S.S.C. Venezia

Football club infobox
clubname = Venezia


fullname = Società Sportiva Calcio Venezia SpA
nickname = "Arancioneroverdi" (Orange-Black-Greens),
"Lagunari" (Lagoonal Ones),
"Leoni Alati" (Winged Lions)
founded = 1907
ground = Stadio Pierluigi Penzo,
Venice, Italy
capacity = 9,977
chairman = flagicon|Italy Lorenzo Marinese
manager = flagicon|Italy Giancarlo Corradini
league = Lega Pro Prima Divisione - A
season = 2007-08
position = Serie C1/A, 12th
pattern_la1=_Venezia1|pattern_b1=_Venezia1|pattern_ra1=__Venezia1
leftarm1=000000|body1=000000|rightarm1=000000|shorts1=000000|socks1=000000
pattern_la2=_Venezia2|pattern_b2=_Venezia2|pattern_ra2=_Venezia2
leftarm2=FFFFFF|body2=FFFFFF|rightarm2=FFFFFF|shorts2=FFFFFF|socks2=FFFFFF

Società Sportiva Calcio Venezia, commonly referred to as simply Venezia or the abbreviation SSC Venezia, is an Italian professional football club from Venice, Veneto. Founded by a merger in 1907, Venezia have spent a large part of their history bouncing between the top-two tiers of Italian football.

The most notably trophy success in the history of Venezia, was winning the Coppa Italia during the 1940–41 season. The early 1940s was the pinnacle of the club's footballing prominence so far, as they also recorded their highest ever Serie A league finishing during that period with a 3rd place in 1941–42.

After getting into financially difficulties in recent years, the club are currently competing in Serie C1 for the 2007–08 season. The original club going under the name "Associazione Calcio Venezia 1907" was declared insolvent because of bankruptcy and relegated from Serie B in 2005.

History

The club was founded as Venezia Football Club on 14 December 1907,cite news|url=http://venicexplorer.net/tradizione/storiaveac.htm|publisher=Ombra.it|title=Storia del Venezia Calcio|date=24 June 2007] by members of two local sports clubs coming together; "Palestra Marziale" and "Costantino Reyer". It was originally based at "Campo San Bartolomeo" in the city of Venice; fifteen men including the first president Davide Fano were involved in the club's founding;cite news|url=http://venicexplorer.net/tradizione/storiaveac.htm|publisher=Ombra.it|title=Storia del Venezia Calcio|date=24 June 2007]

Recent times

In its history, Venezia has spent a large part of recent years bouncing between Italy's two top divisions (it was last relegated from Serie A in 2002). It was this last season in Serie A which signalled the beginning of the end for the old club. Frustrated with the team and the inability to agree plans for a larger stadium with the council, then President, Maurizio Zamparini, decided to purchase U.S. Città di Palermo, and took with him a large portion of the squad.

Their stadium, the Pierluigi Penzo, is the only ground in Italy's top flights to which opposing teams and fans must get a boat to.

Venezia won the Coppa Italia in 1941. That team contained some of the players who went on to form part of the Torino F.C. side of the 1940s who died in the Superga air disaster in 1949, such as Ezio Loik and Valentino Mazzola.

Notable recent former players include Álvaro Recoba, Filippo Maniero and Christian Vieri.

Players

Notable former players

*flagicon|GHA Augustine Ahinful
*flagicon|FRA Jimmy Algerino
*flagicon|SWE Daniel Andersson
*flagicon|TUR Can Bartu
*flagicon|NOR Runar Berg
*flagicon|SWE Joachim Björklund
*flagicon|ITA Mauro Bressan
*flagicon|CRO Igor Budan
*flagicon|SLE Kewullay Conteh
*flagicon|CRO Mario Cvitanović
*flagicon|ITA Marco Delvecchio
*flagicon|ITA Maurizio Ganz
*flagicon|URU Pablo García
*flagicon|AUT Michael Konsel
*flagicon|GHA Nii Lamptey
*flagicon|URU Federico Magallanes
*flagicon|PAR Rubén Maldonado
*flagicon|ITA Filippo Maniero
*flagicon|ITA Stefano Morrone
*flagicon|JPN Hiroshi Nanami
*flagicon|BEL Luis Oliveira
*flagicon|YUG Dejan Petković
*flagicon|URU Álvaro Recoba
*flagicon|ITA Flavio Roma
*flagicon|ITA Simone Pavan
*flagicon|CRO Tomislav Rukavina
*flagicon|ESP Juan Santisteban
*flagicon|ITA Stefan Schwoch
*flagicon|ITA Michele Serena
*flagicon|ITA Andrea Silenzi
*flagicon|ITA Massimo Taibi
*flagicon|ITA William Viali
*flagicon|ITA Christian Vieri

