1.
Seriate
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Seriate is a comune in the Province of Bergamo in the Italian region of Lombardy, located about 50 kilometres northeast of Milan and about 4 kilometres southeast of Bergamo. As of 31 December 2010, it had a population of 24,297, the municipality of Seriate contains the frazioni Comonte, Cassinone and Paderno. Seriate borders the municipalities, Albano SantAlessandro, Bagnatica, Bergamo, Brusaporto, Calcinate, Cavernago, Gorle, Grassobbio, Orio al Serio. Seriate received the title of city with a presidential decree on October 2,1989
2.
Defender (association football)
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In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield player whose primary role is to prevent the opposing team from scoring goals. There are four types of defenders, centre-back, sweeper, full-back, the centre-back and full-back positions are essential in most modern formations. The sweeper and wing-back roles are more specialised for certain formations, a centre-back defends in the area directly in front of the goal, and tries to prevent opposing players, particularly centre-forwards, from scoring. Centre-backs accomplish this by blocking shots, tackling, intercepting passes, contesting headers, with the ball, centre-backs are generally expected to make long and pinpoint passes to their teammates, or to kick unaimed long balls down the field. For example, a clearance is a long unaimed kick intended to move the ball as far as possible from the defenders goal, during normal play, centre-backs are unlikely to score goals. In this case, other defenders or midfielders will temporarily move into the centre-back positions, in the modern game, most teams employ two or three centre-backs in front of the goalkeeper. The 4–2–3–1, 4–3–3, and 4–4–2 formations all use two centre-backs, the sweeper is a more versatile centre-back who sweeps up the ball if an opponent manages to breach the defensive line. This position is more fluid than that of other defenders who man-mark their designated opponents. Because of this, it is referred to as libero. For example, the system of play, used in Italian football in the 1960s. The more modern libero possesses the qualities of the typical libero while being able to expose the opposition during counterattacks. The Fundell-libero has become popular in recent time with the sweeper transitioning to the most advanced forward in an attack. This variation on the position requires great pace and fitness, while rarely seen in professional football, the position has been extensively used in lower leagues. Modern libero sit behind centre-backs as a sweeper before charging through the team to join in the attack, some sweepers move forward and distribute the ball up-field, while others intercept passes and get the ball off the opposition without needing to hurl themselves into tackles. If the sweeper does move up the field to distribute the ball, they will need to make a speedy recovery, in modern football, its usage has been fairly restricted, with few clubs in the biggest leagues using the position. Though it is used in modern football, it remains a highly respected. A recent and successful use of the sweeper was made by Otto Rehhagel, Greeces manager, Rehhagel utilized Traianos Dellas as Greeces sweeper to great success, as Greece surprisingly became European champions. The full-backs take up the wide positions and traditionally stayed in defence at all times
3.
U.C. AlbinoLeffe
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Unione Calcio AlbinoLeffe is an Italian association football club based in Leffe and also representing the town of Albino, in the Province of Bergamo, Lombardy. Currently it plays in Lega Pro Prima Divisione/A, the club was created in 1998 as a result of the merger between former Serie C2 teams Albinese Calcio and S. C. Leffe, respectively from Albino and Leffe, two neighboring towns, in their first season, the club finished 2nd in the Serie C2 and won a promotion after defeating Modena in the Girone A playoffs. After rising to the Italian Serie C1, they performed at the middle of the pack, finishing 9th in 2000 and 13th in 2001. However, in 2002, the Seriani went to the finals of the Coppa Italia Serie C and they won the tournament on the tiebreaker. In league play they again finished 13th. In 2003, AlbinoLeffe, under coach Elio Gustinetti, finished second in league play before heading to the promotion play-off, there, they defeated Padua in the semifinals, then had a surprising triumph over Pisa Calcio final, which pushed them up to Serie B. AlbinoLeffe used to play there before its promotion to Serie B, the 2006–2007 Serie B campaign, the fourth consecutive for the small Lombard team, ended with a good tenth place, well ahead of the relegation zone. Historically, AlbinoLeffes home games have been characterized by low attendance, as shown by the average 2,400 spectators per game in the 2006–07 season. This has thus far failed to improve the clubs low home attendance, even after a 1–0 loss to Brescia, AlbinoLeffe managed to win at home in the second leg and qualified for the final against Lecce. In the first leg they suffered a 1–0 loss, on 15 June the second match was played in Lecce and the result of the match was 1–1 so AlbinoLeffe didnt reach Serie A. At the end of the 2011–12 season, it was relegated to Lega Pro Prima Divisione after 9 consecutive years in Serie B, AlbinoLeffe following the systematic match fixing as a club controlled by Singapore-based organized crime was penalized 10 points in the 2012–13 Lega Pro Prima Divisione. AlbinoLeffe plays its games at the Atleti Azzurri dItalia stadium, in the city of Bergamo. As of 4 February,2017 Note, Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules, players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality. Coppa Italia of Serie C Champions 2002 Serie C1 group A Runners up 2003 Serie C2 group A Runners up 1999 Official Website
4.
