Società Polisportiva Ars et Labor, commonly known as S.P.A.L. (), is a professional football club based in

Ferrara Ferrara (, ; egl, Fràra ) is a city and ''comune'' in Emilia-Romagna, northern Italy, capital of the Province of Ferrara. it had 132,009 inhabitants. It is situated northeast of Bologna, on the Po di Volano, a branch channel of the main stream ...

Emilia-Romagna egl, Emigliàn (man) egl, Emiglièna (woman) rgn, Rumagnòl (man) rgn, Rumagnòla (woman) it, Emiliano (man) it, Emiliana (woman) or it, Romagnolo (man) it, Romagnola (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title ...

, Italy. The team plays 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 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 b ...

. Founded in 1907, since 1928 they have played their home matches at

Stadio Paolo Mazza Stadio Paolo Mazza (formerly Stadio Comunale) is a multi-use stadium in Ferrara, Italy. It is currently used mostly for football matches and is the home ground of SPAL. Located in the Rione Giardino, west of Ferrara within the city walls, it wa ...

, named after

Paolo Mazza Paolo Mazza (21 July 1901 – 31 December 1981) was an Italian football manager. He was co-manager of the Italy national football team at the 1962 FIFA World Cup, together with Giovanni Ferrari. Mazza career as a footballer was served entirely in ...

(chairman of the club 1946–1977). In total, SPAL have participated in 24 top-tier, 28 second-tier, 41 third-tier, 7 fourth-tier and 1 fifth-tier league seasons. The club's best finish was when they came fifth in the 1959–60 Serie A; they also reached the 1961–62

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 ...

final. The club is chaired by the American

Joe Tacopina Joseph Tacopina (born 14 April, 1966) is an American lawyer. He was born and raised in Brooklyn, New York to Italian immigrants. Early life and education Raised in Sheepshead Bay, Brooklyn, Tacopina attended Poly Prep and Skidmore College, be ...

, the current manager is

Daniele De Rossi Daniele De Rossi (; born 24 July 1983) is a former Italian professional footballer who played as a defensive midfielder and is currently manager of side SPAL. He is mostly known for his time playing with his hometown club Roma in Serie A, as ...

History

From foundation to World War II

The club was founded in March 1907 as Circolo Ars et Labor (

latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

for ''Art and Work Club'') by the

Salesian , image = File:Stemma big.png , image_size = 150px , caption = Coat of arms , abbreviation = SDB , formation = , founder = John Bosco , founding_location = Valdocco, Turin ...

priest Pietro Acerbis. In the early stages, it was mainly a cultural and religious association, then in 1913 it became a multi-sports company, taking the name of Società Polisportiva Ars et Labor (SPAL). The team began its professional activity under the aegis of the Italian Football Federation (Federazione Italiana Giuoco Calcio) in 1919, competing in the second-tier tournament. SPAL played in the top flight league from 1920 to 1925, reaching the qualification playoff for the National Finals in 1921–22. From 1925 until 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 ...

, they played in

and

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 ...

: in this period, the club's all-time top striker

Mario Romani Mario Romani (16 December 1907 – 25 May 1977) was an Italian professional footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, ...

scored 130 goals in 189 games during two different periods with the white-blues (1925–32 and 1937–38). Between 1939 and 1943 the club temporarily changed its name to A.C. Ferrara, wearing the black and white colours of the city. After the suspension of the championships due to war, in 1945 the club returned to the name SPAL and to the light blue and white kits.

The golden period in Serie A

In 1946

became chairman of the club. After five consecutive seasons in

, SPAL won promotion to

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 ...

after finishing the championship first in 1950–51. The white-blues subsequently stayed in the top division for most of the 1950s and 1960s, competing in 16 out of 17 Serie A seasons from 1951 to 1968. SPAL finished fifth in 1959–60, thus obtaining the best finish in its history. Also, in 1961–62 they played in the

final, losing against

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 ...

. In the early stages of 1962–63 season, in which the club finished in eighth place, the white and blues managed to reach the top of the league table. During those years, the club was a launchpad for many young players who became stars, among them

Fabio Capello Fabio Capello (; born 18 June 1946) is an Italian former professional football manager and player. As a player, Capello represented SPAL 1907, Roma, Milan and Juventus. He played as a midfielder and won several trophies during his career which ...

