| Full name | Genoa Cricket and Football Club SpA | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nickname(s) | I rossoblu (The red-blues), Il grifone (The griffin[1]), Il vecchio balordo[2] (The old fool) |
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| Founded | 7 September 1893 (mixed sports)[3] 10 April 1897 (football)[4] |
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| Ground | Stadio Luigi Ferraris, Genoa, Italy (Capacity: 36,536) |
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| Chairman | ||||
| Manager | ||||
| League | Serie A | |||
| 2008-09 | Serie A, 5th | |||
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Genoa Cricket and Football Club, commonly referred to as simply Genoa, is an Italian professional football club based in the city of Genoa, Liguria. Although the athletics and cricket club was founded in 1893 by Englishmen as a British sporting club abroad, whose membership was allowed to British citizens exclusively;[5] the footballing section of the club was opened in 1897 by James Richardson Spensley making it the oldest of its kind still active in Italy.[6]
During their long history, Genoa have won the Italian Football Championship nine times. Genoa's first title came at the inaugural championship in 1898 and their last was in
The club has played its home games at the 36,536 capacity Stadio Luigi Ferraris[8] 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 also a brief spell in Serie C. After a long story of bad management and an alleged corruption-related scandal, Genoa is now back playing in Serie A, securing a UEFA Europa League placement at the end of the 2008-09 season.
Contents |
History
- For more details on this topic, see History of Genoa C.F.C.
The club was founded on 7 September 1893[3] as Genoa Cricket & Athletic Club. In its earliest years, it only competed in athletics and cricket. Since the club was set up to represent England abroad, the original shirts worn by the organisation were white, the same colour as the England national team shirt.[3] At first Italians were not permitted to join as it was a British sporting club abroad.[3] Genoa's activities took place in the north-west of the city in the Campasso area, at the Piazza d'Armi. The men who founded the initial cricket and athletics club were;[3]
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On 10 April 1897[4] the footballing section of the club was officially opened by James Richardson Spensley.[9] It was amongst the oldest in Italian football at the time, the only other founded clubs were two in Turin.[10] With the football section of the club opened, 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 mixed team of Internazionale Torino and FBC Torinese; Genoa lost 1–0.[3] 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.[3]
Championship dominance
Football in Italy stepped up a level with the creation of the Italian Football Federation and the Italian Football Championship.[4] Genoa competed in the first Italian Championship in 1898 at Velodromo Umberto I in Turin.[4] They defeated Ginnastica Torino 2–1 in their first official game on 8 May, before winning the first championship later that day by beating Internazionale Torino 3–1 after extra time.[11]
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 shirt colour was also in order, as they changed to white and blue vertical stripes; known in Italy as biancoblu. Genoa won their second title on a one-day tournament which took place on April 16 1899, by beating Internazionale Torino 3–1 for the second time. On their way to winning their third consecutive title in 1900 and also beated local rivals [Sampierdarenese] 7–0; a winning margin which would not be bettered by any team in the league until 1910. The final was secured with a 3–1 win over FBC Torinese.[11]
The club strip was changed again in 1901, Genoa adopted its famous red-navy halves and therefore became known as the rossoblu; these are the colours used even to this day as many other Italian club do as Cagliari, Bologna and an endless list of minor clubs. After a season of finishing runners-up to Milan Cricket and Football Club, things were back on track in 1902 with their fourth title. Juventus emerged as serious contenders to Genoa's throne from 1903 onwards, when for two seasons in a row Genoa beat the Old Lady in the national final.[11]
Notably Genoa became the first Italian football team to play an international match, when they visited France on 27 April 1903 to play FVC Nice, winning the fixture 3–0. As well as winning the Italian championship in 1904, the year was also notable for Genoa reserves winning the first ever II Categoria league season; a proto-Serie B under the top level. From 1905 onwards when they were runners-up, Genoa lost their foothold on the Italian championship; other clubs such as Juventus, Milan and Pro Vercelli stepped up.[11]
The fall in part during this period can be traced back to 1908 when FIGC agreed to Federal Gymnastics protests forbidding the use of foreign players. Since Genoa's birth they had always had a strong English contingent. They disagreed, as did several other prominent clubs such as Milan, Torino and Firenze; as thus they withdrew from official FIGC competitions that year. The following season the federation reversed the decision and Genoa was rebuilt with players such as Luigi Ferraris[12] and some from Switzerland. The rebuilding of the squad also saw the creation of a new ground in the Marassi area of Genoa, when built it had a capacity of 25,000 and was comparable to British stadiums of the time; it was officially opened on 22 January 1911.
