What Happened in Serie B 1985-86
In the previous season, Pisa, Lecce and Bari had been promoted to Serie A, while Ascoli, Lazio and Cremonese had been relegated.
For obvious reasons, the three clubs that had played in Serie A the previous season were among the favourites for promotion in 1985-86. Perugia and Triestina, who had narrowly missed out the previous year, were also expected to challenge for a place in the top flight.
September
Triestina won their first three games and moved to the top of the table, followed by a large group of teams including Lazio, who had played all three of their opening matches at the Olimpico.
Triestina 7, Ascoli 6, Lazio 6, Cesena 6, Brescia 6, Sambenedettese 6, Genoa 5, Vicenza 5, Cagliari 5, Empoli 4, Catanzaro 4, Bologna 3, Pescara 3, Palermo 3, Catania 3, Cremonese 2, Monza 2, Arezzo 2, Campobasso 1, Perugia 1
October
On the sixth match day, Lazio beat Triestina at home to move to the top of the table, level on points with Cesena, Brescia and Sambenedettese. Two games later, only Ascoli remained alongside Lazio at the summit.
The Biancocelesti had won all five of their home matches but had struggled somewhat away from the Olimpico.
Ascoli 11, Lazio 11, Cesena 10, Brescia 10, Sambenedettese 10, Triestina 10, Genoa 9, Vicenza 9, Empoli 9, Pescara 8, Bologna 8, Catania 8, Catanzaro 7, Perugia 7, Cremonese 6, Monza 6, Arezzo 6, Cagliari 6, Palermo 5, Campobasso 4
November
The big match on the tenth matchday saw Lazio face Ascoli, but the game ended goalless. The Biancocelesti lost ground and were overtaken by Cesena, Sambenedettese and Brescia.
Ascoli 16, Cesena 15, Sambenedettese 15, Brescia 14, Lazio 13, Genoa 13, Vicenza 13, Bologna 13, Triestina 13, Cremonese 12, Empoli 12, Pescara 11, Monza 11, Catanzaro 11, Perugia 11, Arezzo 10, Palermo 10, Catania 10, Campobasso 9, Cagliari 8
December
The race remained extremely tight, with every team except Ascoli within eight points. With the season approaching its halfway point, almost anything was still possible.
Ascoli 23, Cesena 20, Vicenza 18, Brescia 18, Triestina 18, Genoa 17, Lazio 17, Empoli 17, Cremonese 16, Bologna 16, Sambenedettese 16, Catania 15, Catanzaro 15, Pescara 14, Palermo 14, Campobasso 14, Perugia 14, Arezzo 13, Cagliari 13, Monza 12
January
Ascoli had opened up a four-point lead as the promotion picture continued to change. Lazio were losing ground, largely because they continued to struggle for victories away from home.
Ascoli 29, Brescia 25, Vicenza 24, Triestina 23, Cesena 22, Empoli 22, Cremonese 21, Bologna 20, Genoa 20, Sambenedettese 20, Lazio 20, Campobasso 19, Palermo 18, Perugia 18, Catania 18, Pescara 17, Arezzo 17, Catanzaro 17, Cagliari 16, Monza 14
February
Brescia picked up relatively few points during February, allowing Ascoli to establish themselves at the top of the table. The battles at both ends remained extremely tight.
Ascoli 35, Brescia 29, Cesena 28, Vicenza 28, Empoli 28, Genoa 27, Triestina 27, Cremonese 25, Bologna 24, Lazio 24, Sambenedettese 23, Perugia 23, Palermo 22, Campobasso 22, Pescara 21, Arezzo 21, Catania 21, Catanzaro 19, Cagliari 18, Monza 15
March
Lazio effectively abandoned any remaining hopes of promotion after losing 4-3 at home to Vicenza. The defeat left the Biancocelesti surprisingly close to the relegation zone.
Ascoli had also slowed down, losing the big game away to Brescia, allowing the chasing pack to close the gap. At the other end, Monza were now in serious danger of dropping into Serie C.
Ascoli 37, Brescia 36, Vicenza 35, Empoli 34, Genoa 32, Cesena 31, Triestina 31, Bologna 29, Cremonese 27, Palermo 27, Sambenedettese 27, Lazio 27, Campobasso 27, Perugia 25, Arezzo 25, Cagliari 24, Pescara 23, Catania 23, Catanzaro 23, Monza 17
April
With seven games remaining, Ascoli and Brescia had established a five-point advantage over fourth-placed Empoli. Vicenza were three points clear of Empoli in the final promotion position, although several other teams could still hope to challenge.
At the other end, however, there was chaos. Eleven teams were separated by just four points in the battle to avoid the three relegation places.
Ascoli 41, Brescia 41, Vicenza 39, Empoli 36, Cesena 35, Genoa 34, Triestina 34, Bologna 33, Cremonese 30, Palermo 29, Sambenedettese 28, Perugia 28, Lazio 28, Cagliari 28, Catania 28, Campobasso 28, Catanzaro 27, Pescara 26, Arezzo 26, Monza 21
May
With three games remaining, Ascoli and Brescia needed just one more point to secure promotion to Serie A, while Vicenza remained the other strong candidate.
At the bottom, Perugia, Palermo, Lazio and Cagliari were just one point clear of the relegation zone and facing serious danger.
Ascoli 46, Brescia 46, Vicenza 44, Empoli 40, Cesena 39, Triestina 39, Genoa 38, Bologna 37, Cremonese 34, Arezzo 33, Campobasso 33, Catania 32, Perugia 31, Palermo 31, Lazio 31, Cagliari 31, Sambenedettese 30, Pescara 30, Catanzaro 30, Monza 25
June
On the 36th matchday, Ascoli and Brescia secured promotion to Serie A. Vicenza needed just one more game to secure third place.
With two matches remaining, the bottom half of the table looked like this: Arezzo and Campobasso 34, Catania and Cagliari 33, Pescara, Perugia, Palermo and Lazio 32, Sambenedettese 31, Catanzaro 30.
In the penultimate round, Lazio won away at Catanzaro, securing their survival and condemning the Calabrian side to relegation.
Perugia and Pescara both needed victories in the final round to survive, but both lost at home and appeared to be relegated.
Then, however, something happened that changed the entire picture.
Ascoli 50, Brescia 47, Vicenza 46, Empoli 45, Triestina 45, Bologna 41, Genoa 40, Cesena 39, Cremonese 37, Campobasso 37, Arezzo 36, Lazio 36, Catania 36, Sambenedettese 35, Cagliari 35, Palermo 34, Pescara 33, Perugia 32, Catanzaro 30, Monza 26
Aftermath
On May 2, 1986, Armando Carbone, the right-hand man of Italo Allodi, was arrested. Allodi was one of the most influential figures in Italian football and had worked for several major clubs, including Juventus and Inter. In 1986, he was working for Napoli.
Carbone told magistrates that a match-fixing network existed, involving clubs at various levels of Italian football. Numerous clubs were subsequently investigated, including Bari, Napoli and Udinese in Serie A, as well as many more from Serie B and Serie C.
The investigation eventually had a dramatic impact on the final Serie B standings.
Vicenza's promotion was annulled, while Triestina received a one-point deduction for the 1986-87 season and a further four-point deduction for the following campaign. Cagliari were deducted five points for the next season, while Lazio were given a nine-point penalty.
Perugia, who had already been relegated on the field, were instead sent down to Serie C2. Palermo, meanwhile, went bankrupt.
As a result, Empoli were promoted to Serie A, while Pescara were reprieved from relegation.
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