Cagliari Calcio

Cagliari

Full name	Cagliari Calcio SpA
Nickname(s)	Rossoblu (Red-blues) Isolani (Islanders)
Founded	August 20, 1920
Ground	Stadio Sant'Elia, Cagliari, Italy (Capacity: 23,486)
Chairman	Massimo Cellino
Head coach	Pierpaolo Bisoli
League	Serie A
2009–10	Serie A, 16th
Home colours Away colours Third colours

Cagliari Calcio (in Sardinian Casteddu) is an Italian football club based in Cagliari, Sardinia. The club was formed in 1920 and currently plays in Italian Serie A, having spent a large part of recent years mainly in Serie A and Serie B.

They won their only scudetto in 1970, when they were led by Italian national team all-time leading scorer, Gigi Riva. The team's colors are blue and red. The club's stadium is the 23,486 seater Stadio Sant'Elia.

History

Before Serie A

Cagliari became the first ever out-right champions of Serie C during the 1951–52 season, prior to that in the league the championship was shared amongst more than one team. They spent the 1950s from then on in Serie B, losing a promotion play-off in 1954. After descending to Serie C in the early 1960s, Cagliari's rise would be meteoric- eventually achieving promotion to Serie A in 1964.

First Serie A adventure: 1964–1976

The squad for the Rossoblu's debut season in Serie A featured players like defender Mario Martiradonna, midfielders Pierluigi Cera and Ricciotti Greatti, and forward Luigi Riva. A poor first half of the season saw Cagliari in last place with 9 points at the halfway mark. An astonishing second half of the season saw Cagliari defeat the likes of Juventus and Milan and finish in 7th place with 34 points. Two seasons later Riva finished Serie A top scorer for the first time while Cagliari finished with the league's best defensive record.

During the summer of 1967, Cagliari played a season in North America as part of a fledgling league called the United Soccer Association. This league from Europe and South America to play in American and Canadian cities, with each club bearing a local name. Cagliari played as the Chicago Mustangs, and finished joint second in the league's Western Division with 13 points, two behind the division champion and eventual league champion Los Angeles Wolves. The league's leading scorer was Chicago/Cagliari's Roberto Boninsegna, who scored 10 goals while playing in 9 of the team's 12 games.

Cagliari first emerged as serious Serie A title contenders in 1968–69 with a three-horse race involving them, Fiorentina and Milan. Fiorentina would win the league, but the following season would bring ultimate glory. With Angelo Domenghini joining the side, Cagliari would win the title in 1970 with only two games lost, 11 goals conceded (the fewest in any major European league to date) and Riva as league top scorer once more. Players like Cera, Domenghini and Riva played in Italy's 1970 World Cup Final team.

The 1970s would see a gradual decline (though were title contenders two years after their one and only scudetto win) Cagliari were finally relegated in 1976 with Riva's career having effectively ended during that season.

Up and down again: 1976–87

After relegation, Cagliari lost a play-off for promotion the following season and would return to Serie A in 1979. Players like Franco Selvaggi, Mario Brugnera (a survivor of the 1970 team) and Alberto Marchetti ensured a respectable four-year stay in the top flight before a second relegation in 1983. The 80s would then prove to be a darker time compared to the previous two decades with relegation to Serie C1 in 1987.

There and back: 1987–2000

Cagliari spent two seasons in Serie C1. In the first one it barely avoided relegation in Serie C2. In 1988, Claudio Ranieri was appointed coach, and led the team to two successive promotions, to Serie B in 1989 and to Serie A in 1990. The first two seasons back in Serie A saw Cagliari fight relegation, with safety being achieved by excellent second half runs. But season 1992–93 would see Cagliari fight for a European place and succeed under the management of Carlo Mazzone. The following season saw a run to the semi-finals of the UEFA Cup, unprecedented for the Sardinian club.

The next few years would see Cagliari return to mid-table anonymity, before a struggle in 1996–97 saw Cagliari relegated after losing a play-off to Piacenza. Once more they bounced back after just one year, but their next stay in Serie A lasted just two seasons.

Once and again: 2000 onwards

Cagliari spent the next four seasons in Serie B, for most part in mid-table mediocrity. But 2003–04 would see the Rossoblu, led by Sardinian-born Gianfranco Zola, mount a successful promotion challenge and the following season saw Cagliari hold their own in Serie A with a respectable mid-table finish. The following season was a quiet one for the Sardinians, that obtained a good mid-table position (12th place).

