 | |||
| Full name | Associazione Sportiva Reggina 1914[1] | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Nickname | Gli Amaranto (The Amaranth) | ||
| Founded | 1914; 111 years ago (1914), as US Reggio Calabria | ||
| Ground | Stadio Oreste Granillo | ||
| Capacity | 27,763 | ||
| Owner(s) | Antonino Ballarino (51%) Virgilio Salvatore Minniti (40%) Fabio Vitale (9%) | ||
| Chairman | Virgilio Salvatore Minniti | ||
| Manager | Bruno Trocini | ||
| League | Serie D Group I | ||
| 2023–24 | Serie D Group I, 4th of 20 | ||
| Website | www | ||
 Current season | |||
Associazione Sportiva Reggina 1914, commonly referred to asReggina, is anItalian football club based inReggio Calabria. They play their home matches at the 27,763-seaterStadio Oreste Granillo and are currently playing in theSerie D.
They are nicknamed theAmaranto (amaranth) after their official dark red colour. The club was formerly known asReggina Calcio before declaring bankruptcy in 2015, as well asA.S.D. Reggio Calabria in the 2015–16 season,Urbs Reggina 1914 from 2016 to 2019,Reggina 1914 from 2019 to 2023, andLFA Reggio Calabria in the 2023–24 season.
In its previous guise, the club played in theSerie A for nine seasons between 1999 and 2009, including a seven-year consecutive run from 2002. During these years, the club narrowly avoided relegation in most seasons and never finished in the top half of the table. After failing to return in the first few years, the club fell into financial and sporting difficulties, culminating in relegation to the lower tiers of Italian football before returning to Serie B in 2020.
The club was founded on 11 January 1914 asUnione Sportiva Reggio Calabria. It changed name many times (Società Calcistica Reggio,Reggio Foot Ball Club,Associazione Sportiva Reggina,Società Sportiva La Dominante), finally assuming the denominationReggina Calcio in 1986.
After the 2015 bankruptcy, the club had usedA.S.D. Reggio Calabria as the new name of the new legal person, and then the club changed to the denominationUrbs Reggina 1914S.r.l. in 2016, and, between 2019 and 2023,Reggina 1914 S.r.l..
Following the most recent club exclusion in 2023, the club was refounded asLFA Reggio Calabria.[2]
 | This articleappears to beslanted towards recent events. Please try to keep recent events in historical perspective andadd more content related to non-recent events.(May 2019) |
The club was founded on 11 January 1914.
In 1986, Pasquale "Lillo" Foti becamemanaging director of the newly re-formed and renamed Reggina Calcio. In 1991, he became president.
From the late 1990s to the 2000s, Reggina has been alternating between the top two levels of the Italian league system. They reached the top division of Italian football,Serie A, for the first time in 1999.[3]Two years later, they lost a relegation playout toVerona, being consequently relegated to2001–02 Serie B.[4] Reggina finished third in Serie B in 2002, earning a return to Serie A. In2003, Reggina survived a relegation playout againstAtalanta. They would spend the next 7 years maintaining their Serie A status until their eventual relegation in the 2008–09 season.
In August 2006, they were indicted as part of the second wave ofCalciopoli investigations. Originally punished with a 15-point deduction for the2006–07 Serie A,[5] then reduced to 11 points following appeal.[6] Despite the heavy deduction of points, Reggina managed to save themselves from relegation, defeating newly crownedUEFA Champions League winnersMilan on the final matchday and ending the season with 40 points (including the deduction), just one single point above the third relegation spot, occupied byChievo. They poorly started theSerie A 2007-08, causing head coachMassimo Ficcadenti to be sacked and replaced byRenzo Ulivieri.[7] A third managerial change, with Ulivieri fired and replacing with team scoutNevio Orlandi, proved to be successful as Reggina improved their results and performances, escaping relegation with key wins at Catania, and home to Empoli. Orlandi was subsequently confirmed at the helm of theamaranto for theSerie A 2008–09.