. In 1963–64 they were relegated to Serie B, but they came back to Serie A after only one year, and remained in the top division until 1968. At the end of the last season in the top flight, SPAL won the Cup of Italian-Swiss Friendship.

From 1970s to 21st century

During 1970s, 1980s and 1990s SPAL played mostly in

and

/ C1.

quit the presidency in December 1976 and was replaced by Primo Mazzanti. The former chairman died in December 1981 and three months later

's Stadio Comunale was named after him. In 1990, Giovanni Donigaglia became chairman of the club: between 1990 and 1992 SPAL obtained back-to-back promotions from

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 ...

to Serie B, under the management of

Giovan Battista Fabbri Giovan Battista Fabbri (8 March 1926 – 2 June 2015) was an Italian football player and manager. Career Fabri managed a number of Italian club sides, including Varese, SPAL , Sangiovannese, Giulianova, Livorno, Piacenza, Vicenza, Ascoli, C ...

. Donigaglia left the presidency in 2002 with the squad in Serie C1. He was replaced by Lino di Nardo.

Recent years

The club went bankrupt in 2005, and were reformed as SPAL 1907 S.r.l., under the terms of Article 52 of N.O.I.F. In the summer of 2012, after suffering a second bankruptcy, the club was refounded for the second time as Società Sportiva Dilettantistica Real SPAL and would begin life 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 ...

again under Article 52 of N.O.I.F. At the end of the 2012–13 season the club took back its original name. Giacomense, a club founded in 1967 at Masi San Giacomo, a ''

frazione A ''frazione'' (plural: ) is a type of subdivision of a ''comune'' (municipality) in Italy, often a small village or hamlet outside the main town. Most ''frazioni'' were created during the Fascist era (1922–1943) as a way to consolidate territ ...

'' of

Masi Torello Masi Torello ( Ferrarese: ) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Ferrara in the Italian region Emilia-Romagna, located about northeast of Bologna and about east of Ferrara. As of 31 December 2004, it had a population of 2,355 and an ...

, had moved to the city of

; on 12 July 2013, owner Roberto Benasciutti made a deal with the Colombarini family for a merger between SPAL and Giacomense, with the latter giving its sports title to SPAL and continuing to play in

. The club changed its name to S.P.A.L. 2013, in order to continue the football history of SPAL. They finished the 2013–14 Lega Pro Seconda Divisione season in sixth place, thus qualifying for the inaugural unified 2014–15 Lega Pro season. In 2015–16, the squad won promotion to

for the first time since the 1992–93 season, after finishing first in group B of the

Lega Pro 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 ...

. The following year they came first in Serie B, thus obtaining promotion to

after a 49-year absence. In their first season back in Serie A, SPAL avoided relegation by finishing in 17th place. At the end of the 2018–19 season they confirmed their presence in the top flight for a third consecutive year, finishing 13th. The club had mixed fortunes in the 2019–2020 season and, after gaining just 15 points in 23 games, coach

Leonardo Semplici Leonardo Semplici (born 18 July 1967) is an Italian professional football coach who was most recently manager of Spezia. Playing career His playing career mostly consisted of amateur and minor league players with Tuscan teams such as Lucchese. ...

was dismissed in February 2020, replaced by

Luigi Di Biagio Luigi Di Biagio (; born 3 June 1971) is an Italian professional football manager and former player. A former defensive midfielder, Di Biagio last played for Ascoli Calcio 1898 in 2007, and previously also played for several other Italian clubs ...

. SPAL were relegated to Serie B, finishing in last place with 20 points. The club reached the 2020–21 Coppa Italia quarter-finals, becoming the only team from

to advance to that stage in the competition.

