 | |||
| Full name | S.S.D. Città di Acireale 1946S.r.l. | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Nickname(s) | I granata di Sicilia (The Maroons of Sicily),Jacitani (Jacitans),Acesi | ||
| Founded | 11 June 1946; 79 years ago (1946-06-11) asAssociazione Sportiva Acireale 2006 (refounded) 2014 (refounded) | ||
| Ground | Stadio Aci e Galatea | ||
| Capacity | 14,500 | ||
| Chairman and manager | Giovanni Di Mauro | ||
| Manager | Giuseppe Rizza | ||
| Coach | Mauro Chianese | ||
| League | Serie D Group I | ||
| 2023–24 | Serie D Group I, 5th of 18 | ||
| Website | acirealecalcio | ||
S.S.D. Città di Acireale 1946 S.r.l., commonly known asAcireale (pronounced[a.t͡ʃi.reˈa.le]), is anItalianfootballclub based inAcireale,Sicily, who compete inSerie D, the fourth tier of theItalian football league system. The club was established in 1946 as a successor toSocietà Sportiva Acireale, which folded in 1993. Its golden era came in the 1990s, when it reachedSerie B and competed for two consecutive seasons:1993–94 and1994–95.[1]
The club's roots can be traced back to a previous club in the city, from whose ashes the current incarnation rose from; the older club in the city played between 1928 and 1935.
The club was founded on June 11, 1946, asA.C. Acireale, making its debut inSerie C, with its first squad coached by former Juventus player Luigi Bertolini. That early lineup included Core, Maccarrone, Cantarella, Dereani, Barattucci, Conti, Signorelli, Raciti, Grasso, Creziato, and Cusumano. Thegranata enjoyed several solid seasons, eventually earning promotion in the 1957–58 campaign, and later achieving promotion to Serie C in the 1968–69 season.
In the latter half of the 1960s and up until 1972, the club competed under the name “Acquapozzillo.” Less than a decade after their ascent, the team dropped back to Serie D in the 1975–76 season and went on to participate in several editions of the Interregional Championship.
The 1980s and 1990s would prove to be some of the most exciting years in Acireale’s history.
The team reached its culmination in 1992/1993 when, after a long period played inSerie C1,C2 andD, the team, coached byGiuseppe Papadopulo, surprisingly gained its first promotion toSerie B. During its first Serie B season in1993–94, Acireale avoided relegation after having won a play-off againstPisa on penalties.[2] But, in its next season, Acireale was not able to repeat their feat, and were relegated to Serie C1. Acireale successively played consecutively four season in Serie C2, a period which ended in 2003 after being promoted on playoffs. However, after a disappointing Serie C1 season in2005–06, ended with a relegation to Serie C2, Acireale dropped because of financial troubles.
A new property registered the club asAcireale Calcio to thePromozione regional league, the 7th level in theItalian football league system. In its first Promozione season, the club readily won its league round being thus promoted toEccellenza. The club was renamed to the current denomination in August 2007, and will take part to theSicilian Group B of Eccellenza in 2007–2008, obtaining the promotion in the season 2009–10 toSerie D.
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