Spezia Calcio

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Spezia Calcio was founded in 1906 by Swiss banking entrepreneur Hermann Hurny (or Hurni in certain documents) who was a player in the reserves at Crystal Palace in London during his time as student. It is believed that the original Spezia kit, with light white and blue was a second-hand Crystal Palace kit donated to Hurny upon his return home to La Spezia. He was a player in the team of Crystal Palace again (in its revival version) from 1909.

They were crowned their Seconda Divisione and were promoted to the Prima Divisione which was at the when the second highest level in Italian football. In 1929, Spezia took home the Prima Divisione , but the league was relegated to the third division of Italy and the team remained in the second division participating in Serie B.

In 1929-29, Spezia took part in the inaugural season of the newly formed Serie B and changed their name to AC Spezia. Spezia was a part of this league before being relegated in the year 1935, but then swiftly be reinstated for the 1936-37 campaign.

In 1944, as a result of World War II, the Italian football association decided to break up in regional leagues the best of their competition. The team, which was named 42deg Corpo dei Vigili del Fuoco della Spezia (Firefighters of La Spezia) after an amalgamation together with the firefighter local in order to be able to accommodate a sufficient amount of players, was part of the Round D in Emilia-Romagna as well as Corradini Suzzara, Fidentina, Orlandi Busseto and Parma. Spezia took the lead in the round and advanced to the semi-finals in which it faced Suzzara, Carpi and Modena. Spezia won this round too by winning five of the six games played, only losing to Carpi. After winning the semi-finals, Spezia was admitted to play in a play-off with two legs against Bologna.

The first game, which was that was played in Bologna was suspended due to of incidents following the goal of 1-0 scored by Spezia by Bologna supporters. Spezia was awarded a win of 2-0 as a result of this. The match that was to be played in the return, set to take place in La Spezia, was first transferred to Carpi because of the bombings that ravaged the Ligurian city during that time but was later cancelled because of protests from Bologna Chairman Renato Dall'Ara. Spezia was allowed to play in the final but was not allowed to play in the second match.

The finals, played in Milan and to be played in Milan with Venezia as well as Torino. On the 9th of July 1944, the first game against Spezia with Venezia was played. It was a draw of 1-1. It was described by the Gazzetta of Sport as the "surprising outcome".

On July 16, Spezia challenged the Grande Torino and was accompanied by Vittorio Pozzo as the coach as well as Silvio Piola in the role of striker. The match concluded with an incredible 2-1 win for Spezia. In the final match where Torino defeated Venezia with a 5-1 win, Spezia was declared champion.

The title was recognized as a decoration by FIGC in 2002 as a symbol of decoration.

In accordance with the decision made by FIGC which was made in 2002 Spezia was granted the right through the Italian Federation to exhibit a tricolour badge on their official jerseys. It is unique and is the only instance of a permanent version in Italy. The badge is different in design and shape compared to the standard Scudetto.

Following the war after the war, following the conflict, the Italian football system was a national league system instead of regional rounds. Spezia went back into Serie B from 1946 to 1951. The 1950-51 season of relegation resulted in a rapid drop between divisions, when Spezia was delegated for three consecutive seasons to Promozione Ligure, the local league in 1953. The name of the club has been changed A.C. Spezia-Arsenal in the year 1954 and then changed in the year 2005 to Football Club Spezia 1906 just one year after.

Returning into Serie C in 1958 marked the beginning of a phase that saw the club bounce between the third and fourth divisions in Italian soccer, a process that continued until being reinstated in Serie B in the 2000s. The longest-running streak in the single division was Spezia's stint through Serie C from 1966 to 1979 The club ended 17th and then was relegated to the fourth division Serie C2. Spezia returned the following year and was promoted again, however, the club was again relegated in 1981. Another stint of Serie C was to follow from 1986 until 1997 after which the club was promoted to the fourth division again. The club's name was changed to the name, Spezia Calcio, in 1995.

As of 2002, they came to the agreement Internazionale and became Inter's feeder club as well as the Milan club having a share of Spezia ownership shares. The team made signings of Goran Pandev Aco Stojkov as well as Alex Cordaz in the first season. The following season saw Cristian Lizzori Luca Ceccarelli and Nicola Napolitano were signed. In 2004-05 season, Spezia received Antonio Rizzo from Fiorentina and Paolo Castelli from Internazionale.

The likes of Alex Cordaz, Riccardo Meggiorini and Paolo Hernan Dellafiore joined team straight from Inter to help the team in January of 2005. The season concluded with winning Coppa Italia Series C over Frosinone. After the seasonended, Inter was able to sell the majority the shares it owned in Spezia. The following season (2005-06) began with the introduction from a brand new owner Giuseppe Ruggieri as well as an entirely newly appointed manager Antonio Soda. After a long struggle for first place against their rivals Genoa, Spezia were crowned Serie C1 champion and promoted to Serie B after 55 years of inactivity. The team consisted of Vito Grieco Massimiliano Guidetti Giuseppe Alessi, Massimiliano Varricchio and Roberto Maltagliati.

