Cagliari Calcio

Football club infobox
clubname = Cagliari


fullname = Cagliari Calcio SpA
nickname = "Rossoblu" (Red-blues)
"Isolani" (Islanders)
founded = August 20, 1920
ground = Stadio Sant'Elia,
Cagliari, Italy
capacity = 23,486
chairman = flagicon|Italy Massimo Cellino
manager = flagicon|Italy Massimiliano Allegri
mgrtitle = Head Coach
league = Serie A
season = 2007-08
position = Serie A, 14th
pattern_la1=_Cagliari|pattern_b1=_Cagliari|pattern_ra1=_Cagliari
leftarm1=FF0000|body1=000066|rightarm1=000066|shorts1=000066|socks1=000066
pattern_la2=_Cagliari2|pattern_b2=_Cagliari2|pattern_ra2=_Cagliari2
leftarm2=ffffff|body2=fffff|rightarm2=fffff|shorts2=Ffffff|socks2=Ffffff

Cagliari Calcio is an Italian football club based in Cagliari, Sardinia. The club was formed in 1920 and currently plays in Italian Serie A, having spent a large part of recent years mainly in Serie A and Serie B.

They won their only "scudetto" in 1970, when they were led by Italian national team all-time leading scorer, Gigi Riva. The team's colors are blue and red. The club's stadium is the 23,486 seater Stadio Sant'Elia.

History

Before Serie A

Cagliari became the first ever out-right champions of Serie C during the 1951-52 season, prior to that in the league the championship was shared amongst more than one team. They spent the 1950s from then on in Serie B, losing a promotion play-off in 1954. After descending to Serie C in the early 1960s, Cagliari's rise would be meteoric- eventually achieving promotion to Serie A in 1964.

First Serie A adventure: 1964-1976

The squad for the "Rossoblu"'s debut season in Serie A featured players like defender Mario Martiradonna, midfielders Pierluigi Cera and Ricciotti Greatti, and forward Luigi Riva. A poor first half of the season saw Cagliari in last place with 9 points at the halfway mark. An astonishing second half of the season saw Cagliari defeat the likes of Juventus and Milan and finish in 7th place with 34 points. Two seasons later Riva finished Serie A top scorer for the first time while Cagliari finished with the league's best defensive record.

During the summer of 1967, Cagliari played a season in North America as part of a fledgling league called the United Soccer Association. This league from Europe and South America to play in American and Canadian cities, with each club bearing a local name. Cagliari played as the Chicago Mustangs, and finished joint second in the league's "Western Division" with 13 points, two behind the division champion and eventual league champion Los Angeles Wolves. The league's leading scorer was Chicago/Cagliari's Roberto Boninsegna, who scored 10 goals while playing in 9 of the team's 12 games.

Cagliari first emerged as serious Serie A title contenders in 1968-69 with a three-horse race involving them, Fiorentina and Milan. Fiorentina would win the league, but the following season would bring ultimate glory. With Angelo Domenghini joining the side, Cagliari would win the title in 1970 with only two games lost, 11 goals conceded (the fewest in any major European league to date) and Riva as league top scorer once more. Players like Cera, Domenghini and Riva played in Italy's 1970 World Cup Final team.

The 1970s would see a gradual decline (though were title contenders two years after their one and only scudetto win) Cagliari were finally relegated in 1976 with Riva's career having effectively ended during that season.

Up and down again: 1976-87

After relegation, Cagliari lost a play-off for promotion the following season and would return to Serie A in 1979. Players like Franco Selvaggi, Mario Brugnera (a survivor of the 1970 team) and Alberto Marchetti ensured a respectable four-year stay in the top flight before a second relegation in 1983. The 80s would then prove to be a darker time compared to the previous two decades with relegation to Serie C1 in 1987.

There and back: 1987-2000

Cagliari spent two seasons in Serie C1. In the first one it barely avoided relegation in Serie C2. In 1988, Claudio Ranieri was appointed coach, and led the team to two successive promotions, to Serie B in 1989 and to Serie A in 1990. The first two seasons back in Serie A saw Cagliari fight relegation, with safety being achieved by excellent second half runs. But season 1992-93 would see Cagliari fight for a European place and succeed under the management of Carlo Mazzone. The following season saw a run to the semi-finals of the UEFA Cup, unprecedented for the Sardinian club.

