AC Reggiana 1919

AC Reggiana 1919
Associazione Calcio Reggiana 1919, commonly referred to as Reggiana, is a professional football club based in Reggio Emilia, Emilia-Romagna, Italy. The club was formed in 1919, reformed in 2005 (Serie C2) and 2018 (Serie D) after going bankrupt twice, and currently plays in the Serie B, the second tier of Italian football. Reggiana is known as i Granata ("the Maroons") in reference to the club's main colour: maroon.
The club was reformed two times after going bankrupt: in 2005 as Reggio Emilia Football Club, and in 2018 as Reggio Audace Football Club. In both occasions, the club subsequently regained the naming rights and the trophies of A.C. Reggiana via judicial auction. The club has participated in the Serie A, the top tier of Italian football, seven times; their last appearance dates back to the 1996–97 season.
History
Formation
The first game of football in Reggio Emilia was played under the roof of the old market in 1909, via an exhibition promoted by the local multi-sports association “Forti per Essere Liberi” (Strong to be Free). The first football clubs emerged subsequently in the coming years, with Reggio Football Club, formed in 1912, rising to prominence as the main local side due to its participation to Promozione, the then Italian second tier, divided into regional groups.
In 1914, a group of Reggio F.C. members in disagreement with the presidency at the time decided to leave the club and form Juventus F.C.
The two sides clashed in 1914-15 Promozione.
The entry of Italy into WWI in May 1915 caused a vacuum in the local football scene, as many young players were drafted into the army and lost their lives in the war.
On 25 September 1919, in the main town square (today’s Piazza Prampolini), a group of former footballers, assembled by former Reggio F.C. footballer Severino Taddei, decided to form a new local club, using Juventus’ ground Campo Mirabello and Reggio F.C. colours (maroon and blue). The new club was formed as Associazione Calcio Reggiana.
A.C. Reggiana (1919–2005)
The club was originally founded in 1919 under the name A.C. Reggiana, and played in the Italian First Division for several seasons in the 1920s. More recently, it played in the Italian Serie A in 1993–94, 1994–95, and 1996–97. Their highest ranking was 13th place in the 1993–94 Serie A championship, where its main name was Brazilian goalkeeper Cláudio Taffarel, who would go on to win the 1994 FIFA World Cup after the season.
A.C. Reggiana 1919 (2005–2018)
In July 2005, the sports title of A.C. Reggiana S.p.A. was transferred to a new investor, Reggio Emilia F.C. S.p.A., before being renamed as A.C. Reggiana 1919 S.p.A. soon after the start of the 2005–06 season.
In the 2007–08 Serie C2 regular season, the team finished first in Group B, and won direct promotion to Lega Pro Prima Divisione (formerly known as Serie C1 until that year) for the 2008–2009 season. Reggiana also won 2008 Supercoppa di Serie C2, a competition for three group stage winners of Serie C2.
The club was acquired by Italian-American former baseball player Mike Piazza in 2016. After the 2017–18 season, the Piazza family decided not to register the team in the 2018–19 Serie C season, leading the club to the loss of its sporting title and subsequent exclusion from the Italian professional leagues.
Reggio Audace F.C. (2018–2020)
On 31 July 2018, a new entity was formed in Reggio Emilia, called Reggio Audace F.C.. The name was given in honour of a precursor entity of the 1910s, where Reggiana founder Severino Taddei used to play before founding the granata club. The new club, whose ownership was the expression of local entrepreneurs from Reggio Emilia, subsequently announced former Ravenna manager Mauro Antonioli as the new gaffer of the newborn club, admitted into the 2018–19 Serie D. Two days later a three-year partnership was signed with Macron. On 20 August 2018 striker Nicola Luche became the first ever signing of the club.
The club gained promotion to the Serie B, after having been admitted by repechage to the Serie C due to vacancies left by bankrupt clubs in the third tier of Italian football and winning the 2019-20 Serie C playoff, returning to Serie B after an absence of 21 years, gaining subsequently two consecutive promotions.