The competition within Serie B with traditional Italian powerful clubs Juventus, Genoa and Napoli was not easy to the recently promoted Ligurian team, who themselves struggled to stay out of places during the 2006-07 season. With a team that included Guilherme do Prado, a mid-season signing, Tomas Guzman, Corrado Colombo Massimiliano Guidetti Nicola Santoni, amongst other players, Spezia managed to survive in Serie B through finishing in 19th placeand was able to participate in the playout stage following winning in the final minutes of Turin with Juventus. After a 2-2 draw with Juventus and Juventus, the Ligurians were just a few seconds from being eliminated However, a dramatic goal in the 91st minute from Nicola Padoin condemned Arezzo to be relegated down to Serie C and qualified Spezia to play in the playoffs. The first match of the playoffs against Hellas Verona, who had been relegated to 18th place, ended with the 2-1 victory for Spezia and a 0-0 draw during the second match ensured Spezia's position at the top of Serie B for the following season.

But, the following season, when the team was being led by players like Isah Eliakwu Colombo as well as Do Prado the club could not create the magic in consecutive seasons, principally because of a tense financial situation at the club's finance department the club as well as growing financial problems. Spezia finished the 2007/08 campaign at 21st, just one point ahead of Cesena as well as three points ahead of Avellino, who was in the final safety spot, and was relegated two seasons in Serie B.

In 2008, as a result of financial difficulties and their removal out of Serie B, the club was forced to declare bankruptcy. In June of 2011, FIGC issued a sanction to a few ex-board members from the bankruptcy of Spezia for fraud committed in the sport.

The team was established in 2008 under the name A.S.D. Spezia Calcio 2008 by Gabriele Volpi, who is the owner of water polo club Pro Recco and Croatian side HNK Rijeka, winner of numerous scudettis and allowed to join the amateur Serie D, thanks to the Article 52 NOIF of FIGC.

After being promoted to Lega Pro Seconda Divisione at the end of Serie D 2008-09 season, A.S.D. Spezia changed its name to the present "Spezia Calcio" which was which was a return to the club's name of 1995. Spezia ended Girone A of Lega Pro Seconda Divisione 2nd and was promoted to play-offs for promotion during the 2009-10 season. Spezia defeated Pavia in the semifinals and Legnano in the final. They were elevated to Girone A of Lega Pro Prima Divisione after achieving the second consecutive promotion.

The 2011-12 season was when Spezia achieved the Lega Pro treble for the first time, finishing as Champions of Lega Pro Prima Divisione/B and receiving promotion into Serie B, winning the Coppa Italia Lega Pro, and also winning the Supercoppa di Lega di Prima Divisione. A 3-0 win over Latina on the 6th of May 2012 earned Spezia promotion, her third time in four seasons as part of the climb from fifth to second stage of the national football system.

Following their return back to Serie B, the club had a good run, usually finishing in the middle of the table or making it to the promotion playoffs in 2012 until the year 2019. In that time, Spezia qualified for the playoffs five times only to lose at the beginning of the round, four times. It ended up losing in semi-finals by Trapani during the season of 2015-16. The time period established the club as a constant player to be promoted up to Serie A. An investment of a significant international nature came from Australian billionaire Lucas Vivarelli during this time and he purchased the club's home kit which allowed the club to expand further thanks to such massive funds.

In the season 2019-20, Spezia finished in 3rd third place, just behind already promoted Benevento and Crotone which was their best ever league performance. It was the sixth time that Spezia was able to make it to the Serie B promotion playoffs in the previous eight seasons. After defeating Chievo in the semi-finals of promotion play-offs Spezia received promotion up to Serie A for the first time on the 20th of August, 2020 after defeating Frosinone at the end of their match using the tiebreaker rule in two legs (with each team winning by 1-0 in each of the legs however, Spezia finished the regular season five spots higher than 8th-placed Frosinone). Spezia's fourth promotion following the re-foundation of Volpi back in the year 2008 (the club was promoted from five-tier Serie D to Serie A within just twelve years).