Garbutt revival
With the introduction of the Italian national football team, Genoa played an important part, with the likes of Renzo De Vecchi; who was azzurri captain for some time, Edoardo Mariani and Enrico Sardi earning call-ups.[13] Englisman William Garbutt was brought in as head coach to help revive the club; Garbutt was the first professional manager in Italy and he was considered to have a strong charisma, constantly smoking his tobacco pipe.[3] He was dubbed "Mister" by the players; since then Italians have referred to coaches in general with the term.[3]
Finally by
Just after the war, Genoa remained a strong contender in the Northern section.[14] Garbutt led Genoa to championship success in
The squad during these two championship victories included; Giovanni De Prà, Ottavio Barbieri, Luigi Burlando and Renzo De Vecchi.[7] With Genoa's championship victory in 1923–24 came the introduction of the scudetto patch; which means following the season which a club wins an Italian league championship, they are allowed to wear a shield shaped patch on their shirt which features the colours of the Italian flag.[3] For the rest of the 1920s, the club did not win the championship, with the highest they were able to finish being second place, like in the
Genova 1893 period
Due to the strongly British connotations attached to the name, Genoa were forced to change it by the fascist government to Genova 1893 Circolo del Calcio in 1928.[16] The club competed in a proto-European Cup in the form of the Mitropa Cup, where they went out in the quarter-finals after losing heavily to Rapid Vienna. They followed this with a runners-up position back at home in the league, they finished behind Ambrosiana in the 1929–30 season; this would be their last top level championship runners-up spot to date.[11]
The club's league form became highly erratic during the early 1930s, with varying league positions; it was during the
During the
World War II affected dramatically the entire Italian football movement, but Genova did not recover as well as other clubs. In 1945, the club chose to revert their name to Genoa Cricket and Foot-Ball Club, the one which they had used in the very early days of the Italian championship.[19] In the years just after the war, the club were still popular with the fans, with people previously associated with the club such as Ottavio Barbieri and William Garbutt returning for managerial spells.[20] Genoa also had a new rival in the form of Sampdoria, who were founded by a merger of two other clubs in 1946 and would groundshare at Stadio Luigi Ferraris.
Post-war period
After the Second World War the ability of Genoa to finish in the upper ranks of Serie A declined in a significant manner; throughout the rest of the 1940s the club were middle-table finishers. The
Despite suffering a relegation in 1959–60 and then a promotion back up to Serie A in 1961–62,[22] Genoa had a respectable amount of cup success in the first half of the 1960s. The club won the anecdotique 'Coppa delle Alpi in 1962; it was the first time the competition had been competed between club teams instead of international ones, the final was played at home while Genoa beat French club Grenoble Foot 38 by 1–0 with a goal from Nizza.[23] Genoa won the same competition again two years later, the final was held at the Wankdorf Stadium in Berne, Switzerland; Genoa defeated Catania 2–0, with both goals from Giampaolo Piaceri to take the trophy.[24]
The celebrations for the club did not last long however, as the year following their last cup success they were relegated down to Serie B again. This time their stay at the second tier of the Italian football system would be far longer than previous relegations, the club was unstable as it changed manager each season.[20] Genoa even experienced their first relegation to Serie C in 1970, financially the club fell into difficulties and had several ownership changes.[25]
Mixed times
Throughout the 1970s, Genoa would mostly play in second league. Under the management of Arturo Silvestri the club made its way back to Serie A for the
The relegation was bad for the club in more ways than one, they lost some of their top players who could have offered them a swift return; such as Roberto Pruzzo's move to AS Roma where he would go on to have great success.[27] After a couple of middle-table finishes in Serie B, Genoa earned promotion during the 1980–81 season under manager Luigi Simoni, the club finished as runners-up behind only AC Milan who had been relegated the previous season for their part in the Totonero betting scandal.[28]
Still with Simoni at the helm as manager, Genoa were able to survive in Serie A for their returning season, finishing just one point ahead of the relegated AC Milan. In a dramatic last day of the season, Genoa were trailing 2–1 to SSC Napoli with five minutes left, until on the 85th minute Mario Faccenda scored the goal that secured the point needed by Genoa, starting a owing friendship between the two club's fans.[29] A couple of seasons later in
European experience
The club was purchased by Calabrese entrepreneur Aldo Spinelli in 1985 and despite no longer having Simoni as manager, Genoa were finishing in the top half of Serie B. After a slip in form during 1987–88, Genoa refocused their energy and were able to achieve promotion back into Serie A the following season, finishing as champions ahead of Bari.[11] Genoa, with an experienced trainer as Osvaldo Bagnoli who knew how to make the best out of underdog teams (he managed to win a championship at the helm of Hellas Verona in the eighties) and with a team sporting the talents of Pato Aguilera and Tomáš Skuhravý among others achieved highs during the
Subsequently the club gained entry to the UEFA Cup in the 1991–92 season. Genoa had a good run, making it to the semi-finals before getting knocked out by Ajax, the final winners of the competition; notably Genoa did the double over Liverpool in the quarter-finals becoming the first Italian side to beat the reds at Anfield. Unfortunately for Genoa, this episodic success was largely outdone by the results obtained by the other Genoese club, the UC Sampdoria, one of the protagonist in Europe in those years. [32] Noted Genoa players during this period included Gianluca Signorini, Carlos Aguilera, Stefano Eranio, Roberto Onorati and John van 't Schip.[33] Back in Serie A however, the same season as their UEFA Cup run, they finished just one place above the relegation zone; in the seasons following Genoa remained in the lower half of the table.[11]
During the
Recent times
Preziosi took over in 2003, when Genoa should have been relegated to C1 series after a dismal season, but was instead "saved" along with Catania and Salernitana by the football federation's controversial decision to extend Serie B to 24 teams. [37] Things started to look up for Genoa; they won Serie B in 2004–05. However, allegations were raised that the club had fixed a match on the last day of the season between themselves and Venezia. The 3–2 victory in the match saw Genoa win the league, with a draw having been good enough to maintain its position in the end. The Disciplinary Committee of FIGC saw fit to instead place Genoa bottom of the league and relegate them down to Serie C1 on 27 July 2005.[38]
For their season in Serie C1 for 2005–06, Genoa were hit with a six point penalty from the previous season. After leading for much of they season, they eventually finished as runners-up and were entered into the play-offs, beating Monza 2-1 on aggregate to achieve promotion back into Serie B.[22] During the summer break Gian Piero Gasperini was brought in as the new manager, he helped the club to gain promotion during the 2006–07 season, it was ensured on the last day of the season where they drew a 0–0 with Napoli, both clubs were happily promoted back into Serie A.[39]
The first serie A championship played by Genoa in 12 years saw it finishing at a respectable tenth place, right after the "big ones" of Italian football. A careful summer market session saw president Preziosi strengthening the core of the team while parting from some players on favourable economical terms[40]. Genoa's aims for the 2008-2009 season were set on a UEFA Cup spot. This aim has gone beyond expectations, with a possible Champions League appearance either through a play-off or direct qualification.
