AC Perugia Calcio

Perugia
Full nameAssociazione Calcistica Perugia Calcio S.r.l.
Nickname(s)I Grifoni (The Griffins)
Founded1905; 119 years ago (1905)
1935; 89 years ago (1935) (re-founded)
1940; 84 years ago (1940) (re-founded)
2005; 19 years ago (2005) (Perugia Calcio)
2010; 14 years ago (2010) (AC Perugia)
GroundStadio Renato Curi,
Perugia, Italy
Capacity28,000[citation needed]
ChairmanMassimiliano Santopadre[citation needed]
Head coachFabrizio Castori
LeagueSerie C Group B
2022–23Serie B, 18th of 20 (relegated)
WebsiteClub website
Current season
The progress of Perugia in the Italian football league structure since the first season of a unified Serie A (1929–30).

Associazione Calcistica Perugia Calcio, or simply Perugia, is a professional football club based in Perugia, Umbria, Italy, that competes in the Serie C Group B.

Founded in 1905 as Associazione Calcistica Perugia, the club folded in 2005 and were re-founded the same year as Perugia Calcio, before dissolving once again in 2010, taking on its current name.

The club has played 13 times in the Serie A; their best placement was finishing runners-up in 1978–79 year unbeaten, becoming the first team under the round-robin format to finish the Serie A season without defeats. In addition to various minor league titles, the club has won the 2003 UEFA Intertoto Cup, and has made two UEFA Cup appearances. In its Serie A spell under club president Luciano Gaucci around the turn of the century Perugia had some upset wins at home, most notably against Juventus on the final day in 2000, which lead to their opponents dropping the title win to Lazio. Gaucci's era ended with relegation in 2004 after which bankruptcy unfolded.

The club's players are nicknamed "biancorossi" (red and whites) due to their historical kit colours, which include red shirts and socks accompanied by white shorts, and "grifoni" (griffins), inspired by their city's heraldic symbol. They play their home matches at the 28,000-capacity Stadio Renato Curi. In the 1979–80 season, they became the first Italian football team to show a kit sponsorship.

History

A.C. Perugia (1905–2004)

A.C. Perugia were founded on 9 June 1905, after the merger of U.S. Fortebraccio and Libertas.[citation needed]

1933–34 Perugia line-up

Promotion to Serie B in 1966 would mark the beginning of one of the club's most successful periods.[citation needed] Perugia spent the next eight years in Serie B before promotion to Serie A for the first time in 1975.[citation needed]

In the club's first Serie A season, Perugia finished eighth with 31 points – just short of a European place.[citation needed] Star players in the side included defender Pierluigi Frosio and midfielders Renato Curi and Franco Vannini.[citation needed] The side remained in the top half of the table for the rest of the decade, finishing runners-up in 1979 with 11 wins and 19 draws, resulting in the only unbeaten side not to win a title.[citation needed] However, tragedy and scandal marred this period.[tone][citation needed] In 1977, Curi died of a heart attack during a league match with Juventus, while Vannini's career was ended by injury in 1979.[citation needed] The Totonero scandal in 1980 led to a 5-point penalty and relegation in 1981.[citation needed] Ilario Castagner was coach during this period.[citation needed]

The club spent the first half of the 1980s trying to get back to Serie A, nearly succeeding in 1984–85.[citation needed] Another scandal[clarification needed] in 1986 forced Perugia down to Serie C2.[why?][tone][citation needed] It was during this time that Fabrizio Ravanelli would be discovered, he would later go on to a career with Reggiana, Juventus, Middlesbrough and several other clubs before returning to Perugia.[citation needed]

The controversial and eccentric[clarification needed] Luciano Gaucci took control of the club.[tone][citation needed] The side returned to Serie B in 1994 and under the guidance of Giovanni Galeone reached Serie A in 1996.[citation needed] Perugia started well before Gaucci's decision to replace Galeone with Nevio Scala.[citation needed] The side's form subsequently declined before a late rally gave them a chance of survival- a 2–1 defeat at Piacenza in the final round sealed their fate.[tone][citation needed] With Castagner back in charge, Perugia won a play-off with Torino to secure a return to the top flight.[citation needed]

