U.S. Catanzaro 1929 is an

Italian football Football ( it, calcio ) is the most popular sport in Italy. The Italy national football team is considered to be one of the best national teams in the world. They have won the FIFA World Cup four times (1934, 1938, 1982, 2006), trailing only ...

club based in

Catanzaro Catanzaro (, or ; scn, label= Catanzarese, Catanzaru ; , or , ''Katastaríoi Lokrói''; ; la, Catacium), also known as the "City of the two Seas", is an Italian city of 86,183 inhabitants (2020), the capital of the Calabria region and of its p ...

Calabria , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = , demographics1_title2 ...

that competes in

Serie B The Serie B (), currently named Serie Balkrishna Industries, 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 ...

, the second tier of the

Italian football championship Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

, following a 17-year absence from the second tier. The club was initially formed with the merger of two local clubs in 1927 before being officially founded in 1929. Since then, the club has primarily competed in the lower divisions of the national competitions and has been re-founded twice, once in 2006 and again in 2011, both for

financial Finance is the study and discipline of money, currency and capital assets. It is related to, but not synonymous with economics, the study of production, distribution, and consumption of money, assets, goods and services (the discipline of fina ...

reasons. Since its foundation, the official colours of the club have been red and yellow. The team has used these colours predominantly in their kits, frequently playing in either all-red kits with yellow trims or in red and yellow stripes. The club's official emblem is the

golden eagle The golden eagle (''Aquila chrysaetos'') is a bird of prey living in the Northern Hemisphere. It is the most widely distributed species of eagle. Like all eagles, it belongs to the family Accipitridae. They are one of the best-known bird of p ...

, in honour of the city's coat of arms. The team plays its home matches at the Stadio Nicola Ceravolo, which was built in 1919 and is the oldest sports facility in

. In its history, Catanzaro has played seven seasons in

Serie A The Serie A (), also called Serie A TIM for national sponsorship with TIM, is a professional league competition for football clubs located at the top of the Italian football league system and the winner is awarded the Scudetto and the Coppa ...

, five of which were consecutive. The best performance in Serie A was a seventh place finish in 1981–82 and an eighth-place finish in 1980–81. The club has won seven championships since its foundation. Six of these were in the third tier (one in Prima Divisione, two in

Serie C The Serie C () is the third-highest division in the Italian football league system after the Serie B and Serie A. The Lega Italiana Calcio Professionistico (Lega Pro) is the governing body that runs the Serie C. The unification of the Lega Pro ...

, and three in

Serie C1 Lega Pro Prima Divisione was the third highest football (soccer), football league in Italy. It consisted of 33 teams, divided geographically into two divisions of 16 and 17 teams for group A and B respectively. Until 2008 it was known as Serie C1 ...

). The final championship was won in

IV Serie 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 ...

in 1953. This year, the club was also national title holders after winning the Scudetto IV Serie. At youth level, the club won the Dante Berretti Trophy of Serie C in 1991–1992. In the

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 ...

, Catanzaro's best results were runners-up in 1965–66, and semi-finalists in 1978–79 and 1981–82. On 30 May 2018, the club, which had already used the historic logo since 2011, announced the return of the old name "Unione Sportiva Catanzaro", with the final addition of "1929".

History

Origins to pre-World War II

The club was initially founded by the merger of two local teams (la Braccini and la Scalfaro) as Unione Sportiva Catanzarese in 1927, and competed in the Terza Divisione interregional group of Calabria & Basilicata, which was the fourth tier of Italian football at the time. Following a visit to the city from fascist leader

Benito Mussolini Benito Amilcare Andrea Mussolini (; 29 July 188328 April 1945) was an Italian politician and journalist who founded and led the National Fascist Party. He was Prime Minister of Italy from the March on Rome in 1922 until his deposition in 194 ...

