SPAL

SPAL

Full name	Società Polisportiva Ars et Labor S.r.l.
Nickname(s)	I Biancazzurri (The White and Blues)[1] Gli Estensi (The House of Este)[2]
Founded	1907; 117 years ago (1907) (Circolo Ars et Labor) 2005; 19 years ago (2005) (refounded) 2012; 12 years ago (2012) (refounded)
Ground	Stadio Paolo Mazza, Ferrara, Italy
Capacity	16,134[3]
Owner	Tacollano Holdings LLC[4]
Chairman	Joe Tacopina
Head coach	Domenico Di Carlo
League	Serie C Group B
2022–23	Serie B, 19th of 20 (relegated)
Website	Club website
Home colours Away colours
Current season

Società Polisportiva Ars et Labor, commonly referred to by the acronym SPAL (Italian pronunciation: [spal]), is a professional football club based in Ferrara, Emilia-Romagna, Italy. The team currently plays in Serie C, the third tier of the Italian football league system.

Founded in 1907, since 1928 they have played their home matches at Stadio Paolo Mazza, named after Paolo Mazza (chairman of the club 1946–1977).

In total, SPAL have participated in 24 top-tier, 28 second-tier, 42 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 final.

The club is chaired by the American Joe Tacopina, the current manager is Domenico Di Carlo.

History[edit]

From foundation to World War II[edit]

The club was founded in March 1907 as Circolo Ars et Labor (Latin for Art and Work Club) by the Salesian 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 (Latin for Sports Club Society of Art and Work) 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, they played in Serie B and Serie C: in this period, the club's all-time top striker Mario Romani 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[edit]

In 1946 Paolo Mazza became chairman of the club. After five consecutive seasons in Serie B, SPAL won promotion to Serie A 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.^[5]

SPAL finished fifth in 1959–60, thus obtaining the best placement in its history. Also, in 1961–62 they played in the Coppa Italia final, losing against Napoli. In the early stages of 1962–63 season, in which the club finished in eighth place, the white and blues reached the top of the league table. During those years, the club was a launchpad for many young players, among them Fabio Capello.

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[edit]

During 1970s, 1980s and 1990s SPAL played mostly in Serie B and Serie C/C1.

Paolo Mazza quit the presidency in December 1976 and was replaced by Primo Mazzanti. The former chairman died in December 1981 and three months later Ferrara'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 to Serie B, under the management of Giovan Battista Fabbri. Donigaglia left the presidency in 2002 with the squad in Serie C1. He was replaced by Lino di Nardo.

Recent years[edit]

The club went bankrupt in 2005,^[6] and were reformed as SPAL 1907 S.r.l., under the terms of Article 52 of N.O.I.F.^[7] In the summer of 2012, after suffering a second bankruptcy, the club was refounded for the second time as S.s.d. Real SPAL and would begin life in Serie D^[8] under the same N.O.I.F. article.^[9]

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 of Masi Torello, had moved to the city of Ferrara; 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 Ferrara. The club changed its name to S.P.A.L. 2013, in order to continue the football history of SPAL. Walter Mattioli became president, with Simone and Francesco Colombarini as main shareholders.

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 Serie B for the first time since the 1992–93 season, after finishing first in group B of the Lega Pro. The following year they came first in Serie B, thus obtaining promotion to Serie A after a 49-year absence.^[10] In their first season back in Serie A, SPAL avoided relegation by finishing in 17th place.^[11] 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 was dismissed in February 2020, replaced by Luigi Di Biagio.^[12] 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 Serie B to advance to that stage in the competition.

In August 2021, the club was acquired by the American lawyer and businessman Joe Tacopina. Some media say that the real owners behind Mr. Tacopina are brothers Alessandro Bazzoni and Lorenzo Bazzoni, Italian businessmen presumed to be linked with the government of Nicolas Maduro.^[13][14] On January 25, 2024 Tacopina revealed the name of the new co-owner of the club, American broker and businessman Marcello Follano, with whom he founded a new parent company controlling SPAL, Tacollano Holdings LLC.^[15]

Colours, badge and nicknames[edit]

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 Ferrara's civic colours.