The next few years would see Cagliari return to mid-table anonymity, before a struggle in 1996-97 saw Cagliari relegated after losing a play-off to Piacenza. Once more they bounced back after just one year, but their next stay in Serie A lasted just two seasons.

Once and again: 2000 onwards

Cagliari spent the next four seasons in Serie B, for most part in mid-table mediocrity. But 2003-04 would see the Rossoblu, led by Sardinian-born Gianfranco Zola, mount a successful promotion challenge and the following season saw Cagliari hold their own in Serie A with a respectable mid-table finish. The following season was a quiet one for the Sardinians, that obtained a good mid-table position (12th place).

The 2005-06 season, the first without Zola, started in the worst way possible for Cagliari, which changed its manager for three times, with Attilio Tesser, Daniele Arrigoni and Davide Ballardini alternating to the position of coach, before Nedo Sonetti, appointed in November, who was able to save the team from a relegation also thanks to goals of Honduran striker David Suazo. For the 2006-2007 season, Marco Giampaolo was signed as head coach, however he was fired after the 17th matchday and replaced by Franco Colomba. However, after a number of poor performances ending in a 2-0 home defeat to Lazio, Colomba was sacked, and chairman Cellino chose to reinstate Giampaolo as head coach. Giampaolo was confirmed for the 2007-08 season, and his contract was extended for two more years.

The 2007-08 season saw the flagship striker David Suazo, Esposito and Langella left for Internazionale, Roma and Atalanta respectively, the experienced goalkeeper Chimenti left for Udinese, and the club reinforced with youngster likes Acquafresca, Matri, Foggia, Magliocchetti, Argentine Larrivey and Slovenian Koprivec . Nedo Sonetti returned to coach the Rossoblu in November 2007 after Giampaolo was relieved of his duties as a result of poor results in the first part of the 2007-08 Serie A season that saw them sink to the bottom of the Serie A standings. In January transfer windows, Cagliari made a great change with squad which goalkeeper Vincenzo Marruocco and Marco Fortin were replaced by Marco Storari and Luca Capecchi, along with experienced striker Jeda.

Players

Current squad

"As of September 20 2008" [cite web|url=http://www.cagliaricalcio.net/squadra/index.asp?id_menu=4|language=Italian|publisher=Cagliari Calcio|title=LA Prima Squadra|accessdate=2008-08-23]

Out on loan

"For all transfers and loans pertaining to Cagliari for the current season, please see; List of Italian football transfers summer 2008".

Retired numbers

11 – flagicon|Italy Gigi Riva, striker, 1963–1978

Notable former players

"Including only players with at least 100 appearances in the club, or an appearance in a FIFA World Cup edition"

*flagicon|Italy Enrico Albertosi
*flagicon|Italy Roberto Boninsegna
*flagicon|Italy Massimiliano Cappioli
*flagicon|Italy Pier Luigi Cera
*flagicon|Italy Angelo Domenghini
*flagicon|Italy Mauro Esposito
*flagicon|Italy Antonio Langella
*flagicon|Italy Alberto Marchetti
*flagicon|Italy Gianfranco Matteoli
*flagicon|Italy Francesco Moriero
*flagicon|Italy Roberto Muzzi
*flagicon|Italy Comunardo Niccolai
*flagicon|Italy Giuseppe Pancaro
*flagicon|Italy Gigi Riva
*flagicon|Italy Franco Selvaggi
*flagicon|Italy Pietro Paolo Virdis
*flagicon|Italy Cristiano Zanetti
*flagicon|Italy Gianfranco Zola
*flagicon|Uruguay Daniel Fonseca
*flagicon|Uruguay Enzo Francescoli
*flagicon|Uruguay José Oscar Herrera
*flagicon|Uruguay Nelson Abeijón
*flagicon|Uruguay Fabian O'Neill
*flagicon|Uruguay Darío Silva
*flagicon|Uruguay Waldemar Victorino
*flagicon|England Gerry Hitchens
*flagicon|Cameroon Patrick Mboma
*flagicon|Panama Julio Cesar Dely Valdes
*flagicon|France François Modesto
*flagicon|Belgium Luis Oliveira
*flagicon|Honduras David Suazo
*flagicon|Peru Julio César Uribe

