Full name | Cagliari Calcio S.p.A. |
---|---|
Nickname(s) |
I Rossoblu (The Red and Blues) Gli Isolani (The Islanders) I Sardi (The Sardinians) Castéddu (Sardinian name for Cagliari) |
Founded | 30 May 1920 |
Ground | Stadio Sant'Elia |
Capacity | 16,000 |
Owner | Tommaso Giulini |
President | Tommaso Giulini |
Head coach | Massimo Rastelli |
League | Serie A |
2015–16 | Serie B, 1st (promoted) |
Website | Club home page |
Cagliari Calcio (Italian: [ˈkaʎʎari]; Sardinian: Casteddu), before: 1970 US Cagliari is an Italian football club based in Cagliari, Sardinia. The club currently plays in Serie A.
They won their only Scudetto in 1969–70, when they were led by the Italy national team's all-time leading scorer, Luigi Riva. The triumph was also the first by a club from south of Rome. Cagliari's colours are blue and red. The club's stadium is the 16,000 seat Stadio Sant'Elia in Cagliari. During the 2012–13 season, however, the team temporarily played their home games at the Stadio Is Arenas, in Quartu Sant'Elena.
The club's best European performance was in the 1993–94 UEFA Cup, losing in the semi-finals to Internazionale.
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.
The squad for the Rossoblu's debut season in Serie A featured players like defender Mario Martiradonna, midfielders Pierluigi Cera, Nené and Ricciotti Greatti, and forward Luigi Riva. A poor first half of the season, however, saw Cagliari in last place with nine points at the halfway mark. An astonishing second half of the season saw Cagliari defeat the likes of Juventus and Milan and finish in seventh place with 34 points. Two seasons later, Riva finished as Serie A's top scorer for the first time while Cagliari finished with the league's best defensive record.