, the club was officially founded with the name change of Unione Sportiva Fascista Catanzarese in 1929. The club continued to compete in the Terza Divisione for the 1929–30 season where it gained promotion for a second place finish directly into the third tier, the Prima Divisione, for the 1930–31 season. After spending three seasons in this division, Catanzarese gained promotion into

for the first time in the 1933–34 season. They would spend the next three out of four years in Serie B, culminating with a fifteenth place finish in 1936–37. This meant the club would be regulated to

for the following season, however financial troubles struck the club, so they returned to regional leagues instead. There, they would win a couple of regional titles before the

second world war World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

would prevent any further competition.

Post World War II and first national title

When competition resumed post

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, the club dropped the fascist moniker, simply becoming Unione Sportiva Catanzaro for the Serie C season. They would remain in Serie C for thirteen of the following fifteen seasons, participating in only the

once in 1946–47 and

once following relegation from the 1951–52 Serie C season. Catanzaro would bounce quickly back to Serie C after the 1952–53 season, which saw them not only win their interregional group, but also become national scudetto winners following the play-offs between interregional winners. The club would go on to become Serie C group winners in 1958–59 to achieve promotion back to Serie B for the first time in thirteen years.

Serie B consistency to Serie A promotion

With promotion into

for the 1959–60 season, the club would enter a period of stable success, competing for twelve consecutive years there, with generally mid-table placings. This period saw the club reach the

final in 1966, before finally winning promotion to Serie A for the first time in 1971, after they defeated

Bari Bari ( , ; nap, label= Barese, Bare ; lat, Barium) is the capital city of the Metropolitan City of Bari and of the Apulia region, on the Adriatic Sea, southern Italy. It is the second most important economic centre of mainland Southern Italy a ...

in the deciding fixture of a three-way play-off which also featured

Atalanta Atalanta (; grc-gre, Ἀταλάντη, Atalantē) meaning "equal in weight", is a heroine in Greek mythology. There are two versions of the huntress Atalanta: one from Arcadia, whose parents were Iasus and Clymene and who is primarily known ...

. Catanzaro's inaugural Serie A season saw them struggle and succumb to relegation on the final day with only 3 wins and 15 draws for 21 points. However, their first-ever Serie A win came in Round 16 with a 1–0 win over

Juventus Juventus Football Club (from la, iuventūs, 'youth'; ), colloquially known as Juve (), is a professional Association football, football club based in Turin, Piedmont, Italy, that competes in the Serie A, the top tier of the Italian football leagu ...

. After narrowly missing out on a return to Serie A in 1975, they bounced back in 1976 but once again lasted just one year. A third promotion in 1978 ushered in the club's golden era with a five-year stay in Serie A. With a team including

Claudio Ranieri Claudio Ranieri Grande Ufficiale OMRI (; born 20 October 1951) is an Italian football manager and former player. He will be the new head coach of club Cagliari from 1 January 2023. Ranieri began his managerial career in the lower leagues in ...

, Gianni Improta and the iconic

Massimo Palanca Massimo Palanca (born 21 August 1953) is an Italian former Association football, football Striker (association football), striker known for his skill at scoring directly from Corner kick, corner-kicks, with two successful spells at FC Catanzaro ...

, Catanzaro managed a highly credible 9th place in 1979. Though they finished 14th and would have been relegated for the following season, they won a reprieve thanks to forced relegations of

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 ...

and

Lazio it, Laziale , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = , demographics1_title2 ...

. They managed 8th place in 1981 and 7th the following year before a dismal relegation in 1983. Much of the next four years was spent bouncing between Serie B and C1.

Return to Serie C and bankruptcy

Catanzaro initially emerged as promotion contenders once more in 1988, finishing 5th with the ageless Palanca having returned to the club after a fruitless spell at

Napoli Naples (; it, Napoli ; nap, Napule ), from grc, Νεάπολις, Neápolis, lit=new city. is the regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 909,048 within the city's adminis ...

. However, they ultimately succumbed to successive relegations in 1990 and 1991, staying in Serie C2 for twelve seasons until 2003. In 2005, after two consecutive promotions, Catanzaro returned to Serie B after a 15-year absence. However, after a poor season they ended their

campaign in last place, meaning relegation to

. Catanzaro would immediately get another chance, the team being reinstated to Serie B due to vacancies related to the exclusion of other teams from Serie B. In its 2005–06 Serie B campaign, Catanzaro came last again and was relegated to Serie C1. The relegation was followed by financial troubles which led to the federation cancelling the club's registration.

