Genoa CFC

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Genoa

Full name	Genoa Cricket and Football Club Società per azioni
Nickname(s)	Il Grifone (The Griffin) I Rossoblù (The Red and Blues) Il Vecchio Balordo[1] (The Old Fool)
Founded	7 September 1893; 130 years ago (7 September 1893)[2]
Ground	Stadio Luigi Ferraris
Capacity	33,205[3]
Owner	777 Partners[4]
President	Alberto Zangrillo[5]
Manager	Alberto Gilardino
League	Serie A
2022–23	Serie B, 2nd of 20 (promoted)
Website	Club website
Home colours Away colours Third colours
Current season

Genoa Cricket and Football Club, commonly referred to as Genoa (Italian pronunciation: [ˈdʒeːnoa]), is a professional football club based in Genoa, Liguria, Italy. The team competes in the Serie A, the top division of the Italian football league system.

Established in 1893, Genoa is Italy's oldest extant football team.

, was first contested in 1946.

In 2011, Genoa was included in the "International Bureau of Cultural Capitals" (a sort of historical sporting heritage of humanity, in line with that of UNESCO) at the request of President Xavier Tudela. The club was admitted to the "Club of Pioneers" , an association comprising the world's oldest football clubs, in 2013; other members include Sheffield F.C. and Recreativo de Huelva.

History

The club was founded on 7 September 1893^[2] as Genoa Cricket & Athletic Club. In its earliest years, it principally competed in athletics and cricket. Association football was only a secondary concern.^[9] 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.^[2] At first Italians were not permitted to join as it was a British sporting club abroad.^[2] Genoa's activities took place in the north-west of the city in the Campasso area, at the Piazza d'Armi. The men who initially handled the management of the club were;^[2]

On 10 April 1897^[10] the footballing section of the club, already in existence since 1893, became predominant thanks to James Richardson Spensley.^[9] It was among the oldest in Italian football at the time, only four other clubs (all in Turin.^[6]) had been founded. Italians were allowed to join and found a new ground in the form of Ponte Carrega. The first friendly match took place at home, against a mixed team of

Championship dominance

Football in Italy stepped up a level with the creation of the

Genoa returned for the

The club strip was changed again in 1901, Genoa adopted its famous red-navy halves and therefore became known as the rossoblù; these are the colours used even to this day as with many other Italian clubs, such as Cagliari, Bologna, Crotone, Cosenza and an endless list of minor clubs. After a season of finishing runners-up to Milan Cricket and Football Club, things were back on track in 1902 with their fourth title. Juventus emerged as serious contenders to Genoa's throne from 1903 onwards, when for two seasons in a row Genoa beat the Old Lady in the national final.^[11]

Notably Genoa became the first Italian football team to play an international match, when they visited France on 27 April 1903 to play

The fall in part during this period can be traced back to

]

Garbutt revival

With the introduction of the Italy national football team, Genoa played an important part, with the likes of Renzo De Vecchi; who was azzurri captain for some time, Edoardo Mariani and Enrico Sardi earning call-ups.^[14] Englishman William Garbutt was brought in as head coach to help revive the club; Garbutt was the first professional manager in Italy and was renowned for being highly charismatic, and also for constantly smoking his tobacco pipe.^[2] He was dubbed "Mister" by the players; since then Italians have referred to coaches in general by the term.^[2]

Finally by 1914–15, Genoa had restored themselves as the top club from Northern Italy, winning the final round of the Northern section.^[11] However, this particular year, the national final could not be played because of the outbreak of World War I, the finals of the Southern Italian section could not be decided and thus Genoa did not have a team to play. Genoa would be awarded the title in 1919 after the end of the war, it would be their first for eleven seasons.^[15] The war took a harsh toll on Genoa as players Luigi Ferraris, Adolfo Gnecco, Carlo Marassi, Alberto Sussone and Claudio Casanova all died while on military duty in Italy; while footballing founder James Richardson Spensley was killed in Germany.^[15]

In the early part of the next decade, Genoa remained strong contenders in the Northern section.

The squad during these two championship victories included;

Genova 1893 period

Due to the strongly British connotations attached to the name, Genoa were forced to change it by the

The club's league form became highly erratic during the early 1930s, with varying league positions; it was during the

During the

World War II affected dramatically the entire Italian football movement, but Genova did not recover as well as other clubs. In 1945, the club chose to revert their name to Genoa Cricket and Foot-Ball Club, the one which they had used in the very early days of the Italian championship.

