2006–07 Serie B


The 2006–07 Serie B season is the 75th season since its establishment in 1929. It started on 9 September 2006 and ended on 10 June 2007. The 22 clubs in Serie B each played 42 matches during the regular season. The 2006–07 season marked the first Serie B appearance for two clubs, Frosinone and then 27-time Italian champions Juventus, whose involvement in the league was a direct result of not winning competition in the previous Serie A season and the Calciopoli rulings.
SS Arezzo began the season with a six-point deficit and Juventus a nine-point deficit, due to their involvement in the 2006 Italian football scandal. In addition, Triestina Calcio were docked one point because of financial irregularities, and Pescara Calcio were penalized one point for late tax payments.

Events

Promotions

Despite the large deficit at the start of the league, Juventus coasted through the season with ease and became the first team promoted to the Serie A for the 2007–08 season with a 5–1 away win at SS Arezzo on 19 May 2007, with three games remaining in the schedule. One week later, they clinched the title of Serie B champions for 2006–07 with a 2–0 home win against Mantova 1911. Juventus were awarded the first-ever Ali della Vittoria Cup, designed this year for the winner of the Serie B championship.
On the last day of the season Napoli played Genoa. Napoli only needed a draw for automatic promotion, while Genoa needed a win to guarantee promotion. The match ended 0–0 and Napoli were promoted. However, Piacenza only managed a 1–1 draw with Triestina, leaving it ten points behind Genoa. A gap of ten or more points between the third and fourth-placed teams meant that no playoffs would be held, and Genoa became the third team promoted to Serie A.
Both Napoli and Genoa were promoted from Serie C1 to Serie B, and from Serie B to Serie A in successive seasons.

Relegations

On 12 May 2007 Pescara became the first team relegated to Serie C1 for the 2007–08 season with a 3–1 loss at Piacenza on Day 38 of the schedule. One week later, Crotone was also relegated with a 2–0 loss at Trieste. On the last match day, Arezzo became the third team relegated despite winning 3–1 at Treviso, as both Spezia and Hellas Verona won their games. Tied 2–2 with Juventus, Spezia was only seconds away from relegation, but a dramatic goal on the 91st minute by Nicola Padoin condemned Arezzo and qualified Spezia for the playoffs.
The fourth team to be relegated was decided in a two-legged playoff between Verona and Spezia. The first leg ended in a 2–1 win for Spezia, and a 0–0 tie in the return match condemned Verona to play Serie C1 in the 2007–08 season.

Teams

Stadiums and locations

These are the 22 teams which took part in the Serie B 2006–07:
Club NameHome CityStadium NameFinal Placing in 2005–06 Season
AlbinoLeffeBergamoStadio Atleti Azzurri d'Italia18th in Serie B
ArezzoArezzoStadio Città di Arezzo7th in Serie B
BariBariStadio San Nicola13th in Serie B
BolognaBolognaStadio Renato dall'Ara8th in Serie B
BresciaBresciaStadio Mario Rigamonti10th in Serie B
CesenaCesenaStadio Dino Manuzzi6th in Serie B
CrotoneCrotoneStadio Ezio Scida9th in Serie B
FrosinoneFrosinoneStadio MatusaSerie C1/B Playoff Winners
GenoaGenovaStadio Luigi FerrarisSerie C1/A Playoff Winners
Hellas VeronaVeronaStadio Marcantonio Bentegodi15th in Serie B
JuventusTurinStadio Olimpico di Torino20th in Serie A
LecceLecceStadio Via del Mare18th in Serie A
Mantova 1911MantuaStadio Danilo Martelli4th in Serie B
ModenaModenaStadio Alberto Braglia5th in Serie B
NapoliNapoliStadio San PaoloSerie C1/B Champions
PescaraPescaraStadio Adriatico12th in Serie B
PiacenzaPiacenzaStadio Leonardo Garilli11th in Serie B
RiminiRiminiStadio Romeo Neri17th in Serie B
SpeziaLa SpeziaStadio Alberto PiccoSerie C1/A Champions
TrevisoTrevisoStadio Omobono Tenni19th in Serie A
TriestinaTriesteStadio Nereo Rocco14th in Serie B
VicenzaVicenzaStadio Romeo Menti16th in Serie B

Final classification


Top goalscorers

Last updated 10 June 2007
ScorerGoalsTeam

Attendances

#ClubAverage
1Napoli30,150
2Genoa19,934
3Juventus18,085
4Bologna10,949
5Hellas9,444
6Mantova8,605
7Cesena8,561
8Modena8,509
9Bari7,679
10Triestina7,563
11Spezia7,374
12Rimini6,903
13Lecce6,188
14Crotone5,800
15Vicenza5,704
16Frosinone5,072
17Piacenza4,711
18Arezzo4,135
19Brescia3,772
20Treviso3,532
21Pescara3,299
22AlbinoLeffe2,351

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