F.C. Catanzaro (2006–2011)

In the summer 2006 the club was re-founded for the first time with the new name of F.C. Catanzaro and was registered to Serie C2 for the 2006–07 season, with the hope to return to the upper divisions. In season 2010–11, they were initially relegated from

Lega Pro Seconda Divisione Lega Pro Seconda Divisione was the fourth highest football league in Italy, the lowest with a professional status. Usually it consisted of 36 teams, but in the 2011–12 season, there were 41 teams divided geographically into two divisions of 2 ...

group C 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 ...

, but due to the relegation of

Pomezia Pomezia () is a municipality (''comune'') in the Metropolitan City of Rome Capital, Lazio, central Italy. In 2009 it had a population of about 60,000. History The town was built entirely new near the location of ancient Lavinium on land resulting ...

to last place, the club was saved from relegation. On 18 July 2011 the club was excluded by the Federal Council from

, but on 27 July 2011 the club won its appeal to Tnas and be permitted to play in the 2011–12 Lega Pro Seconda Divisione.

Catanzaro Calcio 2011 / U.S. Catanzaro 1929 (2011–present)

On 30 June 2011 the company ''Catanzaro Calcio 2011'' acquired permanently the company branch of the bankrupt ''F.C. Catanzaro'', following the cancellation of the previous club's registration because of financial troubles. On 6 August 2011, the company purchased the historical brand and logo of ''U.S. Catanzaro''. In the 2011–12 season, Catanzaro obtained a respectable second place in the

and was promoted to

Lega Pro Prima Divisione Lega Pro Prima Divisione was the third highest football league in Italy. It consisted of 33 teams, divided geographically into two divisions of 16 and 17 teams for group A and B respectively. Until 2008 it was known as Serie C1. Before the 1978� ...

after playoffs. The following two seasons saw Catanzaro ending in tenth and fourth place respectively, and also a participation in the promotion play-offs (then lost to Benevento) in the latter case. Finally in 2018, the club officially transitioned to the name Unione Sportiva Catanzaro 1929, after years of using the historical logo. The logo was also updated with the year '1929' added to highlight this change. The club would make promotion play-offs for three consecutive years, after finishing 3rd, 7th and 2nd but ultimately remain in Serie C. In the 2021–22 season, Catanzaro again performed strongly in the league and also in the

Coppa Italia Serie C Coppa Italia Serie C ( it, Serie C Italian Cup), formerly named Coppa Italia Lega Pro, is a straight knock-out based competition involving teams from Serie C in Italian football first held in 1972. Format There are a total of six rounds in the ...

. The start of the season began slowly with a number of draws interspersed with some wins. Ultimately, by 29 November 2021 Calabro was fired following a 1–1 draw with

Monterosi Monterosi is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Viterbo in the Italian region Lazio, located about 30 km (18,64 mi) north of the Grande Raccordo Anulare of Rome, about 40 km (24,85 mi) south of Viterbo. Geography Mo ...

and was replaced by

Vivarini Vivarini is the surname of a family of painters from Murano (Venice), who produced a great quantity of work in Venice and its neighborhood in the 15th century, leading on to that phase of the school which is represented by Carpaccio and the Belli ...

. The team had an immediate response with two wins and drew 1–1 away to

Padova Padua ( ; it, Padova ; vec, Pàdova) is a city and ''comune'' in Veneto, northern Italy. Padua is on the river Bacchiglione, west of Venice. It is the capital of the province of Padua. It is also the economic and communications hub of the ...

in the Coppa Italia Serie C semi-final. On the return leg at home, Catanzaro lost 0–1 and Padova went on to become eventual winners of the cup. Catanzaro continued to pick up points and finished the season strongly in second for a consecutive season, gaining direct entry into the quarter-final promotion playoffs. There they defeated

Monopoli Monopoli (; Monopolitano: ) is a town and municipality in Italy, in the Metropolitan City of Bari and region of Apulia. The town is roughly in area and lies on the Adriatic Sea about southeast of Bari. It has a population of 49,24 ...

