2015–16 Serie A
The 2015–16 Serie A (known as the Serie A TIM for sponsorship reasons) was the 114th season of top-tier Italian football, the 84th in a round-robin tournament, and the 6th since its organization under a league committee separate from Serie B. Juventus were the defending champions. The campaign began on 22 August 2015 and ended on 15 May 2016.
| Season | 2015–16 |
|---|---|
| Dates | 22 August 2015 – 15 May 2016 |
| Champions | Juventus 32nd title |
| Relegated | Carpi Frosinone Hellas Verona |
| Champions League | Juventus Napoli Roma |
| Europa League | Internazionale Fiorentina Sassuolo |
| Matches played | 380 |
| Goals scored | 979 (2.58 per match) |
| Top goalscorer | Gonzalo Higuaín (36 goals)[1] |
| Best goalkeeper | Gianluigi Buffon (21 clean sheets) |
| Biggest home win | Napoli 6–0 Bologna (19 April 2016)[2] |
| Biggest away win | Goal difference of 4 6 games[2] |
| Highest scoring | Sampdoria 5–2 Carpi (23 August 2015)[2] Lazio 5–2 Hellas Verona (11 February 2016)[2] |
| Longest winning run | 15 games[2] Juventus |
| Longest unbeaten run | 26 games[2] Juventus |
| Longest winless run | 22 games[2] Hellas Verona |
| Longest losing run | 5 games[2] Genoa |
| Highest attendance | 79,154 Internazionale 1–0 Milan (13 September 2015)[2] Internazionale 0–0 Juventus (18 October 2015)[3] |
| Lowest attendance | 0 (behind closed doors) Palermo 2–2 Atalanta (20 April 2016)[2][4][5] |
| Average attendance | 22,199[2] |
← 2014–15 2016–17 → | |
On 25 April 2016, Juventus succeeded in defending their title for the fifth consecutive season, after second placed Napoli lost to Roma, giving Juventus a 12-point lead with only three games left.[6]
Events
On 28 April 2015 Carpi obtained its first promotion ever to Serie A, after debuting in Serie B the year before, becoming the 64th team to participate in Serie A since the 1929–30 season.[7] On 16 May, Frosinone also earned its first promotion to Serie A, becoming the 65th to participate.[8] On 9 June 2015 Bologna won Serie B play-off, returning to the Serie A after just one year.
This season of Serie A was the first season to have goal-line technology implemented after severe complaints from various teams' general managers (first Adriano Galliani) in relation to controversial ghost goals during recent seasons of Serie A.[9]
On 20 March 2016, Gianluigi Buffon broke the previous record of Sebastiano Rossi (929 minutes) by setting a longer period of 974 minutes without conceding a goal.[10]
On 14 May, Gonzalo Higuaín broke Gunnar Nordahl's record for most goals scored in Serie A (20 teams championship) in a season (35 in 1949–50) and equaled Gino Rossetti's record in 1928–29 (that was composed of 32 teams, instead) by scoring 36 goals and winning the Capocannoniere.[11][12] [13]
Three Serie A icons also retired at the end of the season; the Verona captain Luca Toni, who scored 157 goals in 324 league appearances and was twice the league's top scorer, as well as Gianpaolo Bellini, the left-back who spent his entire career with Atalanta, making 435 appearances with the club. Both players also scored in their final games with their clubs on 8 May 2016, Toni in a 2–1 win over champions Juventus and Bellini in a 1–1 draw with Udinese;[14] and on 14 May, Christian Abbiati for Milan in the last fixture of the season at home against Roma, however, he did not get any playing time,[15] totaling 281 league appearances for the club.[16][17]
Teams
Stadiums and locations
Personnel and kits
| Team | Manager | Captain | Kitmaker | Shirt sponsor (front) | Shirt sponsor (back) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Atalanta | Nike | SuisseGas, Stone City | Elettrocanali | ||
| Bologna | Macron | FAAC | Illumia | ||
| Carpi | Givova | Azimut Holding | Gaudì Jeans | ||
| Chievo | Givova | Paluani/Payexe/Nobis/Italgreen/Cubi e Perina/Pescherie Viviani/Buccia di Mela/IM.COS/Midac Batteries/Negri Salumi/Alufer/I. Bis Trading/Ecoprogram/CF Costruzioni/Coati Salumi/Centro Atlante Verona/Contri Spumanti/Simet, Payexe/Paluani | Nobis/Paluani/Authoitalia/Filo diretto | ||
| Empoli | Joma | Gensan, Computer Gross | NGM Mobile | ||
| Fiorentina | Le Coq Sportif | Save the Children | Save the Children (in UEFA matches) | ||
| Frosinone | Legea | Banca Popolare del Frusinate, GALA | 7Sette Carburanti | ||
| Genoa | Lotto | AT.P.CO | LeasePlan | ||
| Hellas Verona | Nike | Metano Nord, Leaderform/SEC | Manila Grace/Jetcoin | ||
| Internazionale | Nike | Pirelli (Home)/Driver (Away) | None | ||
| Juventus | Adidas | Jeep | None | ||
| Lazio | Macron | None | None | ||
| Milan | Adidas | Fly Emirates | None | ||
| Napoli | Kappa | Lete, Pasta Garofalo | None | ||
| Palermo | Joma | None | None | ||
| Roma | Nike | None | None | ||
| Sampdoria | Joma | Parà Tempotest | Ssangyong | ||
| Sassuolo | Kappa | Mapei | None | ||
| Torino | Kappa | Suzuki Vitara/Nyalakan Nyali†, Frattelli Beretta | Tecnoalarm | ||
| Udinese | HS Football | Dacia | None |
- Additionally, referee kits are now being made by Diadora, and Nike has a new match ball, the Ordem Serie A.