The 2005–06 season, the first without Zola, started in the worst way possible for Cagliari, which changed its manager for three times, with Attilio Tesser, Daniele Arrigoni and Davide Ballardini alternating to the position of coach, before Nedo Sonetti, appointed in November, who was able to save the team from a relegation also thanks to goals of Honduran striker David Suazo. For the 2006–2007 season, Marco Giampaolo was signed as head coach, however he was fired after the 17th matchday and replaced by Franco Colomba. However, after a number of poor performances ending in a 2–0 home defeat to Lazio, Colomba was sacked, and chairman Cellino chose to reinstate Giampaolo as head coach. Giampaolo was confirmed for the 2007–08 season, and his contract was extended for two more years.

The 2007–08 season saw the flagship strikers David Suazo, Esposito and Langella leave for Internazionale, Roma and Atalanta respectively, and the experienced goalkeeper Chimenti leave for Udinese. The club reinforced itself with youngsters likes Acquafresca, Matri, Foggia, Argentine Larrivey and Slovenian Koprivec . Nedo Sonetti returned to coach the Rossoblu in November 2007 after Giampaolo was relieved of his duties as a result of poor results in the first part of the 2007–08 Serie A season that saw them sink to the bottom of the Serie A standings. In the January transfer window, Cagliari made changes to their squad with goalkeepers Vincenzo Marruocco and Marco Fortin replaced by Marco Storari and Luca Capecchi, along with experienced striker Jeda, and the Sardinian midfielder Andrea Cossu. With these new players Cagliari won many matches and continued their climb up the table eventually ending the season at 14th. The 2008–09 season saw Cagliari start their season badly losing their first 5 matches. However, despite their rough start, they went on to end the season at a comfortable 9th place, 19 points above relegation.

Players

Current squad

As of 1 September 2010^[1]

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

No. Position Player 1 GK Michael Agazzi 2 DF Dario Biasi 3 DF Lorenzo Ariaudo 4 MF Radja Nainggolan 5 MF Daniele Conti (captain) 7 MF Andrea Cossu 8 MF Davide Biondini 9 FW Robert Acquafresca (on loan from Genoa) 10 MF Andrea Lazzari 12 GK Marco Ruzittu 13 DF Davide Astori 14 DF Francesco Pisano 15 MF Daniele Giorico 16 MF Mikhail Sivakov

No. Position Player 18 FW Nenê 20 MF Simon Laner 21 DF Michele Canini 22 GK Federico Marchetti 23 MF Alex Pinardi 24 MF Gabriele Perico 25 GK Ivan Pelizzoli 26 DF Paolo Dametto 28 DF Daniele Magliocchetti 30 FW Daniele Ragatzu 31 DF Alessandro Agostini 32 FW Alessandro Matri — FW Mattia Gallon — MF Rafael Acosta

Out on loan

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

No. Position Player GK Mauro Vigorito (at Carrarese) MF Mattia Bodano (at Gavorrano) MF Salvatore Burrai (at Foggia) MF Enrico Cotza (co-ownership with Villacidrese) MF Marco Mancosu (co-ownership with Siracusa)

No. Position Player MF Enrico Verachi (at San Marino) FW Andrea Cocco (co-ownership with AlbinoLeffe) FW Joaquín Larrivey (at Colón de Santa Fe) FW Marco Sau (at Foggia)

Retired numbers

11 – Luigi Riva, striker, 1963–78

Notable former players

Including only players with at least 100 appearances in the club, or an appearance in a FIFA World Cup edition

Presidential history

Cagliari have had numerous presidents over the course of their history, some of which have been the owners of the club, others have been honorary presidents, here is a complete list of them:^[2]

Managerial history

Cagliari have had many managers and trainers, some seasons they have had co-managers running the team, here is a chronological list of them from when they founded in 1920 onwards.^[3]