3–1 on aggregate to once again find themselves matched up again Padova in the semi-finals. Unfortunately, they were unable to progress through to final as they lost 2–1 on aggregate. In the 2022–23, Catanzaro return to Serie B for next season after defeat Gelbison 0-2 on Matchweek 33 and Champions of Serie C Group A.

Stadium, Colours and badge

Stadium Catanzaro plays out of Stadio Nicola Ceravolo, which was built in 1919 and is the oldest sports facility in

. Colours The team's colours, since foundation, are red and yellow, just as the whole city The most used

uniform A uniform is a variety of clothing worn by members of an organization while participating in that organization's activity. Modern uniforms are most often worn by armed forces and paramilitary organizations such as police, emergency services, se ...

in the eighty years of history of the ''Aquile'' is the solid red one, with the yellow V collar with red shorts and socks with yellow edges. Those pairings have accompanied the Calabrians in the golden years of the Serie A and therefore are the most dear to the Catanzaro environment. Equally used was the vertical striped yellow and red shirt with red shorts and socks with yellow edges, especially in the post-failure years of 2006. Most rarely ''Catanzaro'' has used a shirt with yellow and red horizontal stripes. However, this uniform was used by the Calabrians in the historic match in

Turin Turin ( , Piedmontese language, Piedmontese: ; it, Torino ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in Northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital ...

, won against

, in the 1965-66 Coppa Italia, which was to launch the Catanzaro in the final, then lost against the lilies of Florence. For the away shirt, the most used is completely blue with references to the ''Giallorossi'', but also completely white or yellow seals were worn. Occasionally ''le Aquile,'' have also used a third uniform which, depending on the color of the home squad, could be either blue or white or yellow. Same for the fourth currency Badges The corporate coat of arms consists of a shield in which stands the historic symbol of Catanzaro, the

Golden eagle The golden eagle (''Aquila chrysaetos'') is a bird of prey living in the Northern Hemisphere. It is the most widely distributed species of eagle. Like all eagles, it belongs to the family Accipitridae. They are one of the best-known bird of p ...

, faithfully taken from the city's coat of arms, which holds a

blue ribbon The blue ribbon is a symbol of high quality. The association comes from The Blue Riband, a prize awarded for the fastest crossing of the Atlantic Ocean by passenger liners and, prior to that from Cordon Bleu, which referred to the blue ribbon w ...

on its beak bearing the motto ''Sanguinis effusione'', motivated by the losses reported in various battles by the Catanzaro fighters. On the belly of the eagle takes place a shield that reproduces the three hills on which the city stands. A vertical line splits the emblem in two, so as to allow the insertion of the team's social colors, which is completed by the name of the company, placed at the top on a blue background.

Derbies and rivalries

Catanzaro has competed against other regional Calabrian teams throughout the professional competitions of

. These derbies include: *

Cosenza Cosenza (; local dialect: ''Cusenza'', ) is a city in Calabria, Italy. The city centre has a population of approximately 70,000; the urban area counts more than 200,000 inhabitants. It is the capital of the Province of Cosenza, which has a populati ...

– ''Calabria Derby (Derby della Calabria)'' – this is the most historic of all derbies in Calabria, with the first meeting in Serie B taking place in 1946. The history of these two sides dates all the way back to 1912 when Cosenza met one of the forerunner club's of Catanzaro. Their first official match was in 1930 in Serie C (or the Prima Divisione as it was then known). Overall, the sides have met 54 times, with 21 Catanzaro wins, 24 draws, and 9 Cosenza wins. *

Reggina Reggina 1914 S.r.l., commonly referred to as Reggina, is an Italian football club based in Reggio Calabria. Founded in 1914, they currently play in Serie B, and play their home matches at the 27,763 seater Stadio Oreste Granillo. They are n ...

