Catania Calcio
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| Full name | Calcio Catania SpA |
|---|---|
| Nickname(s) |
Rossazzurri ("Red and light-blues"), Gli Elefanti ("The Elephants"), Etnei ("Etneans") |
| Founded | 19 June 1908 as Educazione Fisica Pro Patria 1946 as Club Calcio Catania |
| Ground |
Stadio Angelo Massimino, Catania, Italy |
| Capacity | 23,266 |
| Owner | Davide Franco |
| Head Coach | Pino Rigoli |
| League | Lega Pro/C |
| 2015–16 | Lega Pro/C, 13th |
| Website | Club home page |
Calcio Catania is an Italian football club founded in 1908 and based in Catania, Sicily. They compete in Lega Pro, the third tier of the Italian football league system, and host home games at the Stadio Angelo Massimino.
The club has achieved moderate success in the top league, with the highest position ever reached by the club is eighth in Serie A, done four times: during the early 1960s and again in 2012–13. The furthest Catania have progressed in cup competitions is the final of the Coppa delle Alpi. Catania have a long-standing rivalry with fellow islanders Palermo, with whom they have contested the Derby di Sicilia since 1936.
The origins of football being played by representatives of the Province of Catania can be traced back to English cargo ships, thanks to the workers who brought the game to Sicily. Specifically, the earliest Catania team can be traced to a match which took place on 2 May 1901 at San Raineri di Messina against Messina; the team was named Royal Yacht Catania, an English ship with a local Catanian crew.
The ship workers' team was just a pastime, however, and Catania's first professional and most stable football club was founded on 19 June 1908 by Italian film director Gaetano Ventimiglia and Francesco Sturzo d'Aldobrando, who founded the club under the name A.S. Educazione Fisica Pro Patria. Early on, they would always play against sailors visiting the port of Catania, particularly from foreign ships. Though their first ever match was against the Italian battleship Regina Margherita, the game ended in a 1–1 draw and the Catania line-up that day consisted of Vassallo, Gismondo, Bianchi, Messina, Slaiter, Caccamo, Stellario, Binning, Cocuzza, Ventimiglia and Pappalardo. Just two years later, they changed the name to Unione Sportiva Catanese.
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