The State of Serie B
A three-team title race, manager sack-a-thon and so much more in Italy's second tier.
The chorus of Chumbawamba’s “Tubthumping” has frequently belted throughout the Mapei Stadium in Reggio Emilia, Italy, since late August. It’s the celebratory tune of choice when Sassuolo, leaders of Serie B after 16 matches, score at home.
The “I get knocked down, but I get up again” refrain is appropriate for the Neroverdi, who were relegated to the second tier last season after an 11-year run in the top flight.
Sassuolo’s league-best 36 goals have them poised to go right back up again, but it’s not coming without a challenge as surprise promotion candidates Pisa are just three points back while Spezia follow closely in third.
Serie B is overflowing with narratives, featuring just six points between 10th and 20th, 11 managers sacked since the start of the season, all four promoted sides in the top 13 and two of the newly-relegated teams facing the threat of back-to-back demotions.
Then there are the Esposito brothers, the duo of Francesco Pio and Salvatore contributing to most of Spezia’s goals thus far, Cosenza carrying a four-point deduction (without which they’d be 10th) and the sensational Cristian Shpendi with 10 goals in 15 games for Cesena to top the scoring chart.
Nearly halfway through 2024-25, the second tier of Italian football continues to be one of the most turbulent and exciting leagues in Europe.
A Unique Format
One of the main factors making Serie B so volatile is the fact that 13 of its 20 clubs are implicated in either the promotion or relegation battle every year. First and second receive automatic promotion while third through eighth contest a three-round promotion playoff.
At the other end of the table, the bottom three go down straight away and 16th/17th face off in a two-legged relegation playoff to determine the fourth team dropping into Serie C.
In comparison, only nine of 24 clubs in the EFL Championship (England’s second tier) are involved in the promotion/relegation scraps, six of 18 in the Zweite Bundesliga (Germany), eight of 18 in Ligue 2 (France) and 10 of 22 in LaLiga2 (Spain).
These heightened stakes help explain why Serie B has averaged nearly 20 managers sacked mid-season over the last 10 years. The current campaign has already seen 11 dismissals (another before the season even started), including two after the most recent matchday.
Some highlights of this year’s coaching carousel:
Andrea Sottil was hired by Salernitana in mid-June and didn’t come close to starting the season, lasting 12 days, later picked by Sampdoria to replace a more famous Andrea (Pirlo) after three matches. Sottil was then shown the door on Monday and Salernitana fired his replacement a month ago.
Pierpaolo Bisoli is also on his second Serie B club of the season, sacked by Modena on November 3 and appointed by Brescia this week. Notably, Bisoli’s son, Dimitri, is a midfielder for Brescia and the club captain.
Giovanni Stroppa was removed from his post at Cremonese on October 8 when they were seventh in the table. He was then brought back a month later with the club in fifth.
Berardi’s Boys: Sassuolo
The trio at the top have seemingly excluded everyone else from the automatic promotion race with a nine-point gap between third and fourth. It’s close amongst them, though, as Sassuolo’s 37 points are three ahead of second-place Pisa (34) and Spezia have 33 in the first playoff spot.
World Cup hero Fabio Grosso is in his first year at the helm of Sassuolo and has them flying. His side average more than two goals per game and have won five on the bounce in the league, most recently dispatching Sampdoria 5-1 at home which resulted in Sottil’s exit.
It would frankly be hard for any manager to hold back the Neroverdi’s scoring exploits, as they retained a wealth of attacking talent after getting relegated. Their front line is far beyond second-tier level, headlined by Italy international Domenico Berardi who is back from his achilles injury and wreaking havoc.
Berardi has three goals and eight assists in just eight matches (five starts), assuring everyone that he’s still a top-level winger after the lengthy layoff.
It’ll be an incredible story if the club sustain their form, as one-club-man Berardi got them promoted to Serie A for the first time ever in his breakout season, remained and dazzled throughout their time in the top flight and could very well bring them right back up on the first attempt.
Plenty of his colleagues up front played alongside him in Serie A last year, including French winger Armand Laurienté (seven goals), 25-year-old Norwegian Kristian Thorsvedt (seven goals) and Italian striker Samuele Mulattieri (four goals, two assists), while new arrival Nicholas Pierini has added six goals.
Sassuolo’s only league loss came at the end of August and they’ve conceded just one goal during their five straight victories. They drew Spezia and have yet to play Pisa, but of the top three they’re easily the likeliest to avoid the playoff.
Pisa: The Surprise Package
Pisa Sporting Club have a tumultuous recent history and haven’t made it back to Serie A since being relegated in 1991. After spending most of the 2010s in Serie C, Pisa returned to B in 2019-20 and have been there ever since with their best finish being third and a playoff final defeat to Monza in 2021-22.
They’re coming off a 13th-place finish last term, but strengthened in the summer as they shelled out their second-highest transfer fee ever (€4 million) to bring in Danish striker Alexander Lind from Silkeborg. He and attacking midfielder Matteo Tramoni have delivered five goals and two assists apiece thus far.