A.S.D. La Biellese
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Associazione Sportiva Dilettantistica Junior Biellese Libertas is an Italian football club, based in Biella, Piedmont that currently plays in Eccellenza Piedmont and Aosta Valley. The historic club was founded in 1902 as U. S. Biellese, in 1930 the club changes its name to A. S. Biellese and disbanded in the summer 1993, in the summer 1993 the provincial club of F. C. Vigliano, just promoted in Eccellenza Piemonte, changes its name to F. C. V. Biellese-Vigliano which becomes Biellese F. C. in 1997, for regaining A. S. Biellese 1902 finished 17th in Girone A of Serie C2 2006-07 and was forced to play in the playoffs, where it lost 3–2 on aggregate to 14th-placed Lumezzane. In the Serie D 2007–08 season, the played in Girone A where it placed a distant second to Alessandria. However, the team did participate in the Serie D playoffs, in July 2010 the club was disbanded. In summer 2010, two local clubs, A. S. D. Junior Biellese 2009, from the Terza Categoria and A. S. D, Libertas Biella Cossato, that has played in Promozione Piemonte group A the previous season placing 12th, have decided to merge, for take the place of the old A. S. It in the season 2010–11, it has maintained the same league of the A. S. D, Libertas Biella Cossato and has played so always in Promozione Piemonte group A who has won and thus was promoted to Eccellenza Piedmont and Aosta Valley. The teams colors are black and white
5.
Genoa C.F.C.
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Genoa Cricket and Football Club, commonly referred to simply as Genoa, is a professional Italian football and cricket club based in the city of Genoa, Liguria. Established on 7 September 1893, it is Italys oldest football team currently active, during their long history, Genoa have won the Italian Championship nine times. Genoas first title came at the championship in 1898 and their most recent was in 1923–24. They also won the Coppa Italia once, historically, Genoa is the fourth most successful Italian club in terms of championships won. Brera went as far as creating the nickname Vecchio Balordo for Genoa, the club has played its home games at the 36,536 capacity Stadio Luigi Ferraris since 1911. Since 1946, the ground has been shared with local rivals Sampdoria, Genoa has spent most of its post-war history going up and down between Serie A and Serie B, with two brief spells in Serie C. For more details on this topic, see History of Genoa C. F. C, the club was founded on 7 September 1893 as Genoa Cricket & Athletic Club. In its earliest years, it competed in athletics and cricket. Since the club was set up to represent England abroad, the shirts worn by the organisation were white. At first Italians were not permitted to join as it was a British sporting club abroad, Genoas activities took place in the north-west of the city in the Campasso area, at the Piazza dArmi. It was among the oldest in Italian football at the time, Italians were allowed to join and found a new ground in the form of Ponte Carrega. The first friendly match took place at home, against a team of Internazionale Torino and FBC Torinese. Not long after, Genoa recorded its first victory away against UPS Alessandria winning 2–0, friendly games also took place against various British sailors such as those from HMS Revenge. Football in Italy stepped up a level with the creation of the Italian Football Federation, Genoa competed in the first Italian Championship in 1898 at Velodromo Umberto I in Turin. They defeated Ginnastica Torino 2–1 in their first official game on 8 May, Genoa returned for the following season, this time with a few changes, the name of the club was altered to Genoa Cricket & Football Club, dropping the Athletic from its name. A change in colour was also in order, as they changed to white and blue vertical stripes. Genoa won their second title on a tournament which took place on 16 April 1899. On their way to winning their third title in 1900 and also beat local rivals Sampierdarenese 7–0
6.
S.S. Lazio
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Società Sportiva Lazio, commonly referred to as Lazio, is a professional Italian sports club based in Rome, most known for its football activity. The society, founded in 1900, play in the Serie A and have spent most of their history in the top tier of Italian football. Lazio have been Italian champions twice, and have won the Coppa Italia six times, the club had their first major success in 1958, winning the domestic cup. In 1974, they won their first Serie A title, Lazios traditional kit colours are sky blue shirts and white shorts with white socks, the colours are reminiscent of Romes ancient Hellenic legacy. Sky blue socks have also been used as home colours. Their home is the 70,634 capacity Stadio Olimpico in Rome, Roma until the year 2018, when the latter will leave for the Stadio della Roma. Lazio have a rivalry with Roma, with whom they have contested the Derby della Capitale since 1929. Lazio is also a club that participate in 40 sports disciplines in total. Società Podistica Lazio was founded on 9 January 1900 in the Prati district of Rome, in 1927, Lazio was the only major Roman club which resisted the Fascist regimes attempts to merge all the citys teams into what would become A. S. The club played in the first organised Serie A in 1929 and, led by legendary Italian striker Silvio Piola, the 1950s produced a mix of mid and upper table results with a Coppa Italia win in 1958. Lazio was relegated for the first time in 1961 to the Serie B, after a number of mid-table placements, another relegation followed in 1970–71. Lazio improved such successes the following season, ensuring its first title in 1973–74, however, tragic deaths of Re Cecconi and Scudetto trainer Maestrelli, as well as the departure of Chinaglia, would be a triple blow for Lazio. The emergence of Bruno Giordano during this period provided some relief as he finished League top scorer in 1979, Lazio were forcibly relegated to Serie B in 1980 due to a remarkable scandal concerning illegal bets on their own matches, along with Milan. They remained in Italys second division for three seasons in what would mark the darkest period in Lazios history and they would return in 1983 and manage a last-day escape from relegation the following season. The 1984–85 season would prove harrowing, with a pitiful 15 points, in 1986, Lazio was hit with a nine-point deduction for a betting scandal involving player Claudio Vinazzani. The arrival of Sergio Cragnotti in 1992 changed the clubs due to his long-term investments in new players to make the team a Scudetto competitor. A notable early transfer during his tenure was the capture of English midfielder Paul Gascoigne from Tottenham Hotspur for £5.5 million, gascoignes transfer to Lazio is credited with the increase of interest in Serie A in the United Kingdom during the 1990s. Lazio had two more Coppa Italia triumphs in 1998 and 2004, as well as the last ever UEFA Cup Winners Cup in 1999 and they also reached the UEFA Cup, but lost 0–3 against Internazionale
7.
