Urbs Sportiva Reggina 1914
| Full name | Urbs Sportiva Reggina 1914 |
|---|---|
| Nickname(s) | Amaranto (Dark-reds) |
| Founded | 1914 (US Reggio Calabria) 1986 (Reggina Calcio) 2015 (US Reggina 1914) |
| Ground |
Stadio Oreste Granillo, Reggio Calabria, Italy |
| Capacity | 27,763 |
| Owner | Mimmo Praticò |
| Manager | Karel Zeman |
| League | Lega Pro |
| 2015–16 | Serie D/I, 4th (promoted) |
Urbs Sportiva Reggina 1914, commonly referred to as Reggina, is an Italian association football club, the main club of the city of Reggio Calabria. Founded in 1914, they currently play in Lega Pro, and play their home matches at the 27,763 seater Stadio Oreste Granillo. They are one of the few "big" teams to hail from Calabria. Their majority shareholder is Mimmo Praticò, former regional president of CONI. He took over control of the club in 2015 after bankruptcy was declared. They are nicknamed the amaranto (amaranth) after their official colours.
The club was founded on 11 January 1914 as Unione Sportiva Reggio Calabria, and changed name many times (Società Calcistica Reggio, Reggio Foot Ball Club, Associazione Sportiva Reggina, Società Sportiva La Dominante), finally assuming their current denomination in 1986. In recent years, Reggina have been alternating between the top two levels of the Italian league. They reached the Italian top division Serie A for the first time in 1999. Two years later, they lost a relegation playoff against Verona, being consequently relegated to Serie B. Reggina finished third in Serie B in 2002, earning a return to Serie A. In 2003, Reggina survived a relegation playout against Atalanta. They would spend the next 7 years maintaining their Serie A status until their eventual relegation in the 2008–09 season.
They were indicted in 2006 for sporting fraud as part of the second wave of Serie A scandal investigations. Originally punished with a 15-point deduction for the Serie A 2006-07, then reduced to 11 points following appeal. Despite the heavy deduction of points, Reggina managed to save themselves from relegation, defeating fresh UEFA Champions League winners Milan on the final matchday and ending the season with 40 points (including the deduction), just one single point above the third relegation spot, occupied by Chievo. They however poorly started their 2007–08 campaign, causing head coach Massimo Ficcadenti to be sacked and replaced by Renzo Ulivieri. A third managerial change, with Ulivieri fired and replacing with team scout Nevio Orlandi, proved to be successful as Reggina improved their results and performances, escaping relegation with key wins at Catania, and home to Empoli. Orlandi was subsequently confirmed at the helm of the amaranto for the 2008–09 season.
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