US Catanzaro 1929

Unione Sportiva Catanzaro 1929, or simply Catanzaro, is a professional football club based in Catanzaro, Calabria, Italy, that competes in Serie B, the second tier of the Italian football championship, following a 17-year absence from it.

Catanzaro

Full name	Unione Sportiva Catanzaro 1929
Nickname(s)	Aquile del Sud (Southern Eagles) Regina del Sud (Southern Queen) Timore del Nord (Fear of the North) Magico (Magic) Giallorossi (The Red-Yellows)
Founded	1929
Ground	Stadio Nicola Ceravolo, Catanzaro, Italy
Capacity	14,650
Owner	Unione Sportiva Catanzaro 1929 S.r.l.
Chairman	Floriano Noto
Manager	Fabio Caserta
League	Serie B
2023–24	Serie B, 5th of 20
Website	www.uscatanzaro1929.com
Home colours Away colours Third colours

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 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, 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 Calabria.

In its history, Catanzaro has played seven seasons in Serie A, 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, and three in Serie C1). The final championship was won in IV Serie 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, 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, 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 Serie B 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 Serie C 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 would prevent any further competition.

Post World War II and first national title

When competition resumed post World War II, 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 Serie B once in 1946–47 and IV Serie 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 Serie B 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 Coppa Italia final in 1966, before finally winning promotion to Serie A for the first time in 1971, after they defeated Bari in the deciding fixture of a three-way play-off which also featured Atalanta.

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. 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, Gianni Improta and the iconic Massimo Palanca, 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 and Lazio. 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. 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 Serie B campaign in last place, meaning relegation to Serie C1. 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 group C to Serie D, but due to the relegation of Pomezia to last place, the club was saved from relegation.

On 18 July 2011 the club was excluded by the Federal Council from Lega Pro Seconda Divisione, 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 Lega Pro Seconda Divisione and was promoted to Lega Pro Prima Divisione 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. 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 and was replaced by Vivarini. The team had an immediate response with two wins and drew 1–1 away to Padova 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 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 Calabria.

Colours

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

The most used uniform 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, won against Juventus, 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, faithfully taken from the city's coat of arms, which holds a blue ribbon 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 Italian football. These derbies include:

• Cosenza – 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 – 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 Serie B 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 – The former Province of Catanzaro Derby (Derby dell'ex provincia di Catanzaro) – Prior to 1992, the Province of Crotone was a part of the Province of Catanzaro, 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 Serie C and one season in Serie C2. They have also met four times in Coppa Italia Serie C but never in the Coppa Italia. Whilst both teams have participated in Serie A, 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

As of 7 September 2024

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

No.	Pos.	Nation	Player
1	GK	ITA	Andrea Dini
2	DF	ITA	Marcello Piras
3	DF	ITA	Riccardo Turicchia (on loan from Juventus)
4	DF	BRA	Matias Antonini
6	DF	ITA	Federico Bonini (on loan from Virtus Entella)
7	FW	ITA	Mattia Compagnon (on loan from Juventus)
8	MF	GRE	Ilias Koutsoupias
9	FW	ITA	Pietro Iemmello (captain)
10	MF	ITA	Jacopo Petriccione
14	DF	ITA	Stefano Scognamillo
17	FW	ITA	Enrico Brignola
19	FW	ITA	Andrea La Mantia (on loan from SPAL)
20	MF	ITA	Simone Pontisso
21	MF	ITA	Marco Pompetti
22	GK	ITA	Mirko Pigliacelli
23	DF	ITA	Nicolò Brighenti

No.	Pos.	Nation	Player
24	MF	ITA	Riccardo Pagano (on loan from Roma)
27	DF	ITA	Andrea Ceresoli (on loan from Atalanta)
28	FW	ITA	Tommaso Biasci
29	FW	SEN	Demba Seck (on loan from Torino)
34	DF	AUT	Philipp Breit (on loan from SPAL)
45	FW	ITA	Nicolò Buso (on loan from Lecco)
61	MF	ITA	Francesco Maiolo
63	FW	ITA	Gabriel Rafele
64	DF	ITA	Paolo Rizzo
70	FW	ITA	Marco D'Alessandro
77	MF	ITA	Giovanni Volpe
80	MF	SEN	Mamadou Coulibaly
84	DF	ITA	Tommaso Cassandro (on loan from Como)
90	FW	ITA	Filippo Pittarello (on loan from Cittadella)
92	DF	CRO	Mario Šitum
99	GK	ITA	Edoardo Borrelli

Out on loan

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

No.	Pos.	Nation	Player
—	GK	ITA	Andrea Fulignati (at Cremonese until 30 June 2025)
—	GK	ITA	Alfonso Rizzuto (at Pompei until 30 June 2025)
—	DF	ITA	Umberto Morleo (at Messina until 30 June 2025)

