A.C. 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 2018 upon an idea of 1919, and plays in the Serie C, the third tier of Italian football. Reggiana is known as i Granata ("the Maroons") in reference to the club's main colour: maroon.

Reggiana
Reggio Audace F.C. logo.png
Full nameAssociazione Calcio Reggiana 1919 S.r.l.
Nickname(s)I Granata (The Maroons)
I Leoni (The Lions)
Regia (local dialect for Reggiana)
Teste Quadre (Square Heads) from an ancient Poems
Founded25 September 1919; 103 years ago (1919-09-25)
GroundMapei Stadium – Città del Tricolore
Capacity21,584
OwnerRomano Amadei; Carmelo Salerno; Giuseppe Fico; [1]
ChairmanCarmelo Salerno
ManagerAimo Diana
LeagueSerie C Group B
2021–22Serie C Group B, 2nd of 20
WebsiteClub website

The club was refounded 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.

HistoryEdit

A.C. Reggiana (1919–2005)Edit

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)Edit

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.,[2][3] 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.[4]

Reggio Audace F.C. (2018–2020)Edit

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.[5] 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.[6] Two days later a three-year partnership was signed with Macron.[7][8] On 20 August 2018 striker Nicola Luche became the first ever signing of the club.[9]

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)Edit

On 28 July 2020, the club changed its name back to A.C. Reggiana 1919.[10][11]

Colors and badgesEdit

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.

StadiumEdit

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.[citation needed]

FansEdit

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.[citation needed]

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.[citation needed]

Friendships and rivalriesEdit

Reggiana fans have good and friendly relationships with fans from:

The main rivals are:

Notable playersEdit

Former Reggiana players have included:

Italy
Austria
Belgium
Brazil
Colombia
Croatia
Czech Republic
Georgia
Germany
England
France
Montenegro
Nigeria
Portugal
Romania
Russia
Spain
Sweden
Venezuela

Youth sectorEdit

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
Gabon
Ghana
Morocco
Nigeria

PlayersEdit

Current squadEdit

As of 17 January 2023[12]

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player
1 GK   ITA Matteo Voltolini
3 DF   ITA Cristian Cauz
4 DF   ITA Paolo Rozzio (captain)
5 MF   ITA Fausto Rossi
6 MF   ITA Andrea Vallocchia
7 FW   ITA Marco Rosafio
8 MF   ITA Luca Cigarini
10 FW   ITA Eric Lanini (on loan from Parma)
11 FW   ITA Jacopo Pellegrini (on loan from Sassuolo)
15 DF   ITA Riccardo Fiamozzi
16 DF   ITA Alessio Luciani
17 DF   ITA Lorenzo Libutti
18 FW   POR Muhamed Djamanca
19 MF   BFA Abdoul Guiebre (on loan from Modena)
No. Pos. Nation Player
21 MF   ITA Mattia Muroni
22 GK   ITA Giacomo Venturi
23 DF   ITA Giuliano Laezza
24 MF   ITA Filippo Nardi (on loan from Cremonese)
26 DF   ITA Michele Cremonesi
28 FW   ITA Christian Capone (on loan from Atalanta)
32 FW   ITA Adriano Montalto (on loan from Reggina)
33 DF   ITA Manuel Nicoletti
44 MF   ITA Davide Guglielmotti
55 DF   BUL Andrea Hristov (on loan from Cosenza)
65 DF   ITA Denis Chiesa
77 MF   ALB Elvis Kabashi
88 MF   ITA Daniele Sciaudone

Out on loanEdit

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player
FW   ITA Andrea Arrighini (at Pro Vercelli until 30 June 2023)
MF   ITA Filippo Orsi (at Real Calepina until 30 June 2023)

Backdoor and directors staffEdit

Honorary President   Romano Amadei
Chairman   Carmelo Salerno
Vice-President   Giuseppe Fico
Chief Executive Officer   Carmelo Salerno
General Manager   Vittorio Cattani
Director of Football   Roberto Goretti
Head of the Academy   Marco Amaranti
Head of Commercial Area   Luca Tedeschi
General Secretary   Nicola Simonelli
Press Officer   Marcello Tosi

Updated to match played 1 July 2019
Source: Reggio Audace Website

Notable managersEdit

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.

HonoursEdit

Divisional movementsEdit

Series Years Last Promotions Relegations
A 3 1996–97 -   4 (1926, 1929, 1995, 1997)
B 34 2020–21   4 (1924, 1927, 1993, 1996)   8 (1930, 1942, 1952, 1962, 1970, 1976, 1983, 1999, 2021)
C
+C2
46
+3
2021–22   7 (1940, 1946, 1958, 1964, 1971, 1981, 1989, 2020)
  1 (2008 C2)
  3 (1953, 2005✟, 2018✟)

86 out of 90 years of professional football in Italy since 1929
D 4 2018–19   2 (1956, 2019) never

ReferencesEdit

  1. ^ "Amadei, Salerno e Fico unici soci della Reggiana". Gazzetta di Reggio (in Italian). 3 July 2020. Retrieved 30 July 2020.
  2. ^ "COMUNICATO UFFICIALE N. 67/A (2005–06)" (PDF) (in Italian). FIGC. 16 August 2005. Retrieved 11 July 2015.
  3. ^ "Comunicazioni della F.I.G.C" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2 November 2006.
  4. ^ "Reggiana calcio, è finita. La squadra non si iscrive al campionato di serie C" [Reggiana soccer, is ended. The team does not join the championship of series C]. il Resto del Carlino (in Italian). 16 July 2018. Retrieved 19 July 2018.
  5. ^ "Reggiana, è nata la nuova società" (in Italian). 31 July 2018. Retrieved 22 August 2018.
  6. ^ "La Reggio Audace è iscritta alla serie D: l'allenatore è Mauro Antonioli". www.gazzettadiparma.it. Retrieved 22 August 2018.
  7. ^ "Reggio Audace, Macron sponsor tecnico e Malpeli team manager - Reggionline - Telereggio Reggionline – Telereggio". www.reggionline.com (in Italian). Retrieved 22 August 2018.
  8. ^ "Finalmente la fumata bianca: nasce la Reggio Audace Fc - Reggionline - Telereggio Reggionline – Telereggio". www.reggionline.com (in Italian). Retrieved 22 August 2018.
  9. ^ "UFFICIALE: Reggio Audace, preso l'attaccante Luche dalla Feralpisalò". Retrieved 22 August 2018.
  10. ^ Redazione (28 July 2020). "Reggio Audace addio: torna l'AC Reggiana 1919". Calcio e Finanza (in Italian). Retrieved 11 August 2020.
  11. ^ "Da Reggio Audace a Reggiana: con la Serie B torna lo storico nome | Goal.com". www.goal.com. Retrieved 15 August 2020.
  12. ^ "Reggiana squad". Soccerway. Retrieved 26 September 2022.

External linksEdit