Name Nationality Years Gaetano Fichera 1920–21 Giorgio Mereu 1921–23 Angelo Colombo 1923–26 Natale Archibusacci 1926–27 Roberto Winkler 1927–30 Egri Erbstein 1930–32 András Kuttik 1932–34 Enrico Crotti 1934–35 Ferenc Molnár 1935 Roberto Orani 1935–36 Renato Bonello 1936–38 Roberto Winkler 1938–39 Mariolino Congiu 1939–41 Mariolino Congiu Enrico Corrias 1941–42 Mariolino Congiu 1942–46 Raffaele D'Aquino 1946–48 Roberto Winkler 1948–49 Armando Latella 1949–50 Mariolino Congiu 1950 Enrico Carpitelli 1950–51 Mariolino Congiu 1951 Federico Allasio 1951–54 Vincenzo Soro 1954 Carlo Alberto Quario 1954–55 Silvio Piola 1955–56 Carlo Rigotti 1956–57 Silvio Piola 1957 Mariolino Congiu 1957–58 Piero Andreoli 1958 Stefano Perati 1958–60 Carlo Rigotti 1960–61 Arturo Silvestri 1961–66 Ettore Puricelli 1967–68 Manlio Scopigno 1968–72 Edmondo Fabbri 1972–73 Giuseppe Chiappella 1973–75 Luigi Radice 1975 Luis Suárez 1975–76 Mario Tiddia 1976 Lauro Toneatto 1976–78

Name Nationality Years Mario Tiddia 1978–81 Paolo Carosi 1981–82 Gustavo Giagnoni 1982–83 Mario Tiddia 1983–84 Fernando Veneranda 1984–85 Renzo Ulivieri 1985–86 Gustavo Giagnoni 1986–87 Enzo Robotti 1987–88 Mario Tiddia 1988 Claudio Ranieri 1988–91 Massimo Giacomini 1991 Carlo Mazzone 1991–93 Luigi Radice 1993–94 Bruno Giorgi 1994 Oscar Washington Tabarez 1994–95 Giovanni Trapattoni 1995–96 Bruno Giorgi 1996 Gregorio Pérez 1996 Carlo Mazzone 1996–97 Giampiero Ventura 1997–99 Oscar Washington Tabarez 1999 Renzo Ulivieri 1999–00 Gianfranco Bellotto 2000–01 Giuseppe Materazzi 2001 Antonio Sala 2001–02 Giulio Nuciari 2002 Nedo Sonetti 2002 Giampiero Ventura 2002–04 Edoardo Reja 2004 Daniele Arrigoni 2004–05 Attilio Tesser 2005 Daniele Arrigoni 2005 Davide Ballardini 2005–06 Nedo Sonetti 2006 Marco Giampaolo 2006–07 Nedo Sonetti 2007 Davide Ballardini 2007–08 Massimiliano Allegri 2008–10 Giorgio Melis (caretaker) 2010 Pierpaolo Bisoli 2010–

Colours, badge and nicknames

Cagliari's 2008 third kit.

Cagliari's crest used prior to 1970.

Cagliari's previous logo

The official red and blue colours of Cagliari mirror those featured on the stemma of Cagliari.^[4] The red parts of the stemma are a reference to the coat of arms of the House of Savoy, a family which was previously the monarchy of Italy and more relevantly to Cagliari in particular, the Kingdom of Sardinia.^[4] The blue part of the stemma features the sky and the sea, also a castle; this is because the old historic center of Cagliari is walled and called the Castello.^[4] Due to the use of these colours on their shirt in halves, the club is commonly nicknamed rossoblu.^[5]

Cagliari have had several different logo designs during their history, all of which feature the Flag of Sardinia.^[6] Usually the badge also features the club colours, if there is a change the main difference has been the colour of the border or the shape.^[6]

Currently the badge features an upright-oval which is coloured in blue and red halves, it features the club's name in black. Inside this is an Old French-shaped escutcheon with red and blue halves, with the colours the opposite way around to the outer layer; inside this is the Flag of Sardinia and the club's foundation date, 1920 in black^[6]. Interestingly, the badge was not changed to match the change in the Sardinian flag in 1992, when the moor's heads were turned to the right; in Cagliari logo the heads still look to the left.

Due to the fact that Cagliari are the main club from the island of Sardinia, they are nicknamed the Isolani.^[7]

Honours

National titles

Serie A:

• Champions (1): 1969–70
• Runners-up (1): 1968–69

Serie B:

• Winners (1): 2003–04
• Runners-up (2): 1963–64; 1978–79
• Promoted (2): 1989–90; 1997–98

Serie C / Serie C1:

• Winners (3): 1930–31; 1951–52; 1988–89

Coppa Italia Serie C:

• Winners (1): 1989

Campionato Sardo di I Divisione:

• Winners (1): 1936–37

European titles

UEFA Cup:

• Semi-finalists (1): 1993–94

References

External links

• Cagliari's official website
• Cagliaricampione.it Cagliari Champion 1969/1970