Atalanta B.C.
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Atalanta Bergamasca Calcio, commonly known as just Atalanta, Atalanta Bergamo or the abbreviation Atalanta BC, is an Italian football club based in Bergamo, Lombardy. The club currently plays in Serie A, having gained the promotion from Serie B in 2010–11 and they are nicknamed the Nerazzurri and the Orobici. Atalanta play in blue-and-black vertically striped shirts, black shorts and black socks, the club stadium is the 26,638 seater Atleti Azzurri dItalia. The club won the Coppa Italia in 1963 and reached the Cup Winners Cup semi-final in 1988 and this is still the best ever performance by a non-first division club in a major UEFA competition. Atalanta also participated twice in the UEFA Cup, reaching the quarter-finals in 1990–91, the club was founded in 1907. A football club had existed in Bergamo since 1904, founded by Swiss immigrants, it was known as Foot Ball Club Bergamo. The rival Atalanta club grew out of a division between different sporting societies in the town, the name is taken from the female athlete of Greek mythology. The FIGC was unimpressed with the new club and did not officially recognize them until 1914, the current club is the result of a merger between Atalanta and a third team called Bergamasca. The first, black and white coloured and the wearing a blue and white shirt. The team moved to the site of the current ground, on the Viale Giulio Cesare, Atalanta joined the Italian league in 1929. The club first reached Serie A in 1937, but was relegated immediately, the club achieved its highest position in 1948, finishing in fifth place. In 1981, the fell into Serie C1, a blow which revitalised the club. The team returned to Serie B the next season and made it back to Serie A in 1984, the clubs form in Serie A remains uncertain, as it was relegated in 1987,1994,1998,2003,2005 and 2010. After a change of ownership, in 2011, Atalanta immediately came back to Serie A, in terms of titles the club has won little, their sole silverware is the 1963 Coppa Italia. The club has had a few runs in Europe, on several occasions being eliminated by the eventual winners. Welsh club Merthyr Tydfil caused an upset in the 1987–88 European Cup Winners Cup, oddly enough, the only other team to do so being Merthyr Tydfils countrymen at Cardiff City. Atalanta reached the UEFA Cup quarter-finals in the 1990–91 season, losing to local rivals Internazionale, in recent years, the club was relegated after the 2002–03, 2004–05 and 2009–10 seasons, but gained the promotion to Serie A after only one season every time. In 2011–12, Atalanta was docked six points in the table due to the outcomes of an Italian football scandal
8.
Association football
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Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of eleven players with a spherical ball. It is played by 250 million players in over 200 countries and dependencies making it the worlds most popular sport, the game is played on a rectangular field with a goal at each end. The object of the game is to score by getting the ball into the opposing goal, players are not allowed to touch the ball with their hands or arms while it is in play, unless they are goalkeepers. Other players mainly use their feet to strike or pass the ball, the team that scores the most goals by the end of the match wins. If the score is level at the end of the game, the Laws of the Game were originally codified in England by The Football Association in 1863. Association football is governed internationally by the International Federation of Association Football, the first written reference to the inflated ball used in the game was in the mid-14th century, Þe heued fro þe body went, Als it were a foteballe. The Online Etymology Dictionary states that the word soccer was split off in 1863, according to Partha Mazumdar, the term soccer originated in England, first appearing in the 1880s as an Oxford -er abbreviation of the word association. Within the English-speaking world, association football is now usually called football in the United Kingdom and mainly soccer in Canada and the United States. People in Australia, Ireland, South Africa and New Zealand use either or both terms, although national associations in Australia and New Zealand now primarily use football for the formal name. According to FIFA, the Chinese competitive game cuju is the earliest form of football for which there is scientific evidence, cuju players could use any part of the body apart from hands and the intent was kicking a ball through an opening into a net. It was remarkably similar to football, though similarities to rugby occurred. During the Han Dynasty, cuju games were standardised and rules were established, phaininda and episkyros were Greek ball games. An image of an episkyros player depicted in low relief on a vase at the National Archaeological Museum of Athens appears on the UEFA European Championship Cup, athenaeus, writing in 228 AD, referenced the Roman ball game harpastum. Phaininda, episkyros and harpastum were played involving hands and violence and they all appear to have resembled rugby football, wrestling and volleyball more than what is recognizable as modern football. As with pre-codified mob football, the antecedent of all football codes. Non-competitive games included kemari in Japan, chuk-guk in Korea and woggabaliri in Australia, Association football in itself does not have a classical history. Notwithstanding any similarities to other games played around the world FIFA have recognised that no historical connection exists with any game played in antiquity outside Europe. The modern rules of football are based on the mid-19th century efforts to standardise the widely varying forms of football played in the public schools of England
9.
Coppa Italia
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The Coppa Italia is an Italian football annual cup competition. Its first edition was held in 1922, but the champions were not crowned until 1936. Juventus is the competitions most successful club with 11 wins, followed by Roma with 9, Roma has contested the most finals with 17, followed by Juventus with 16. The holder can wear a cockade, like the roundels that appear on military aircraft. The competition is a tournament with pairings for each round made in advance. Each tie is played as a leg, with the exception of the two-legged semi-finals. If a match is drawn, extra time is played, in the event of a draw after 120 minutes, a penalty shoot-out is contested. As well as being presented with the trophy, the team also qualifies for the UEFA Europa League. There are a total of eight rounds in the competition, the competition begins in August with the first round and is contested only by the lowest-ranked clubs – those outside the top two divisions. The remaining eight Serie A teams join the competition in the round in January. The rather unusual two-leg final was eliminated since the 2007–08 edition, note,1922 tournament was contested only by minor teams, the biggest clubs having left FIGC to form a private league of their own. Note, from 1968 to 1971, FIGC introduced a group instead of semifinals and finals. For statistical equity, only champions and runners-up of those groups are counted as finalists, moreover, in 1971, a decisive match between the two best clubs was played to assign the cup. The later stages of the competition are broadcast by BT Sport in both Ireland and the United Kingdom, in Spain, the later stages of the competition are broadcast by Teledeporte since the 2016–17 edition. In MENA, Abu Dhabi Sports started broadcasting the competition since the 2015–16 edition, italy – List of Cup Finals from RSSSF Coppa Italia Fixtures and Results Coppa Italia all matches by season
10.