The team's 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, another symbol of the club.^[16]

SPAL's most common nicknames are Biancazzurri (from the club colours, light blue and white) and Estensi (from the House of Este, ancient European noble dynasty that ruled Ferrara from 1264 to 1598).^[17]

Stadium[edit]

• 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 Paolo Mazza, who died two months earlier.

Initially it had a capacity of 4,000. Then, in concomitance with the promotion of SPAL to Serie A, 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 stadium capacity was limited to 7,500 due to safety reasons and cost containment. In 2016–17, after the club's promotion to Serie B 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 total capacity from 13,135 seats to 16,134.^[18]

Sponsors[edit]

Kit sponsors[edit]

• 1981–86: Adidas
• 1986–87: Meyba
• 1987–89: Fitness
• 1989–91: WBS
• 1991–04: Asics
• 2004–05: Zeus
• 2005–09: Legea
• 2009–10: Asics^[19]
• 2010–12: Givova^[20]
• 2012–13: Legea^[21]
• 2013–16: Erreà^[22]
• 2016–17: HS Football^[23]
• 2017–24: Macron^[24]

Players[edit]

Current squad[edit]

As of 1 February 2024^[25]

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 Enrico Alfonso 2 DF  ITA Alessandro Fiordaliso 3 DF  ITA Matteo Bruscagin 4 DF  ARG Nahuel Valentini 5 MF  ITA Nicolò Contiliano 6 MF  ITA Marco Bertini (on loan from Lazio) 7 FW  ITA Mirco Antenucci (captain) 8 MF  ITA Riccardo Collodel 9 FW  ITA Alessandro Orfei 10 FW  CRO Tomi Petrović (on loan from Trento) 11 FW  ITA Simone Rabbi 12 GK  ITA Cesare Galeotti 13 DF  ITA Alessandro Bassoli 16 DF  ITA Filippo Saiani 17 MF  ITA Giuseppe Iglio 19 FW  ITA Nicola Dalmonte (on loan from Vicenza) 20 FW  LVA Dario Šits (on loan from Parma)

No. Pos. Nation Player 21 FW  ITA Massimo Zilli (on loan from Cosenza) 22 GK  ITA Marco Meneghetti 23 DF  ITA Matteo Arena 24 DF  ITA Luca Ghiringhelli (on loan from Südtirol) 25 MF  ITA Marco Carraro 26 FW  ITA Luca Siligardi 27 DF  POL Patryk Peda (on loan from Palermo) 28 GK  ITA Mattia Del Favero 29 MF  TOG Steven Nador 33 DF  ITA Alessandro Tripaldelli 34 DF  AUT Philipp Breit 37 MF  ITA Fabio Maistro 71 FW  ITA Simone Edera 75 FW  ITA Emanuele Rao 77 MF  LIE Marcel Büchel 90 FW  ITA Tommaso Angeletti

Out on loan[edit]

As of 1 February 2024

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

No. Pos. Nation Player — GK  ITA Lorenzo Abati (at Torino) — GK  ITA Michele Pezzolato (at Forlì) — GK  SEN Demba Thiam (at Juve Stabia) — DF  POL Dawid Bugaj (at Lechia Gdańsk) — DF  ITA Lorenzo Dickmann (at Brescia) — DF  MDA Daniel Dumbravanu (at Messina) — DF  ITA Nicola Santella (at Treviso) — DF  SVK Michal Svoboda (at Bologna) — DF  ITA Filippo Tosi (at Genoa) — MF  MDA Cristian Antonciuc (at Sassuolo)