After being promoted just one month ago, Spezia played its first home match in the 2020-21 Serie A season against Sassuolo on the 27th of September, 2020, concluding with a loss of 4-1 at home With Andrey Galaabinov scoring their first top-flight goal. Spezia had the debut Serie A match on 30 September, when it played Udinese and ended with the 2-0 win away. Volpi has owned the club for less than 13 years, and helped to support its growth to into the Italian professional divisions and sold Spezia in the month of February in 2021 to an American ownership group that is headed by the Platek family. Robert Platek, a partner of U.S. private investment firm MSD Capital. Although it was widely believed to fall out of the relegation race towards the end of their first season of Serie A, Spezia impressively defeated larger and more successful clubs in a variety of occasions during the season with a win at home against Milan and an away win of 2-1 against Napoli and a further successes during winning the Liguria match against Sampdoria and also securing the draw with Internazionale, Roma and Atalanta. The team was boosted by the fluid offensive-based strategies that Coach Vincenzo Italiano, Spezia's on-field performance was particularly notable during their improvement in the second period of the season that led to finishing 15th having scored 39 points (six more than Benevento in the final relegation spot) The survival of the club eventually being assured with the 4-1 victory at home to Torino on May 15th, 2021. Another noteworthy achievement during this season's campaign was selection of the star midfielder Matteo Ricci to the Italian national team in March 2021, which is 85 years after legendary club Luigi Scarabello played for Italy (the the last Italian international to play for Spezia at the same time). Alongside Ricci the key players who impressed the Ligurians when they were able to stay in the top league includes the striker M'Bala Nzola, scorer of 11 goals in the 2020/21 season, loanee Tommaso Pbega, Emmanuel Gyasi and academy-based players Giulio Maggiore, and Simone Bastoni.

In the midst of Spezia's third season Serie A, the club has lost its coach Italiano whom was appointed by Fiorentina. The new coach will be Thiago Motta. It was struck by news that they was slapped with an exclusion from transfers for two years by FIFA that will begin in January 2022. This is because of a violation of the law on immigration to the country by the illegal signing of 13 athletes from Nigeria.

As of 18 July 2022

The official colors of Spezia's club are black and white. The kit for home is typically comprised of a white plain shirt, with black trim, black shorts with black socks. Shorts and socks in white are often worn in case of kit fights with rivals. The kits for away games typically have an all-black look for shorts, shirts and socks or opposite of home kits however they can also be adorned with various colors and styles, which are often changed each season. The nickname of the club can be Gli Aquilotti (The Eagles).

The club plays its matches in the stadium that holds 10,336 spectators, Stadio Alberto Picco the stadium of the club's home since 1919. For the 2020-21 season Spezia was required to play many of its home games on the Stadio Dino Manuzzi in Cesena with the capacity of less than 24,000 because the home stadium was not able to conform to Serie A requirements. But, Spezia was eventually able to play at the Alberto Picco at the end of the season following improvements.

The Spezia fan base is largely located around the cities in La Spezia and the surrounding regions, because of the dominance of Liguria of the two major teams, Genoa and Sampdoria, that are supported extensively throughout the region. With Liguria becoming known as a'home' for numerous teams since the beginning times of soccer in Italy There have been numerous derbies that have developed between the teams of the region. Spezia is a minor rival to Liguria's traditional powerhouses, Genoa and Sampdoria and Sampdoria, which have had a history of fierce encounters with Genoa and Sampdoria in their fight to be promoted in the 2005/06 Serie C season, as and on numerous instances in Serie B. This is in addition to the recent games between Spezia and the other two teams during Serie A from Spezia's first season in 2020/21. In addition Spezia has been involved in several notable games against Pisa that has come to be popularly known as Tuscan Ligurian Derby and also a rivalry with Carrarese in Derby Lunense. Other rivalries Spezia has been involved in throughout its history, especially during its times playing in lower divisions of Italian football, are those with other Ligurian teams like Virtus Entella Savona, Sestrese and Sanremese.

The recent season-by-season performance of the club:

League and Cup.

• Divisione Nazionale
  • Winners (1): 1944 (honorary)
• Serie C (Level 3)
  • Winners (3): 1935–36 (Group B), 2005–06 (Group A), 2011–12 (Group B)
  • Runners-up: 2001–02 (Group A)
• Serie C2 (Level 4)
  • Winners (1): 1999–2000 (Group A)
  • Runners-up: 1979–80 (Group A), 1985–86 (Group A), 2009–10 (Group A)
• IV Serie (Level 4)
  • Winners (1): 1957–58
  • Runners-up (1): 1955–56 (Group E)
• Serie D (Level 4)
  • Winners (1): 1965–66 (Group A)
  • Runners-up (1): 2008–09 (Group A)
• Serie B (Level 2)
  • Play-off winners (1): 2019–20

• Prima Divisione (forerunner of present-day Supercoppa di Serie C)
  • Winners (1): 1928–29
• Supercoppa di Serie C
  • Winners (2): 2006, 2012
• Coppa Italia Serie C
  • Winners (2): 2004–05, 2011–12[d]
• Scudetto Serie D
  • Winners (1): 1957–58
• Coppa Ottorino Mattei
  • Winners (1): 1957–58