Colours, badge and nicknames

The team's colours are light blue and white, which derive from the Salesians' emblem. The home kit, since 1962, has been composed of a vertical striped light blue-white shirt, white trainers and white socks. The only exception to light blue and white was when the club adopted a black and white kit between 1939 and 1943 (when it was named A.C. Ferrara), in honour of

's civic colours. Currently the badge features an oval-shaped light blue escutcheon, with a white band in the upper section, on which is written the acronym ''S.P.A.L.'' in golden characters. Also, in the lower section, the black and white emblem of the city is featured. From 1980 until mid-1990s the official badge featured a

fawn Deer or true deer are hoofed ruminant mammals forming the family Cervidae. The two main groups of deer are the Cervinae, including the muntjac, the elk (wapiti), the red deer, and the fallow deer; and the Capreolinae, including the reindeer ...

, another symbol of the club. SPAL's most common nicknames are ''Biancazzurri'' (from the club colours, light blue and white) and ''Estensi'' (from the

House of Este The House of Este ( , , ) is a European dynasty of North Italian origin whose members ruled parts of Italy and Germany for many centuries. The original House of Este's elder branch, which is known as the House of Welf, included dukes of Bavaria ...

, ancient European noble dynasty that ruled

from 1240 to 1597).

Stadium

0 Stadio Paolo Mazza - Ferrara - SPAL - 2018 - 07

* Campo di Piazza d'Armi (1919–28) * Stadio Paolo Mazza (1928–) The current home ground of SPAL is the 16,134 seater Stadio Paolo Mazza. The stadium was opened in September 1928 as Stadio Comunale, then took on its current name in February 1982, in honour of the former president of the club

, who died two months earlier. Initially it had a capacity of 4,000. Then, in concomitance with the promotion of SPAL to

, in 1951 it was subjected to a heavy restructuring that brought capacity to 25,000. Between 1960s and 1980s it was renovated again, reducing the number of possible spectators to 22,000 until the mid-2000s. From 2005 to 2016 the capacity was limited to 7,500 due to safety reasons and cost containment. In 2016–17, after the club's promotion to

and then to Serie A, the stadium was restructured again to match the modern needs of comfort and safety. In the summer of 2018 a further remodeling took place, in order to bring the stadium capacity from 13,135 seats to 16,134.

Players

Current squad

Out on loan

Notable former players

* Mirco Antenucci * Mario Astorri *

Osvaldo Bagnoli Osvaldo Bagnoli (born 3 July 1935) is an Italian former football coach and player who played as a midfielder. Playing career Born in the Bovisa district of Milan, Bagnoli began his professional career as a midfielder with his hometown club A.C ...

Gastone Bean Gastone Bean (; born 11 August 1936) is a former Italian professional footballer who played as a striker. Club career Growing up in San Canzian d'Isonzo, he joined A.C. Milan as a youngster.

* Savino Bellini * Etrit Berisha *

Niels Bennike Niels Bennike (6 August 1925 – 8 March 2016) was a Denmark, Danish Football (soccer), football player. External links * * Death notice
1925 births 2016 deaths Footballers from Copenhagen Danish men's footballers Denmark men's internati ...

* Ottavio Bianchi *

Alberto Bigon Alberto "Albertino" Bigon (born 31 October 1947) is an Italian football manager and former player, who played as a midfielder or forward. Playing career Born in Padua, Bigon started his playing career for his native city team Padova. He made ...

* Kevin Bonifazi * Marco Borriello * Gianfranco Bozzao *

Ottavio Bugatti Ottavio Bugatti (; 25 September 1928 – 13 September 2016) was an Italian footballer from Lentate sul Seveso, in the province of Milan, who played as a goalkeeper. Club career Bugatti played club football for Napoli and Inter; while at Napoli h ...

* Ruben Buriani *

Lucas Castro Lucas Nahuel Castro (born 9 April 1989) is an Argentine professional footballer who plays for Sarmiento, as a winger. Club career Gimnasia La Plata Castro began his career within the youth ranks of Argentine club Gimnasia y Esgrima La Plata in ...

* Sergio Cervato * Giacomo Cipriani * Dante Crippa *

Carlo Dell'Omodarme Carlo Dell'Omodarme (born 11 February 1938) is an Italian former professional footballer who played as a midfielder. Career Throughout his career, Dell'Omodarme played for Italian clubs Juventus, Parma, Como, and SPAL, before retiring with the ...