No. Pos. Nation Player — MF  ITA Alessandro Boccia (at Frosinone) — MF  ITA Simone Cecere (at Fidelis Andria) — MF  ITA Antonio Imputato (at Mestre) — MF  ITA Alessandro Murgia (at Hermannstadt) — MF  ITA Fabio Parravicini (at Genoa) — MF  ITA Filippo Puletto (at Trento) — FW  ITA Ludovico D'Orazio (at Latina) — FW  SEN Serigne Deme (at Victor San Marino) — FW  ITA Andrea La Mantia (at Feralpisalò) — FW  ITA Marco Rosafio (at Messina)

Captains[edit]

Below a chronological list of SPAL captains since 1950.^[27]

Name Years Giovanni Emiliani 1950–53 Marcello Castoldi 1953–54 Edoardo Dal Pos 1954–59 Oscar Massei 1959–61 Sergio Cervato 1961–65 Oscar Massei 1965–68 Carlo Dell'Omodarme 1968–69 Enrico Cairoli Jul. 1969–Oct. 1973 Lucio Mongardi Oct. 1973–Jun. 1975 Sergio Reggiani 1975–76 Ottavio Bianchi 1976–77 Franco Pezzato 1977–79 Mauro Gibellini 1979–81 Rosario Rampanti 1981–82 Mirco Brilli 1982–83 Giuseppe De Gradi 1983–85 Elio Gustinetti 1985–86 Fabio Perinelli 1986–87 Arturo Vianello 1987–88 Massimo Pellegrini 1988–89 Francesco Cini 1989–90 Franco Fabbri 1990–91 Giuseppe Brescia 1991–93

Name Years Andrea Mangoni 1993–94 Giuseppe Brescia 1994–96 Eugenio Sgarbossa 1996–97 Fausto Pari 1997–98 Alfonso Greco 1998–99 Massimo Gadda 1999–00 Emanuele Cancellato Jul. 2000–Jan. 2002 Cristian Servidei Jan. 2002–Jun. 2002 Francesco Zanoncelli 2002–03 Manuel Milana 2003–06 David Sesa 2006–08 Luis Fernando Centi Jul. 2008–Feb. 2009 Marco Zamboni Feb. 2009–Jun. 2012 Davide Marchini 2012–13 Massimiliano Varricchio 2013–14 Nicolas Giani 2014–17 Luca Mora Jul. 2017–Jan. 2018 Mirco Antenucci Jan. 2018–Jun. 2019 Sergio Floccari 2019–21 Francesco Vicari 2021–22 Salvatore Esposito Jul. 2022–Jan. 2023 Lorenzo Dickmann Jan. 2023–Jul.2023 Mirco Antenucci 2023–

Technical staff[edit]

Position	Staff
Head of technical staff	Filippo Fusco
Head coach	Domenico Di Carlo
Deputy head coach	Davide Mezzanotti
Technical assistant	Martino Sofia
Technical assistant	Andrea Brunello
Match analyst	Gaspare Mazarese
Goalkeeping coach	Andrea Campagnolo
Fitness coach	Lorenzo Riela
Fitness coach	Carlo Voltolini
Fitness coach	Emanuele Tononi
Team manager	Alessandro Andreini
Head of medical staff	Fabrizio Aggio
Physiotherapist	Piero Bortolin
Physiotherapist	Vittorio Bronzi
Physiotherapist	Daniele Zannini

Chairmen history[edit]

SPAL have had several presidents (chairmen) (Italian: presidenti, lit. 'presidents' or Italian: 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 is Paolo Mazza.^[28][29]

Name Years Don Pietro Acerbis 1907–11 Conte Buosi 1911–12 Aminta Gulinati 1912–15 Antonio Santini 1919–21 Enrico Bassani 1921–24 Gaetano Ridolfi 1924–27 Giannino Bonfiglioli 1927–28 On. Ferri 1928–31 Giuseppe Turbiani Carlo Osti 1931–32 Comm. Gandini 1932–33 Umberto Barbè Giulio Divisi 1933–34 Luigi Orsi 1934–35 Giovanni Argazzi 1935–36 Nino Fiorini 1936–37 Angelo Vissoli 1937–39