Players
Current squad
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Out on loan
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Retired numbers
- 6 –
Gianluca Signorini, sweeper, 1988–1995[42]
- 12 – The fans of Gradinata Nord, "the twelfth man"[43]
Notable players
Presidential history
Below is the endless presidential history of Genoa, from when the club was first founded playing cricket and athletics, until the present day.[44]
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Managerial history
Genoa have had many managers and trainers, some seasons they have had co-managers running the team, here is a chronological list of them from 1896 when they became a football club, onwards.[45]
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Colours, badge and nicknames
As Genoa was a British club the first ever colours of the club were those of the England national football team.[3] Not long into the club's footballing history, the kit was changed to white and blue stripes in 1899; the blue was chosen to represent the sea as Genoa is a port city. In 1901 the club finally settled for their most famous red and blue halves shirt, this gained them the nickname of rossoblu together with Bologna, Cagliari and many more minor clubs. [46]
One of the nicknames of Genoa is Il Grifone which means "the griffin"; this is derived from the coat of arms belonging to the city of Genoa. The coat of arms features two golden griffins, either side of the St George's Cross.[47] The presence of the St. George's Cross on the crest, unlike its presence on the crest of FC Barcelona, does not reflect the club's English founders; rather, the cross is present on both the flag and coat of arms of the city of Genoa. The actual club badge of Genoa Cricket and Football Club is heavily derived from the city coat of arms, but also incorporated the club's red and blue colours.
Supporters and rivalries
Genoa CFC has the bulk of his fans in Liguria, however they are also popular in Piedmont and the Aosta Valley.[48] The seafaring traditions of the Genoese and the presence of Genoese communities in distant countries did much to spread the appeal of Genoa some further than just Italy, and immigrants founded fan clubs in Buenos Aires, Amsterdam, Tokyo, Toronto, New York, San Francisco, Iceland and other places.
The most significant and traditional rivalry for Genoa, is the inner-city one with the club whom they share a ground with; Sampdoria. The two clubs compete together in the heated Derby della Lanterna ("Derby of the Lantern"); a reference to the Genoa lighthouse.[49] Genoa's supporters also have a strong distaste for AC Milan, after a pitched battle in January 1995 when Genoa supporter Vincenzo Spagnolo was stabbed to death by a Milanese opponent.[50]
Conversely, the fans of Genoa have long standing friendships with Torino (since the exchange of Gigi Meroni between the two clubs at the end of the
Honours
National titles
Italian Football Championship / Serie A: 9
Italian Cup: 1
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- Winners: 1936–37
- Runners-up: 1939-40
Serie B: 6
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- Champions: 1970–71
- Runners-up: 2005–06
Palla Dapples: 13
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- Winners: 1903–1909
European titles
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- Semi-finalists: 1991-92
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- Runners-up: 1990
- Quarter-finalists: 1929
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- Winners: 1962, 1964
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- Winners: 1996
Spagnolo Trophy: 5 (amateurs)
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- Winners: 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2003, 2006
Presences in Italian Professional Leagues
| league | years | Debut | Last Season |
|---|---|---|---|
A |
69 | Italian Football Championship 1898 | Serie A 2008-09 |
B |
33 | Serie B 1934-35 | Serie B 2006-07 |
C |
2 | Serie C 1970-71 | Serie C1 2005-06 |
In 104 seasons at anational level from the inception of the italian football league, including 27 seasons of Prima Categoria e Prima Divisione (from 1898 to 1922 the name of the Italian Football Championship was Prima Categoria). Seasons not included Prima Categoria 1906-1907, where the Grifoni didn't pass the regional elimination round, and Prima Categoria 1907-1908, where Genoa boicts the tounament.
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External links
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