Colours, badge and nicknames

Football kit box
align = left
pattern_la1=|pattern_b1=|pattern_ra1=
pattern_b = _redhalf2
pattern_ra =
leftarm = FF0000
body = 000080
rightarm = 000080
shorts = 000080
socks = 000080
title = Venezia's original kit.Originally Venezia's colours were red and blue and the shirt features halves in those colours, the kit was very similar to that of Genoa.cite news|url=http://www.kromeidon.com/venezia/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1&Itemid=4|publisher=Venezia Calcio|title=Storia|date=24 June 2007] However just a year after the club founded, it changed colours to black and green in 1908.cite news|url=http://www.kromeidon.com/venezia/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1&Itemid=4|publisher=Venezia Calcio|title=Storia|date=24 June 2007]

Much later, in 1987 when the club merged with a local side "Associazione Calcio Mestre" from Mestre who wore orange and black,cite news|url=http://website.lineone.net/~view_from_the_terrace/italsce.html
publisher=View from the Terrace|title= Italian Ultras Scenedate=29 June 2007] orange would also become one of Venezia's official colours, giving them the nickname "arancioneroverdi" ("orange-black-greens").cite news|url=http://www.abcgoal.com/club.php?no=2688|publisher=ABCGoal.com|title=SSC Venezia Information|date=24 June 2007] Venezia's colours and kit are very distinctive; the shirt, shorts and socks are usually black with the shirt having a green and orange trim.

The symbol of the Venetian club is a winged-lion, commonly mistaken for a griffin. The golden winged-lion is the official symbol carries by the city of province of Venice; [cite news|url=http://www.comuni-italiani.it/027/stemma.html|publisher=Comuni-Italiani|title=Stemma Provincia di Venezia|date=24 June 2007] the symbol has led to one of the club's most popular nicknames in the form of "leoni alati" ("winged-lions").cite news|url=http://www.abcgoal.com/club.php?no=2688|publisher=ABCGoal.com|title=SSC Venezia Information|date=24 June 2007]

As the club has been renamed numerous times during its history, the badge has also changed several times; the most common one features the golden winged lion, along with the green and orange club colours with a golden border. [cite news|url=http://www.weltfussballarchiv.com/Vereinsprofil.php?ID=7618&lang=en|publisher=WeltFussballArchiv.com|title=SSC Venezia|date=24 June 2007] As the city of Venice is situated on the Venetian Lagoon, the club is also nicknamed "lagunari" ("Lagoonal ones"). [cite news|url=http://www.repubblica.it/2005/f/sezioni/sport/calcio/preziosinega/preziosinega/preziosinega.html|publisher=Repubblica.it|title=La presunta combine Genova-Venezia Preziosi: "Mai fatto quella chiamata"|date=24 June 2007]

Honours

Coppa Italia::*Winners (1): 1940–41

Serie B::*Champions (2): 1960–61; 1965–66:*Runners-up (3): 1938–39; 1948–49; 1997–98:*Promoted (1): 2000–01

Serie C / Serie C1::*Champions (2): 1935–36; 1955–56:*Runners-up (1): 1990–91

Serie C2::*Champions (1): 2005–06:*Runners-up (1): 1987–88

Serie D::*Promoted (1): 1982–83:*Runners-up (1): 1978–79

References

External links

* [http://www.veneziacalcio.it Venezia's official website]
* [http://vesportal.100webspace.net Venezia fan website updated regularly]
* [http://magicovenezia.wordpress.com Unione Venezia Calcio fan website updated regularly]
* [http://maps.google.com/maps?q=venice,+italy&ll=45.427785,12.363675&spn=0.003004,0.010274&t=k&hl=en Satellite image of Venezia's ground from Google Maps]