Post-war period

After the Second World War the ability of Genoa to finish in the upper ranks of

Despite suffering a relegation in

The celebrations for the club did not last long however, as the year following their last cup success they were relegated down to Serie B again. This time their stay in the second tier of the Italian football league system would be far longer than previous relegations, the club was unstable as it changed manager each season.^[22] Genoa even experienced their first relegation to Serie C in 1970, financially the club fell into difficulties and had several ownership changes.^{[28][unreliable source?]}

Mixed times

Throughout the 1970s, Genoa would mostly play in the second tier. Under the management of Arturo Silvestri the club made its way back to Serie A for the 1973–74 season, but they were relegated straight back down. For the return of Il Grifone to Serie A a couple of seasons later, the squad featured the likes of Roberto Rosato, Bruno Conti and a young Roberto Pruzzo. This time they stuck it out in the top division for two seasons before succumbing to relegation in 1977–78; the relegation was particularly cruel as the side above them Fiorentina survived on goal-difference of just a single goal, the two teams had played each other on the final day of the season ending in a 0–0 draw.^[29]

The relegation was bad for the club in more ways than one, they lost some of their top players who could have offered them a swift return; such as Roberto Pruzzo's move to

Still with Simoni at the helm as manager, Genoa were able to survive in Serie A for their returning season, finishing just one point ahead of the relegated AC Milan. In a dramatic last day of the season, Genoa were trailing 2–1 to

A couple of seasons later in

European experience

The club was purchased by

Subsequently, the club gained entry to the

It has to be said^[why?] that chairman Spinelli had a very different management approach from that of most businessmen turned football club owners. While his colleagues saw football as a marketing and public relation investment and were quite ready to siphon funds out of their main business to keep their teams afloat and replenish their player roster Spinelli saw Genoa as another business whose main aim was that of generating revenue for its owner (namely, himself) and so was more than happy to sell esteemed players for hefty revenues of which just a minimal fraction was then re-invested in the team, often for the acquisition of lesser-valued replacements or virtual unknowns. Thus he proved all-too-eager to sell Uruguayan striker Carlos Aguilera and to replace him with the markedly inferior Kazuyoshi Miura from Japanese side Yomiuri Verdy (a deal that especially pleased him since the Japanese sponsors were actually paying him to let Miura play in Serie A).^{[citation needed]}
The same season as their UEFA Cup run, they finished just one place above the relegation zone; in the seasons following Genoa remained in the lower half of the table.^[11]

During the

Recent times

Preziosi took over in 2003, when Genoa should have been relegated to C1 series after a dismal season, but was instead "saved" along with Catania and Salernitana by the football federation's controversial decision to extend

For their season in Serie C1 for

The 2007–08 season, the first Serie A championship played by Genoa in 12 years, saw it finishing in a respectable tenth place, right after the "big ones"^{[clarification needed]} of Italian football.^{[citation needed]}

A careful summer market session saw chairman, Preziosi strengthening the core of the team while parting from some players on favourable economical terms (for example selling striker

]

In the 2010–11 season, Genoa, whose ranks had been revolutionised once again save for some long-serving players, struggled along in the mid-positions of the league; a slew of questionable results early in the season led chairman Preziosi to fire trainer Gian Piero Gasperini, who had led the team since the 2007–08 season, and to select Davide Ballardini as his successor.^{[citation needed]} The newcomers, despite not securing memorable successes, kept the team steadily afloat in the "left part" of the ranking, managing to win two consecutive derby matches against rivals Sampdoria in December and May.^{[citation needed]}

The 2011–12 and 2012–13 seasons saw Genoa place in 17th both times, one spot away from relegation to Serie B.^{[citation needed]}

In the

This damaged Genoa's momentum, and Genoa coasted to an 11th-place finish in the

]

In the 2021–22 season, Genoa finished 19th in the league table to be relegated after fifteen years in top division.^{[citation needed]} In the 2022–23 season, the club finished second in Serie B, to promote back to Serie A after one season.^{[citation needed]} In the 2023-24 season, Genoa Football Club maintains its position in Serie A and is not facing relegation. The club continues to compete in Italy's top football league,^[45] demonstrating resilience and determination to stay at the highest level of Italian football.