Serie D
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Serie D is the top level of the Italian non-professional football association called Lega Nazionale Dilettanti. The association represents over twelve thousand football players and four hundred football teams across Italy, Serie D ranks just below Lega Pro, and is thus considered the 4th ranked league in the country. It is organized by the Roman Comitato Interregionale, a league in the league inside the LND and it chose the winners and a few runners-up from the 36 Serie C championships to be added to the new third division set up into 4 groups. The rest of the attended the new Promozione which changed name in 1952 into Quarta Serie. From 1959 each player attending the Serie D championships had to opt for semi-professional status by signing a specially issued status attribution form, the championship was so included in the Lega Nazionale Semiprofessionisti, today known as Lega Pro. The championship consequently passed into the Lega Nazionale Dilettanti, from 1992 to 1999 had the name changed into Campionato Nazionale Dilettanti before eventually returning to the current Serie D name. Since the early 1990s, Serie D has consisted of 162 teams split into 9 regional divisions, usually formed of 18 teams each divided geographically. For the 2012–13 season, the teams were 166 and two groups were formed of 20 teams, in the 2013–14 season the number was 161, for 2014–15 their distribution by region is as follows, Girone A - teams from Aosta Valley, Piedmont, Liguria & Lombardy. Girone B - teams from Lombardy & Veneto, Girone C - teams from Friuli-Venezia Giulia, Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol & Veneto. Girone D - teams from Emilia-Romagna, Tuscany & Veneto, Girone E - teams from Lazio, Tuscany & Umbria. Girone F - teams from Abruzzo, Lazio, Marche & Molise, Girone G - teams from Lazio & Sardinia. Girone H - teams from Apulia, Basilicata & Campania, Girone I - teams from Calabria, Campania & Sicily. The first-placed team from each division is promoted to Lega Pro each year, if a newly promoted Serie D team fails to meet the requirements, Lega Pro asks the second-placed team in that Serie D teams division to fill the vacancy. Failing that, even the team may fill the vacancy. In recent years, one or more teams from the senior leagues from Serie A down to Lega Pro Seconda Divisione failed to meet the regulatory or financial requirements to remain there and these vacancies were usually announced in the summer rest period as the new season was being organized. As teams moved up to fill the void created by these failed teams, for example, in the 2007-08 season there were nine such failures, and thus, nine Lega Pro Seconda Divisione spaces were created. Four of those spaces were filled by calling back teams that had played in Seconda Divisione but were relegated to Serie D for the next season, the other five vacancies were filled by Serie D teams that had participated in the Serie D playoffs. Playoffs are held after the season is over and involve teams placed second through fifth in each division
11.
Serie B
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Serie B, currently named Serie B ConTe. it due to sponsorship reasons, is the second-highest division in the Italian football league system after the Serie A. It is contested by 22 teams and organized by the Lega Serie B since July 2010, common nicknames for the league are campionato cadetto and cadetteria, as cadetto is the Italian for junior or cadet. Serie B was composed of 20 teams until the 2002–03 season and it was enlarged to 24 teams for the 2003–04 season due to legal problems relating to Calcio Catania relegation. The league reverted to 22 teams for the 2004–05 season, while Serie A expanded from 18 to 20 teams, during the regular season, each team plays 42 games – two games against every opponent. In Italian football, a true round-robin format is used, in the first half of the season, called andata, each team plays once against all its opponents, a total of 21 games. Since the 2006–07 season, the Serie B champion is awarded the cup Ali della Vittoria, the trophy is 63 cm high and weighs 5 kg. Its structure represents the wings of the goddess Nike, the goddess of victory, Serie B matches are usually played on Saturday. After one year where all games were played on Saturday, the league is again scheduling one game that is played on Friday called anticipo, the league also plays on several Tuesdays to fit in all 42 games. The league also plays on Sunday if Serie A is off, at the end of the season, three teams are promoted to Serie A and four teams are relegated to the reformed Serie C. The top two teams are automatically promoted, under the new playoff format, up to three rounds may be required. The final two rounds are two-legged ties, while opening round matches are single legs hosted by the higher-ranked team, if a tie is drawn at the end of regular play, extra time is played. If the two teams are tied after thirty minutes, the higher classified team advances. In the relegation zone, the three last-placed teams are automatically demoted to Serie C, if the playout is necessary, the 18th and 19th-placed teams are paired in a two-legged series with home-field advantage in the 2nd leg going to the 18th-placed team. The team with the aggregate score remains in Serie B while the loser becomes the fourth team relegated to Serie C. If an aggregate tie exists at the end of play of the 2nd leg, the 18th-placed team is saved. Even if part of the league, differently from First Division. Only in 1928, the big reform was conceived by FIGCs President Leandro Arpinati, after a year, a new second division based on the same national format of the major tournament would be born. Serie B began in 1929 with 18 clubs and continued until World War II after whom it was divided again between the northern and the part of the country, due to the destructions of the war
12.