A.C. Reggiana 1919 (2020–present)
On 28 July 2020, the club changed its name back to A.C. Reggiana 1919.
Colors and badges
The team's home jersey color is granata (maroon), hence the nickname "Granata" or "Regia". However, the team's shorts are traditionally dark blue, and their badge has traditionally been an orange football surrounded by the text: "Associazione Calcio Reggiana " surrounded by a Granata border.
Stadium
Reggiana played all of its matches in Stadio Mirabello until 1994, when it moved to a modern arena, Stadio Città del Tricolore (a site previously known as Stadio Giglio). The stadium was subsequently bought by U.S. Sassuolo Calcio.
Fans
Like other Italian cities, the birth of the "ultras" phenomenon in the 1980s also affected A.C. Reggiana. With Reggiana battling for Serie B and Cantine Riunite Reggio Emilia competing in Lega Basket Serie A, the youth of the city formed and gathered in ultras every Sunday.
The leading group of Reggiana "Curva Sud" was "Ultras Ghetto", which was famous for its choreography. Since the late 1990s, the leading groups are "Teste Quadre" and "Gruppo Vandelli", which situate themselves in the East Stand of the stadium. Reggiana fans have always had good numbers on away days with a peak of 10,000 fans in Milan in 1994.
Friendships and rivalries
Reggiana fans have good and friendly relationships with fans from:
Genoa (twinned)
Cremonese (twinned)
Vicenza (twinned)
Pisa
Carrarese
Greenock Morton
The main rivals are:
Parma, see Derby dell'Enza
Modena, Secchia Derby
Sassuolo, see Mapei Stadium - Città del Tricolore
SPAL
Spezia
Bologna
Piacenza
Notable players
Former Reggiana players have included:
Italy
Andrea Silenzi
Paolo Ponzo
Felice Romano
Angelo Di Livio
Fabrizio Ravanelli
Luca Bucci
Stefano Torrisi
Francesco Antonioli
Angelo Adamo Gregucci
Filippo Galli
Alberico Evani
Luigi Sartor
Marco Ballotta
Max Tonetto
Cristiano Zanetti
Michele Padovano
Sandro Tovalieri
Francesco Pedone
Fabrizio Cacciatore
Francesco Ruopolo
Giuseppe Alessi
Alessandro Cesarini
Giuseppe Scienza
Marco Bresciani
Giuseppe Accardi
Fernando De Napoli
Luigi De Agostini
Stefano De Agostini
Stefano Nava
Massimo Paganin
Daniele De Vezze
Marco Romizi
Raffaele Nuzzo
Leonardo Colucci
Andrea Catellani
Luca Ariatti
Marco Ambrosio
Igor Protti
Alessandro Bastrini
Massimiliano Carlini
Trevor Trevisan
Marco Guidone
Cristian Altinier
Vito Grieco
Andrea Bovo
Luca Ghiringhelli
Simone Calvano
Andrea Parola
Raffaele Nolè
Michele Pazienza
Daniele Mignanelli
Federico Angiulli
Paolo Zanetti
Armando Pantanelli
Gian Piero Gasperini
Walter Mazzarri
Gianluca Piaccitali
Austria
Michael Hatz
Belgium
Georges Grün
Brazil
Cláudio Taffarel
André Viapiana
Robert Anderson
Colombia
Adolfo Valencia
Croatia
Bruno Petković
Czech Republic
Edvard Lasota
Georgia
Georgi Nemsadze
Germany
Dietmar Beiersdorfer
England
Franz Carr
France
Gaël Genevier
Montenegro
Minel Šabotić
Hasim Đoković
Nigeria
Sunday Oliseh
Obafemi Martins
Mathew Olorunleke
Jero Shakpoke
Prince Ikpe Ekong
Saidu Adeshina
Portugal
Paulo Futre
António Pacheco
Rui Águas
Romania
Dorin Mateut
Ioan Sabau
Vasile Mogoș
Russia
Igor Simutenkov
Spain
Marti Riverola
Sweden
Johnny Ekström
Venezuela
Massimo Margiotta
Youth sector
Reggiana have always had a good tradition in developing youth players, being a rare club with a training ground which has 16 football pitches, located in the nearbies of the club house. The youth teams play their games in Stadio Mirabello, via Agosti training ground or in small grounds located in the local province.