Players

Current squad

As of 6 February 2024^[46]

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  ESP Josep Martínez 2 MF  NOR Morten Thorsby (on loan from Union Berlin) 3 DF  ESP Aarón Martín 4 DF  BEL Koni De Winter (on loan from Juventus) 5 MF  NOR Emil Bohinen (on loan from Salernitana) 8 MF  NED Kevin Strootman 9 FW  POR Vitinha (on loan from Marseille) 10 FW  BRA Junior Messias 11 FW  ISL Albert Guðmundsson 13 DF  ITA vice-captain ) 14 DF  ITA Alessandro Vogliacco 16 GK  ITA Nicola Leali 17 MF  UKR Ruslan Malinovskyi

No. Pos. Nation Player 18 FW  GHA Caleb Ekuban 19 FW  ITA Mateo Retegui 20 DF  ITA Stefano Sabelli 22 DF  MEX Johan Vásquez 23 DF  ITA Giorgio Cittadini (on loan from Atalanta) 30 FW  NGA David Ankeye 32 MF  DEN Morten Frendrup 33 DF  URU Alan Matturro 39 GK  ITA Daniele Sommariva 47 MF  CRO Milan Badelj (captain) 55 DF  SUR Ridgeciano Haps (on loan from Venezia) 90 DF  ENG Djed Spence (on loan from Tottenham Hotspur) 99 GK  AUT Franz Stolz

Out on loan

As of 6 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 — DF   ALB Brayan Boci (at Legnago until 30 June 2024) — DF  GER Lennart Czyborra (at PEC Zwolle until 30 June 2024) — DF  ITA Paolo Gozzi (at Red Star until 30 June 2024) — DF  SUI Silvan Hefti (at Montpellier until 30 June 2024) — DF  ITA Alessandro Marcandalli (at Reggiana until 30 June 2024) — DF  CRO Marko Pajač (at Reggiana until 30 June 2024) — DF  ITA Taranto until 30 June 2024) — MF  ITA Federico Accornero (at Pescara until 30 June 2024) — MF  ITA Mattia Aramu (at Bari until 30 June 2024) — MF  ITA Francesco Cassata (at Spezia until 30 June 2024) — MF  ITA Luca Chierico (at Gubbio until 30 June 2024) — MF  POL Filip Jagiełło (at Spezia until 30 June 2024)

No. Pos. Nation Player — MF  ITA Patrizio Masini (at Ascoli until 30 June 2024) — MF  ITA Filippo Melegoni (at Reggiana until 30 June 2024) — MF  ITA Manolo Portanova (at Reggiana until 30 June 2024) — FW  POL Aleksander Buksa (at WSG Tirol until 30 June 2024) — FW  ITA Cremonese until 30 June 2024) — FW  ITA Andrea Favilli (at Ternana until 30 June 2024) — FW  ITA Seydou Fini (at Standard Liège until 30 June 2024) — FW  ITA Daniel Fossati (at Sestri Levante until 30 June 2024) — FW  ITA Fermana until 30 June 2024) — FW  ROU George Pușcaș (at Bari until 30 June 2024) — FW  TUR Güven Yalçın (at Fatih Karagümrük until 30 June 2024) — FW  ITA Kelvin Yeboah (at Standard Liège until 30 June 2024)

Primavera

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

No. Pos. Nation Player 38 GK  ITA Simone Calvani 41 MF  GRE Christos Papadopoulos 42 FW  BUL Yoan Bornosuzov 43 MF  ITA Riccardo Arboscello

No. Pos. Nation Player 44 FW  ITA Tommaso Ghirardello (on loan from Padova) 48 FW  ITA Marco Romano 53 DF  ITA Tommaso Pittino

Retired numbers

• 6 –
  sweeper, 1988–95^{[nb 1][citation needed}
  ]
• 7 – Marco Rossi, MF, 2003–04, 2005–13^[47]
• 12 – The fans of Gradinata Nord, "the twelfth man"^[48][49]

Notable players

Chairmen history

Below is the chairmen (Italian: presidenti, lit. 'presidents' or Italian: presidenti del consiglio di amministrazione, lit. 'chairmen of the board of directors') history of Genoa, from when the club was first founded playing cricket and athletics, until the present day.^[28]

Coaching staff

Position	Name
Manager	Alberto Gilardino
Assistant manager	Gaetano Caridi
Technical collaborator	Tonda Eckert Roberto Murgita
Goalkeeper coach	Alessio Scarpi Stefano Raggio Garibaldi
Athletic coach	Alessandro Pilatit Gaspare Picone
Head of Medical	Alessandro Corsini
Club doctor	Marco Stellatelli
Physiotherapist	Federico Campofiorito Pietro Cistaro
Medical director physiotherapy	Matteo Perasso
Team Manager	Christian Vecchia Anthony Loviso