Name Years Annio Bignardi 1939–41 Augusto Caniato 1941–43 Edmondo Bucci 1945–46 Paolo Mazza 1946–77 Primo Mazzanti 1977–85 Giorgio Rossatti 1985–86 Francesco Nicolini 1986–89 Albersano Ravani 1989–90 Giovanni Donigaglia 1990–96 Vanni Guzzinati 1996–97 Giovanni Donigaglia 1997–02 Lino Di Nardo 2002–05 Gianfranco Tomasi 2005–08 Cesare Butelli 2008–12 Roberto Ranzani 2012–13 Walter Mattioli 2013–21 Joe Tacopina 2021–

Managerial history[edit]

SPAL have had many managers and head coaches throughout their history, below is a chronological list of them.^[30][29]

Name Nationality Years Carlo Marchiandi 1919–22 Armand Halmos 1922–23 Giuseppe Ticozzelli 1923–24 Walter Alt 1924–27 Carlo Osti Carlo Marchiandi 1927–28 Béla Károly 1928–29 György Hlavay 1929–31 Francesco Mattuteia Adolf Mora Murer 1931–32 Walter Alt 1933–34 Mihály Balacics 1934–35 György Hlavay Guido Testolina 1935–36 Paolo Mazza 1936–37 Euro Riparbelli 1937–39 Paolo Mazza 1939–42 Giorgio Armari Bruno Maini 1942–43 József Viola Jul. 1945–Jun. 1946 Guido Testolina Jul. 1946–Jun. 1947 Giuseppe Marchi Jul. 1947–Jun. 1948 Bruno Vale Jul. 1948–Jun. 1949 Antonio Janni Jul. 1949–Jun. 1954 Bruno Biagini Jul. 1954–Jun. 1955 Fioravante Baldi Jul. 1955–Jun. 1956 Paolo Tabanelli Jul. 1956–Jun. 1958 Fioravante Baldi Jul. 1958–Apr. 1960 Serafino Montanari Apr. 1960–Jun. 1960 Luigi Ferrero Jul. 1960–Sep. 1961 Serafino Montanari Sep. 1961–Apr. 1963 Aurelio Marchese Apr. 1963–Jun. 1963 Giacomo Blason Jul. 1963–Apr. 1964 Giovan Battista Fabbri Apr. 1964–Nov. 1964 Francesco Petagna Nov. 1964–Oct. 1968 Serafino Montanari Oct. 1968–May 1969 Giovan Battista Fabbri May 1969–Oct. 1969 Tito Corsi Oct. 1969–Jun. 1970 Cesare Meucci Jul. 1970–Jun. 1972 Eugenio Fantini Jul. 1972–Oct. 1972 Mario Caciagli Oct. 1972–Jan. 1975 Guido Capello Jan. 1975–Jun. 1975 Francesco Petagna Jul. 1975–Dec. 1975 Umberto Pinardi Dec. 1975–Feb. 1976 Guido Capello Feb. 1976–Nov. 1976 Giovanni Ballico Nov. 1976–Dec. 1976 Ottavio Bugatti Dec. 1976–Feb. 1977 Luis Suárez Feb. 1977–Jun. 1977 Mario Caciagli Jul. 1977–Jun. 1980 Battista Rota Jul. 1980–Mar. 1982 Ugo Tomeazzi Mar. 1982–Jun. 1982 Gaetano Salvemini Jul. 1982–Dec. 1982 Giovanni Seghedoni Dec. 1982–Jun. 1983