ACF Fiorentina
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ACF Fiorentina, commonly referred to as simply Fiorentina, is a professional Italian football club from Florence, Tuscany. Fiorentina has won two Italian Championships, in 1955–56 and again in 1968–69, as well as six Coppa Italia trophies, on the European stage, Fiorentina won the UEFA Cup Winners Cup in 1960–61 and lost the final one year later. Since 1931, the club have played at the Stadio Artemio Franchi, the stadium has used several names over the years and has undergone several renovations. Fiorentina are known widely by the nickname Viola, a reference to their distinctive purple colours, the aim of the merger was to give Florence a strong club to rival those of the more dominant Italian Football Championship sides of the time from Northwest Italy. Also influential was the revival and rediscovery of Calcio Fiorentino. After a rough start and three seasons in lower leagues, Fiorentina reached the Serie A in 1931 and that same year saw the opening of the new stadium, originally named after Giovanni Berta, after a prominent fascist, but now known as Stadio Artemio Franchi. At the time, the stadium was a masterpiece of engineering, to be able to compete with the best teams in Italy, Fiorentina strengthened their team with some new players, notably the Uruguayan Pedro Petrone, nicknamed el Artillero. Despite enjoying a season and finishing in fourth place, Fiorentina were relegated the following year. In 1941, they won their first Coppa Italia, but the team were unable to build on their success during the 1940s because of World War II, in 1950, Fiorentina started to achieve consistent top-five finishes in the domestic league. This team won Fiorentinas first scudetto in 1955–56,12 points ahead of second-place Milan, Fiorentina were runners-up again in the three subsequent seasons. In the 1960–61 season, the won the Coppa Italia again and was also successful in Europe. After several years of runner-up finishes, Fiorentina dropped away slightly in the 1960s, bouncing from fourth to sixth place, although the club won the Coppa Italia and the Mitropa Cup in 1966. While the 1960s did result in some trophies and good Serie A finishes for Fiorentina, the 1968–69 season started with Milan as frontrunners, but on matchday 7, they lost to Bologna and were overtaken by Gigi Rivas Cagliari. Fiorentina, after a start, then moved to the top of the Serie A. The second half of the season was a battle between the three contending teams, Milan, Cagliari and Fiorentina. Milan fell away, instead focusing their efforts on the European Cup, after Cagliari lost against Juventus, however, Fiorentina took over at the top. The team then won all of their matches, beating rivals Juve in Turin on the penultimate matchday to seal their second. Viola players began the 1970s decade with Scudetto sewed on their breast, after a fifth-place finish in 1971, they finished in mid-table almost every year, even flirting with relegation in 1972 and 1978
13.
Pietro Accardi
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Pietro Accardi is an Italian retired professional footballer who currently is working as the team manager of Empoli. His usual position was at left back but he could play at centre back. Born in Palermo, Sicily, Accardi started his career with Serie C1 side Marsala. In 2000, he left for Franco Sensis Palermo and played 2 seasons in its youth teams and he also received several call-up from Italy U21 Serie B team for training sessions from 2002 to 2004. He was pulled out from squad by injury before the match against Belgium U21, but in 2004–05 Serie A season, the club signed Fabio Grosso and Accardi worked as the understudy of Grosso. In 2006–07 Serie A season, Palermo sold both Grosso and Accardi, Accardi, along with midfielder Massimo Bonanni and central back Christian Terlizzi moved to Sampdoria, which as the piece-weight to sign midfielder Aimo Diana and left-back Marco Pisano. Accardi immediately became one of the starting XI for the Genoa based club and he was injured in the 2007–08 UEFA Cup 2nd qualifying round. Whin ruled him out until November, since 2009–10 Serie A season he lost his place in starting line-up to Reto Ziegler. After the Doria relegated to Serie B and the departure of Ziegler, on 22 September 2012, he joined Empoli until summer 2013
14.
Serie A
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It had been organized by Lega Calcio until 2010, but a new league, the Lega Serie A, was created for the 2010–11 season. Serie A is regarded as one of the best football leagues in the world, Serie A led the UEFA ranking from 1986 to 1988 and from 1990 to 1999. In its current format, the Italian Football Championship was revised from having regional and interregional rounds, the championship titles won prior to 1929 are officially recognised by FIGC with the same weighting as titles that were subsequently awarded. However, the 1945–46 season, when the league was played over two groups due to the ravages of WWII, is not statistically considered, even if its title is fully official. All the winning teams are recognised with the title of Campione dItalia, Juventus, Italys most successful club of the 20th century and the most successful Italian team, is tied for fourth in Europe and eighth in the world with the most official international titles. The club is also the one in the world to have won all possible official continental competitions. Milan is joint third club for international titles won in the world. Internazionale, following their achievements in the 2009–10 season, became the first Italian team to have achieved a treble, Juventus, Milan and Inter, along with Roma, Fiorentina, Lazio and Napoli, are known as the Seven Sisters of Italian football. For most of Serie As history, there were 16 or 18 clubs competing at the top level, since 2004–05, however, there have been 20 clubs altogether. One season was played with 21 teams for political reasons, thus, in Italian football a true round-robin format is used. In the first half of the season, called the andata, each team plays once against each league opponent, since the 1994–95 season, teams are awarded three points for a win, one point for a draw and no points for a loss. Since Italy is currently rated fourth in Europe in terms of club football ratings, teams finishing fourth and fifth qualify for the UEFA Europa League tournament. A third UEFA Europa League spot is reserved for the winner of the Coppa Italia, if both Coppa Italia finalists finish among the top five teams in Serie A, the sixth-ranked team in Serie A is awarded the UEFA Europa League spot. The three lowest-placed teams are relegated to Serie B, any play-off was held after the end of regular season. The last championship playoff occurred in the 1963-64 season when Bologna, below is a list of Serie A clubs who have competed in the competition when it has been a league format. There are 66 teams that have taken part in 85 Serie A championships in a round that was played from the 1929–30 season until the 2016–17 season. The teams in bold compete in Serie A currently, Internazionale is the only team that has played Serie A football in every season. Serie A, as it is structured today, began during the 1929–1930 season, from 1898 to 1922, the competition was organised into regional groups
15.