†Torino to appear Nyalakan Nyali branding to promote Suzuki branding in Indonesia.
Managerial changes
| Team | Outgoing manager | Manner of departure | Date of vacancy | Position in table | Replaced by | Date of appointment |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Napoli | Signed for Real Madrid | 25 May 2015 | Pre-season | 12 June 2015[18] | ||
| Udinese | Resigned | 1 June 2015[19] | 4 June 2015 [20] | |||
| Sampdoria | Signed for Milan | 1 June 2015 | 4 June 2015 [21] | |||
| Milan | Sacked | 4 June 2015 | 16 June 2015[22] | |||
| Empoli | Signed for Napoli | 5 June 2015 | 9 June 2015[23] | |||
| Fiorentina | Sacked | 8 June 2015 [24] | 21 June 2015[25] | |||
| Carpi | Sacked | 28 September 2015[26] | 20th | 29 September 2015[27] | ||
| Bologna | Sacked | 28 October 2015 | 18th | 28 October 2015[28] | ||
| Carpi | Sacked | 3 November 2015[29] | 20th | 3 November 2015[30] | ||
| Palermo | Sacked | 10 November 2015[31] | 12th | 10 November 2015[31] | ||
| Sampdoria | Sacked | 10 November 2015[32] | 10th | 15 November 2015[33] | ||
| Hellas Verona | Sacked | 30 November 2015[34] | 20th | 1 December 2015[35] | ||
| Palermo | Sacked | 11 January 2016[36] | 16th | 11 January 2016[36] | ||
| Roma | Sacked | 13 January 2016[37] | 5th | 13 January 2016[37] | ||
| Palermo | End of caretaker spell | 18 January 2016[36] | 14th | 26 January 2016[38] | ||
| Palermo | End of interim spell | 10 February 2016[36] | 14th | 10 February 2016[39] | ||
| Palermo | Sacked | 15 February 2016[40] | 15th | 15 February 2016 | ||
| Palermo | Sacked | 10 March 2016 | 17th | 10 March 2016[41] | ||
| Udinese | Sacked | 14 March 2016 | 16th | 15 March 2016[42] | ||
| Lazio | Sacked | 3 April 2016 | 8th | 3 April 2016[43] | ||
| Palermo | Sacked | 11 April 2016[44] | 18th | 12 April 2016[45] | ||
| Milan | Sacked | 12 April 2016 | 6th | 12 April 2016[46] |
League table
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Juventus (C) | 38 | 29 | 4 | 5 | 75 | 20 | +55 | 91 | Qualification to Champions League group stage |
| 2 | Napoli | 38 | 25 | 7 | 6 | 80 | 32 | +48 | 82 | |
| 3 | Roma | 38 | 23 | 11 | 4 | 83 | 41 | +42 | 80 | Qualification to Champions League play-off round |
| 4 | Internazionale | 38 | 20 | 7 | 11 | 50 | 38 | +12 | 67 | Qualification to UEFA Europa League group stage[lower-alpha 1] |
| 5 | Fiorentina | 38 | 18 | 10 | 10 | 60 | 42 | +18 | 64 | |
| 6 | Sassuolo | 38 | 16 | 13 | 9 | 49 | 40 | +9 | 61 | Qualification to Europa League third qualifying round[lower-alpha 1] |
| 7 | Milan | 38 | 15 | 12 | 11 | 49 | 43 | +6 | 57 | |
| 8 | Lazio | 38 | 15 | 9 | 14 | 52 | 52 | 0 | 54 | |
| 9 | Chievo | 38 | 13 | 11 | 14 | 43 | 45 | −2 | 50 | |
| 10 | Empoli | 38 | 12 | 10 | 16 | 40 | 49 | −9 | 46[lower-alpha 2] | |
| 11 | Genoa | 38 | 13 | 7 | 18 | 45 | 48 | −3 | 46[lower-alpha 2] | |
