Empoli F.C.
Empoli
 |
| Full name |
Empoli Football Club SpA |
| Nickname(s) |
Azzurri (the Blues) |
| Founded |
1920 |
| Ground |
Stadio Carlo Castellani,
Empoli, Italy
(Capacity: 19,847) |
| Chairman |
Fabrizio Corsi |
| Manager |
Alfredo Aglietti |
| League |
Serie B |
| 2009–10 |
Serie B, 10th |
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Empoli Football Club is a football club located in Empoli, Tuscany, founded in 1920 and played its first official match in 1921.
In recent years, the club has all too often been bouncing between Italy's two top divisions. Most recently, Empoli was relegated from Serie A to Serie B in 2004, but secured promotion back to Serie A in the next season, finishing first in Serie B. 2007–08 was the seventh Serie A season for Empoli, quite a record for a town of only 45,000 inhabitants, whose team founds its fortunes on their youth divisions, among the most renowned in Italy. As of season 2008-09, Empoli has been situated in Serie B.
The team's colours are blue and white.
History
Empoli's history was relatively obscure before the 1980s when they attained Serie B status. In 1986, this small-town club managed the remarkable feat of promotion to Serie A. Playing their first few home games in Florence, Empoli's Serie A debut resulted in a 1–0 win over Inter. Helped by a 9-point deduction from Udinese, they just avoided relegation with only 23 points and 13 goals in 30 games. Empoli themselves received a 5-point penalty the following season, and were relegated despite an improved showing. They were relegated again to Serie C1 in 1989.
They then spent several seasons in Serie C1 before returning to Serie B in 1996 and achieving a second successive promotion in 1997. With Luciano Spalletti at the helm, Empoli defied the odds to finish in 12th place and avoid relegation. Relegation the following year began a three-year stay in Serie B, in which time the club became renowned for nurturing its own outstanding young talent.
Promotions to Serie A in 2002 and 2005 have seen the club emerge as brave battlers against relegation. They ended the 2005–06 Serie A season in a respectable 10th place. As a result of the Serie A match-fixing scandal at the end of that season, they gained qualification for the UEFA Cup for the following season, however bizarrely they did not play in it because the club management failed to ask for a UEFA License. In the 2006–07 season, the club gained once again qualified for the UEFA Cup.
With the prospect of European football approaching, the management proceeded to strengthen the squad, most notably signing a number of young players from big Serie A clubs such as Rincón of Internazionale, Ignazio Abate and Lino Marzorati of Milan and Sebastian Giovinco, Claudio Marchisio and Rej Volpato of Juventus on loan or co-ownership deals. Empoli marked their debut in the UEFA Cup with a two-legged match against FC Zurich, losing 4–2 on aggregate. A poor showing in the initial part of the season then led chairman Fabrizio Corsi to sack Luigi Cagni, who led the Tuscans to UEFA Cup qualification, and replace him with Alberto Malesani.[1] Cagni was re-appointed on March 31, 2008 but the team faced relegation after the final match of the season. Cagni quit and Empoli hired Silvio Baldini to lead the team during the 2008–09 season. However, Baldini's guidance did not prove to be successful, as the Tuscans ended the season only in fifth place, and were later defeated in the promotion playoffs by Brescia. The 2009–10 season will see Empoli being guided by a new head coach, Salvatore Campilongo, formerly a striker for the azzurri in the 1980s.
