Genoa C.F.C.

Infobox Football club
clubname = Genoa


fullname = Genoa Cricket and Football Club SpA
nickname = "I rossoblu" (The red-blues),
"Il grifone" (The griffin),
"Il vecchio balordo" (The old fool)
founded = 7 September 1893 (mixed sports)cite web | url=http://www.rsssf.com/tablesg/genoa.html| title=Genoa Cricket & Football Club - Short Historical Overview 1893-1960| work=RSSSF.com | accessdate=August | accessyear=2007]
10 April 1897 (football)cite web | url=http://www.enciclopediadelcalcio.com/Genoa1.html| title=Storia del Genoa - Part 1| work=EnciclopediaDelCalcio.com | accessdate=August | accessyear=2007]
ground = Stadio Luigi Ferraris,
Genoa, Italy
capacity = 36,536
chairman = flagicon|Italy Enrico Preziosi
manager = flagicon|Italy Gian Piero Gasperini
league = Serie A
season = 2007-08
position = Serie A, 10th
pattern_la1=|pattern_b1=_redhalf|pattern_ra1=
leftarm1=000080|body1=000080|rightarm1=FF0000|shorts1=000080|socks1=000080
pattern_la2=|pattern_b2=_red_&_navyhorizontal|pattern_ra2=
leftarm2=FFFFFF|body2=FFFFFF|rightarm2=FFFFFF|shorts2=FFFFFF|socks2=FFFFFF

Genoa Cricket and Football Club, commonly referred to as simply Genoa or the abbreviation Genoa CFC, is a professional football club based in the city of Genoa, Italy. Although the athletics and cricket club was founded in 1893 by Englishmen; [cite news|url=http://www.fourfourtwo.premiumtv.co.uk/page/TravelItaly/0,,11442,00.html|publisher=FourFourTwo.com|title= Genoa|date=23 June 2007] the footballing section of the club was opened in 1897 by James Richardson Spensley making it the oldest of its kind still active in Italy. [cite news|url=http://www.genoacfc.it/storia.asp|publisher=GenoaCFC.it|title=Storia|date=23 June 2007]

During their long history, Genoa have won the Italian Football Championship nine times; the first of which was 1898 during the competition's inaugural season, the last time Genoa won the league was in 1923–24. It also won the "Coppa Italia" once. Historically, Genoa is the tenth most successful club in Italian football, [cite web|url=http://www.rsssf.com/tablesi/italalltimeall.html|title=Italy -All-Time Table 1898-2002|work=RSSSF.com|accessdate=July 2007] however they are the fourth most successful in terms of championships won.cite web | url=http://www.lega-calcio.it/ita/atim_albo.shtml| title=Campionato Serie A - Albo D'oro| work=Lega Calcio | accessdate=August | accessyear=2007]

The club has played its home games at the 36,536 capacity Stadio Luigi Ferraris [cite web|url=http://www.genoacfc.it/stadio.asp|title=Stadio Luigi Ferraris|work=GenoaCFC.it|accessdate=August 2007] since 1911. Since 1946, the ground has been shared with local rivals Sampdoria. Genoa has often bounced between the top two divisions of Italian football; Serie A and Serie B since the 1960s. After a recent promotion, Genoa now plays again in Serie A for the first time since 1995.

History

:"For more details on this topic, see History of Genoa C.F.C."The club was founded on 7 September 1893cite web | url=http://www.rsssf.com/tablesg/genoa.html| title=Genoa Cricket & Football Club - Short Historical Overview 1893-1960| work=RSSSF.com | accessdate=August | accessyear=2007] as Genoa Cricket & Athletic Club. In its earliest years, it only competed in athletics and cricket. Since the club was set up to represent England abroad, the original shirts worn by the organisation were white, the same colour as the England national team shirt.cite web | url=http://www.rsssf.com/tablesg/genoa.html| title=Genoa Cricket & Football Club - Short Historical Overview 1893-1960| work=RSSSF.com | accessdate=August | accessyear=2007] At first Italians were not permitted to join as it was a private club.cite web | url=http://www.rsssf.com/tablesg/genoa.html| title=Genoa Cricket & Football Club - Short Historical Overview 1893-1960| work=RSSSF.com | accessdate=August | accessyear=2007] Genoa's activities took place in the north-west of the city in the Campasso area, at the "Piazza d'Armi". The men who founded the initial cricket and athletics club were;cite web | url=http://www.rsssf.com/tablesg/genoa.html| title=Genoa Cricket & Football Club - Short Historical Overview 1893-1960| work=RSSSF.com | accessdate=August | accessyear=2007]

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Colours, badge and nicknames