Managerial history

Genoa have had many managers and trainers, some seasons they have had co-managers running the team, here is a chronological list of them from 1896 when they became a football club, onwards.^[22]

Colours, badge and nicknames

As Genoa was a British-run club, the first ever colours were those of the

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 Saint George's Cross.^[65] As well as being present on both the flag and coat of arms of the city of Genoa, the cross is evocative of the club's English founders. St. George was also the patron saint of the former Republic of Genoa. 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.^{[citation needed]}

Supporters and rivalries

Genoa CFC has the bulk of its fans in Liguria, however they are also popular in Piedmont and the Aosta Valley.^[66] The seafaring traditions of the Genoese and the presence of Genoese communities in distant countries did much to spread the appeal of Genoa some further than just Italy, and immigrants founded fan clubs in Buenos Aires, Amsterdam, Tokyo, Toronto, New York, San Francisco, Barcelona, Iceland and other places.^{[citation needed]}

Piazza de Ferrari

, celebrating their return to Serie A.

The most significant and traditional rivalry for Genoa, is the inner-city one with the club with whom they share a ground;

Conversely, the fans of Genoa have long standing friendships with

On the other hand, the amicable relationship with the red-and-yellow supporters of

) has perhaps broken-down for good after the Torino-Genoa match of season 2008–09.

Starved for points and risking a humiliating relegation (one of many in a troubled recent history) the Turinese fans expected a friendly treatment from Genoa, which, in the heat of a pitched battle with Fiorentina for the fourth place (which could have won a Champions League spot for the team) did not comply, soundly beating Torino and to many effects sealing its fate. When during early August 2009 Genoa scheduled a friendly match with Nice in southern Piedmont, many Turinese hooligans travelled to the match location with the precise intention of starting trouble and disorder to "get even" with Genoa and its fans.^{[citation needed]}

Ownership and structure

777 Partners

On 23 September 2021, it was announced that Genoa had been acquired by

]

Cricket

Early on, the club transformed from a multi-sport club to one exclusively focused on football. In 2007, a group of club supporters formed a section dedicated to cricket. It currently competes under the name Genoa Cricket Club 1893 in Serie A of the Italian cricket league.[73]

In Europe

UEFA Cup/Europa League

^[74]

Season	Round	Opponent	Home	Away	Aggregate
1991–92	First round	Oviedo	3–1	0–1	3–2
	Second round	Dinamo București	3–1	2–2	5–3
	Third round	Steaua București	1–0	1–0	2–0
	Quarter-finals	Liverpool	2–0	2–1	4–1
	Semi-finals	Ajax	2–3	1–1	3–4
2009–10
	Play-off round	Odense	3–1	1–1	4–2
	Group B	Valencia	1–2	2–3	3rd
		Lille	3–2	0–3
		Slavia Prague	2–0	0–0

Honours

National titles

League

:

• Winners (9): 1898,^{[citation needed]} 1899,^{[citation needed]} 1900,^{[citation needed]} 1902,^{[citation needed]} 1903,^{[citation needed]} 1904,^{[citation needed]} 1914–15,^{[citation needed]} 1922–23,^{[citation needed]} 1923–24^{[citation needed]}

Serie B:

• Winners (6): 1934–35,^{[citation needed]} 1952–53,^{[citation needed]} 1961–62,^{[citation needed]} 1972–73,^{[citation needed]} 1975–76,^{[citation needed]} 1988–89^{[citation needed]}

(North):

• Winners (1): 1970–71^{[citation needed]}

Cups

Coppa Italia: 1

• Winners: 1936–37^{[citation needed]}
• Runners-up: 1939–40^{[citation needed]}

Other Titles

: 2

• Winners: 1962,^{[citation needed]} 1964^{[citation needed]}

Anglo-Italian Cup: 1

• Winners: 1996^{[citation needed]}

Youth titles

Campionato Nazionale Primavera: 1

• Winners: 2009–10^{[citation needed]}

Coppa Italia Primavera: 1

• Winners: 2008–09^{[citation needed]}

: 2

• Winners: 2009,^{[citation needed]} 2010^{[citation needed]}

Torneo di Viareggio: 2

• Winners: 1965,^{[citation needed]} 2007^{[citation needed]}

Campionato Nazionale Under-18: 1

• Winners: 2020–21^{[citation needed]}

Campionato Nazionale Under-17:

• Runners-up: 2020–21^{[citation needed]}

Campionato Nazionale giovanile: 2

• Winners: 1939,^{[citation needed]} 1942^{[citation needed]}

Presence in Italian professional leagues

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league	years	Debut	Last Season
A	56	1929–30 Serie A	2023–24 Serie A
B	34	1934–35 Serie B	2022–23 Serie B
C	2	1970–71 Serie C	2005–06 Serie C1
92 years of professional football in Italy
Founding member of the Football League’s First Division in 1921

The total from 1897–98 includes 105 seasons at a national level from the inception of the Italian football league, including 27 seasons of Prima Categoria and Prima Divisione (from 1898 to 1922 the name of the Italian Football Championship was Prima Categoria). Seasons included Prima Categoria 1906–1907 too, where the Grifoni didn't pass the regional elimination round, and Prima Categoria 1907–1908, where Genoa didn't enter the tournament.

Kit suppliers and shirt sponsors

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Period	Kit manufacturer	Shirt sponsor
1978–1980	Puma[citation needed]	n.a.
1980–1981	Mauri Sport[citation needed]
1981–1982		Seiko[citation needed]
1982–1983	Adidas[citation needed]
1983–1984		Elah[citation needed]
1984–1985		Carrera[citation needed]
1985–1988		Levante Assicurazioni[citation needed]
1988–1989	Erreà[citation needed]
1989–1992		Mita[citation needed ]
1992–1994		Saiwa[citation needed]
1994–1995		Kenwood[citation needed]
1995–1996		Giocheria[citation needed]
1996–1997		Santal[citation needed]
1997–1998		Costa Crociere[citation needed]
1998–2000	Kappa[citation needed ]	Festival Crociere[citation needed]
2000–2001		Nube che Corre[citation needed]
2001–2003	Erreà[citation needed ]	n.a.
2003–2005		Costa Crociere[citation needed]
2005–2007		n.a.
2007–2008		Eurobet[citation needed ]
2008–2009	Asics[citation needed]
2009–2010		Gaudi[citation needed]
2010–2012		iZi Play[citation needed]
2012–2014	Lotto[citation needed]
2014–2015		n.a.	McVitie's[citation needed]
2015–2016			AT.P.CO/LeasePlan[citation needed]
2016–2017		Prénatal[citation needed]	Zenitiva, LeasePlan[citation needed]
2017–2018		Eviva[citation needed]
2018–2019		Giocheria[citation needed]
2019–2022	Kappa[citation needed ]	n.a.
2022–2023	Castore[citation needed ]	MSC Crociere[citation needed ]
2023–2027	Kappa[citation needed ]	MSC Crociere[citation needed ]

See also

• broken anchor
  ]
• Club of Pioneers
• Genoa CFC Women

Bibliography

• La leggenda genoana. Genova: De Ferrari. 2006–2007.
• Sotto il segno del Grifone. Genova: Fratelli Frilli Editori. 2005.
• Santina Barrovecchio (2002). Genoa – La nostra favola. Milano: MD Edizioni.
  ISBN 88-89370-03-3
  .
• Gianni Brera (2005). Caro Vecchio Balordo. Genova: De Ferrari.
• Gianni Brera & Franco Tomati (1992). Genoa, amore mio. Milano: Ponte alle Grazie.
• Tonino Cagnucci (2013). Il Grifone fragile. Lìmina: Brezzo di Bedero.
• Manlio Fantini (1977). FC Genoa: ieri, oggi, domani. Firenze: Edi-Grafica.
• Alberto Isola (2003). Più mi tradisci Più ti amo. Genova: Fratelli Frilli Editori.
• Carlo Isola e Alberto Isola (2007). Dizionario del Genoano – amoroso e furioso. Genova: De Ferrari.
• Giancarlo Rizzoglio. La grande storia del Genoa. Genova: Nuova Editrice Genovese.
• Renzo Parodi e Giulio Vignolo (1991). Genoa. Genova: Il Secolo XIX.
• Dizionario illustrato dei giocatori genoani. Genova: De Ferrari. 2008.
  ISBN 978-88-6405-011-9
  .
• Aldo Padovano (2005). Accadde domani... un anno con il Genoa. Genova: De Ferrari.
  ISBN 88-7172-689-8
  .
• Gianluca Maiorca (2011). Almanacco storico del Genoa. Trebaseleghe: Fratelli Frilli Editori.
  ISBN 978-88-7563-693-7
  .

Footnotes

References

External links

• Official website (in Italian)
• Genoa CFC at Serie A (in English and Italian)
• Genoa CFC at UEFA.com