Luigi Delneri Luigi Delneri (born 23 August 1950), often incorrectly written as Del Neri, is an Italian football manager and a former player. After a playing career as a midfielder including for several Serie A clubs, he began managing in the lower leagues, a ...

* Federico Di Francesco *

Beniamino Di Giacomo Beniamino Di Giacomo (; born 13 November 1935) is a retired Italians, Italian professional Association football, football player and manager who played as a Forward (association football), forward. Honours ;Inter * Serie A champion: 1962–63 Se ...

* Dan Ekner * Bülent Esel * Felipe Dal Bello * Mohamed Fares *

Matteo Ferrari Matteo Ferrari (; born 5 December 1979) is an Italian former footballer who played as a defender He played top-flight football for several Italian clubs in Serie A, Everton of the Premier League, and for the Montreal Impact in Major Leagu ...

Sergio Floccari Sergio Floccari (; born 12 November 1981) is a former Italian footballer who plays as a striker. Club career Early career Floccari began playing football as a junior with the local side of his town, Nicotera, before moving into the youth system ...

Adolfo Gori Adolfo Gori (; born 13 February 1939) is a retired Italian professional footballer who played as a defender. Club career Rochester Lancers In 1972, Gori became a player-coach for the Rochester Lancers of the North American Soccer League ...

* Matthew Kemp *

Jasmin Kurtić Jasmin Kurtić (born 10 January 1989) is a Slovenian professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Super League Greece club PAOK, on loan from Parma, and the Slovenia national team. Club career Early career A right-footed midfiel ...

* Manuel Lazzari *

Saul Malatrasi Saul Malatrasi (; born 17 February 1938) is a former Italian football player and coach who played as a defender for Inter Milan and A.C. Milan and was part of their European Cup victories in 1965 and 1969 respectively, thus becoming the first play ...

Marco Mancosu Marco Mancosu (born 22 August 1988) is an Italian professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for club Cagliari. Club career Cagliari Born in Cagliari, Sardinia, Mancosu started his career with hometown club Cagliari Calcio and made his f ...

Thomas Manfredini Thomas Manfredini (born 27 May 1980) is an Italian former professional footballer who played as a centre-back. Career SPAL Udinese Atalanta Manfredini was signed by Serie B club Atalanta B.C. on 27 June 2005 for €1.2 million.Atalanta B.C. ...

* Alex Meret *

Simone Missiroli Simone Missiroli (born 23 May 1986) is an Italian footballer who plays as a midfielder. Club career Reggina A native of Reggio Calabria, he made his Serie A debut with the local team Reggina on 24 April 2005 against Brescia Calcio. He also sp ...

* Egidio Morbello * Marco Nappi *

Fulvio Nesti Fulvio Nesti (; 8 June 1925 – 1 January 1996) was an Italian footballer who played as a midfielder. Club career Born in Lastra a Signa, Nesti played club football for ACF Fiorentina, S.S. Scafatese Calcio 1922, SPAL 1907, F.C. Internaziona ...

Oscar Massei Oscar Alberto Massei (born 29 September 1934) is an Argentine retired professional football player and coach. He also holds Italian citizenship. Honours * Primera División Argentina Primera may refer to * Nissan Primera, a car * Primera ...

* Dante Micheli *

Alberto Paloschi Alberto Paloschi (; born 4 January 1990) is an Italian professional footballer who plays as a striker for club Siena. Club career Milan Paloschi won the National Under-17s Championship with Milan in the 2006–07 season. He scored 3 goals in a ...

* Egisto Pandolfini * Michele Paramatti *

Fausto Pari Fausto Pari (born 15 September 1962 in Savignano sul Rubicone) is a retired Italian professional footballer who played as a defender. Honours ;Internazionale * Serie A champion: 1979–80 (on the squad, but did not play in any league games) ...

Luigi Pasetti Luigi Pasetti (born 9 September 1945, in Francolino) is a retired Italian professional footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are associati ...

Sergio Pellissier Sergio Pellissier (, ; born 12 April 1979) is an Italian former professional footballer who plays as a forward. He is currently working as general director of Rovigo and player, owner and chairman of Eccellenza amateurs FC Clivense, a club he f ...

