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Cagliari Calcio

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Cagliari
logo
Full nameCagliari Calcio SpA
Nickname(s)Rossoblu (Red-blues)
Isolani (Islanders)
FoundedAugust 20, 1920
GroundStadio Sant'Elia,
Cagliari, Italy
Capacity23,486
ChairmanItaly Massimo Cellino
Head CoachItaly Marco Giampaolo
LeagueSerie A
2006-07Serie A, 16th

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 bouncing between Italy's top division 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 Riccioti 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.

Current first team squad

As of June 29, 2007

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 Italy ITA Simone Aresti (from youth team)
2 MF Italy ITA Davide Marchini (on loan from Triestina)
3 DF Italy ITA Michele Canini
4 MF Italy ITA Alessandro Budel
5 MF Italy ITA Daniele Conti
6 DF Uruguay URU Diego López
7 FW Italy ITA Mauro Esposito
8 MF Italy ITA Alessandro Conticchio
9 FW Honduras HON David Suazo (captain)
10 FW Italy ITA Andrea Capone
13 DF Italy ITA Cristiano Del Grosso
14 DF Italy ITA Francesco Pisano
16 MF Italy ITA Davide Biondini (on loan from Reggina)
18 FW Italy ITA Simone Pepe (on loan from Palermo & Udinese)
19 FW Italy ITA Tiziano Bruzzone
20 DF Italy ITA Paolo Bianco
No. Pos. Nation Player
21 MF Italy ITA Leonardo Colucci
22 DF Uruguay URU Joe Bizera
23 FW Italy ITA Antonio Langella
24 MF Italy ITA Antonino D'Agostino (on loan from Atalanta)
25 GK Italy ITA Antonio Chimenti
26 GK Italy ITA Marco Fortin
27 DF Italy ITA Giacomo Garau (from youth team)
28 MF Italy ITA Salvatore Burrai (from youth team)
29 DF Italy ITA Michele Ferri
31 DF Italy ITA Alessandro Agostini
32 MF Argentina ARG Gabriel Peñalba
33 FW Italy ITA Roberto Puddu (from youth team)
– FW Italy ITA Alessandro Matri
– GK Italy ITA Vincenzo Marruocco
– MF Italy ITA Andrea Parola
– MF Italy ITA Michele Fini

Signings

– FW Italy ITA Alessandro Matri (co-ownership with AC Milan)[1]
– GK Italy ITA Vincenzo Marruocco (from Foggia)[1]
– MF Italy ITA Andrea Parola (from Sampdoria)[2]
– MF Italy ITA Michele Fini (from Ascoli)[3]

Retired numbers

Notable former players

Coaches

References

  1. ^ a b "Lega Calcio". Retrieved 2007-06-21.
  2. ^ Cagliari Calcio (2007-06-28). "Parola è del Cagliari" (in Italian). Retrieved 2007-06-28. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  3. ^ Cagliari Calcio (2007-06-28). "Il Cagliari acquista fina" (in Italian). Retrieved 2007-06-28. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)

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