Calcio Catania
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| Full name | Calcio Catania SpA | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Nickname(s) | Rossazzurri (Red and light-blues), Gli Elefanti (The Elephants) Etnei |
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| Founded | 1946 (or 1908)[1] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Ground | Stadio Angelo Massimino, Catania, Italy |
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| Capacity | 20,800 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Chairman |  Antonino Pulvirenti |
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| Manager | Pasquale Marino |
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| League | Serie A | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2005-06 | Serie B, 2nd (promoted) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Calcio Catania is an Italian football club founded in 1946 and are based in Catania, Sicily. The club has spent much of its history in Serie B, gaining promotion to Italy's top league; Serie A five times. They currently compete in Serie A after climbing back up the football pyramid.
The club has achieved moderate success in the top league, the highest position ever reached by the club is 8th in Serie A twice, both during the early 1960s. The furthest Catania have progressed in cup competitions is the final of the Coppa delle Alpi.
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[edit] History
The origins of football clubs playing in the Province of Catania can be traced back to June 1908, when Italian film director Gaetano Ventimiglia and Francesco Sturzo d'Aldobrando founded a club named A.S. Educazione Fisica Pro Patria, the club changed its name to Unione Sportiva Catanese two years later.
From 1920 onwards the team played in the local Coppa Federale Siciliana. Seven seasons later in 1927 they were entered into the Campionato Catanese, which was won in the 1928-29 season. As they gained promotion the club were entered into the Second Division, and changed their name first to Società Sportiva Catania and then Associazione Calcio Fascista Catania.
They first competed in Serie B in the 1934-35 season, playing there for four seasons, before the Second World War. As the war took place, the club was folded. Although a historically accurate and credible source for a Catania football club, the club's founding date is generally considered as 1946.
After World War II, a club was instated baring the name Club Calcio Catania, with the first president as Santi Manganaro-Passanisi. They were entered into Serie C where they spent three seasons, after an epic duel with Reggina for first place Catania prevailed with stars such as Goffi, Messora, Ardesi and Prevosti, gaining promotion to Serie B during 1948-49.
[edit] Golden years
The late 1950s through 1960s are considered the golden years for the Catanian club, as they managed to achieve promotion to Serie A on two separate occasions during this time. The first of which was in 1954, and they would manage a respectable 12th place in their first Serie A season but were forcibly relegated due to financial scandal (as were Udinese). They were also relegated because their stadium was destroyed by Mt. Etna when the volcano erupted.
After relegation the club changed chairmen, Rizzo was replaced by the presidential team of Agatino Pesce, Michele Giuffrida and Orlando. In their first season back down in Serie B they almost gained promotion straight away. During the last game of the season against Modena F.C., they would have been promoted if they earned atleast a draw, Catania however lost the game 1-0.
Under the management of Carmelo Di Bella Catania gained promotion from Serie B in the 1959-60 season. The race for promotion in third spot went down to the last day of the season and was very tense. Catania had lost their final game 4-2 to Brescia and needed Parma to get a good result against Triestina for the Sicilian club to secure promotion. That is exactly what happened and Catania gained promotion once more.
They returned into Serie A for the 1960-61 season, enjoyed a six-year stay in the league with an 8th place finish in 1961 above top Italian clubs such as S.S. Lazio and S.S.C. Napoli. This season was also notable for the fact that Catania defeated Internazionale 2-0 on the final day of the season with goals from Castellazzi and Calvanese. This gifted Juventus their 12th scudetto.
Four years later in 1965 they would also finish 8th. This was the club's golden age with stars like midfielders Alvaro Biagini and Cinesinho, and wingers Carlo Facchin and Giancarlo Danova in the side, more than holding its own amongst the giants of Italian football.
After relegation in 1966, Catania would returned to Serie A twice in the next two decades; in 1970-71 and 1983-84 respectively, with the latter proving especially dismal with only one win and 12 points despite the presence of Claudio Ranieri and Brazilian imports Luvanor and Pedrinho.
[edit] Decline and revival
The decline of Catania started immediately after its last relegation to Serie B. The team was no longer able to reach the top division, and instead continued to decline, being relegated to Serie C1 and even Serie C2 within a few years.
The bottom of the club's history, however, was reached in 1993, when the team was cancelled by the FIGC because of financial irregularities. However, after a long judicial battle, the magistrature declared the Italian Federation decision as invalid, and forced it to include the team back into the footballing fold. Catania was thus included in the Sicilian Eccellenza (the sixth level of Italian football), but in the meantime a Sicilian football team, Atletico Leonzio from Lentini, had been relocated in the city and renamed Atletico Catania.
Despite all this, the "real" Catania was able to rise back to Serie C in a relatively small number of years, and even back to Serie B in 2002. In 2003, Catania was in the centre of a controversy that led to the enlargement of Serie B from 20 to 24 teams, known as Caso Catania. The club claimed that Siena used an ineligible player in a 1-1 tie, a result that got Catania relegated, whereas the two extra points from a victory would have kept them safe. They were awarded a 2-0 victory, before the result being reverted, and then re-awarded again.
In August, the FIGC decided to let Catania stay in Serie B. Relegated Genoa and Salernitana stayed as well, and the inclusion of newly-reborn Fiorentina expanded the league to 24 for 2003-04. The ruling led to protests and boycotts by the other Serie B clubs that delayed the start of the season. The league went down to 22 teams for 2004-05, while at the same time Serie A expanded from 18 to 20 teams.
[edit] Recent times
During the year 2004, Antonino Pulvirenti, chairman of the flight company Windjet and owner of A.S. Acireale, a Serie C1 team from a neighbouring city, bought the club from Luciano Gaucci. The new ownership let the team enjoy a revival, and in 2005-06 Catania ended in second position, earning promotion to Serie A.
The 2006-07 season saw Catania in the Serie A for its first appearance in 22 years. In their first season back Catania began well. Although they have recorded a couple of heavy defeats, their home form has seen them peak as high as 4th after 20 games.
[edit] The 2007 Sicilian derby events
On February 2nd, 2007, during the Sicilian derby with U.S. Città di Palermo, policeman Filippo Raciti was killed by ultras during football-related violence.[2] This sad event led Italian Football Federation commissioner Luca Pancalli to cancel every football-related event, including all league and national team matches, as a result. Following these events, Catania chairman and owner Antonino Pulvirenti announced his willingness to leave the football world, stating it was not possible to go on producing football in Catania; contemporarily, the club website was temporarily closed with just an announcement left in it:
- "We're sorry, but it seems so ridiculous to write about football in these times. Our thoughts are only for the relatives of Inspector Raciti, who died to ensure public order during a football match."
[edit] Current first team squad
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[edit] Notable former players
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See Also: Category:Calcio Catania players
[edit] Honours
- Champions: 1953-54
- Promoted: 1959-60, 1969-70, 1982-83, 2005-06
- Runners-up: 1964
- Champions: 1947-48, 1948-49, 1974-75
- Champions: 1979-80
- Promoted: 2001-02
- Champions: 1998-99
- Champions: 1994-95
- Promoted: 1993-94
[edit] Club records
- Highest League Position: 8th, in the 1960-61 and 1964-65 seasons.
- Most League Appearances: 281, Damiano Morra between 1975 and 1984.
- Most League Goals: 47, Guide Klein and Adelmo Prenna.
- Most Serie A Appearances: 150, Giuseppe Vavassori between 1961 and 1966.
[edit] References
- ^ ForzaCatania.it
- ^ "Italian league halted by violence" - BBC News
- ^ Calcio Catania
- ^ Gazzetta dello Sport