Since their relegation in the 2008–09 season, Reggina has become slightly inconsistent[according to whom?] in their attempts to return to Italy's top flight. The 2009–10 season would see three coaches at the helm:Walter Novellino,Ivo Iaconi,Roberto Breda. Despite possessing Bonazzoli, Carmona, Tedesco, Brienza, and homegrown star Missiroli, they were unable to improve on 13th.[8] Disappointing for a team just relegated from the top division. The top goalscorer for the campaign wasFranco Brienza with 12 goals.
The 2010–11 season was regarded as one of the Amaranto's best in Serie B. Shockingly they would conduct their usual coaching merry-go-round, asGianluca Atzori would lead them to a 6th-place finish and playoffs to Serie A.[9] they would stumble at the last hurdle losing to Novara in a two-legged playoff. Top players include Acerbi, Missiroli, Tedesco, Brienza, Bonazzoli (C) andMilan Loanee Adiyiah. Top goal scorer: Bonazzoli with 19 goals[9]
The 2011–12 season was another disappointing season for the Amaranto, with a 12th-placed finish. Two coaches took charge of Reggina this season:Roberto Breda initially, before being sacked and replaced byAngelo Gregucci, only to be replaced by Breda again towards the end of the season. Unlike the previous season, they did not make the play-offs.[10]
The 2012–13 season would be marred by yet another controversy similar to that of 2006. Reggina were penalized for the latest match-fixing scandal that hit Italian shores and were given a −4 penalty as a result.[11] After appeal it was reduced to −2 instead. They were in contention for playoff places right up to the last few rounds, but poor form saw them finish 11th.
The 2013–14 season ended in disaster, as Reggina won just six out of 42 games and finished second bottom, resulting in relegation toLega Pro. The season also marked Foti's retirement from his role as president, with Giuseppe Ranieri taking over.
For the club's2014–15 Lega Pro campaign, Reggina began the season with former captainFrancesco Cozza as head coach. After a difficult start to the season and two coaching changes,youth team coach and former playerGiacomo Tedesco was hired as head coach for the final three weeks of the season. Despite winning two of the final three matches, Reggina finished last in the league and would have to rely on an appeal of their point penalty to lift them out of the relegation zone. The appeal was successful, and 2 points were returned, moving them out of last place. Tedesco guided the team to survival in the playoff over rivals Messina.
Despite avoiding relegation in the 2014–15 season, Reggina failed to meet the deadline to register for Lega Pro and the club declared bankruptcy.[12] A new legal person of the club, "A.S.D. Reggio Calabria", was formed to play in Serie D for the 2015–16 season,[13] Reggio Calabria ended the season in 4th place, losing in the first round of playoffs againstCavese. During the season, the club also re-incorporated fromassociazione sportiva dilettantistica tosocietà sportiva dilettantistica a responsabilità limitatalegal form.
Reggio Calabria was owned by Mimmo Praticò,[14] former regional president ofCONI.[15]
In June 2016, it was reported that the club was renamed from "S.S.D. Reggio Calabria a r.l." to "S.S.D. Urbs Sportiva Reggina 1914 a r.l.".[16] The club was then renamed as Urbs Reggina 1914S.r.l.
Despite finishing as the losing side in the first round of the promotion playoffs of2015–16 Serie D, the club filed for Lega Pro (later renamed Serie C) repechage to fill one of the vacancies for the 2016–17 season[17] and was successfully admitted.[18] Reggina ended the season in 13th place.
In January 2019, facing a crisis with a potential player strike due to non-payment of salaries,[citation needed] the club was sold to Italian entrepreneur Luca Gallo.[19]
On 1 July 2019, the club announced a change in name to "Reggina 1914 S.r.l.".[20]
Reggina won its Serie C group in2020, earning a promotion back to theSerie B for the upcoming season. The team, upon its Serie B return, included experienced players from higher levels, includingJérémy Ménez andGermán Denis.