Name Nationality Years Giovanni Galeone Jul. 1983–Oct. 1984 Giancarlo Danova Oct. 1984–Dec. 1984 Giovanni Galeone Dec. 1984–Jun. 1986 Ferruccio Mazzola Jul. 1986–Jun. 1987 Giancarlo Cella Jul. 1987–Nov. 1987 Giovan Battista Fabbri Nov. 1987–Jun. 1988 Giorgio Veneri Jul. 1988–Dec. 1988 Francesco Paolo Specchia Dec. 1988–Jun. 1989 Luciano Magistrelli Jul. 1989–Jan. 1990 Nello Santin Jan. 1990–Jun. 1990 Paolo Lombardo Jul. 1990–Feb. 1991 Giovan Battista Fabbri Feb. 1991–Oct. 1992 Rino Marchesi Oct. 1992–Apr. 1993 Giovan Battista Fabbri Apr. 1993–Jun. 1993 Gian Cesare Discepoli Jul. 1993–Jan. 1995 Vincenzo Guerini Jan. 1995–Sep. 1995 Salvatore Bianchetti Sep. 1995–Feb. 1997 Alfredo Magni Feb. 1997–Jun. 1997 Gianni De Biasi Jul. 1997–Jun. 1999 Giancarlo D'Astoli Jul. 1999–Jun. 2000 Alessandro Scanziani Jul. 2000–Nov. 2000 Mauro Melotti Nov. 2000–Nov. 2001 Fabio Perinelli Nov. 2001–Mar. 2002 Mauro Melotti Mar. 2002–Jun. 2002 Walter De Vecchi Jul. 2002–Oct. 2002 Giuliano Sonzogni Oct. 2002–Oct. 2003 Gian Cesare Discepoli Oct. 2003–Jun. 2004 Massimiliano Allegri Jul. 2004–Jun. 2005 Paolo Beruatto Jul. 2005–Feb. 2006 Walter Nicoletti Feb. 2006–Jun. 2006 Leonardo Rossi Jul. 2006–Jun. 2007 Francesco Buglio Jul. 2007–Feb. 2008 Roberto Labardi Feb. 2008 Angelo Alessio Feb. 2008–Jun. 2008 Aldo Dolcetti Jul. 2008–Nov. 2009 Egidio Notaristefano Nov. 2009–Feb. 2011 Gian Marco Remondina Feb. 2011–Jun. 2011 Stefano Vecchi Jul. 2011–Jun. 2012 David Sassarini Jul. 2012–Jun. 2013 Leonardo Rossi Jul. 2013–Oct. 2013 Massimo Gadda Oct. 2013–Jun. 2014 Oscar Brevi Jul. 2014–Dec. 2014 Leonardo Semplici Dec. 2014–Feb. 2020 Luigi Di Biagio Feb. 2020–Aug. 2020 Pasquale Marino Aug. 2020–Mar. 2021 Massimo Rastelli Mar. 2021–Jun. 2021 Pep Clotet Jul. 2021–Jan. 2022 Roberto Venturato Jan. 2022–Oct. 2022 Daniele De Rossi Oct. 2022–Feb. 2023 Massimo Oddo Feb. 2023–Jun. 2023 Domenico Di Carlo Jul. 2023–Oct. 2023 Leonardo Colucci Oct. 2023–Feb. 2024 Domenico Di Carlo Feb. 2024–

Club records[edit]

League[edit]

Below is a table showing the participation of SPAL in the Italian football leagues.^[31]

Individual[edit]

Below is a table showing the recordmen of matches played and goals scored for SPAL in the Italian football leagues.^[31]

Honours[edit]

Below is a list of titles and cups won by SPAL throughout their history.^[28]

Domestic[edit]

League titles[edit]

• Serie B
  • Winners (2): 1950–51, 2016–17
• Serie C / 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
• Serie C2
  • Winners (1): 1997–98
  • Runners-up (1): 1990–91

Cups[edit]

• Coppa Italia
  • Runners-up (1): 1961–62
• Coppa Italia Serie C
  • Winners (1): 1998–99
  • Runners-up (1): 1988–89
• Supercoppa di Serie C / Lega Pro
  • Winners (1): 2016

European[edit]

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

Youth[edit]

• Campionato Primavera Serie B
  • Winners (1): 1964–65
• Campionato De Martino Serie A
  • Winners (1): 1967–68
• Campionato Nazionale Under-18
  • Winners (2): 2021–22, 2022–23

References[edit]

External links[edit]

• Official Site

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