpiSalò

Fermana

Giana

Gubbio

Imolese

Vicenza

Monza

Pordenone

Ravenna

Renate

Rimini

Sambenedettese

Südtirol

Teramo

Ternana

Triestina

Virtus

Vis Pesaro

Location of teams in Serie C (Group B) 2018–19

AlbinoLeffe

Feralpisalò

Giana Erminio

Monza

Renate

Location of teams in 2018–19 Serie C (Group B) (Lombardy)

Fano

Fermana

Sambenedettese

Vis Pesaro

Location of teams in 2018–19 Serie C (Group B) (Marche)

Club	City	Stadium	Capacity
AlbinoLeffe	Albino and Leffe	Atleti Azzurri d'Italia (Bergamo)	21,300
Fano	Fano	Raffaele Mancini	8,800
FeralpiSalò	Salò	Lino Turina	2,500
Fermana	Fermo	Bruno Recchioni	9,500
Giana Erminio	Gorgonzola	Città di Gorgonzola	3,766
Gubbio	Gubbio	Pietro Barbetti	5,300
Imolese	Imola	Romeo Galli	4,000
L.R. Vicenza	Vicenza	Romeo Menti	12,000
Monza	Monza	Brianteo	18,568
Pordenone	Pordenone	Ottavio Bottecchia	3,000
Ravenna	Ravenna	Bruno Benelli	12,020
Renate	Renate	Città di Meda (Meda)	3,000
Rimini	Rimini	Romeo Neri	7,442
Sambenedettese	San Benedetto del Tronto	Riviera delle Palme	14,995
Südtirol	Bolzano/Bozen	Druso	3,500
Teramo	Teramo	Gaetano Bonolis	7,498
Ternana	Terni	Libero Liberati	17,460
Triestina	Trieste	Nereo Rocco	32,454
Virtus Verona	Verona	Gavagnin Nocini	1,200
Vis Pesaro	Pesaro	Tonino Benelli	4,898

Group C (South)

4 teams from Calabria, 4 teams from Campania, 4 teams from Sicily, 3 teams from Apulia, 2 teams from Basilicata, 2 teams from Lazio.

Bisceglie

Casertana

Catania

Catanzaro

Cavese

Juve Stabia

Matera

Monopoli

Paganese

Potenza

Reggina

Rende

Rieti

Sicula Leonzio

Siracusa

Trapani

Vibonese

Virtus Francavilla

Viterbese Castrense

Location of teams in Serie C (Group C) 2018–19

Casertana

Cavese

Juve Stabia

Paganese

Location of teams in 2018–19 Serie C (Group C) (Campania)

Club	City	Stadium	Capacity
Bisceglie	Bisceglie	Gustavo Ventura	5,000
Casertana	Caserta	Alberto Pinto	12,000
Catania	Catania	Angelo Massimino	20,266
Catanzaro	Catanzaro	Nicola Ceravolo	14,650
Cavese	Cava de' Tirreni	Simonetta Lamberti	5,200
Juve Stabia	Castellammare di Stabia	Romeo Menti	7,642
Matera	Matera	Stadio XXI Settembre-Franco Salerno	8,500
Monopoli	Monopoli	Vito Simone Veneziani	6,880
Paganese	Pagani	Marcello Torre	5,900
Potenza	Potenza	Alfredo Viviani	6,000
Reggina	Reggio Calabria	Oreste Granillo	27,454
Rende	Rende	Marco Lorenzon	5,000
Rieti	Rieti	Manlio Scopigno	10,163
Sicula Leonzio	Lentini	Angelino Nobile	2,500
Siracusa	Siracusa	Nicola De Simone	6,870
Trapani	Trapani	Polisportivo Provinciale (Erice)	7,000
Vibonese	Vibo Valentia	Luigi Razza	6,500
Virtus Francavilla	Francavilla Fontana	Giovanni Paolo II	5,000
Viterbese Castrense	Viterbo	Enrico Rocchi	5,460

League tables

Group A (North & Central West)

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Virtus Entella (P)	37	22	9	6	58	26	+32	75	Promotion to Serie B
2	Piacenza	37	22	8	7	56	33	+23	74	Qualification to the promotion play-offs
3	Pisa (O, P)	37	19	12	6	47	28	+19	69
4	Arezzo	37	16	16	5	49	32	+17	64[a]
5	Pro Vercelli	37	18	10	9	45	29	+16	64[a]
6	Robur Siena	37	16	15	6	57	40	+17	63
7	Carrarese	37	19	5	13	65	46	+19	62
8	Pro Patria	37	16	9	12	43	36	+7	57
9	Novara	37	11	17	9	44	36	+8	50
10	Alessandria	37	9	18	10	35	40	−5	45[b]
11	Pontedera	37	10	15	12	33	39	−6	45[b]
12	Juventus U23	37	12	6	19	41	48	−7	42
13	Olbia	37	9	11	17	40	49	−9	38
14	Arzachena[c] (D, R)	37	12	2	23	28	54	−26	37	Club dissolved
15	Pistoiese	37	9	8	20	36	47	−11	35
16	Gozzano	37	6	15	16	35	44	−9	33
17	Albissola (D, R)	37	6	10	21	33	59	−26	28	Club dissolved
18	Cuneo[d] (D, R)	37	11	14	12	29	36	−7	24
19	Lucchese[e] (O, D, R)	37	9	18	10	45	40	+5	20
20	Pro Piacenza[f] (D, R)	19	0	0	19	0	57	−57	0	Excluded from league[25]