In the2022-23 season under the guidance of managerFilippo Inzaghi, Reggina finished in a playoff position, despite suffering a five-point deduction for failing to pay taxes and player salaries on time. The deduction was initially seven points, but was reduced to five following an appeal.
On 1 July 2023, Reggina was excluded from Serie B for the2023-24 season after Covisoc rejected their application due to financial irregularities.[21] On appeal, the Federal Council confirmed Reggina's exclusion. At the next level of appeal, theCollegio di Garanzia of theItalian Olympic Committee withheld the decision. On 3 August, the Administrative Court of Rome again rejected Reggina's request for readmission. On 30 August, Reggina was again rejected at the final level of appeals, theCouncil of State. Brescia was readmitted to the league after Reggina's confirmed exclusion.
On 1 September 2023, acting mayor of the Metropolitan City of Reggio Calabria, Paolo Brunetti, received approval from theItalian Football Federation to enroll a club inSerie D for the 2023–24 season. The club was successively handed over to a Catania-based consortium led by Antonino Ballarino, namedLa Fenice Amaranto (The amaranth phoenix), which submitted a league application and will take part to the season under the new denomination ofLFA Reggio Calabria, as the new club was forbidden to use the Reggina 1914 name or logo for the upcoming season.[why?]
On 29 May 2024, Ballarino and LFA Reggio Calabria acquired the rights to the name and history of Reggina; the club was formally renamed toAS Reggina 1914 on 18 July 2024.[1]
Reggina are fierce rivals with neighboursMessina, who are just a twenty-minute ferry ride apart from each other. Twice every season, they clash in theDerby dello Stretto (Strait of Messina Derby). In the 2014–15 season, Reggina defeated Messina in both legs of the playout to send Messina down to Serie D. There is also a major Calabrian derby between Reggina andCrotone, but both teams have not played in the same league in for two years. Reggina also has a derby with fellow Calabrian teamCatanzaro, which is currently in Serie B.
Reggina used a logo with a letter R and afootball on it. Some variant of the logo, had 1986, the year of foundation of Reggina Calcio on it.[22] Due to 2015 bankruptcy, the new owner introduced a new logo as the old design was tied to the old legal person of the club. Due to 2016 renaming, some modification was introduced, which a letter R was re-introduced in the logo.[23] However, the design of the ball on the 2016 logo was different from the historical logo, which the 2016 logo used a leather ball.[23] In 2019, the club reverted to use the historical design of the logo.[24]
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 |
|---|---|
| Manager |  Bruno Trocini |
| Assistant Manager |  Maximillano Ginobili |
| Athletic Trainer | Giuseppe Saccà |
| Athletic Trainer | Paolo Albino |
| Athletic Trainer | Andrea Siclari |
| Goalkeeping Coach | Stefano Pergolizzi |
| Match Analyst & Technical Assistant | Danilo Polito |
| Team Manager | Francesco Alessandro |
| Team Doctor | Pasquale Favasuli |
| Owner | Nino Ballarino |
| President | Virgilio Minniti |
| Vice President | Fabio Vitale |
| Technical Director | Giuseppe Bonanno |
| General Manager | Giuseppe Praticò |
| General Secretary | Sergio Miceli |
| Labor Consultant | Francesca Serra |
| General Affairs | Amalia Nucaro |
| Marketing Manager | Consuelo Apa |
| Communications Manager | Giuseppe Praticò |
| Multimedia Producer | Luca Rovito |
| Photographer | Antonino Lagana |
| Graphic Designer | Pietro Nania |
| Ticket Office Manager | Maurizio Albanese |
| Referee Hospitality | Vincenzo Maglio |
| Supporter Liasion Officer | Pietro Casile |
Reggina has had many managers and trainers throughout its history; in some seasons, more than one manager was in charge. Here is the chronological list of them from 1928.
