The Sorcerers have returned to Serie A for the 2020/21 campaign and will use any magic spell available to extend their stay further than the one season they managed last time they were here. Benevento are a small club without much in the way of history, but there are some familiar names at the club, and they have one of the best kits around.
Names: Benevento Calcio
Founded: 1929
Stadium: Stadio Ciro Vigorito. Capacity, 16,867
Manager: Filippo Inzaghi. Most of you will remember Inzaghi as the former Juventus, AC Milan, and Italy striker who had lots of success during the late 1990s and the 2000s. Inzaghi scored 288 goals in 623 appearances during his club career, scoring 25 goals in 57 appearances for the Italian national team.
As a coach, Inzaghi managed through the youth and reserve teams at AC Milan before getting the top job in 2014. Things didn’t work out for Filippo and he ended his 14-year affiliation with the club in 2015.
A 2-year spell at Venezia followed where he won the Lega Pro and Coppa Italia Lega Pro, which earned him a move back to the top-flight with Bologna. The former AC Milan striker struggled, winning just two of his opening 21 matches, and was sacked early in 2019. In June of that year, Inzaghi got the Benevento job and guided the Serie B side back to the top-flight for just the second time in their history, winning the league with games to spare.
Key Players: Christian Maggio, Kamil Glik, Gianluca Caprari, Gianluca Lapadula, Pasquale Schiattarella. The Benevento squad is packed with experience, which is so often a key aspect for any team looking to avoid relegation. Maggio is 38-years old and a leader at the back alongside Glik, 32, who arrived from Monaco. Schiattarella has played every game in midfield along with Dabo and Ionita. Up-front, the on-loan Caprari has formed a good partnership with Lapadula and both have netted 3 league goals each.
Despite being 91-years old, all of Benevento’s success has arrived between 2007-2020. The club claimed it’s first title during the 2006/07 season, winning Serie C2 Group C. In 2015/16 the club claimed the Serie C title and earned promotion to Serie B. The following season, Benevento clinched promotion to the top-flight of Italian football for the first time, via the play-off. Relegation followed, but in 2019/20 Benevento won the Serie B title in style and made it back to the big time.
Life in Serie A certainly has been easy for Inzaghi and co, despite winning two of their opening three matches.
#FeelingGood 😍⚽️📸 @ottopagine #BeneventoCalcio #Insieme pic.twitter.com/AbhJZyZUSP— Benevento Calcio (@bncalcio) November 14, 2020
#FeelingGood 😍⚽️📸 @ottopagine #BeneventoCalcio #Insieme pic.twitter.com/AbhJZyZUSP
Four defeats on the run have followed, and Benevento find themselves lying in 16th position, just a point above the drop zone.