F.B.C. Unione Venezia

Venezia
Full name Football Club Unione Venezia
Nickname(s) Arancioneroverdi (Orange-Black-Greens)
Lagunari (Lagoonal Ones)
Leoni Alati (Winged Lions)
Founded 1907
2005 (as SSC Venezia)
2009 (as FBC Unione Venezia)
Dissolved 2005 (AC Venezia)
2009 (SSC Venezia)
Ground Stadio Pierluigi Penzo,
Venice, Italy
(Capacity: 9,977)
Chairman Yuri Korablin
Manager David Sassarini
League Serie D/C
2010-11 Serie D/C, 2nd
Home colours
Away colours

Football Club Unione Venezia (formerly Società Sportiva Calcio Venezia), commonly referred to as simply Venezia, is an Italian football club from Venice, Veneto.

Founded by a merger in 1907, Venezia have spent a large part of their history bouncing between the top-two tiers of Italian football.

Venezia's home stadium, the Pierluigi Penzo, is the only ground in Italy's top flights that must be reached by boat.

In the season 2011-12 it plays in Serie D.

Contents

History

Foundation

The club was founded as Venezia Football Club on 14 December 1907,[1] by members of two local sports clubs coming together; Palestra Marziale and Costantino Reyer. It was originally based at Campo San Bartolomeo in the city of Venice; fifteen men including the first president Davide Fano were involved in the club's founding;[1]

The most notable trophy success in the history of Venezia was winning the Coppa Italia during the 1940–41 season. The early 1940s was the pinnacle of the club's footballing prominence so far, as they also recorded their highest ever Serie A league finishing during that period with a 3rd place in 1941–42.

Venezia won the Coppa Italia in 1941. That team contained some of the players who went on to form part of the Torino F.C. side of the 1940s who died in the Superga air disaster in 1949, such as Ezio Loik and Valentino Mazzola.

 
  • Walter Aemissiger
  • Guido Battisti
  • Antonio Borella
  • Gerardo Bortoletti
 
  • Davide Fano
  • Aldo Federici
  • Pietro Golzio
  • Silvio Lorenzetti
 
  • Pietro Piccoli
  • Primo Pitteri
  • Alessandro Santi
  • Marcello Santi
 
  • Luigi Vianello
  • Pietro Visintin
  • Mario Vivante

From Serie A to Serie D

In its history, Venezia has spent a large part of recent years bouncing between Italy's two top divisions (they were last relegated from Serie A in 2002). It was this last season in Serie A which signalled the beginning of the end for the old club. Frustrated with the team and the inability to agree plans for a larger stadium with the council, then President, Maurizio Zamparini, decided to purchase U.S. Città di Palermo, and took with him a large portion of the squad.

Notable recent former players include Álvaro Recoba, Filippo Maniero and Christian Vieri.

The original club, going under the name Associazione Calcio Venezia 1907, was declared insolvent because of bankruptcy and relegated from Serie B in 2005.

At the end of the 2008–09 Lega Pro Prima Divisione season, the club declared bankruptcy again and was refounded, changing its name to Foot Ball Club Unione Venezia, and starting in Serie D – the top level non-professional league in Italian football. The club has also designed a new logo. Serie D ranks just below Lega Pro Seconda Divisione (the 4th and last professional league), and is thus considered the 5th ranked league in the country. Since the early 1990s, Serie D has been split into 9 regional divisions (Gironi), labelled A to I. For the 2009–2010 season, F.B.C. Unione Venezia will be playing in Girone C. The chairman is Mauro Pizzigati, president of the Venice Casino, and the manager is Paolo Favaretto.

After getting into financially difficulties in recent years, the club was competing in Serie D for the 2009–10 season.

On 15 February 2011 the former Russian major of Khimki Yuri Korablin, paid the club rights.[2]

Venezia ranked 2nd in the group C of Serie D, but losing 3-2 with SandonàJesolo it didn't access to the national play-off finals and so will remain also for the next season in this league.

Current squad

Players

To see the players of the current team click here.

Staff

To see the all staff of the current team click here.

Head coach
Assistant coach
Goalkeeper coach:

Notable former players

Colours, badge and nicknames

Venezia's original kit.

Originally Venezia's colours were red and blue and the shirt features halves in those colours, the kit was very similar to that of Genoa.[3] However just a year after the club founded, it changed colours to black and green in 1908.[3]

Much later, in 1987 when the club merged with a local side Associazione Calcio Mestre from Mestre who wore orange and black,[4] orange would also become one of Venezia's official colours, giving them the nickname arancioneroverdi ("orange-black-greens").[5] Venezia's colours and kit are very distinctive; the shirt, shorts and socks are usually black with the shirt having a green and orange trim.

The symbol of the Venetian club is a winged-lion, commonly mistaken for a griffin. The golden winged-lion is the official symbol carries by the city of province of Venice;[6] the symbol has led to one of the club's most popular nicknames in the form of leoni alati ("winged-lions").[5]

As the club has been renamed numerous times during its history, the badge has also changed several times; the most common one features the golden winged lion, along with the green and orange club colours with a golden border.[7] As the city of Venice is situated on the Venetian Lagoon, the club is also nicknamed lagunari ("Lagoonal ones").[8]

Honours

Coppa Italia:

  • Winners (1): 1940–41

Serie B:

  • Champions (2): 1960–61; 1965–66
  • Runners-up (3): 1938–39; 1948–49; 1997–98
  • Promoted (1): 2000–01

Serie C / Serie C1:

  • Champions (2): 1935–36; 1955–56
  • Runners-up (1): 1990–91

Serie C2:

  • Champions (1): 2005–06
  • Runners-up (1): 1987–88

Serie D:

  • Promoted (1): 1982–83
  • Runners-up (1): 1978–79

References

External links