The academy has produced various players, notably:
Italy
Gino Giaroli
Ettore Agazzani
Stefano Aigotti
Egidio Anceschi
Alessio Badari
Silvio Bandini
Aldo Bedogni
Oreste Benatti
Carlo Benelli
Roberto Benincasa
Andrea Costa
Mohammed Chakir
Simone Gozzi
Danilo Zini
Luca Ariatti
Elvis Abbruscato
Christian Araboni
Alessandro Bertoni
Leonida Bietti
Ottorino Bojardi
Leopoldo Bolognesi
Alberto Boni
Fabio Bonini
Enrico Bottazzi
Denis Brunazzi
Aldo Cagnoli
Giovanni Campari
Fabio Caselli
Ilario Castagner
Aldo Catalani
Andrea Catellani
Maurizio Cavazzoni
Gianluca Cherubini
Zucchero Fornaciari (after quitting football, he became a notorious singer)
Dino Galparoli
Lorenzo Mossini
Paolo Mozzini
Erik Panizzi
Armando Pantanelli
Jacopo Pellegrini
Gabriele Piccinini
Ayman Sanat
Max Tonetto
Gabon
Catilina Aubameyang
Ghana
Boadu Maxwell Acosty
Morocco
Hachim Mastour
Nigeria
Saidu Adeshina
Stephen Makinwa
Obafemi Martins
Benjamin Onwuachi
Players
Current squad
Out on loan
Coaching Staff
Backdoor and directors staff
Managers
The team's most famous coach was Carlo Ancelotti, who coached AC Milan from 2001 to 2009 and then managed Juventus, Chelsea, Paris Saint-Germain, Real Madrid, Bayern Munich, Napoli and currently Everton.
1919-20: Severino Taddei
1920-22: Karl Stürmer
1922-23: Felice Romano
1923-24: Karl Stürmer
1924-25: Severino Taddei
1925-26: Ottorino Bojardi
1926: Karl Stürmer
1926-28: Vilmos Zsigsmond
1928-29: Anton Ringer
1929-30: Severino Taddei
1930-34: Regolo Ferretti
1934-35: Mora Maurer
1935-37: Italo Rossi
1937-39: Giuseppe Valenti
1939-1942: János Vanicsek
1942: Luigi Bernardi and William Ruozi
1942-43: Alfredo Mazzoni
1943-44: Regolo Ferretti
1945-46: Felice Romano
1946-47: Bruno Vale
1947: Alcide Ivan Violi
1947-48: Angelo Mattea
1948-49: Piero Ferrari
1949: Bruno Arcari
1949-52: Giuseppe Antonini
1952: Vittorio Malagoli
1952-53: Guido Masetti
1953-54: Alcide Ivan Violi
1954-62: Luigi Del Grosso
1962: Angelo Piccioli
1962-63: Renato Martini
1963: Vittorio Malagoli
1963-64: Giancarlo Cadé
1964-65: Dino Ballacci
1965-70: Romolo Bizzotto
1970-74: Ezio Galbiati
1974: Giampiero Grevi and Giovanni Galbiati
1974-75: Tito Corsi
1975-76: Carmelo Di Bella
1976: Bruno Giorgi
1976-77: Mario Caciagli
1977-79: Guido Mammi
1979-80: Franco Marini
1980-83: Romano Fogli
1983: Giovan Battista Fabbri
1983-84: Lauro Toneatto
1984-86: Franco Fontana
1986: Giancarlo Cadé
1986-88: Nello Santin
1988: Marino Perani
1988-94: Giuseppe Marchioro
1994-95: Enzo Ferrari
1995: Cesare Vitale
1995-96: Giorgio Ciaschini and Carlo Ancelotti
1996: Adelio Moro and Mircea Lucescu
1996-97: Francesco Oddo