Francesco Guidolin
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Francesco Guidolin is an Italian football manager and former player, who was recently manager of Premier League team Swansea City. Guidolin made his debut in 1975 with the Serie A club Hellas Verona, with whom he spent the majority of his career, save for loan moves to clubs Sambenedettese, Pistoiese. Latterly spending two seasons with Serie C2 club Venezia, he retired in 1986, internationally, Guidolin played for the Italy under-21 national team between 1976 and 1977. Guidolins managerial debut came in 1988 as head coach of Serie C2 team Giorgione, between 1989 and 1993, he then coached Treviso, Fano, Empoli and Ravenna, all in Serie C1. Leading Ravenna to promotion to Serie B earned Guidolin a move to head coach of Serie A team Atalanta on 1 July 1993. The next season, Guidolin joined Serie B side Vicenza and restored following a period of decline. After gaining promotion to Serie A at the end of the 1994–95 Serie B and it was the clubs first ever domestic trophy. In the league season, however, they finished just one place above the relegation zone, after Vicenza, Guidolin accepted the head coach position at Serie A side Udinese for the 1998–99 season. Their previous third-place finish had qualified them the first round of the 1998–99 UEFA Cup, in the remaining league campaign, Guidolin was only able to guide them to a mid-table finish and was fired only days before the start of the following season. In the middle of the 1999–2000 season, Guidolin joined Serie A side Bologna, despite finishing ninth in the previous season, they had qualified for the 1999–2000 UEFA Cup after winning a tie-breaker against Internazionale. Guidolin took them to the round of the UEFA Cup. In the Serie A season, they finished in 11th place, in the subsequent Serie A campaign, he guided Palermo to sixth, earning their first ever UEFA Cup qualification, but opting to leave the club at the end of the season. For the start of the season, Guidolin had agreed to join Genoa. After a match fixing scandal over their league game was discovered. As a result, Guidolin rescinded his contract, in October 2005, Guidolin joined French side Monaco, his first managerial post outside Italy. On 30 May 2006, in a move, Guidolin was re-hired by his former club Palermo. Guidolins Serie A campaign started well, but after losing star player Amauri to injury in December, in the UEFA Cup, they progressed to the group stage but failed to qualify for the knockout stages, ending their campaign in December. Having dropped out of the UEFA Champions League qualification places, Guidolin was sacked on 23 April following a 4–3 home defeat to relegation-threatened Parma, after his assistant Renzo Gobbo failed to arrest the slide, the sacking was revoked on 14 May after a further two defeats
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UEFA Europa League
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The UEFA Europa League, previously called the UEFA Cup, is an annual football club competition organized by UEFA since 1971 for eligible European football clubs. Clubs qualify for the competition based on their performance in their national leagues, previously called the UEFA Cup, the competition has been known as the UEFA Europa League since the 2009–10 season, following a change in format. For UEFA footballing records purposes, the UEFA Cup and UEFA Europa League are considered the same competition, in 1999, the UEFA Cup Winners Cup was abolished and merged with the UEFA Cup. For the 2004–05 competition a group stage was added prior to the knockout phase, the 2009 re-branding included a merge with the UEFA Intertoto Cup, producing an enlarged competition format, with an expanded group stage and changed qualifying criteria. The winner enters at least at the round, and will enter the group stage if the berth reserved for the Champions League title holders is not used. The title has been won by 27 different clubs,12 of which have won the more than once. The UEFA Cup was preceded by the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup, which was a European football competition played between 1955 and 1971, the competition grew from 11 teams during the first cup to 64 teams by the last cup which was played in 1970–71. It had become so important on the European football scene that in the end it was taken over by UEFA, the UEFA Cup was first played in the 1971–72 season, with an all-English final of Wolverhampton Wanderers versus Tottenham Hotspur, with Spurs taking the first honours. The title was retained by another English club, Liverpool in 1973, Borussia would win the competition in 1975 and 1979, and reach the final again in 1980. Liverpool won the competition for the time in 1976, beating Club Brugge in the final. During the 1980s, IFK Göteborg and Real Madrid won the competition twice each,1989 saw the commencement of the Italian clubs domination, when Maradonas Napoli beat Stuttgart. The 1990s started with two finals, and in 1992, Torino lost the final to Ajax on the away goals rule. Juventus won the competition for a time in 1993 and Internazionale kept the cup in Italy the following year. 1995 saw a third final, with Parma proving their consistency. The only final with no Italians during that decade was in 1996, Parma won the cup in 1999, which ended the Italian club era. Liverpool won the competition for the time in 2001 and Porto triumphed in the 2003 and 2011 tournaments. In 2004, the cup returned to Spain with Valencia being victorious, either side of Sevillas success, two Russian teams, CSKA Moscow in 2005 and Zenit Saint Petersburg in 2008, had their glory and yet another former Soviet club, Ukraines Shakhtar Donetsk, won in 2009. Atlético Madrid would themselves win twice in three seasons, in 2010 and 2012, the latter in another all-Spanish final, in 2013, Chelsea would become the first Champions League holders to win the UEFA Cup/Europa League the following year
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Cesare Bovo
