A.S.D. Spezia Calcio 2008

Football club infobox
clubname = Spezia


fullname = Associazione Sportiva Dilettantistica Spezia Calcio 2008
nickname = "Aquilotti" (Eagles)
founded = 1906 2008 "(refounded)"
ground = Stadio Alberto Picco,
La Spezia, Italy
capacity = 10,000
chairman = flagicon|Italy Gabriele Volpi
manager = flagicon|Italy Marco Rossi
league = Serie D/A
season = 2007-08
position = Serie B, 21st
pattern_la1=|pattern_b1=|pattern_ra1=
leftarm1=FFFFFF|body1=FFFFFF|rightarm1=FFFFFF|shorts1=000000|socks1=000000
pattern_la2=|pattern_b2=_thinwhitesides|pattern_ra2=
leftarm2=000000|body2=000000|rightarm2=000000|shorts2=000000|socks2=000000

A.S.D. Spezia Calcio 2008 is an Italian football club, based in La Spezia, Liguria. Founded in 1906, the team's colors were black and white. The club's home ground is Alberto Picco stadium.

In 2008, due to financial difficulty and following their relegation from Serie B, the club was forced to declare bankruptcy. The team was later refound as A.S.D. Spezia Calcio 2008 and admitted to Serie D. [cite news |url=http://www.ivg.it/2008/08/21/calcio-e-ufficiale-spezia-in-serie-d/ |publisher=Il Vostro Giornale |language=Italian |title=Calcio, è ufficiale: Spezia in Serie D |accessdate=2008-08-30 |date=2008-07-21]

1944 "scudetto"

:"See also Campionato Alta Italia 1944"

In 1944, because of the World War II the Italian football federation decided to split the top league in regional rounds. The team, named "42° Corpo dei Vigili del Fuoco della Spezia" (Firefighters of La Spezia) after a merger with the local firefighter in order to have a sufficient number of players, was included in Round D of Emilia-Romagna, together with Corradini Suzzara, Fidentina, Orlandi Busseto and Parma. Spezia won the round and qualified to the semi-finals, in which it challenged Suzzara, Carpi and Modena. Spezia won also this round, winning five of the six matches played, losing only to Carpi. By winning the semi-final round, Spezia was admitted to play a two-legs play-off against Bologna.

The first match, played in Bologna, was suspended because of incidents started after the 1-0 goal of Spezia, contested by the Bologna supporters; Spezia was awarded a 2-0 win because of that. The return match, scheduled to be played in La Spezia, was first moved to Carpi, because of the heavy bombings underwent by the Ligurian city in the period, then cancelled because of protest by Bologna chairman Renato Dall'Ara, so Spezia was admitted to the final without playing the return match.

The finals, held in Milan, were played against Venezia and Torino. On July 9, 1944, the first match between Spezia and Venezia was played: it ended in a 1-1 draw, commented by the Gazzetta as "surprising result".

On July 16, Spezia challenged the Great Torino, with Vittorio Pozzo as coach and Silvio Piola as striker. The matched ended in an epic 2-1 victory of Spezia. After the third match, in which Torino beat Venezia in a 5-2 win, Spezia was declared champion.

However, the Italian league of 1944 was not immediately considered as official by the Italian federation, because it was obtained during war times in a reduced league, and the first and only "scudetto" of Spezia was finally awarded only in 2002 by the Federation, even if not counted officially as Italian championship triumph, but as "decoration".

Today, Spezia remembers the 1944 triumph by playing with a tricolour badge on the team's official jersey (but different from the "Scudetto"), with the authorization of the Football Federation.

Notable former players

easons

Honours

*Italian Championships "1": 1943-44 (decoration)
*Coppa Italia Serie C "1": 2004-05
*Supercoppa di Lega Serie C1 "1": 2005-06
*Serie C "3": 1928-29, 1935-36, 1939-40
*Serie C1 "1": 2005-06
*Serie C2 "2": 1979-80, 1985-86, 1999-00
*Serie D "2": 1957-58, 1965-66

References

External links

* [http://www.acspezia.com/ Official site]