* Andrea Petagna *

Armando Picchi Armando Picchi (; 20 June 1935 – 27 May 1971) was an Italian football player and coach. Regularly positioned as a libero, he captained the Internazionale side known as "La Grande Inter". Club career Early career Born in Livorno, Picchi star ...

* Gennaro Olivieri * Alberto Orlando * Dion Ørnvold *

Edoardo Reja Edoardo Reja (born 10 October 1945) is an Italian professional football coach and former player who last manages the Albania national football team. After a career as a midfielder spent mostly with SPAL and Palermo, he began working as a manage ...

Giuseppe Rossi Giuseppe Rossi (; born 1 February 1987) is a professional footballer who plays as a forward. Born in the United States, Rossi spent most of his career in Europe with Villarreal and Fiorentina, in addition to spells with other clubs in England, I ...

* Nils-Åke Sandell * Andy Selva *

David Sesa David Sesa (born 10 July 1973) is a Swiss football manager and former player. He is the manager of Rapperswil-Jona. A midfielder or forward, he made 36 appearances for the Switzerland national team. He is the current manager of Bellinzona in ...

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Mirko Valdifiori Mirko Valdifiori (; born 21 April 1986) is an Italian professional footballer who plays as a midfielder. A Cesena youth-product, he began his career with the senior side in 2004, but was sent on loan to Serie C sides Pavia and Legnano, before m ...

Carl Valeri Carl may refer to: *Carl, Georgia, city in USA *Carl, West Virginia, an unincorporated community *Carl (name), includes info about the name, variations of the name, and a list of people with the name *Carl², a TV series * "Carl", an episode of tel ...

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Francesco Vicari Francesco Vicari (born 3 August 1994) is an Italian association football, footballer who plays for club S.S.C. Bari, Bari. Club career Born in Rome, Lazio region, Vicari was a player of the reserve team of Apulian club A.S. Taranto Calcio, Tara ...

* Federico Viviani *

Emiliano Viviano Emiliano Viviano (; born 1 December 1985) is an Italian professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for Turkish Süper Lig club Fatih Karagümrük. Club career Brescia Born in Florence, Viviano is a product of Fiorentina and Brescia youth ...

* Erwin Waldner * Franco Zaglio

Captains

Below a chronological list of SPAL captains since 1950.

Technical staff

Chairmen history

SPAL have had several presidents (chairmen) ( it, presidenti, lit=presidents or it, presidenti del consiglio di amministrazione, lit=chairmen of the board of directors) over the course of their history. Some of them have been the main shareholder of the club. The longest-serving chairman is

Managerial history

SPAL have had many managers and head coaches throughout their history, below is a chronological list of them.

Honours

Domestic

League titles

** Winners (2): 1950–51, 2016–17 *

/ Serie C1 / Lega Pro ** Winners (5): 1937–38, 1972–73, 1977–78, 1991–92, 2015–16 ** Runners-up (5): 1941–42, 1942–43, 1969–70, 1970–71, 1995–96 *

** Winners (1): 1997–98 ** Runners-up (1): 1990–91

Cups

** Runners-up (1): 1961–62 *

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 ...

** Winners (1): 1998–99 ** Runners-up (1): 1988–89 * Supercoppa di Serie C / Lega Pro ** Winners (1): 2016

European

* Cup of Italian-Swiss Friendship ** Winners (1): 1968

Youth

* Campionato Primavera Serie B ** Winners (1): 1964–65 * Campionato De Martino Serie A ** Winners (1): 1967–68 * Campionato Nazionale Under-18 ** Winners (1): 2021–22

Divisional movements

89 out of 90 years of professional football in Italy since 1929 ✟= Relegation due to bankruptcy.

References

External links

Official Site
{{DEFAULTSORT:S.P.A.L. Football clubs in Italy Football clubs in Emilia-Romagna Association football clubs established in 1907 Italian football First Division clubs Serie A clubs Serie B clubs Serie C clubs Serie D clubs 1907 establishments in Italy Phoenix clubs (association football) 2005 establishments in Italy 2012 establishments in Italy Coppa Italia Serie C winning clubs