 | ||||
| Full name | Modena Football Club 2018S.r.l. | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nickname(s) | I Canarini (The Canaries) Il Gialloblù (The Yellow & Blue) I Geminiani (TheGeminians) | |||
| Founded | 5 April 1912; 112 years ago (1912-04-05) (original) 2018 (refounded) | |||
| Ground | Stadio Alberto Braglia,Modena | |||
| Capacity | 21,092 | |||
| Chairman | Carlo Rivetti | |||
| Manager | Paolo Mandelli | |||
| League | Serie B | |||
| 2023–24 | Serie B, 10th of 20 | |||
| Website | modenacalcio | |||
 Current season | ||||
Modena Football Club 2018, commonly referred to asModena, is anItalian football club based inModena,Emilia-Romagna. The club was founded in 1912, and refounded in 2018, having spent the majority of its existence playing in Serie B. They play in Serie B, having won2021–22 Serie C's Group B title.
Modena Football Club was formed in on 5 April 1912 as the result of a merging between existing Modenese clubs,Football Club Audax Modena andl' Associazione Studentesca del Calcio Modena. The new colours were to be yellow and blue. Modena's first friendly match was played on 3 November 1912 in the Piazza d'Armi againstVenezia.[1][2]
Modena first took part Italian football league in 1912–13, where they competed in the top division. These early years saw the purchase of Attilio Fresia, perhaps the greatest player in the club's history. During the period of the first world war, the team won the 1916 Coppa Federale.[3][4]
In 1920–21, Modena lost 4–0 in the championship semi-finals toAlessandria. In the years following, there was a period of disorganization in Italian football and Modena found itself at odds with theItalian Football Federation (FIGC) and moved to the CI Comitato Calcistico Italiano along withInternazionale, Venezia,Torino,Genoa and others. In 1929–30, their first inSerie A (then a single round consisting of 18 teams), the club finished in 12th place with 30 points.[5][6]
In 1931–32 came the club's first relegation toSerie B, where they remained until 1937. The 1936–37 season featured the inauguration ofModena's new stadium, dedicated to Cesare Marzari, a formergialloblu played killed in the war in Africa. During these years, the name was changed toModena Calcio following directives of the regime aimed at eliminating all foreign words in the sports lexicon. In the 1937–38 season, there was a return to Serie A led by the Hungarian player/coachJános Nehadoma. The following season, Modena escaped relegation by just one point. The 1939–40 campaign was the year when the numbers first appeared on the shirts of players, but at the end of the season, the yellow and blue were relegated to Serie B.[7][8]
In 1940–41, Modena returned to Serie A despiteWorld War II considerably reducing the workforce. The following year, they fell back to Serie B. At the end of the war, however, Modena finished third in Serie A, just behind Torino and Juventus. Following the resignation of both the president and coach in 1948–49, however, the squad was relegated back to Serie B.[9][10]
The club remained in Serie B throughout the 1950s. TenorLuciano Pavarotti played on the team, making several appearances as a winger.[11] In 1957–58, Zenit became the sponsor of the team, providing 100 million lira for promotion to Serie A, but the team finished only in seventh place. In 1959–60, the sponsor withdrew and the team was relegated to Serie C for the first time.[12][13]
The 1960s began with Modena in Serie C. In 1960–61, under coach Malagoli, the team was promoted to Serie B, and the next year found Modena back in the top flight due in large part to the efforts of striker Enrico Pagliari (26 goals in 2 seasons). The following year, thanks mainly to the BrazilianChinesinho, Modena achieved safety in Serie A, but in 1963–64, despite the return ofSergio Brighenti, Modena fell back to Serie B after a playoff defeat toSampdoria played inMilan. For the remainder of the 1960s, the club played in Serie B.[14][15]
In 1971–72, after changing three coaches, Modena again fell down to Serie C. Following consecutive seventh-place finishes in Serie C, Modena finally was promoted back to Serie B in 1974–75. In 1976–77, Modena achieved safety in Serie B only by beatingMonza on the last day of the season. 1977–78 saw a corporate crisis in which the club was relegated to Serie C. In the following season, it was relegated even further down toSerie C2, its lowest point since the club was founded.[16][17]
The beginning of the 1980s saw Modena back toSerie C1 and out of its economic crisis. Modena even won theAnglo-Italian Cup in 1981 and 1982. In 1985–86, they returned to Serie B behind the 21 goals scored by Sauro Frutti. In the following season, the club was dramatically saved from relegation on the final day, beating local rivalsBologna in the derby. But in 1987–88, Modena were again relegated to Serie C1.[18][19]
The 1989–90 season saw Modena promoted back to Serie B, led by their managerRenzo Ulivieri and goalkeeperMarco Ballotta who allowed a record low 9 goals conceded in 34 games. In 1991–92, following the departure of Ulivieri for Vicenza, Modena was again saved from relegation on the final day, beatingMessina 2–1. The rest of the decade saw the club in tumultuous financial and sporting position, as in 1993–94 the team was relegated to C1. A year later, Modena was surprisingly relegated to C2 after losing a play-out withMassese, however the club was rescued by the FIGC due to another team's penalty, ensuring Modena's status in C1. The following year, only a loss toLumezzane in the play-offs denied the club's promotion.[20][21]
In 2000–01, despite the death of the chairman Luigi Montagnani in the summer, the team begins a cycle of two great years: first promoted from Serie C1 to Serie B and the following year the club returned to Serie A for the first time in 38 years. Modena begin their stint back in the top flight with a humbling 0–3 defeat at the hand ofMilan, but followed it up with a historic 2–1 victory againstRoma at theStadio Olimpico. The rest of the season was difficult, however, Modena secured its Serie A status on the last day of the season. The following season saw the club finish third from bottom on 30 points to be sent back to Serie B where they remained until their relegation to the third division at the end of the2015-16 season.