No.	Pos.	Nation	Player
—	DF	ITA	Giorgio Megna (at Pompei until 30 June 2025)
—	FW	BEL	Jari Vandeputte (at Cremonese until 30 June 2025)

Technical Staff

As of 24 May 2024

Position	Staff
Manager	Fabio Caserta
Assistant coach	Salvatore Accursi
Goalkeeper supervisor	Fabrizio Lorieri
Goalkeeper coach	Francesco Parrotta
Fitness coach	Cristian Bella
Match analyst	Luigi Viola
Technical assistant	Giorgio Lucenti Raffaele Talotta
Rehab coach	Fabrizio Besso
Team Manager	Antonino Scimone
Head of medical staff	Dr. Giuseppe Bova
Club doctors	Dr. Giuseppe Stillo Dr. Maurizio Caglioti
Massophysiotherapist	Bruno Berardocco
Physiotherapist	Riccardo Leone
Osteopath	Felisiano Villani

Hall of fame

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

Player	Role	Years
Adriano Banelli	Player Manager	1967–79 1992–93, 1993, 1996
Edi Bivi	Player	1981–84
Gianni Bui	Player	1965–67
Giovanni Improta	Player Manager	1975–79 1993–95
Saverio Leotta	Player Manager	1952–55 1972–73, 1980, 1983, 1994–95
Angelo Mammì	Player	1970–72
Massimo Mauro	Player	1979–82
Massimo Palanca	Player	1974–81, 1986–90

Presidential history

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

Name Years Antonio Susanna 1927–1928 Enrico Talamo 1928–1937 Arnaldo Pugliese 1937–1944 Italo Paparazzo 1944–1945 Umberto Riccio 1945–1946 Giuseppe Zamboni Pesci 1946–1948 Gino Guarnieri 1948–1950 Aldo Ferrara 1950–1958 Nicola Ceravolo 1958–1979 Adriano Merlo 1979–1984 Giuseppe Albano 1984–1995 Giuseppe Soluri 1995–1999

Name Years Giovanni Mancuso 1999–2003 Domenico Cavallaro 2003 Claudio Parente 2003–2006 Bernardo Colao 2006 Domenico Cavallaro 2006 Giancarlo Pittelli 2006–2008 Pasquale Bove 2008–2009 Antonio Aiello 2009–2010 Maurizio Ferrara 2010–2011 Giuseppe Santaguida 2011 Giuseppe Cosentino 2011–2017 Floriano Noto 2017-