Source: Lega Pro
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Head-to-head points; 3) Head-to-head goal difference; 4) Goal difference; 5) Goals scored; 6) Draw.^[26]
(D) Disqualified; (O) Play-off winners; (P) Promoted; (R) Relegated
Notes:

1. Arezzo is ahead of Pro Vercelli on head-to-head goal difference: Arezzo–Pro Vercelli 3–1, Pro Vercelli–Arezzo 1–0
2. Alessandria is ahead of Pontedera on head-to-head points: Alessandria–Pontedera 1–1, Pontedera–Alessandria 1–2
3. 1 point deduction due to financial irregularities.
4. 23 point deduction due to financial irregularities.
5. 25 point deduction due to financial irregularities.
6. 16 point deduction due to financial irregularities initially, then expulsion from the championship.

Group B (North & Central East)

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Pordenone (C, P)	38	19	16	3	56	32	+24	73	Promotion to Serie B
2	Triestina[a]	38	19	11	8	60	33	+27	67	Qualification to the promotion play-offs
3	Imolese	38	15	17	6	51	33	+18	62[b]
4	Feralpisalò	38	17	11	10	50	41	+9	62[b]
5	Monza	38	16	12	10	45	35	+10	60
6	Südtirol	38	13	16	9	45	30	+15	55[c]
7	Ravenna	38	14	13	11	39	38	+1	55[c]
8	L.R. Vicenza	38	11	18	9	43	38	+5	51
9	Sambenedettese	38	11	17	10	40	40	0	50
10	Fermana	38	12	11	15	21	35	−14	47
11	Ternana	38	9	17	12	39	40	−1	44[d]
12	Gubbio	38	9	17	12	35	45	−10	44[d]
13	Teramo	38	10	13	15	36	46	−10	43[e]
14	Albinoleffe	38	9	16	13	31	35	−4	43[e]
15	Vis Pesaro	38	9	15	14	29	31	−2	42[f]
16	Giana Erminio	38	8	18	12	42	50	−8	42[f]
17	Renate	38	8	15	15	23	33	−10	39[g]
18	Rimini (O)	38	8	15	15	28	44	−16	39[g]	Qualification to the relegation play-outs
19	Virtus Verona	38	10	8	20	36	50	−14	38[h]	Readmitted
20	Fano	38	8	14	16	18	32	−14	38[h]

Source: Lega Pro
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Head-to-head points; 3) Head-to-head goal difference; 4) Goal difference; 5) Goals scored; 6) Draw.^[27]
(C) Champions; (O) Play-off winners; (P) Promoted
Notes:

1. Triestina were deducted 1 point for financial irregularities.
2. Imolese is ahead of Feralpisalò on head-to-head points: Imolese–Feralpisalò 3–1, Feralpisalò–Imolese 0–1
3. Südtirol is ahead of Ravenna on head-to-head points: Südtirol–Ravenna 1–1, Ravenna–Südtirol 0–1
4. Ternana is ahead of Gubbio on head-to-head points: Ternana–Gubbio 3–0, Gubbio–Ternana 1–1
5. Teramo is ahead of Albinoleffe on head-to-head points: Teramo–Albinoleffe 2–2, Albinoleffe–Teramo 1–2
6. Vis Pesaro is ahead of Giana Erminio on overall goal difference
7. Renate is ahead of Rimini on head-to-head points: Renate–Rimini 1–0, Rimini–Renate 0–0
8. Virtus Verona is ahead of Fano on head-to-head points: Virtus Verona–Fano 1–0, Fano–Virtus Verona 1–1

Group C (South)

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Juve Stabia[a] (P)	36	22	12	2	63	18	+45	77	Promotion to Serie B
2	Trapani[b] (O, P)	36	22	8	6	60	34	+26	73	Qualification to the promotion play-offs
3	Catanzaro	36	20	7	9	65	32	+33	67
4	Catania	36	19	8	9	48	29	+19	65
5	Potenza	36	14	15	7	45	32	+13	57
6	Virtus Francavilla	36	16	7	13	42	39	+3	55
7	Reggina[c]	36	16	8	12	45	33	+12	52
8	Monopoli[d]	36	13	14	9	41	31	+10	51[e]
9	Casertana	36	13	12	11	46	38	+8	51[e]
10	Rende[f]	36	14	6	16	46	45	+1	47[g]
11	Cavese	36	11	14	11	49	50	−1	47[g]
12	Viterbese Castrense	36	12	9	15	39	44	−5	45	Qualification to the promotion play-offs[h]
13	Sicula Leonzio	36	11	9	16	32	42	−10	42[i]
14	Vibonese	36	10	12	14	33	37	−4	42[i]
15	Rieti[j]	36	12	7	17	33	43	−10	39
16	Siracusa[k] (D, R)	36	12	6	18	34	44	−10	36	Relegation to Promozione Sicily
17	Bisceglie[l]	36	7	11	18	22	41	−19	29	Readmitted
18	Paganese	36	4	11	21	36	72	−36	23
19	Matera[m] (D, R)	36	4	4	28	16	92	−76	−18	Excluded from league