– ''The Classic (U-classicu)'' – with Catanzaro as Calabria's capital and Reggio Calabria the region's largest city, this match has had a special meaning to the area. The first meeting was also in the 1930–31 Prima Divisione. This contest has had the most

meetings of all Calabrian derbies with 20 matches, the first of which was in 1965. It is also the only derby involving Catanzaro in which the Coppa Italia was contested (on one occasion). Out of the 62 matches, Catanzaro has won 20 times, there have been 20 draws, and Reggina has won 24 times. *

Crotone Crotone (, ; nap, label= Crotonese, Cutrone or ) is a city and ''comune'' in Calabria, Italy. Founded as the Achaean colony of Kroton ( grc, Κρότων or ; la, Crotona) in Magna Graecia, it was known as Cotrone from the Middle Ages until ...

– ''The former Province of Catanzaro Derby (Derby dell'ex provincia di Catanzaro)'' – Prior to 1992, the

Province of Crotone The province of Crotone ( it, provincia di Crotone) is a province in the Calabria region of southern Italy. It was formed in 1992 out of a section of the province of Catanzaro. The provincial capital is the city of Crotone. It borders the provinc ...

was a part of the

Province of Catanzaro The province of Catanzaro ( it, provincia di Catanzaro; Catanzarese: ) is a province of the Calabria region of Italy. The city Catanzaro is both capital of the province and capital of the region of Calabria. The province contains a total of 80 ...

, which is where the name of this derby comes from. The teams however, only met for the first time in Serie B in 2004–05 season and then again in the 2005–06 season. They have spent seven seasons together in

and one season in

Serie C2 Lega Pro Seconda Divisione was the fourth highest football league in Italy, the lowest with a professional status. Usually it consisted of 36 teams, but in the 2011–12 season, there were 41 teams divided geographically into two divisions of 2 ...

. They have also met four times in

but never in the

. Whilst both teams have participated in

, it has never been in the same season. The overall head-to-head for this meeting is Catanzaro 8 wins, 11 draws, and 9 Crotone wins from 28 games.

Players

Current squad

Other players under contract

Out on loan

Staff

Current

''As of 28 March 2023''

Hall of fame

Below is a list of players inducted into the Catanzaro Hall of Fame

Presidential history

Below is a presidential history list of Catanzaro, from when they were founded in 1927, until the present day.

Managerial history

* Denotes took over as manager during the season

Honours

Leagues

(Level 2) :Runners-Up (2): 1975–76, 1977–78 :Promoted via play-offs (1): 1970–71 *

(Level 3) :Winners (6): 1935–36 (Group D), 1958–59 (Group B), 1984–85 (Group B), 1986–87 (Group B), 2003–04 (Group B),

2022–23 The dash is a punctuation mark consisting of a long horizontal line. It is similar in appearance to the hyphen but is longer and sometimes higher from the baseline. The most common versions are the endash , generally longer than the hyphen b ...

(Group C) *

(Level 4) :Winners (1): 1952–53

Cups

:Finalists (1): 1965–66 :Semi-finalists (2): 1978–79, 1981–82 * Supercoppa di Serie C :Winners (1): 2023 :Runners-Up (1): 2004 * Scudetto IV Serie :Winners (1): 1952–53

European

Cup of the Alps Coppa delle Alpi (translated as ''Cup of the Alps'') was a friendly football tournament, first organized by the Italian national league as it started in 1960 and then they were aided by the Swiss League from 1962, for the reason that the majorit ...

: Winners (1):

1960 It is also known as the "Year of Africa" because of major events—particularly the independence of seventeen African nations—that focused global attention on the continent and intensified feelings of Pan-Africanism. Events January * Ja ...

Notes

Competitions

League

; Notes

National Cups

International record

Cup of the Alps

Anglo-Italian Cup

Overall Record

References

External links

Official Site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Catanzaro Football clubs in Calabria Association football clubs established in 1927 Serie A clubs Serie B clubs Serie C clubs Serie D clubs 1927 establishments in Italy Phoenix clubs (association football) 2006 establishments in Italy 2011 establishments in Italy