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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)
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
Longest unbeaten run	28 games Juve Stabia
Longest winless run	18 games Paganese Ternana
Longest losing run	8 games Arzachena
Highest attendance	19,446 Triestina 1–3 Pisa (9 June 2019, Play-off final)
Lowest attendance	23 Rende 0–1 Trapani (20 April 2019)
Total attendance	2,065,818
Average attendance	1,979
← 2017–18 2019–20 →

The 2018–19 Serie C was the fifth season of the unified Serie C division, the third tier of the Italian football league system.

Teams

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

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.

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.

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. 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).

On 14 February 2019, Matera were excluded from Serie C for missing four consecutive matches 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.

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. The decision also meant that only seven clubs would be relegated to Serie D rather than the original eight.

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:

• 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.

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.

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.

League tables

Group A (North & Central West)

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)

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)

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.

Second Round

If tied, higher-placed team advances.

Quarter-finals

If tied on aggregate, higher-placed team advances.

Semi-finals

If tied on aggregate, higher-placed team advances.

Finals

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

Relegation play-outs

First Round

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

Final

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

Top goalscorers

Rank	Player	Club	Goals
1	Pablo Granoche	Triestina	20
2	Francesco Tavano	Carrarese	18
3	Matteo Brunori Sandri	Arezzo	17
	Luigi Castaldo	Casertana
5	Leonardo Candellone	Pordenone	15
	Ettore Gliozzi	Robur Siena
	Eric Lanini	Imolese
	Fabio Perna	Giana Erminio
9	Giuseppe Caccavallo	Carrarese	14
	Eugenio D'Ursi	Catanzaro
	Manuel Fischnaller
	Riccardo Martignago	Albissola

Note

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

References

1. "Serie C - Girone A - Players". Soccerway.
2. "Serie C - Girone B - Players". Soccerway.
3. "Serie C - Girone C - Players". Soccerway.
4. Matchdays 22-28.
5. Matchdays 1-30.
6. Matchdays 1-19.
7. Matchdays 21-36, including matchday 20 played between weeks 27 and 28 and matchday 9 played between weeks 29 and 30.
8. Matchdays 18-25. 10 games (matchdays 15-25) without counting the cancelled match against Pro Piacenza on week 17 (Arzachena 3–0 Pro Piacenza).
9. ^ "Attendance Statistics of Serie C Group A 2018-2019". StadiaPostcards.
10. ^ "Attendance Statistics of Serie C Group C 2018-2019". StadiaPostcards.
11. ^ "Attendance Statistics of Serie C Group B 2018-2019". StadiaPostcards.
12. ^ Regular season + play-offs and play-outs.
13. "Calcio: Triestina ammessa in C dopo ricorso" (in Italian). Rome. ANSA. 21 July 2018. Retrieved 2 August 2018.
14. "Novara e Catania con un piede in B, il Siena spera ancora". La Gazzetta dello Sport (in Italian). Milan: RCS MediaGroup. 1 August 2018. Retrieved 2 August 2018.
15. "Serie BKT 2018/19, i calendari lunedì a Milano" (Press release) (in Italian). Lega B. 10 August 2018. Retrieved 12 August 2018.
16. "Serie C, Vicenza: arriva 'Mister Diesel': Rosso acquista la società". La Repubblica. 18 June 2018. Retrieved 2 August 2018.
17. "UFFICIALE: Juve B iscritta alla Serie C con Cavese e Imolese, respinte Como e Prato". calciomercato.com. 8 March 2018. Retrieved 2018-08-03.
18. "Serie C: non ammessi Prato e Como, ammesse Cavese e Imolese e seconda squadra Juventus" (Press release) (in Italian). Italian Football Federation. 3 August 2018. Archived from the original on 5 August 2018. Retrieved 5 August 2018.
19. "La Serie C slitta a settembre. Il Consiglio: "Vediamo se iniziare o no"" (in Italian). La Gazzetta dello Sport. 6 August 2018. Retrieved 10 August 2018.
20. "Virtus Entella, rinviata la sentenza del Tar". La Gazzetta dello Sport (in Italian). Milan: RCS MediaGroup. 9 October 2018. Retrieved 11 October 2018.
21. "Ufficiale, Matera escluso dal campionato di Serie C" (in Italian). Calcio Finanza. 15 February 2019. Retrieved 30 April 2019.
22. "OFFICIAL: Pro Piacenza out of Serie C". Football Italia. 18 February 2019. Retrieved 30 April 2019.
23. ^ "FIGC: 20-team Serie B, new racism rules". Football Italia. 30 January 2019. Retrieved 30 April 2019.
24. "Serie C, riduzione delle retrocessioni in D: da 9 a 5" (in Italian). Corriere dello Sport - Stadio. 2 April 2019. Retrieved 2 May 2019.
25. "OFFICIAL: Pro Piacenza out of Serie C". Football Italia. 18 February 2019.
26. "Norme organizzative interne della F.I.G.C. - Art. 51.6" (PDF) (in Italian). Italian Football Federation. 14 August 2015. Retrieved 19 May 2016.
27. "Norme organizzative interne della F.I.G.C. - Art. 51.6" (PDF) (in Italian). Italian Football Federation. 14 August 2015. Retrieved 19 May 2016.
28. "Norme organizzative interne della F.I.G.C. - Art. 51.6" (PDF) (in Italian). Italian Football Federation. 14 August 2015. Retrieved 19 May 2016.
29. Ravenna advances due to higher placed finish.
30. Potenza advances due to higher placed finish.
31. Reggina advances due to higher placed finish.
32. Arezzo advances due to higher placed finish.
33. FeralpiSalò advances due to higher placed finish.
34. Monza advances due to higher placed finish.
35. Catania advances due to higher placed finish.
36. Imolese advances due to higher placed finish.
37. Trapani advances due to higher placed finish.
38. Bisceglie advances due to higher placed finish.

External links

• Official website

• Serie C seasons
• 2018–19 in Italian football leagues
• 2018–19 in European third tier association football leagues