Empoli Football Club is an Italian association football club located in Empoli, Tuscany. It was founded in 1920 and played its first official match in 1921.
The club has spent most of the last decade bouncing between Serie A and Serie B. Most recently, Empoli was relegated to Serie B in 2004, but secured promotion back to Serie A in the next season, finishing first in Serie B and qualified for European football for the first time in their history with a 7th-place finish. 2007–08 was the seventh Serie A season for Empoli, particularly impressive for a team in a city of only 45,000 inhabitants. Empoli relies on extremely successful youth divisions which are among the most renowned in Italy. Empoli secured promotion back to Serie A in 2013–14, finishing as runners-up to Palermo after losing the promotion play-off final to Livorno the previous season.
History
Empoli's history was relatively obscure before the 1980s when they attained Serie B status. In 1986, this small-town club was promoted 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 avoided relegation with 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 battlers against relegation. They ended the 2005–06 season in 10th place in top-flight. 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 they did not play in it because the club management failed to ask for a UEFA License. In the 2006–07 season, the club once again qualified for the UEFA Cup.
European debut and Relegation
With the prospect of European football approaching, the management strengthened the squad, most notably signing a number of young players from big Serie A clubs such as Rincón of Internazionale, Ignazio Abate and Lino Marzoratti 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] However, the club's fortunes did not change and Malesani was sacked after a 2–0 defeat to Sampdoria which left them at the bottom of the table. Cagni was re-appointed on 31 March 2008 but the team suffered a last-minute relegation. Cagni resigned and was replaced by Silvio Baldini ahead of the 2008–09 season. However, Baldini's tenure 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.
Serie B
Despite modest results, Baldini was sacked. By December 2011, the club had gone through four coaches since the 2009–10 season. The club maintained their Serie B status dramatically in 2011–12. After a poor season, Empoli finished 18th, one point from safety, which meant a relegation play-off against Vicenza over two legs. The first game finished goalless before Vicenza led 2-0 in the second leg with 30 minutes to go. However, 2 goals in 2 minutes saw the Azzuri level the tie before Massimo Maccarone secured a 3-2 victory in the fourth minute of injury time. 2012-2013 saw the club finish 4th, a dramatic improvement on the previous season, but lost the promotion play-off final to Livorno over 2 legs. The club secured promotion back to Serie A the following season, finishing as runners-up to Palermo.
Colours and badge
The team's colours are blue and white.
Current squad
- As of 1 September 2014.[2]
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
Out on loan
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
Notable former players
- Players with international caps, appearances in Olympic Games or 100 league appearances with Empoli
- See also: Category:Empoli F.C. players
Notable former managers
- See Category:Empoli F.C. managers.
References
External links
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| | 2014–15 clubs | |
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| | Former clubs | |
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| | Finances | |
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| | Overview | |
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| | International | |
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| | Youth competitions | |
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| | Miscellaneous | |
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