As Genoa was founded by Englishmen the first ever colours of the club resembled that of the England national football team.cite web | url=http://www.rsssf.com/tablesg/genoa.html| title=Genoa Cricket & Football Club - Short Historical Overview 1893-1960| work=RSSSF.com | accessdate=August | accessyear=2007] Not long into the club's footballing history, the kit was changed to white and blue stripes in 1899; the blue was chosen to represent the sea as Genoa is a port city. Finally the club settled for their most famous red and blue halves shirt, this gained them the nickname of "rossoblu". [cite news|url=http://www.goalgoal.it/calcio/1001038/Genoa/1001038-Di-Vaio-e-leuforia-rossoblu.html|publisher=GoalGoal.it|title=Di Vaio e l'euforia rossoblu|date=24 June 2007]

One of the nicknames of Genoa is "Il Grifone " which means "the griffin"; this is derived from the coat of arms belonging to the city of Genoa. The coat of arms features two golden griffins, either side of the St George's Cross. [cite news|url=http://www.comuni-italiani.it/010/025/stemma.html|publisher=Comuni-Italiani|title=Stemma Comune di Genova|date=24 June 2007] The actual club badge of "Genoa Cricket and Football Club" is heavily derived from the city coat of arms, but also incorporated the club's red and blue colours.

upporters and rivalries

Genoa have around a million fans in Italy, mostly from Liguria, however they are also popular in Piedmont and the Aosta Valley. [cite news|url=http://espresso.repubblica.it/dettaglio-archivio/163496|publisher=L'Expresso|title="L'altra metà del pallone": Supporters of football clubs in Italy|date=April 2006] The seafaring traditions of the genoese and the presence of genoese communities in distant countries did much to spread the appeal of Genoa much further than just Italy, as there are fan clubs in Buenos Aires, Amsterdam, Tokyo, Toronto, New York, San Francisco, Iceland and other places.

The most significant and traditional rivalry for Genoa, is the inner-city one with the club whom they share a ground with; Sampdoria. The two clubs compete together in the heated "Derby della Lanterna" ("Derby of the Lantern"); a reference to the Genoa lighthouse.cite news|url=http://www.footballderbies.com/index.php?country=2
publisher=FootballDerbies.com|title= Football Derby matches in Italy|date=29 June 2007] The ultras of Genoa also have a strong distaste for AC Milan, after a tragedy in January 1995 when Genoa fan Vincenzo Spagnolo was stabbed to death by a Milanese hooligan. [cite news|url=http://www.italymag.co.uk/italy_regions/liguria_emilia_romagna/2007/sports/genoa-bans-milan-fans-from-sunday-match/
publisher=ItalyMag.co.uk|title= Genoa Fans Milan Fans From Sunday Match|date=29 June 2007]

Conversely, the fans of Genoa have a long standing friendship with Torino and Napolicite news|url=http://website.lineone.net/~view_from_the_terrace/italsce.html
publisher=View from the Terrace|title= Italian Ultras Scene|date=29 June 2007] which goes back to 1982. On the last day of the 2006–07 season, the clubs drew 0–0 ensuring both were promoted back into Serie A; Genoa ultras could be seen holding up banners saying "benvenuto fratello napoletano", meaning, "Welcome, Neapolitan brothers," and the two sets of fans celebrated together. [cite news|url=http://www.sscnapoli.it/UserFiles/File/photogallery/stagione_06_07/070610_genoa_napoli/index.html
publisher=SSCNapoli.it|title= Genoa and Napoli|date=29 June 2007]

Honours

National titles

Italian Football Championship / Serie A: 9:*Champions: 1898; 1899; 1900; 1902; 1903; 1904; 1914–15; 1922–23; 1923–24:*Runners-up: 1901; 1905; 1927–28; 1929–30

Italian Cup: 1:* Winners: 1936–37:* Runners-up: 1939-40

Serie B: 6:* Champions: 1934–35, 1952–53, 1961–62, 1972–73, 1975–76, 1988–89:*Runners-up: 1980–81:*Promoted: 2006–07

Serie C / Serie C1: 1:*Champions: 1970–71:*Runners-up: 2005–06

Palla Dapples: 13:*Winners: 1903–1909

European titles

UEFA Cup:* Semifnalists: 1991-92

Mitropa Cup::* Runners-up: 1990:*Quarter-finalists: 1929

Coppa delle Alpi: 3:*Winners: 1962, 1964, 1991

Anglo-Italian Cup: 2:*Winners: 1996

Spagnolo Trophy: 5:*Winners: 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2003, 2006

References

External links

* [http://www.genoacfc.it Official website] it icon
* [http://genoa1893.altervista.org Club website links]