That pair have been key in Pisa having the second-best attack through 16 weeks of the season, the only team besides Sassuolo with at least 30 goals. It’s been a collective effort, though, as the Nerazzurri boast 10 different goalscorers while 14 players have at least one goal or assist.
Serie B is the land of back threes and Pisa’s trio of center backs are a quality unit. Giovanni Bonfanti is another new arrival, a 21-year-old on loan from Atalanta, and he’s recently solidified himself as the starter on the left.
In the middle to anchor the backline is 34-year-old Antonio Caracciolo who has, statistically, been the best defender in the league in his sixth year at the club. He leads the division in clearances (105), blocks (29), blocks plus interceptions amongst defenders (65) and has an 85.7 percent tackle success rate.
On the right of the three is Simone Canestrelli, who has two goals to his name thanks to his impressive aerial ability.
The architect of Pisa’s success is manager Filippo Inzaghi, whose coaching career has floundered since winning Serie B with Benevento five years ago. A star striker in his playing days, “Pippo” is breathing new life into the club and hopes to replicate his 2019-20 success with another surprise promotion.
Spezia: The Esposito Show
A family seeing even one of its children make it in professional football must be an incredible feeling, let alone three sons playing at an elite level with two on the same team.
That’s exactly the case for the Espositos, whose trio of Inter youth products are all having impressive seasons. Sebastiano is up in Serie A with Empoli, while Salvatore and Francesco Pio are inflicting chaos upon Serie B defenses at Spezia.
The last matchday was especially memorable for the brothers as each of them scored minutes apart, Sebastiano netting a brace for Empoli while Francesco Pio and Salvatore (twice) were both on the scoresheet in Spezia’s 5-0 win versus Cittadella.
Spezia’s duo of Espositos have been involved in a remarkable 21 of the club’s 27 goals, Francesco Pio netting eight with one assist and Salvatore scoring five times while making seven assists.
Salvatore, the eldest brother (24 years), leads Serie B in goal creating actions (16) and is second in shot creating actions (74), putting together a breakout season as he looks to return to the top flight.
The Bianconeri have also been the best defensive team to this point, conceding just 10 times in 16 matches and keeping a clean sheet in nine of them.
Goalkeeper Stefano Gori has maintained eight clean sheets in his 12 appearances, allowing just six goals, since taking over for the injured Mouhamadou Sarr in mid-September.
Manager Luca D’Angelo also found the right combination in his back three, as the trifecta of Nicolò Bertola, Petko Hristov and Przemysław Wiśniewski have claimed the starting spots and limit opponents to the joint-fewest shots on target per game (3.25).
The Ligurians are in third for now, but could easily nab one of the automatic promotion spots come season’s end and return to Serie A after two years away.
The Chasing Pack
It seems highly likely that two of the current top three will occupy those coveted promotion places when it’s all said and done, but there’s plenty more to follow throughout the table.
It’s extremely tight in the playoff race as just three points separate fourth and eighth and there are only four points between eighth and 16th.
Bari (fourth, 24 points) are back from the brink after winning the relegation playoff last year and have been led by wing back Mehdi Dorval, who has a goal or assist in four straight outings.
Cremonese, who made a rare appearance in Serie A two years ago, are fifth (also on 24 points) and headlined by former Sevilla man and Europa League winner Franco Vazquez (six goals).
Cesena, in sixth (22 points) as a newly promoted side, have steadily risen since financial difficulties forced them to restart in the fourth tier in 2018. Shpendi’s goal tally jumps out, scoring 34 in all competitions for the club since the start of last season, but the 21-year-old bagging 10 in less than half of his first campaign at this level really makes him one to watch.
Another newly promoted club are level on points with them in seventh, as Juve Stabia are far exceeding expectations in their sixth-ever Serie B season. The Campanian side had a hot start but stuttered over the last two months, hoping their win over Sudtirol in the last round can swing momentum.
Palermo (21 points) are clinging to eighth and many would like to see them bring Sicilian representation back to Serie A. Longtime Serie B baller Roberto Insigne is their star man, his four goals already double what he scored for the Rosaneri last term.
Props to Carrarese (11th) and Mantova (13th) as well, the two others to come up from Serie C and immediately hold their own.
Sampdoria (15th) are the chief underperformers so far, already on their third manager of the season and winless in their last five. They’re only four points out of the playoff, though, with well-traveled Serie B striker Gennaro Tutino on great form (five goals, four assists).
Salernitana (16th) and Frosinone (18th) were in Serie A last season but aren’t showing it, although they both haven’t lost in three weeks and have plenty of time to make up ground.
Most likely to join the 60-team Serie C next year are Sudtirol and Cittadella, both at the bottom on 13 points and holders of the two worst goal differences in the division by some margin.
There’s a lot going on in Serie B, with impossible-to-predict twists and turns still to come. The margins are razor thin and every coaching seat is hot by default. The football, finances and standings are chaotic, but there’s a lot to love about calcio’s second tier.
*All stats via FBref.com