Associazione Sportiva Dilettantistica Licata Calcio is an
Italian association football club located in
Licata
Licata (, ; grc, Φιντίας, whence la, Phintias or ''Plintis''), formerly also Alicata (), is a city and ''comune'' located on the south coast of Sicily, at the mouth of the Salso River (the ancient ''Himera''), about midway between Ag ...
, Sicily.
Licata is a historical Sicilian team, and one of the six Sicilian football clubs to have ever reached the
Serie B
The Serie B (), currently named Serie BKT for sponsorship reasons, is the second-highest division in the Italian football league system after the Serie A. It has been operating for over ninety years since the 1929–30 season. It had been ...
league in Italian football history.
The club currently plays in
Serie D
The Serie D () is the top level of semi-professional football in the country. The fourth tier of the Italian league system, the competition sits beneath the third professional league, Serie C. It is administered by the Lega Nazionale Dilettant ...
.
History
The club was founded in 1931 as Associazione Calcio Licata by a few local students who discovered the game of association football thanks to some
Swedish
Swedish or ' may refer to:
Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically:
* Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland
** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...
sailors who worked in the area; the official team colours, in fact, refer to the
flag of Sweden
The national flag of Sweden ( sv, Sveriges flagga) consists of a yellow or gold Nordic cross (i.e. a horizontal cross extending to the edges, with the crossbar closer to the hoist than the fly) on a field of light blue. The Nordic cross design ...
. The club was renamed Polisportiva Licata in 1967.
The first appearance of Licata in a professional league, is dated in 1982 within
Serie C2. During the 1984–85 season, Licata, coached by a young
Zdeněk Zeman, won Serie C2 and promoted to Serie C1, despite a team composed almost entirely by players from the youth squad.
In 1988, with
Aldo Cerantola as coach, Licata won also Serie C1/B, and were promoted to
Serie B
The Serie B (), currently named Serie BKT for sponsorship reasons, is the second-highest division in the Italian football league system after the Serie A. It has been operating for over ninety years since the 1929–30 season. It had been ...
for the first time ever in the club's history. During its first season in the Italian second division, with
Giuseppe Papadopulo
Giuseppe Papadopulo (born 2 February 1948) is an Italian football manager and former player who played as a defender. He was last in charge as head coach of Torino.
Career
Papadopulo was born in Casale Marittimo, Pisa. He played for Livorno, La ...
as coach, then replaced by
Francesco Scorsa, Licata ended in ninth place; finishing above
Parma
Parma (; egl, Pärma, ) is a city in the northern Italian region of Emilia-Romagna known for its architecture, music, art, prosciutto (ham), cheese and surrounding countryside. With a population of 198,292 inhabitants, Parma is the second mos ...
. They also achieved the honour of playing a
Coppa Italia
The ("Italy Cup") is an annual knockout cup competition in Italian football organized by the FIGC until the 2009–10 season and the Lega Serie A ever since.
History
The beginning of the tournament was turbulent, due to the complexity of ...
match at the
Stadio San Siro
Stadio Giuseppe Meazza, commonly known as San Siro, is a football stadium in the San Siro district of Milan, Italy, which is the home of A.C. Milan and Inter Milan. It has a seating capacity of 80,018, making it one of the largest stadiums in ...
against
AC Milan
Associazione Calcio Milan (), commonly referred to as AC Milan or simply Milan, is a professional football club in Milan, Italy, founded in 1899. The club has spent its entire history, with the exception of the 1980–81 and 1982–83 seaso ...
.
The following season however, Licata were relegated to Serie C1 after finishing in 18th position. A couple of seasons later, in 1991–92 they were relegated down to
Serie C2. They were then relegated in the 1992–94 season, and were set to compete in the CND league, but slow decay for the Sicilian club was complete and they became bankrupt in 1994.
Refoundations
A new club, Licata AC, was then founded and admitted to the regional
Eccellenza
The Eccellenza (, "excellence") is the fifth level (since 2014–15) of Italian football. It is a regional league, composed of 28 divisions divided geographically. All 20 regions are represented by at least one division except for Piedmont and A ...
league.
CalcioDIEcecellenza.it
/ref> But in 1996, after having daringly avoided relegation, Licata AC did not register to Eccellenza and was cancelled too; a new team, Santos Licata (then Nuovo Licata, that finally switched to the current denomination), started from Promozione (7th level in the Italian football league system
The Italian football league system, also known as the Italian football pyramid, refers to the hierarchically interconnected league system for association football in Italy. It consists of nine national and regional tournaments, the first three be ...
).
During the 2005–06 season, Licata won the round A of Sicilian Eccellenza, consequently returning to Serie D
The Serie D () is the top level of semi-professional football in the country. The fourth tier of the Italian league system, the competition sits beneath the third professional league, Serie C. It is administered by the Lega Nazionale Dilettant ...
for the first time for a decade.
In the season 2010–11 it was promoted from Eccellenza Sicily group A to Serie D
The Serie D () is the top level of semi-professional football in the country. The fourth tier of the Italian league system, the competition sits beneath the third professional league, Serie C. It is administered by the Lega Nazionale Dilettant ...
.
A new club was created in 2014 after another bankruptcy.
Colors and badge
The traditional club colours of Licata is yellow and blue; known in Italy as ''gialloblu''. The club has two other nicknames; I Santi which means The Saints, and I Falchi which translates as The Hawks.
Notable former managers
* Aldo Cerantola
* Giuseppe Papadopulo
Giuseppe Papadopulo (born 2 February 1948) is an Italian football manager and former player who played as a defender. He was last in charge as head coach of Torino.
Career
Papadopulo was born in Casale Marittimo, Pisa. He played for Livorno, La ...
* Zdeněk Zeman
Honours
Serie C1
*Champions: 1987–88
Serie C2
*Champions: 1984–85
References
External links
Official homepage
Fans' site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Licata
Football clubs in Italy
Football clubs in Sicily
Licata
Association football clubs established in 1931
Serie B clubs
Serie C clubs
Serie D clubs
1931 establishments in Italy
2014 establishments in Italy
Phoenix clubs (association football)