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Cesare Bovo is an Italian professional footballer who plays as a centre back for Pescara. Bovo grew up playing in the A. S, Roma youth system, where he was part of the senior team in the 2000–01 season, while in the 2001–02 season he only played a game in the Coppa Italia, Brescia–Roma on 8 January 2002. In 2002 he was sold in co-ownership to Lecce, where he remained for two years and made his debut in Serie A on 5 October 2003 in Lecce–Brescia. On 2 May 2,2004 he scored in a 2–1 home win against Inter Milan, with 2 goals in the league, he achieved his personal record of goals in a season. In June 2004, he was redeemed by Roma for €10,000, while Rizzo returned to Lecce for €40,000.5 million Even this season he scored 2 goals in the league, equaling his record. On 1 July 2005 Bovo returned his hometown club, Roma in temporary deal for €750,000, Roma made around €200,000 less to the bid of Palermo. In the final day of the market of January 2007. He played his first match for Torino on 24 February 2007 in Serie A against Chievo. After the end of the loan he returned to Palermo, however, shortly after he was bought by Genoa, led by Gian Piero Gasperini, on 19 June 2008 he was redeemed from Palermo for €4.5 million cash plus the transfer of Giuseppe Biava. Along with Simon Kjær and Andrea Raggi, his task was to replace the left by departures of Andrea Barzagli, Cristian Zaccardo. He finished the season with only 28 appearances due to the amount of cards received and he was Palermos vice-captain along with Fabrizio Miccoli. At the end of the season he suffered from metatarsalgia which required operation on 12 April 2010, back on 24 April, he scored the first goal in a 3–1 win against A. C. Milan. He closed the season with a total of 29 appearances in the league plus 3 appearances in Coppa Italia, in the 2010–11 season, on 11 December 2010, he wore the captains armband for the first time at home against Parma. On 22 January 2011, in Palermo–Brescia of the 21st round, he scored the goal from a free kick in the 86th minute. On 10 April 2011, in Palermo–Cesena, he made his 100th appearance with the shirt of Palermo,86 in the league,7 in Coppa Italia and 7 in European competition. On 23 April, in a game against Napoli, played on the 34th day. On 10 May, in the leg of the Coppa Italia against Milan, he scored the 2–0 on a penalty kick. In the final, lost 3–1 to Inter, Bovo was disqualified due to his expulsion after the prior goal and he closed the season with 43 appearances and 5 goals between the league, Coppa Italia and Europa League
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Salvatore Bocchetti
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Salvatore Bocchetti is an Italian footballer who plays as a centre back for Spartak Moscow. Bocchetti started his career at Ascoli. He made his Serie A debut against Palermo on 20 December 2006 and he was sent on loan to Serie C1 for Lanciano, and Frosinone of Serie B on second half of 2006–07 season. In the 2008–09 season Bocchetti was signed by Genoa and sooon became a starter in central defence. In the 2010–2011 season he was signed by Rubin Kazan on a 3. 5-year contract with a fee reported to be around €15 million for the transfer, on 2 October 2011 Bocchetti scored two goals in a league match against Tom Tomsk. In January 2013, he moved to Spartak Moscow, another Russian Premier League club, in August 2013, he received a knee surgery and missed the rest of the season. On 27 January 2015, Milan had signed him on loan with an option to make the move permanent at the end of the season, in March 2008 Bocchetti made his debut with the Italy U-21 squad. Together with Marco Andreolli, he was first-choice in central defence during the 2009 U-21 European Championship as Italy reached the semi-finals, on 22 March 2009 Bocchetti received his first call up to the senior Italy squad for two World Cup qualifiers matches but remained an unused substitute. On 10 October 2009 he made his national team international debut against Ireland coming on as a second-half substitute in Croke Park. He was named in Marcello Lippis 23-men squad for the 2010 World Cup, Bocchetti was also selected for Italys preliminary squad for Euro 2012, but was not picked for the final squad. Bocchetti has been described as a versatile, left-footed centre back and he is known for his strength, pace, and anticipation, as well for his reliable technical ability. com
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Matteo Ferrari
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Matteo Ferrari is an Italian footballer, who last played as a defender for the Montreal Impact in Major League Soccer. Ferrari played for Italy at the Summer Olympics in 2000 and 2004 and he also made 11 full international appearances for his country between 2002 and 2004, featuring in the Italian squad that took part at Euro 2004. Matteo Ferrari is the Algeria-born son of an Italian petroleum engineer and his father worked in various countries throughout Africa because of his vocation. His father died in 1993 when Matteo was 14 and he grew up in Ferrara and has a brother who was a football player. Ferrari and Venezuelan model Aída Yéspica re-united in December 2009 and they have a son named Aron, born in 2008. Ferrari started his career at SPAL in 1995, and he can play as left-back or centreback, F. C. Internazionale Milano brought him to their youth system, later farming him to Genoa C. F. C. He made his Serie A debut on 29 August 1999, A. C. Fiorentina 1–0 A. S, bari where Ferrari played the full match. He went back to Inter in summer 2000, making 27 appearances in all competition, but failed to stay and that season Parma also signed Sébastien Frey from Internazionale for 40 billion lire and sold Gianluigi Buffon and Lilian Thuram to Juventus. A permanent transfer was made because of his performance in May 2002. That season, Inter also sent Adriano and Vratislav Greško to Parma, in three seasons as a starter for Parma, Ferrari appeared in 81 league matches and scored 3 goals. At Parma, Ferrari led his team win their first National convenor, in July 2004, he joined A. S. He also signed a contract worth €2.965 million annually in gross, as a replacement of Walter Samuel who went to Real Madrid. He failed to give the performances he had delivered in Parma in his first season with the capital club, Roma also sent experienced Samuel Kuffour out on loan and sold Leandro Cufré. Ferrari played 27 time in Serie A,24 of them were starters, helping Roma to achieve second place in Serie A and winning the Coppa Italia. His erratic performance and poor security that has given in defense earned him the nickname Svirgolone as he could not show the same brilliant game during his time at Parma.5 million. It took a few games for him to get accustomed to the Premiership, unfortunately that was brought to an end in the 1–0 win over Arsenal, when he sustained nerve damage to his hamstring which kept him out of action. He returned to the Everton side for the FA Cup 4th round replay defeat against Chelsea, –David Moyes In May 2006, Moyes told evertonfc. com, the official site of Everton FC, that Ferrari loan would not be extended. As his contract with Roma expired at the end of 2007–08 Serie A season, Clubs like AC Milan, Inter Milan, Juventus, Fiorentina, Genoa, eventually, Ferrari decided to sign with Genoa for the 2008–09 Serie A season on a free transfer