1974–75 Perugia first-team squad

The next six seasons saw Perugia hold their own in Serie A with foreign imports including the Japanese international Hidetoshi Nakata in 1998. The team came under scrutiny when Gaucci criticised and eventually terminated the contract of his own player, Ahn Jung-Hwan of South Korea, for scoring the golden goal that knocked Italy out of the 2002 FIFA World Cup, and allegedly insulting the Italian nation. Ahn's national manager Guus Hiddink spoke out against the sacking. Following the outcry,[tone] it however transpired[how?] that Ahn was only ever on a season-long contract and by the time of the World Cup, was no longer under contract to Perugia and the "sacking" was all a publicity stunt by Gaucci.[tone][clarification needed][citation needed]

In the summer of 2003, Perugia signed English striker Jay Bothroyd, and Al-Saadi Gaddafi (the son of Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi). Soon after, the club were one of three winners of the 2003 UEFA Intertoto Cup after beating VfL Wolfsburg of Germany 3–0 on aggregate. This qualified the team to the 2003–04 UEFA Cup, in which they were eliminated in the third round by PSV Eindhoven.

Perugia Calcio (2005–2010)

The new chairman Vincenzo Silvestrini had re-established the club in 2005 as Perugia Calcio.[citation needed]

After a takeover, in 2009 Perugia Calcio property passed to Perugian entrepreneur and former Pisa owner and chairman Leonardo Covarelli. On 21 May 2010 the Court of Perugia declared the bankruptcy of Perugia Calcio srl. Nobody decided to take over the society at the subsequent auction and on 30 June 2010 the club was unable to join the Italian third level championship 2010–2011. The Italian Football Federation decided on 8 July 2010 to revoke the affiliation of the bankrupt Perugia Calcio Srl.

From A.S.D. Perugia Calcio to A.C. Perugia Calcio (2010–present)

During the summer break 2010, this new club with the same denomination and inheriting the old side history, was entered into the Serie D Girone E.[citation needed]

On 10 April 2011, Perugia became the first team of the season to get promoted from Serie D to the Lega Pro Seconda Divisione 2011–12, after a 3–2 home victory against Castel Rigone. They eventually won the Girone E. The club also won the 2010–11 Coppa Italia Serie D, beating Turris 1–0 in the final.

In summer 2011 the club was renamed Associazione Calcistica Perugia Calcio, thus becoming a professional company, to play in the Lega Pro Seconda Divisione/B obtaining immediate promotion to Lega Pro Prima Divisione.[citation needed] On 4 May 2014, beating Frosinone 1–0, AC Perugia won the 2013–14 Lega Pro Prima Divisione championship and gained promotion to Serie B after a 9-year absence from Italy's second highest football division.[citation needed]

On 2 May 2021, Perugia finished in first place in group B of the 2020–21 Serie C, and were promoted back to the Serie B. Their promotion came after consecutive wins in the last five games on the season, having been in third place, six points from first place. The club was relegated back to Serie C at the end of the 2022–23 Serie B season.[citation needed]