Current first team squad
- As of 2010-11[2]
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 |
Jasmin Handanovic |
| 3 |
 |
DF |
Massimo Gotti |
| 5 |
|
MF |
Davide Moro |
| 6 |
|
MF |
Mirko Valdifiori |
| 8 |
|
MF |
Gianluca Musacci |
| 9 |
|
FW |
Claudio Coralli |
| 10 |
|
FW |
Cristian Cesaretti |
| 11 |
|
FW |
Luca Saudati |
| 12 |
|
MF |
Jacopo Fanucchi |
| 13 |
 |
DF |
Adam Kokoszka |
| 19 |
|
MF |
Riccardo Nardini |
| 21 |
|
DF |
Lorenzo Stovini |
|
|
| No. |
|
Position |
Player |
| 22 |
|
FW |
Riccardo Saponara |
| 23 |
|
DF |
Alessandro Vinci |
| 24 |
|
DF |
Lino Marzoratti |
| 25 |
|
DF |
Daniele Mori |
| 27 |
|
GK |
Alberto Pelagotti |
| 30 |
|
GK |
Paride Addario |
| 31 |
|
FW |
Diego Fabbrini |
| 34 |
|
DF |
Lorenzo Tonelli |
| 45 |
|
DF |
Gabriele Angella |
| 88 |
|
FW |
Salvatore Foti (on loan from Sampdoria) |
| 91 |
|
MF |
Roberto Soriano (on loan from Sampdoria) |
| 99 |
 |
FW |
Levan Mchedlidze |
|
|
DF |
Marco Gorzegno |
|
Notable former players
|
|
- Claudio Marchisio
- Vincenzo Montella
- Tommaso Rocchi
- Luciano Spalletti
- Francesco Tavano
 Johnny Ekström Marcelo Zalayeta
|
- See also: Category:Empoli F.C. players
Notable former managers
- See Category:Empoli F.C. managers.
References
External links
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Serie B seasons |
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| Serie B seasons |
1929–30 · 1930–31 · 1931–32 · 1932–33 · 1933–34 · 1934–35 · 1935–36 · 1936–37 · 1937–38 · 1938–39 · 1939–40 · 1940–41 · 1941–42 · 1942–43 · 1943–44 · 1944–45 · 1945–46 · 1946–47 · 1947–48 · 1948–49 · 1949–50 · 1950–51 · 1951–52 · 1952–53 · 1953–54 · 1954–55 · 1955–56 · 1956–57 · 1957–58 · 1958–59 · 1959–60 · 1960–61 · 1961–62 · 1962–63 · 1963–64 · 1964–65 · 1965–66 · 1966–67 · 1967–68 · 1968–69 · 1969–70 · 1970–71 · 1971–72 · 1972–73 · 1973–74 · 1974–75 · 1975–76 · 1976–77 · 1977–78 · 1978–79 · 1979–80 · 1980–81 · 1981–82 · 1982–83 · 1983–84 · 1984–85 · 1985–86 · 1986–87 · 1987–88 · 1988–89 · 1989–90 · 1990–91 · 1991–92 · 1992–93 · 1993–94 · 1994–95 · 1995–96 · 1996–97 · 1997–98 · 1998–99 · 1999–00 · 2000–01 · 2001–02 · 2002–03 · 2003–04 · 2004–05 · 2005–06 · 2006–07 · 2007–08 · 2008–09 · 2009–10 · 2010–11
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| Other† |
Serie B-C Alta Italia 1945–46
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| †Championships recognized as official by the Italian Football Federation |
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Football in Italy |
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| Overview |
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| International |
Italy · Under-21 · Under-20 · Under-19 · Under-17 · Italy women
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| Leagues |
Lega Serie A · Lega Serie B · Lega Pro · Lega Nazionale Dilettanti · Lega Calcio (folded)
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| League competitions |
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| Cup competitions |
Coppa Italia · Supercoppa Italiana · Coppa Italia Lega Pro · Supercoppa di Lega di Prima Divisione · Supercoppa di Lega di Seconda Divisione · Coppa Italia Serie D · Coppa Italia Dilettanti
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| Youth competitions |
Campionato Nazionale Primavera · Coppa Italia Primavera · Supercoppa Primavera · Torneo di Viareggio · Campionato Nazionale Dante Berretti
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| Awards |
Oscar del Calcio AIC
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| Statistics |
All-time Serie A table
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| Miscellaneous |
Totonero 1980 · Totonero 1986 · Serie A scandal · Foreign Serie A players · Foreign Serie B players · France-Italy rivalry |
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