Full name | Spezia Calcio |
---|---|
Nickname(s) | Aquilotti (Little Eagles) |
Founded | 1906 2008 (refounded) |
Ground |
Stadio Alberto Picco, La Spezia, Italy |
Capacity | 10,336 |
Owner | Gabriele Volpi |
Chairman | Andrea Corradino |
Manager | Domenico Di Carlo |
League | Serie B |
2016–17 | Serie B, 8th |
Website | Club home page |
Spezia Calcio is an Italian football club, based in La Spezia, Liguria. Currently it plays in Serie B, hosting games at the 10,336-capacity Stadio Alberto Picco.
Spezia Calcio was founded in 1906.
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 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 9 July 1944, the first match between Spezia and Venezia was played: it ended in a 1–1 draw, commented by the Gazzetta as "surprising result".