Spezia Calcio
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| Full name | Spezia Calcio | |||
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| Nickname(s) | Aquilotti (Little Eagles) | |||
| Founded | 1906 2008 (refounded) |
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| Ground | Stadio Alberto Picco, La Spezia, Italy |
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| Capacity | 10,336 | |||
| Owner | Gabriele Volpi | |||
| Chairman | Matteo Volpi | |||
| Manager | Domenico Di Carlo | |||
| League | Serie B | |||
| 2014–15 | Serie B, 5th | |||
| Website | Club home page | |||
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Spezia Calcio is an Italian football club, based in La Spezia, Liguria. Currently it plays in Serie B, hosting games at the 10,336-capacity Stadio Alberto Picco.
Contents
History
Foundation
Spezia Calcio was founded in 1906.
1944 scudetto
- See also Campionato Alta Italia 1944
In 1944, because of the World War II the Italian football federation decided to split the top league in regional rounds. The team, named 42° Corpo dei Vigili del Fuoco della Spezia (Firefighters of La Spezia) after a merger with the local firefighter to have a sufficient number of players, was included in Round D of Emilia-Romagna, together with Corradini Suzzara, Fidentina, Orlandi Busseto and Parma. Spezia won the round and qualified to the semi-finals, in which it challenged Suzzara, Carpi and Modena. Spezia won also this round, winning five of the six matches played, losing only to Carpi. By winning the semi-final round, Spezia was admitted to play a two-legs play-off against Bologna.
The first match, played in Bologna, was suspended because of incidents started after the 1–0 goal of Spezia, contested by the Bologna supporters; Spezia was awarded a 2–0 win because of that. The return match, scheduled to be played in La Spezia, was first moved to Carpi, because of the heavy bombings underwent by the Ligurian city in the period, then cancelled because of protest by Bologna chairman Renato Dall'Ara, so Spezia was admitted to the final without playing the return match.
The finals, held in Milan, were played against Venezia and Torino. On 9 July 1944, the first match between Spezia and Venezia was played: it ended in a 1–1 draw, commented by the Gazzetta as "surprising result".
On 16 July, Spezia challenged the Great Torino, with Vittorio Pozzo as coach and Silvio Piola as striker. The match ended in an epic 2–1 victory of Spezia. After the third match, in which Torino beat Venezia in a 5–2 win, Spezia was declared champion.
However, the Italian league of 1944 was not immediately considered as official by the Italian federation, because it was obtained during war times in a reduced league, and the only scudetto of Spezia was finally awarded only in 2002 by the Federation, even if not counted officially as an Italian championship triumph, but as a "decoration".
Today, Spezia remembers the 1944 triumph by playing with a tricolour badge on the team's official jersey (but different from the Scudetto), with the authorisation of the Football Federation.
From Serie B to the bankruptcy
In 2002, the club reached an agreement with Inter,[1] made the club became Inter's feeder club and reserve team. The team got Goran Pandev, Aco Stojkov (now Macedonian internationals) and Alex Cordaz in the first season. In the second season, Cristian Lizzori, Luca Ceccarelli and Nicola Napolitano was signed from Inter. In 2004–05 season Spezia got Antonio Rizzo from ACF Fiorentina and Paolo Castelli from Inter..
Players likes Alex Cordaz, Riccardo Meggiorini and Paolo Hernán Dellafiore joined the team directly from Inter to boost the team in January 2005. The season ended with winning Coppa Italia Serie C.[2] After the season, Inter sold most of the shares of Spezia.[3]
In 2006, the team won Serie C1 champion and promoted to Serie B. With mid-season signing Guilherme do Prado, Tomás Guzmán, Corrado Colombo and the old member Massimiliano Guidetti and Nicola Santoni, Spezia survived in Serie B. But in the next season, with Isah Eliakwu, Colombo and Do Prado, the club failed to make the miracle happened twice.
In 2008, due to financial difficulty and following their relegation from Serie B, the club was forced to declare bankruptcy.[4] In June 2011 FIGC banned numbers of former board member of old Spezia for sports fraud, namely Giuseppe Ruggeri, Cristina Cappelluti, Rocco Russo, Accursio Scorza, Piero Ausilio and Francesco Meriggi.[5]
The refoundation
The team was refounded in 2008 as A.S.D. Spezia Calcio 2008 by Gabriele Volpi the owner of water polo team of Pro Recco, winner of numerous scudetti and admitted to Serie D, thanks to Article 52 NOIF of FIGC.[6]
Upon promotion in Lega Pro Seconda Divisione at the end of the Serie D 2008-09 season, A.S.D. Spezia changes its denomination in the current "Spezia Calcio".[7] Spezia finished Girone A of Lega Pro Seconda Divisione as 2nd and quaified for promotion play-offs in 2009–10 season. Spezia defeated Pavia at semifinal and Legnano at final and promoted to Girone A of Lega Pro Prima Divisione with making second consecutive promotion.
2011–12 season: triplete
The club in the season 2011–12 obtains for the first time in Lega Pro a prestigious "triplete":
- winning the
Coppa Italia Lega Pro, - winning also the Supercoppa di Lega di Prima Divisione
- after having previously promoted from Lega Pro Prima Divisione/B to Serie B, retrieving well 11 points in only two last months at Trapani.
Current squad
- As of 7 August 2015.[8]
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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Out on loan
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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Seasons
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Honours
- Serie A 1: 1944 (decoration)
- Coppa Italia Serie C 1: 2004–05
- Coppa Italia Lega Pro 1: 2011–12
- Supercoppa di Lega Serie C1 1: 2005–06
- Supercoppa di Lega di Prima Divisione 1:2011–12
- Serie C 3: 1928–29, 1935–36, 1939–40
- Serie C1 1: 2005–06
- Lega Pro Prima Divisione 1: 2011–12
- Serie C2 3: 1979–80, 1985–86, 1999–00
- Serie D 2: 1957–58, 1965–66
References
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- ↑ http://www.civile.it/sportivo/visual.php?num=74385
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External links
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.. |
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| Miscellaneous | |
- EngvarB from May 2014
- Use dmy dates from May 2014
- Spezia Calcio 1906
- Football clubs in Italy
- Football clubs in Liguria
- Association football clubs established in 1906
- Italian football First Division clubs
- Serie B clubs
- Lega Pro Prima Divisione clubs
- Lega Pro Seconda Divisione clubs
- Scudetto winners
- 1906 establishments in Italy