Source: Lega Pro
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Head-to-head points; 3) Head-to-head goal difference; 4) Goal difference; 5) Goals scored; 6) Draw.^[28]
(D) Disqualified; (O) Play-off winners; (P) Promoted; (R) Relegated
Notes:

1. 1 point deduction due to financial irregularities.
2. 1 point deduction due to financial irregularities.
3. 4 point deduction due to financial irregularities.
4. 2 point deduction due to financial irregularities.
5. Monopoli is ahead of Casertana on overall goal difference
6. 1 point deduction due to financial irregularities.
7. Rende is ahead of Cavese on overall goal difference
8. Viterbese Castrense qualified as winners of the 2018–19 Coppa Italia Serie C.
9. Sicula Leonzio is ahead of Vibonese on head-to-head goal difference: Sicula Leonzio–Vibonese 2–0, Vibonese–Sicula Leonzio 1–0
10. 4 point deduction due to financial irregularities.
11. 6 point deduction due to financial irregularities. Club dissolved at the end of season. A phoenix club was admitted to Promozione Sicily
12. 3 point deduction due to financial irregularities.
13. 34 point deduction due to financial irregularities initially, then expulsion from the championship.

Promotion play-offs

First Round

If tied, higher-placed team advances.

Team 1	Score	Team 2
Pro Vercelli	3–1	Alessandria
Robur Siena	0–1	Novara
Carrarese	2–0	Pro Patria
Monza	2–0	Fermana
Südtirol	1–0	Sambenedettese
Ravenna	1–1[29]	L.R. Vicenza
Potenza	0–0[30]	Rende
Virtus Francavilla	1–0	Casertana
Reggina	1–1[31]	Monopoli

Second Round

If tied, higher-placed team advances.

Team 1	Score	Team 2
Arezzo	2–2[32]	Novara
Pro Vercelli	1–2	Carrarese
FeralpiSalò	0–0[33]	Ravenna
Monza	3–3[34]	Südtirol
Catania	4–1	Reggina
Potenza	3–1	Virtus Francavilla

Quarter-finals

If tied on aggregate, higher-placed team advances.

Team 1	Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score	Team 2	1st leg	2nd leg
FeralpiSalò	3–2	Catanzaro	1–0	2–2
Potenza	2–2[35]	Catania	1–1	1–1
Arezzo	5–0	Viterbese	3–0	2–0
Carrarese	3–4	Pisa	2–2	1–2
Monza	4–4[36]	Imolese	1–3	3–1

Semi-finals

If tied on aggregate, higher-placed team advances.

Team 1	Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score	Team 2	1st leg	2nd leg
Arezzo	2–4	Pisa	2–3	0–1
Catania	3–3[37]	Trapani	2–2	1–1
FeralpiSalò	1–3	Triestina	1–1	0–2
Imolese	2–3	Piacenza	0–2	2–1

Finals

If tied on aggregate, the winner is decided by extra-time and penalty shootout.

Team 1	Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score	Team 2	1st leg	2nd leg
Pisa	5–3 (a.e.t.)	Triestina	2–2	3–1 (a.e.t.)
Piacenza	0–2	Trapani	0–0	0-2

Relegation play-outs

First Round

Higher-placed team plays at home for second leg. If tied on aggregate, lower-placed team is relegated.

Team 1	Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score	Team 2	1st leg	2nd leg
Lucchese	3–0	Cuneo	2–0	1–0
Virtus Verona	1–2	Rimini	1–0	0–2
Paganese	5–5[38]	Bisceglie	2–1	3–4

Final

If tied on aggregate, extra time and eventually penalty shoot-out are played. Losers are relegated.

Team 1	Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score	Team 2	1st leg	2nd leg
Lucchese	1–1 (a.e.t.) (3-2 pen.)	Bisceglie	1–0	0–1

Top goalscorers

Rank	Player	Club	Goals
1	Pablo Granoche3	Triestina	20
2	Francesco Tavano1	Carrarese	18
3	Matteo Brunori Sandri4	Arezzo	17
	Luigi Castaldo	Casertana
5	Leonardo Candellone	Pordenone	15
	Ettore Gliozzi	Robur Siena
	Eric Lanini1	Imolese
	Fabio Perna	Giana Erminio
9	Giuseppe Caccavallo1	Carrarese	14
	Eugenio D'Ursi	Catanzaro
	Manuel Fischnaller1
	Riccardo Martignago	Albissola

Note

¹Player scored 1 goal in the play-offs.
³Player scored 3 goals in the play-offs.
⁴Player scored 4 goals in the play-offs.