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Dario Dainelli
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Dario Dainelli is an Italian footballer who plays as a defender for Serie A club A. C. Chievo Verona. Dainelli started his career at Empoli. He spent his years on Modena, Cavese and Fidelis Andria on loan. He was then signed by Lecce in 2000 (in co-ownership deal, after just one season at Lecce, Empoli bought him back and sold to Brescia. Except for the first season which he just made five appearances and left on loan to Serie A rival Verona, in July 2004 he was signed by newly promoted team Fiorentina, in a co-ownership deal with Brescia. On January 2005, Fiorentina immediately bought all of the registration rights. Dainelli was the captain after Christian Riganò left the club in summer 2005. In summer 2009, ACF Fiorentina prepared to sell the captain by signing Cesare Natali in order to increase the depth of the bench, alessandro Gamberini, Per Krøldrup and Dainelli rotated at the starting pair of the central defender. After the signing of Felipe, on 12 January 2010 Dainelli was transferred to Genoa with whom he signed a contract which last until June 2013. On 31 January 2012, the last day of winter transfer 2012 and he returned to Genoa after the loan deal expired at 30 June 2012 and then terminated his contract with Genoa. On 7 August 2012, he agreed a permanent deal with Chievo, Dainelli made his debut for the national side against Ecuador on 11 June 2005 which the friendly match ended a 1–1 draw. He was recalled by new Italian head coach Roberto Donadoni to play in Euro 2008 qualifying against Lithuania and France on 2 September 2006 and 6 September 2006, Dainelli played once for Italy U21 team, on 16 April 2002. A friendly 2–3 lost to France U21 and he also call-up to 2002 UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship, but did not play. Dario Dainelli Profile at FootballDatabase FIGC
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A.S. Roma
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Associazione Sportiva Roma, commonly referred to as simply Roma, is a professional Italian football club based in Rome. Founded by a merger in 1927, Roma have participated in the top-tier of Italian football for all of their existence except for 1951–52, for their 65th season in a row, Roma are competing in Serie A for the 2016–17 season. Roma have won Serie A three times, first in 1941–42 then in 1982–83 and again in 2000–01, as well as winning nine Coppa Italia titles and two Supercoppa Italiana titles. On the European stage Roma won an Inter-Cities Fairs Cup in 1960–61, coming close to European Cup victory in 1983–84, therefore, Roma is the fourth Italian club by major honours won, behind Juventus, Milan and Inter. Home games are played at the Stadio Olimpico, a venue they share with city rivals Lazio. With a capacity of over 72,000, it is the second largest of its kind in Italy, in September 2009 the club unveiled plans to build a Stadio della Roma in the western suburbs of Rome. Its design was modelled after English football stadiums with the objective being to give fans a view of the pitch. In September 2011, it was announced that the new president, Thomas R. DiBenedetto, had reached an agreement with the mayor of Rome, Gianni Alemanno, to have the new stadium completed by 2016. The purpose of the merger was to give the Italian capital a strong club to rival that of the more dominant Northern Italian clubs of the time. The only major Roman club to resist the merger was S. S. Lazio because of the intervention of the army General Vaccaro, member of the club and executive of Italian Football Federation. An early season in which Roma made a mark was the 1930–31 championship. Captain Attilio Ferraris along with Guido Masetti, Fulvio Bernardini and Rodolfo Volk were highly important players during this period, after a slump in league form and the departure of high key players, Roma eventually rebuilt their squad adding goalscorers such as the Argentine Enrique Guaita. Under the management of Luigi Barbesino, the Roman club came close to their first title in 1935–36, Roma returned to form after being inconsistent for much of the late 1930s, Roma recorded an unexpected title triumph in the 1941–42 season by winning their first ever scudetto title. The eighteen goals scored by local player Amedeo Amadei were essential to the Alfréd Schaffer coached Roma side winning the title, at the time Italy was involved in World War II and Roma were playing at the Stadio del Partito Nazionale Fascista. In the years just after the war, Roma were unable to recapture their league stature from the early 1940s, under future national team manager Giuseppe Viani, promotion straight back up was achieved. After returning to the Serie A, Roma managed to stabilise themselves as a top half club again with such as Egisto Pandolfini, Dino Da Costa. Although Roma were unable to break into the top four during the following decade and their first honour outside of Italy was recorded in 1960–61 when Roma won the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup by beating Birmingham City 4–2 in the finals. A few years later Roma won their first Coppa Italia trophy in 1963–64, supporters kept the club going with a fundraiser at the Sistine Theatre and bankruptcy was avoided with the election of a new club president Franco Evangelisti