Presidential history

Cagliari have had numerous presidents over the course of their history, some of which have been the owners of the club, others have been honorary presidents, here is a complete list of them:cite news|url=http://www.calciocagliari.it/index.php?page=Presidenti|publisher=CalcioCagliari.it|title=Presidenti |date=8 June 2007]

width="30"|
valign="top"

Colours, badge and nicknames

Football kit box
align = left
pattern_la1=|pattern_b1=|pattern_ra1=
pattern_b = _CagliariGold
pattern_ra = _CagliariGold
pattern_la = _CagliariGold
leftarm = CEBA94
body = CEBA94
rightarm = CEBA94
shorts = CEBA94
socks = CEBA94
title = Cagliari's current third kit.The official red and blue colours of Cagliari mirror those featured on the "stemma" of Cagliari.cite news|url=http://www.comuni-italiani.it/092/009/stemma.html|publisher=Comuni-Italiani|title=Stemma Provincia di Cagliari|date=24 June 2007] The red parts of the stemma are a reference to the coat of arms of the House of Savoy, a family which was previously the monarchy of Italy and more relevantly to Cagliari in particular, the Kingdom of Sardinia.cite news|url=http://www.comuni-italiani.it/092/009/stemma.html|publisher=Comuni-Italiani|title=Stemma Provincia di Cagliari|date=24 June 2007] The blue part of the stemma features the sky and the sea, also a castle; this is because the old historic center of Cagliari is walled and called the "Castello".cite news|url=http://www.comuni-italiani.it/092/009/stemma.html|publisher=Comuni-Italiani|title=Stemma Provincia di Cagliari|date=24 June 2007] Due to the use of these colours on their shirt in halves, the club is commonly nicknamed "rossoblu". [cite news|url=http://it.eurosport.yahoo.com/11062007/4/cagliari-matri-colpo-rossoblu-arriva-dal-rimini.html|publisher=Eurosport|title=Cagliari, e' Matri il primo colpo rossoblu: arriva dal Rimini|date=24 June 2007]

Cagliari have had several different logo designs during their history, all of which feature the Flag of Sardinia.cite news|url=http://www.weltfussballarchiv.com/Vereinsprofil.php?ID=1156&lang=en|publisher=WeltFussballArchiv.com|title=Cagliari Calcio|date=24 June 2007] Usually the badge also features the club colours, if there is a change the main difference has been the colour of the border or the shape.cite news|url=http://www.weltfussballarchiv.com/Vereinsprofil.php?ID=1156&lang=en|publisher=WeltFussballArchiv.com|title=Cagliari Calcio|date=24 June 2007]

Currently the badge features an upright-oval which is coloured in blue and red halves, it features the club's name in black. Inside this is an "Old French"-shaped escutcheon with red and blue halves, with the colours the opposite way around to the outer layer; inside this is the Flag of Sardinia and the club's foundation date, 1920 in blackcite news|url=http://www.weltfussballarchiv.com/Vereinsprofil.php?ID=1156&lang=en|publisher=WeltFussballArchiv.com|title=Cagliari Calcio|date=24 June 2007] . Interestingly, the badge was not changed to match the change in the Sardinian flag in 1992, when the moor's heads were turned to the right; in Cagliari logo the heads still look to the left.

Due to the fact that Cagliari are the main club from the island of Sardinia, they are nicknamed the "Isolani". [cite news|url=http://worldsoccer.about.com/od/italianclubs/p/cagliari.htm|publisher=About.com|title=Cagliari Calcio|date=24 June 2007]

Honours

National titles

Serie A::*Champions (1): 1969–70;*Runners-up (1): 1968–69

Serie B::* Winners (1): 2003–04:* Runners-up (2): 1963–64; 1978–79:* Promoted (2): 1989–90; 1997–98

Serie C / Serie C1::*Winners (3): 1930–31; 1951–52; 1988–89

Coppa Italia Serie C::*Winners (1): 1989

Campionato Sardo di I Divisione::*Winners (1): 1936–37

European titles

UEFA Cup::*Semi-finalists (1): 1993–94

References

External links

* [http://www.cagliaricalcio.it Cagliari's official website]
* [http://www.cagliaricampione.it Cagliaricampione.it] Cagliari Champion 1969/1970