On 5 November 2017, Modena was declared bankrupt after failing to pay player wages or stadium bills, which brought about a player strike and a stadium lockout.[22] The club had not attended the previous three Serie C matches, including the match againstSantarcangelo Calcio; with a total of four matches not attended, the club were officially excluded from "Lega Pro" on 6 November.[23]
Following that, Modena Mayor Gian Carlo Muzzarelli issued a public manifestation of interest to entrepreneurs interested in reviving football in Modena by forming a new club to take the vacancy left by the dissolution of theCanarini. The task fell to former club president Romano Amadei, who re-founded the club and registered it in time for the 2018–19 Serie D.[24] Former Modena sports director Doriano Tosi returned and former managerLuigi Apolloni, who gained promotion to Serie C with Parma in 2016, was appointed manager. Former Modena playerArmando Perna was the first signing of the newborn side.
Modena ended the season in first place, together withPergolettese; this forced a one-legged playoff to be hold, which ended in a 1–2 loss for theCanarini.[25] However, Modena were readmitted toSerie C in July 2019 to fill a league vacancy.
In 2022, Modena finally won back a spot in the Italian second division, following a successful2021–22 Serie C season under the guidance of experienced managerAttilio Tesser which saw them winning the Group B title with a two-point margin over rivalsReggiana.[26]
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined underFIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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Note: Flags indicate national team as defined underFIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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Note: Flags indicate national team as defined underFIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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| Position | Name |
|---|---|
| Head coach |  Paolo Mandelli |
| Assistant head coach | Michele Troiano |
| Technical assistant coach | Leonardo Fontanesi |
| Goalkeeping coach | Andrea Rossi |
| Match analyst | Andrea Pulga |
| Team manager | Paolo Ricchi |
| Athletic coach | Alessandro Brandoli Domenico Bronzi Francesco Benassi |
| Head of physiotherapist | Riccardo Levrini |
| Physiotherapist | Jacopo Bigliazzi Andrea Martinelli |
| Head of medical | Paolo Minafra |
| Team doctor | Claudio Guicciardi Massimiliano Pergreffi |
| Kit manager | Davide Marzani Claudio Pifferi |
| Series | Years | Last | Promotions | Relegations |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| A | 13 | 2003–04 | – |  6 (1932,1940,1942,1949,1964,2004) |
| B | 53 | 2024–25 |  5 (1938,1941,1943,1962,2002) | 6 (1960,1972,1978,1988,1994,2016) |
| C +C2 | 25 +1 | 2021–22 | 6 (1961,1975,1986,1990,2001,2022) 1 (1980 C2) | 1 (1979 C1) 1 (2018✟) |
| 92 out of 93 years of professional football in Italy since 1929 | ||||
| Founding member of theFootball League’sFirst Division in 1921 | ||||
| D | 1 | 2018–19 | 1 (2019) | never |
Ferenc Kónya (1924–25)János Nehadoma (1936–38)
Umberto Caligaris (1938–39)Paolo Todeschini (1955–56)Annibale Frossi (1962–64)Stefano Angeleri (1973)Umberto Pinardi (1976–78)Bruno Giorgi (1981–82)Luigi Mascalaito (1984–85)Renzo Ulivieri (1989–91)Adriano Fedele (1997–98)Alessandro Scanziani (1997–98)Paolo Stringara (1998–99)Gianni De Biasi (1999–03)Alberto Malesani (2003–04)Gianfranco Bellotto (2003–04)Stefano Pioli (2004–06)Daniele Zoratto (2006–07)Bortolo Mutti (2007–08)Daniele Zoratto (2008–09)Luigi Apolloni (2009–10)Cristiano Bergodi (2010–11)Agatino Cuttone (2011–12)Cristiano Bergodi (2012)Dario Marcolin (2012–13)Walter Novellino (2013–15)Simone Pavan (2015)
Hernán Crespo (2015–16)Cristiano Bergodi (2016)Simone Pavan (2016)Ezio Capuano (2016–2017)
