Spal

The team currently plays in Serie C, the third tier of the Italian football league system.

SPAL

Full name	Società Polisportiva Ars et Labor S.r.l.
Nickname(s)	I Biancazzurri (The White and Blues) Gli Estensi (The House of Este)
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
Owner	Tacollano Holdings LLC
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

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.

From foundation to World War II

 

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

 

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.

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

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

 

The club went bankrupt in 2005, and were reformed as SPAL 1907 S.r.l., under the terms of Article 52 of N.O.I.F. 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 under the same N.O.I.F. article.

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. In their first season back in Serie A, SPAL avoided relegation by finishing in 17th place. 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. 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. 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.

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.

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).

 

• 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.

Kit sponsors

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

Current squad

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 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

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

 

Below a chronological list of SPAL captains since 1950.

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–

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.

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–

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

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–

League

Below is a table showing the participation of SPAL in the Italian football leagues.

Individual

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

Below is a list of titles and cups won by SPAL throughout their history.

Domestic

League titles

• 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

• 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

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

Youth

• 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