| 12 | Torino | 38 | 12 | 9 | 17 | 52 | 55 | −3 | 45[lower-alpha 3] | |
| 13 | Atalanta | 38 | 11 | 12 | 15 | 41 | 47 | −6 | 45[lower-alpha 3] | |
| 14 | Bologna | 38 | 11 | 9 | 18 | 33 | 45 | −12 | 42 | |
| 15 | Sampdoria | 38 | 10 | 10 | 18 | 48 | 61 | −13 | 40 | |
| 16 | Palermo | 38 | 10 | 9 | 19 | 38 | 65 | −27 | 39[lower-alpha 4] | |
| 17 | Udinese | 38 | 10 | 9 | 19 | 35 | 60 | −25 | 39[lower-alpha 4] | |
| 18 | Carpi (R) | 38 | 9 | 11 | 18 | 37 | 57 | −20 | 38 | Relegation to Serie B |
| 19 | Frosinone (R) | 38 | 8 | 7 | 23 | 35 | 76 | −41 | 31 | |
| 20 | Hellas Verona (R) | 38 | 5 | 13 | 20 | 34 | 63 | −29 | 28 |
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Head-to-head points; 3) Head-to-head goal difference; 4) Goal difference; 5) Goals scored; 6) Draw.[47]
(C) Champion; (R) Relegated
Notes:
- Since the winners of the 2015–16 Coppa Italia, Juventus, qualified for European competition based on league position, the spot awarded to the cup winners (Europa League group stage) was passed to fifth-placed team and the spot awarded to the fifth-placed team (Europa League third qualifying round) was passed to the sixth-placed team.
- Empoli ahead of Genoa on head-to-head goal difference; Empoli +1, Genoa –1.
- Torino ahead of Atalanta on head-to-head points; Torino 6 pts, Atalanta 0 pts.
- Palermo ahead of Udinese on head-to-head points; Palermo 6 pts, Udinese 0 pts.
Results
Attendance data
| Pos | Team | Total | High | Low | Average | Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Internazionale | 865,226 | 79,154 | 31,494 | 45,538 | +22.2% |
| 2 | Napoli | 736,434 | 56,452 | 18,766 | 38,760 | +20.1% |
| 3 | Juventus | 734,580 | 41,305 | 28,899 | 38,662 | +0.3% |
| 4 | Milan | 719,352 | 77,043 | 25,517 | 37,861 | +3.3% |
| 5 | Roma | 668,449 | 55,508 | 27,000 | 35,182 | −12.3% |
| 6 | Fiorentina | 545,947 | 36,297 | 22,791 | 28,734 | −5.2% |
| 7 | Sampdoria | 417,513 | 31,375 | 20,223 | 21,974 | +1.1% |
| 8 | Genoa | 405,813 | 31,770 | 19,061 | 21,359 | +6.6% |
| 9 | Lazio | 399,471 | 31,108 | 10,000 | 21,025 | −39.8% |
| 10 | Torino | 368,449 | 25,868 | 14,327 | 19,392 | +16.2% |
| 11 | Bologna | 359,078 | 29,463 | 15,576 | 18,899 | +24.5%1 |
| 12 | Hellas Verona | 345,678 | 23,423 | 15,198 | 18,194 | −5.7% |
| 13 | Palermo | 324,241 | 33,445 | 10,223 | 18,013 | +3.0% |
| 14 | Udinese | 307,974 | 25,467 | 12,704 | 16,209 | +81.9% |
| 15 | Atalanta | 302,959 | 19,770 | 12,352 | 15,945 | +5.2% |
| 16 | Sassuolo | 217,298 | 20,570 | 7,000 | 11,437 | −10.9% |
| 17 | Chievo | 213,700 | 25,000 | 7,500 | 11,247 | +5.6% |
| 18 | Empoli | 180,695 | 14,693 | 7,309 | 9,510 | +3.0% |
| 19 | Carpi | 170,393 | 17,775 | 5,268 | 8,968 | +197.0%1 |
| 20 | Frosinone | 138,478 | 9,400 | 6,007 | 7,288 | +38.9%1 |
| League total | 8,241,728 | 79,154 | 5,268 | 22,221 | +0.7% |