Managerial history

Name Nationality Years Dino Baroni 1928–1931 Géza Kertész 1931–1933 Heinrich Schoenfeld (R1–11) * Yuri Koszegi (R12–26) 1933–1934 Yuri Koszegi 1934–1936 Remo Migliorini (R1–?) * Heinrich Schoenfeld (R?–30) 1936–1937 Walter Colombati 1937–1938 Riccardo Mottola 1938–1939 1945–1946 Pietro Piselli 1946–1947 Gastone Boni * Euro Riparbelli 1947–1948 Luciano Robotti * Euro Riparbelli & Pasquali Ripepe 1948–1949 Euro Riparbelli 1949–1952 Orlando Tognotti 1952–1956 Renato Bottacini (R1–16) * Vitoro Maschi & Pasquali Ripepe (R17–34) 1956–1957 Piero Pasinati 1957–1960 Piero Pasinati (R1–16, 18) * Enzo Dolfin (R17, 19–38) 1960–1961 Bruno Arcari (R1–29) * Enzo Dolfin (R30–38) 1961–1962 Enzo Dolfin 1962–1963 Leandro Remondini 1963–1965 Dino Ballacci 1965–1966 Carmelo Di Bella 1966–1967 Luciano Lupi 1967–1968 Luciano Lupi (R1–22) * Umberto Sacco (R23–38) 1968–1969 Dino Ballacci 1969–1970 Gianni Seghedoni 1970–1972 Renato Lucchi (R1–25) * Saverio Leotta (R25–38) 1972–1973 Gianni Seghedoni (R1–15) * Carmelo Di Bella (R15–38) 1973–1974 Gianni Di Marzio 1974–1977 Giorgio Sereni 1977–1978 Carlo Mazzone 1978–1979 Carlo Mazzone (R1–25) * Saverio Leotta (R25–30) 1979–1980 Tarcisio Burgnich 1980–1981 Bruno Pace 1981–1982 Bruno Pace (R1–15) * Saverio Leotta (R16–30) 1982–1983 Mario Corso (R1–9) * Antonio Renna (R10–38) 1983–1984 Giovan Battista Fabbri 1984–1985 Pietro Santin (R1–20) * Todor Veselinović (R21–38) 1985–1986 Claudio Tobia 1986–1987 Vincenzo Guerini 1987–1988 Tarcisio Burgnich (R1–7) * Gianni Di Marzio (R8–38) 1988–1989 Fausto Silipo (R1–14, 21–38) * Renzo Aldi & Giovan Battista Fabbri (R15–20) 1989-1990 Claudio Sala (R1–6, 16–24) * Francesco Brignani (R7–15) * Gennaro Rambone (R25–34) 1990–1991   Name Nationality Years Gennaro Rambone (R1–20) * Franco Selvaggi (R21–38) 1991–1992 Franco Selvaggi (R1–6) * Adriano Banelli (R7–18, 26–34) * Paolo Dal Fiume (R19–25) 1992–1993 Gianni Improta 1993–1994 Gianni Improta (R1–3) * Enrico Nicolini (R4–26, 29–34) * Saverio Leotta (R27–28) 1994–1995 Mauro Zampollini (R1–5) * Marcello Pasquino (R6–27) * Adriano Banelli (R28–34) 1995–1996 Rino Lavezzini (R1–26, play-off) * Giuseppe Sabadini (R27–34) 1996–1997 Francesco Paolo Specchia (R1–26) * Giuseppe Vuolo (R27–34) 1997–1998 Juan Carlos Morrone 1998–1999 Salvatore Esposito (R1–8) * Fortunato Torrisi (R9–27) * Giuseppe Galluzzo (R26–34) 1999–2000 Agatino Cuttone 2000–2001 Leonardo Bitetto (R1–21) * Massimo Morgia (R22–34) 2001–2002 Franco Dellisanti 2002–2003 Piero Braglia 2003–2004 Piero Braglia (R1–5) * Luigi Cagni (R6–25) * Bruno Bolchi (R26–42) 2004–2005 Sergio Buso (R1–13) * Vincenzo Guerini (R14–24) * Bruno Giordano (R25–37) * Franco Cittadino (R37–42) 2005–2006 Manuele Domenicali 2006–2007 Fausto Silipo (R1–5) * Franco Cittadino (R6–21) * Agatino Cuttone (R22–34) 2007–2008 Nicola Provenza 2008–2009 Gaetano Auteri 2009–2010 Zé Maria (R1–9) * Antonio Aloi (R10–30) 2010–2011 Francesco Cozza 2011–2012 Francesco Cozza (R1–27) * Fulvio D'Adderio (R28–30) 2012–2013 Oscar Brevi 2013–2014 Francesco Moriero (R1–12) * Massimo D’Urso (R13, 38) * Stefano Sanderra (R14–37) 2014–2015 Massimo D’Urso (R1–8) * Alessandro Erra (R9–34) 2015–2016 Giulio Spader (R1) * Mario Somma (R2–9) * Nunzio Zavettieri (R10–25) * Alessandro Erra (R26–play out) 2016–2017 Alessandro Erra (R1–8) * Davide Dionigi (R9–28) * Giuseppe Pancaro (R29–38) 2017–2018 Gaetano Auteri 2018–2019 Gaetano Auteri (R1–10, 23–30) * Gianluca Grassadonia (R11–22) 2019–2020 Antonio Calabro 2020–21 Antonio Calabro (R1–16) * Vincenzo Vivarini (R17–38) 2021–22 Vincenzo Vivarini 2022–23

* Denotes took over as manager during the season

Honours

Leagues

• Serie B (Level 2)
  • Runners-up (2): 1975–76, 1977–78
  • Promoted via play-offs (1): 1970–71
• Serie C / Serie C1 (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 (Group C)
• IV Serie (Level 4)
  • Winners (1): 1952–53

Cups

• Coppa Italia
  • 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
  • Winners (1): 1960

Competitions

League

Level	League	Seasons	Debut	Last	Total
A	Serie A	7	1971–72	1982–83	7
B	Serie B	29	1933–34	2023–24	29
C	Prima Divisione	3	1930–31	1932–33	31
	Serie C	22	1935–36	2022–23
	Serie C1	6	1984–85	2013–14
	Serie C2	18	1991–92	2011–12	18
D	IV Serie	1	1952–53		1

Notes

National Cups

Competition	Participation	Debut	Last season	Best finish
Coppa Italia	45	1935–36	2022–23	Runners-Up (1966)
Coppa Italia Serie C	31	1984–85	2022–23	Semifinalist (2021–22)
Supercoppa di Serie C	2	2004	2023	Champions (2023)
Scudetto di IV Serie	1	1952–53		Champions (1953)

International record

Cup of the Alps

Season	Opposition	Home	Away	Aggregate	Ref
1960	SC Brühl	5–1	0–0	5–1

Anglo-Italian Cup

Season	Round	Opposition	Home	Away	Ref
1972	Group Stage	Stoke City	0–3	0–2
1972	Group Stage	Carlisle United	0–1	1–4

Overall Record

Competition	Played	Won	Drew	Lost	GF	GA	GD	Win %
Cup of the Alps	2	1	1	0	5	1	+4	050.00
Anglo-Italian Cup	4	0	0	4	1	10	−9	000.00
Total	6	1	1	4	6	11	−5	016.67

External links

• Official website (in Italian)