Avellino, from the technical turnaround to the Serie B mission: Biancolino's record-breaking 2025

In a season, coaches, players, sometimes presidents and managers change, but above all, moments change. If you had asked any Avellino fan in September if five months later the biancoverdi would be playing for promotion to Serie B, probably very few would have believed it. Instead, since that turnaround in mid-September that led to the dismissal of Pazienza and the entire technical area, the Lupi have turned the corner. The only defeat in the last nine is the manifesto of a reborn team that, five points from the top, dreams big.

Avellino is currently second with 52 points in Group C of Serie C , behind Audace Cerignola, the big surprise of the championship and at the top with 57 points. In the last two months, the biancoverdi have collected six wins, one defeat and two draws. A record that has allowed Biancolino's team to give a strong blow to their competitors, including Benevento and Crotone, much more renowned and solid teams that are now chasing. To understand Avellino's rebirth, we need to go back five months or, better yet, we need to go back to the start of the season. On September 22, Avellino was second to last after a disconcerting start with four draws and two defeats in the first six league games. The four goals conceded on the first day against Picerno started the crisis, which continued in the following games with a team that struggled to score.

The turning point came on September 21st with the stinging home defeat against Latina. The fans whistled, the team was in crisis and played with a lot of nervousness (two red cards received in the first six games). The next day was the day of the turnaround: the club cleaned house and fired technical director Perinetti, sports director Condò, the head of the scouting area Strano and coach Pazienza. Management was eliminated, only the match analyst and the goalkeeping coach remained of the technical staff. The team was entrusted to Raffaele Biancolino - an old flag of the Irpini with four promotions to Serie B as a player -, promoted from the Primavera. From 4-3-3 the new coach switched to 4-3-1-2. "The Python", as they called him as a player, made his debut with a draw on the Turris pitch and then went on to a streak of six consecutive victories, including a 4-0 in Crotone and a 3-0 on the Juventus Next Gen pitch.

In November Avellino lost some ground with four draws and a defeat, then in December they relaunched themselves in the standings, approaching the top. From January to today the biancoverdi have accelerated and given the sprint to keep up with Audace Cerignola (two draws in the two direct clashes). In the winter market the big shot arrived: Facundo Lescano from Trapani, current top scorer of group C with 19 goals. Together with Patierno he forms a devastating duo with 31 goals between them. Behind them there would be Michele d'Ausilio to guarantee creativity with his 12 assists in the championship, even if in the last matches he has started from the bench, thanks to some physical ailments. Over the weekend Biancolino's team won the derby against Casertana in a comeback, thanks to goals from two defenders (Enrici and Cagnano). Serie B has been missing since the 2017-18 season, when the exclusion for administrative irregularities arrived and the consequent descent to Serie D. Today the square is hot and dreaming, Biancolino renewed in December until 2026 and is performing a miracle. For the fairy tale with a happy ending we still have to wait.