1997-98: Franco Varrella
1998-99: Attilio Perotti
1999: Franco Varrella
1999: Angelo Gregucci and Fabiano Speggiorin
1999-00: Giorgio Rumignani
2000: Luigi Maifredi
2000-01: Claudio Testoni
2001-02: Salvatore Vullo
2002: Lorenzo Mossini
2002-03: Adriano Cadregari
2003-04: Antonio Sala
2004: Adriano Cadregari
2004-05: Bruno Giordano
2005-06: Luciano Foschi
2006-09: Alessandro Pane
2009-10: Loris Dominissini
2010-12: Amedeo Mangone
2012: Lamberto Zauli and Salvatore Lanna
2012-13: Lamberto Zauli
2013: Luigi Apolloni
2013: Lamberto Zauli
2013-14: Pierfrancesco Battistini
2014: Marcello Montanari
2014-16: Alberto Colombo
2016-17: Leonardo Colucci
2017: Leonardo Menichini
2017: Massimiliano La Rosa and Andrea Tedeschi
2017-2018: Sergio Eberini
2018-2019: Mauro Antonioli
2019–2021: Massimiliano Alvini
2021–2023: Aimo Diana
2023–present: Alessandro Nesta
Chairmen
1919-1923: Giuseppe Cassoli
1923-1925: Vittorino Palazzi Trivelli
1925-1928: Giovanni Bonini
1928-1930: Renato Bertolini
1930-1931: Mario Muzzarini and Franco Fontanili
1931-1932: Enrico Bottazzi
1932-1936: Marcello Bofondi
1936-1937: Giuseppe Pietranera
1937-1938: Eugenio Bolondi
1938-1939: Giovanni Marzi
1939-1941: Giovanni Robba
1941-1942: Alberto Ferrari
1942-1943: Antonio Alessio
1943-1945: Regolo Ferretti
1945-1946: Carlo Visconti and Mario Curti
1946-1947: Carlo Visconti
1947-1948: Mario Dallaglio
1948-1951: Renato Simonini
1951-1955: Enzo Dal Conte
1955-1956: Gianni Landini
1956-1965: Carlo Visconti, Gino Lari and Giorgio Degola
1965-1979: Carlo Visconti
1979-1982: Franco Vacondio
1982-1988: Giovanni Vandelli
1988-1993: Ermete Fiaccadori
1993-1994: Gianfranco Morini
1994-1995: Luciano Fantinel
1995-1996: Loris Fantinel
1996-2001: Luciano Ferrarini
2001-2002: Federico Spallanzani
2002-2004: Chiarino Cimurri
2004-2005: Federico Spallanzani
2005-2009: Vando Veroni
2009-2010: Clarfiorello Fontanesi
2010-2015: Alessandro Barilli
2015-2016: Stefano Compagni
2016-2018: Mike Piazza
2018-2020: Luca Quintavalli
2020-present: Carmelo Salerno
Honours
Serie B
Winners (1): 1992–93
Serie C
Winners (7): 1939–40, 1957–58, 1963–64, 1970–71, 1980–81, 1988–89, 2022–23
Serie C2
Winners (1): 2007–08,
Supercoppa di Serie C2
Winners (1): 2008
Divisional movements
References
External links
1919 establishments in Italy
Association football clubs established in 1919
Football clubs in Emilia-Romagna
Football clubs in Italy
Italian football First Division clubs
Serie C clubs
Serie A clubs
Serie B clubs
Serie D clubs
Phoenix clubs (association football)
2005 establishments in Italy
2018 establishments in Italy