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Spezia

Full name	Spezia Calcio
Nickname(s)	Aquilotti (Little Eagles)
Founded	1906; 112 years ago (1906) 2008; 10 years ago (2008) (refounded)
Ground	Stadio Alberto Picco, La Spezia, Italy
Capacity	10,336
Owner	Gabriele Volpi
Chairman	Andrea Corradino
Manager	Pasquale Marino
League	Serie B
2017–18	Serie B, 10th
Website	Club website
Home colours Away colours Third colours
Current season

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.

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, with the Milan club holding a percentage in Spezia ownership shares. 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 against Frosinone.^[2] After the season, Inter sold most of the shares of Spezia.^[3]
The next season (2005–06) started with the arrival of a new owner and a new manager, respectively Giuseppe Ruggieri and Antonio Soda. After a long battle for the first position with rivals Genoa C.F., Spezia were crowned Serie C1 champion and promoted to Serie B after 55 years of absence. The squad included Vito Grieco, Massimiliano Guidetti, Giuseppe Alessi, Massimiliano Varricchio and Roberto Maltagliati. Life in a Serie B with powerhouses Juventus, Genoa C.F.C. and S.S.C. Napoli was difficult for the newly promoted Ligurian side, which themselves were fighting to avoid the relegation spots. With mid-season signing Guilherme do Prado, Tomás Guzmán, Corrado Colombo, the old member Massimiliano Guidetti's good form and Nicola Santoni, Spezia survived in Serie B, gaining participation in the playout round after a late 3–2 victory in Turin against Juventus. Spezia then survived by winning the playout round against Hellas Verona. But in the next season, with Isah Eliakwu, Colombo and Do Prado, the club failed to make the miracle happened twice, primarily due to a troubled situation in the financies of the club.

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 sanctioned numbers of former board member of old Spezia for sports fraud.^[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 and Croatian side HNK Rijeka, 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 qualified 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 20 August 2018.^[8]

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

No. Position Player 1 GK Eugenio Lamanna 2 FW Pablo Granoche 3 DF Tommaso Augello 4 DF Roberto Crivello 5 DF Nicolas Giani 6 MF Luca Mora 7 FW Nicholas Pierini (on loan from Sassuolo) 8 MF Matteo Ricci (on loan from Roma) 9 FW Andrey Galabinov 10 FW Giuseppe Mastinu 11 FW Emmanuel Gyasi 12 GK Axel Desjardins 13 DF Elio Capradossi (on loan from Roma) 15 DF Marco Crimi (on loan from Entella) 16 MF Paolo Bartolomei

No. Position Player 17 FW Sveinn Guðjohnsen 18 MF Alberto De Francesco 19 DF Claudio Terzi 20 MF Simone Bastoni 21 FW David Okereke 22 GK Niccolò Manfredini 23 DF Filippo De Col 24 MF Luca Vignali 25 MF Giulio Maggiore 26 FW Soufiane Bidaoui 27 MF Matteo Figoli 28 DF Martin Erlić (on loan from Sassuolo) 29 MF Gennaro Acampora 34 FW Irakli Shekiladze

Out on loan

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

No. Position Player DF Marco Crocchianti (at F.C. Südtirol)

No. Position Player

Seasons

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

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Spezia Calcio 1906.

• Official site