Cesena FC

Cesena
Full nameCesena Football Club
Nickname(s)I Cavallucci Marini (The Seahorses)
I Bianconeri (The White and Blacks)
Founded2018 (2018)
GroundOrogel Stadium-Dino Manuzzi
Capacity20,194
ChairmanJohn Aiello, Mike Melby [1]
ManagerMichele Mignani
LeagueSerie B
2024–25Serie B, 7th of 20
Websitecalciocesena.com

Cesena Football Club is an Italian professional football club based in Cesena, Emilia-Romagna. It currently plays in the Serie B, after promotion from the Serie C in 2023–24. It has claimed to be the phoenix club of AC Cesena since 2018, the year that the club folded.

History

Foundation

The club was founded in 2018.

Serie D

After going bankrupt in 2018, the Associazione Calcio Cesena restarted its activities the following year with a new club called Cesena Football Club. It restarted from Serie D, immediately winning its first championship, and thus rising to Serie C in the 2018-2019 season. He then played five championships in Serie C, from 2019-2020 to 2023-2024, the year in which he won the Serie C championship, in group B, thus returning to Serie B exactly six years after bankruptcy. In the 2024-2025 season he will therefore play his 33rd Serie B championship

R.C. Cesena

In July 2018, after the bankruptcy of the main football team of the city, A.C. Cesena, a group of local businessmen acquired Romagna Centro and proposed to rename it to Cesena F.C., to act as a phoenix club. However, the image rights of A.C. Cesena were acquired later.[2] The club played a friendly match against Romanian club Universitatea Cluj in 2018–19 pre-season.[3] In July 2018, Romagna Centro announced that the youth sector would train with former A.C. Cesena players.[4] However, the club was later known as Cesena F.C., and was assigned to Group F of 2018–19 Serie D.[5]

Cesena FC

The club was renamed Cesena Football Club.

In the 2019–20 season, the club competed in the Serie C's Girone B.

In 2023–24 season, Cesena secured promotion to the following season's Serie B as Serie C Girone B champion.

Colours and badge

The current shirt colors are black and white, so that the nickname of the club is "bianconeri".

Stadiums

The club play their home matches in Stadio Dino Manuzzi,[6][7] the larger stadium in the city.

The stadium is quite famous in Italy, and has also hosted some Euro 2019 U-21 matches, charity matches and some other events like concerts, as of Rockin'1000

Honours

Leagues

Cups

Current squad

As of 7 July 2025[8]

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player
7 DF  ITA Daniele Donnarumma
9 FW  ALB Cristian Shpendi
13 DF  ITA Raffaele Celia
14 MF  ITA Tommaso Berti
15 DF  ITA Andrea Ciofi (vice-captain)
17 MF  ITA Emanuele Adamo
18 MF  ITA Alessandro Giovannini
19 DF  ITA Giuseppe Prestia (captain)
22 GK  ALB Giulio Veliaj
24 DF  ITA Massimiliano Mangraviti
26 DF  ITA Matteo Piacentini
30 MF  ITA Simone Bastoni
32 MF  ITA Gianmarco Castorri
No. Pos. Nation Player
33 GK  USA Jonathan Klinsmann
35 MF  ITA Giacomo Calò
39 GK  ITA Niccolò Fontana
44 DF  ITA Federico Valentini
70 MF  ITA Matteo Francesconi
71 DF  ITA Giulio Manetti
73 DF  ITA Simone Pieraccini
92 FW  ITA Valentino Coveri
93 GK  ITA Alessandro Siano
99 GK  ITA William Montalti
DF  ROU Antonio David
DF  ITA Luigi Silvestri
FW  ITA Roberto Ogunseye

Cesena Primavera

As of 1 February 2025

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player
34 FW  SEN Ibrahima Papa Wade

Out on loan

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player
DF  ITA Enea Pitti (at Carpi until 30 June 2026)
No. Pos. Nation Player
DF  ITA Diego Rossi (at Monopoli until 30 June 2026)

Technical staff

As of 26 October 2024[9]
Position Staff
Head coach Michele Mignani
Assistant coach Simone Vergassola
Athletic coach Giorgio D'Urbano
Goalkeeping coach Antonello Degiorgi
Giuseppe Mammoliti
Assistant Athletic coach Massimo Magrini
Filippo Medda
Technical assistant Davide Campofranco
Match analyst Emanuele Insalata
Team manager Matteo Visani
Club manager Alberto Santarelli
Referee caretaker Fiorenzo Treossi
Head of medical staff Gianluigi Sella
First Team doctor Eva Bernardi
Antonio Argentoni
Giorgio Gandolfi
Physiotherapist Costantino Cucciniello
Francesco Canali
Stefano Valentini

References

  1. ^ "LA SOCIETÀ" (in Italian). Cesena FC. Archived from the original on 13 November 2023. Retrieved 13 November 2023.
  2. ^ "Scelta la cordata di Pubblisole, nasce la nuova avventura del "Cesena FC"". Cesena Today (in Italian). 23 July 2018. Archived from the original on 29 April 2021. Retrieved 6 August 2018.
  3. ^ "Studenții în Italia. "U" a făcut scor cu cei de la Romagna Centro: 8-1. Sâmbătă întâlnim Perugia!" (Press release) (in Romanian). FC Universitatea Cluj. 19 July 2018. Archived from the original on 23 July 2018. Retrieved 6 August 2018.
  4. ^ "COMUNICATO SETTORE GIOVANILE" (Press release) (in Italian). A.S.D. Romagna Centro Cesena. 25 July 2018. Archived from the original on 31 August 2018. Retrieved 20 August 2018.
  5. ^ "Gironi 2018/2019" (Press release) (in Italian). Lega Nazionale Dilettanti. 30 August 2018. Archived from the original on 31 August 2018. Retrieved 31 August 2018.
  6. ^ "Romagna Centro-Piacenza anticipata a sabato 21 febbraio". Sport Piacenza (in Italian). 16 February 2015. Archived from the original on 13 October 2018. Retrieved 13 October 2018.
  7. ^ "Il Romagna Centro per rafforzare il vivaio del Cesena: accordo fatto". Cesena Today (in Italian). 4 July 2016. Retrieved 13 October 2018.
  8. ^ "Cesena Prima Squadra". Cesena FC (in Italian). Retrieved 26 October 2024.
  9. ^ "Staff Tecnico" (in Italian). Cesena FC. Archived from the original on 8 October 2024. Retrieved 26 October 2024.