Chievo Verona and Football’s Second Chapters
AC Chievo Verona once stood for Italian football’s most unlikely success story. When financial problems pushed the club out of Serie B in 2021, the name looked finished. Today, Chievo plays again in Serie D, rebuilt around former captain Sergio Pellissier and strengthened by the signing of Douglas Costa.
A Rich Football History
Chievo was founded in 1929 in the small suburb of Chievo, a small district on the edge of Verona shaped more by local workers than by professional sport. For much of its early history, the club played in regional divisions until financial pressure forced it to fold in the 1930s. After the Second World War the club was reformed, reflecting a stubborn local commitment to keep the team alive. A decisive shift came in 1964 when Luigi Campedelli, a successful entrepreneur, took over as chairman. His leadership brought structure, long term planning and financial discipline, laying the foundation for gradual but consistent progress.
Over the following decades, Chievo climbed step by step through the Italian league system. Promotions in the 1970s and 1980s carried the club into Serie C and later Serie B. Sharing their stadium with Hellas Verona placed Chievo in direct comparison with a historic city rival, yet the contrast strengthened its identity rather than diminishing it. The nickname “Flying Donkeys,” first intended as mockery by Hellas supporters who claimed donkeys would fly before Chievo reached Serie A, became a symbol of defiance. In 2001, under coach Luigi Delneri, that defiance turned into reality with promotion to Serie A for the first time.
The 2001 to 2002 season became one of Italian football’s most remarkable campaigns, as the newly promoted side led the league for six weeks and ultimately finished fifth, earning European qualification and establishing Chievo as a model of intelligent team building and collective spirit. After their breakthrough season, Chievo Verona stayed in Serie A for six seasons. In 2008 in Serie B, they got promoted after a year and played in the Serie A until 2019.
The Tragic Collapse of Chievo Verona
In 2018, the Italian FA found that Chievo had inflated transfer values in deals with Cesena, artificially boosting capital gains in their accounts. The club received a three point deduction and a fine, but more importantly, its credibility was damaged. The practice exposed a model that relied too heavily on accounting manoeuvres rather than sustainable revenue growth.
At the same time, Chievo were no longer the surprise package of Serie A. Relegation in 2019 reduced television income dramatically, and without strong commercial power or a large fan base, the club struggled to replace that revenue. Years of tight budgets and limited investment caught up with them. When the COVID period hit Italian football, smaller clubs like Chievo were particularly vulnerable, with matchday income and sponsorship under pressure.
By 2021, the financial strain had reached breaking point. The club failed to meet the requirements to register for the new Serie B season, with reports highlighting unpaid taxes and missing guarantees. Sporting and civil authorities rejected the appeals. Without approval to compete, the league excluded Chievo from professional football. One of Italy’s smartest small-club projects ended not with relegation on the pitch, but with financial collapse off it.
Chievo’s Second Chapter
After the collapse, Sergio Pellissier chose action over nostalgia. As Chievo’s former captain and symbolic figure, he founded a new club structure to keep football alive in the district when the original company could no longer operate. Without access to the historic name at first, he launched FC Clivense in 2021 and accepted the reality of starting again from the lower divisions. The priority was stability, transparent management and a clean financial base.
The decisive moment came in May 2024, when Pellissier won the auction to reacquire the Chievo Verona brand for 330,000 euros. With the name and crest back under local control, the project gained both legitimacy and emotional weight. Around 800 members took part in the next steps and voted to restore the AC Chievo Verona name while keeping Clivense’s white and light blue colours as a bridge between past and present. The message was clear. This was not a simple revival, but a rebuilt institution shaped by collective responsibility.
Now in Serie D, the focus is on credibility and long term structure rather than quick headlines. The club carefully measures its investments, shares governance among its members, and positions itself as a sustainable community project rooted in Verona. In January 2026, the club signed Brazilian superstar Douglas Costa, who immediately brought experience and visibility. In a way, Chievo’s new chapter reflects the same spirit that once carried the club from a Verona neighbourhood to Serie A. Modest resources, stubborn belief, and a refusal to disappear.
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