Players

Current squad

As of 1 February 2024

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 Albania ALB Alessio Abibi
3 DF Italy ITA Damiano Cancellieri
4 MF Italy ITA Edoardo Iannoni (on loan from Salernitana)
5 DF Italy ITA Gabriele Angella (Vice-captain)
6 DF Croatia CRO Stipe Vulikić
7 DF Colombia COL Yeferson Paz (on loan from Sassuolo)
8 FW Argentina ARG Federico Vázquez
10 FW Brazil BRA Ryder Matos
11 FW Italy ITA Alessandro Seghetti
12 GK Lithuania LTU Marius Adamonis (on loan from Lazio)
14 FW Italy ITA Daniel Bezziccheri
15 DF Italy ITA Cristian Dell'Orco
16 MF Italy ITA Paolo Bartolomei
20 MF Italy ITA Federico Ricci
No. Pos. Nation Player
21 MF Italy ITA Nicolò Cudrig (on loan from Juventus)
23 MF Italy ITA Francesco Lisi
24 MF Italy ITA Emanuele Torrasi
28 MF Ivory Coast CIV Christian Kouan
44 DF Netherlands NED Noah Lewis
45 FW Senegal SEN Youssouph Cheikh Sylla
71 DF Italy ITA Andrea Bozzolan (on loan from AC Milan)
77 MF Bulgaria BUL Dzhaner Sadetinov
84 FW Lithuania LTU Adrian Lickūnas
86 MF Italy ITA Giovanni Giunti
94 DF Italy ITA Francesco Mezzoni (on loan from Napoli)
95 DF Italy ITA Giovanni Cicioni
96 DF Italy ITA Matteo Viti

Out on loan

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player
GK Italy ITA Luca Moro (at Piacenza until 30 June 2024)
DF Italy ITA Raul Morichelli (at Sorrento until 30 June 2024)
No. Pos. Nation Player
MF Italy ITA Simone Santoro (at Modena until 30 June 2024)

Coaching staff

Position Name
Head coach Italy Fabrizio Castori
Assistant coach Italy Salvatore Accursi
Goalkeeper coach Italy Gianfranco Gagliardi
Chief doctor Italy Giuliano Cerulli

Honours

League

Serie B:

Serie C1:

Serie C2:

  • Winner: 1987-88,[citation needed] 2011-12[citation needed]

Cups

Supercoppa di Lega Pro:

  • Winner: 2014[citation needed]

Supercoppa di Serie C2:

  • Winner: 2012[citation needed]

Coppa Italia Serie D:

  • Winner: 2010–11[citation needed]

European

UEFA Intertoto Cup:

  • Winner: 2003[citation needed]

Divisional movements

Series Years Last Promotions Relegations
A 13 2003–04 - Decrease 3 (1981, 1997, 2004)
B 29 2022–23 Increase 3 (1975, 1996, 1998) Decrease 6 (1935✟, 1948, 1986⇊, 2005✟, 2020, 2023)
C
+C2
33
+3
2023–24 Increase 6 (1933, 1946, 1967, 1994, 2014, 2021)
Increase 2 (1988 C2, 2012 C2)
Decrease 3 (1939, 1951, 2010✟)
78 out of 92 years of professional football in Italy since 1929
D 13 2010–11 Increase 4 (1938, 1940, 1959, 2011) never
E 1 1929–30 Increase 1 (1930⇈) never

Records

European record

UEFA Cup

Season Round Club Home Away Aggregate Reference
1979–80 First Round Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia Dinamo Zagreb 1–0 0–0 1–0
Second Round Greece Aris 0–3 1–1 1–4
2003–04 First Round Scotland Dundee 1–0 2–1 3–1
Second Round Greece Aris 2–0 1–1 3–1
Third Round Netherlands PSV Eindhoven 0–0 1–3 1–3

UEFA Intertoto Cup

Season Round Club Home Away Aggregate Reference
1999 Second Round North Macedonia Pobeda 1–0 0–0 1–0
Third Round Turkey Trabzonspor 0–3 (f) 2–1 2–4
2000 Second Round Belgium Standard Liège 1–2 1–1 2–3
2002 Third Round Germany Stuttgart 2–1 1–3 3–4
2003 Third Round Finland Allianssi 2–0 2–0 4–0
Semi-final France Nantes 0–0 1–0 1–0
Final Germany Wolfsburg 1–0 2–0 3–0

43°6′22″N 12°21′26″E / 43.10611°N 12.35722°E / 43.10611; 12.35722


This page was last updated at 2024-03-08 01:27 UTC. Update now. View original page.

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