Cagliari Calcio

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Cagliari
Club crest
Full nameCagliari Calcio S.p.A.
Nickname(s)Gli Isolani (The Islanders)
Casteddu (Cagliari in Sardinian language)
Rossoblù (Red and Blue)
I Sardi (The Sardinians)
Founded30 May 1920; 101 years ago (1920-05-30)
1935 (re-founded)
GroundUnipol Domus
Capacity16,416
Owner
PresidentTommaso Giulini
Head coachLeonardo Semplici
LeagueSerie A
2020–21Serie A, 16th of 20
WebsiteClub website
Away colours
Third colours
Current season

Cagliari Calcio, commonly referred to as Cagliari (Italian: [ˈkaʎʎari] (About this soundlisten)), is an Italian football club based in Cagliari, Sardinia. The club currently plays in Serie A. As of 2019–20, the team is temporarily playing their home games at the 16,416-seat Unipol Domus, adjacent to the future new stadium site.

Founded in 1920, they won their only Scudetto in 1969–70, when they were led by the Italian national team's all-time leading scorer, Gigi Riva. The triumph was also the first by a club from south of Rome. The club's best European performance was in the 1993–94 UEFA Cup, losing in the semi-finals to Internazionale.

As with the flag of its city, Cagliari's colours are blue and red. The club badge incorporates the flag of Sardinia.

History[]

Before Serie A[]

1930–31 Club Sportivo Cagliari

Cagliari became the first ever out-right champions of Serie C during the 1951–52 season; prior to that in the league, the championship was shared amongst more than one team. They spent the 1950s from then on in Serie B, losing a promotion play-off in 1954. After descending to Serie C in the early 1960s, Cagliari's rise would be meteoric, eventually achieving promotion to Serie A in 1964.

First Serie A adventure: 1964–1976[]

The squad for the Rossoblu's debut season in Serie A featured players like defender Mario Martiradonna, midfielders Pierluigi Cera, Nené and Ricciotti Greatti, and forward Luigi Riva. A poor first half of the season, however, saw Cagliari in last place with nine points at the halfway mark. An astonishing second half of the season saw Cagliari defeat the likes of Juventus and Milan and finish in seventh place with 34 points. Two seasons later, Riva finished as Serie A's top scorer for the first time while Cagliari finished with the league's best defensive record.

Forward Luigi Riva led Cagliari to their first Serie A title in 1969–70.

During the summer of 1967, Cagliari played a season in North America as part of a fledgling league called the United Soccer Association. This league included teams from Europe and South America set to play in American and Canadian cities, with each club bearing a local name. Cagliari played as the Chicago Mustangs, and finished joint second in the league's Western Division with 13 points, two behind the division champion and eventual league champion Los Angeles Wolves. The league's leading scorer was Chicago/Cagliari's Roberto Boninsegna, who scored ten goals while playing in 9 of the team's 12 games.

Cagliari first emerged as serious Serie A title contenders in 1968–69 with a three-horse race involving them, Fiorentina and Milan. Fiorentina would win the league, but the following season would bring ultimate glory. With Angelo Domenghini joining the side, Cagliari would win the title in 1970 with only two games lost, 11 goals conceded (the fewest in any major European league to date) and Riva as league top scorer once more. Players like Albertosi, Niccolai, Boninsegna, Gori, Cera, Domenghini and Riva played in Italy's 1970 World Cup final team.

The 1970s would see a gradual decline (though were title contenders two years after their one and only Scudetto win). Cagliari were finally relegated in 1976, with Riva's career having effectively ended during that season.

Up and down again: 1976–87[]

After relegation, Cagliari lost a play-off for promotion the following season and would return to Serie A in 1979. Players like Franco Selvaggi, (a survivor of the 1970 team) and Alberto Marchetti ensured a respectable four-year stay in the top flight before a second relegation in 1983. The 1980s would then prove to be a darker time compared to the previous two decades with relegation to Serie C1 in 1987.

There and back: 1987–2000[]

Cagliari spent two seasons in Serie C1. In the first one it barely avoided relegation in Serie C2. In 1988, Claudio Ranieri was appointed coach, and led the team to two successive promotions, to Serie B in 1989 and to Serie A in 1990. The first two seasons back in Serie A saw Cagliari fight relegation, with safety being achieved by excellent second half runs. But the 1992–93 season would see Cagliari fight for a European place and succeed under the management of Carlo Mazzone. The following season saw a best-ever run to the semi-finals of the UEFA Cup, taking out Juventus in the quarter-finals before being eliminated 5–3 on aggregate by compatriots Internazionale, having won the first leg 3–2 at home.[1]

The next few years would see Cagliari return to mid-table anonymity, before a struggle in 1996–97 saw Cagliari relegated after losing a play-off to Piacenza. Once more they bounced back after just one year, but their next stay in Serie A lasted just two seasons.

Once and again: 2000 onwards[]

Cagliari spent the next four seasons in Serie B, until in 2003–04 with Sardinian-born veteran striker Gianfranco Zola, the team won promotion.[2] In 2005–06, the first season without Zola, the team changed their manager three times before Nedo Sonetti, appointed in November, was able to save the team from relegation, especially thanks to the excellent goal contribution from Honduran striker David Suazo.

Apart from finishing 9th in 2008–09 season, Cagliari regularly finished in the bottom half of Serie A under a sequence of managers, before being relegated in 2014–15.[3] They gained promotion back the following season as champions of Serie B.[4]

Stadium[]

Cagliari played at the Stadio Sant'Elia from 1970 to 2017

Cagliari moved from the Stadio Amsicora to the Stadio Sant'Elia in 1970, after winning their only league title. It was renovated for Italy's hosting of the 1990 FIFA World Cup where it hosted all of England's group games, ostensibly to confine the team's notorious hooligans to an island.[5]

Disputes with the city council over renovation of the publicly owned stadium meant that Cagliari played their final home games of 2011–12 at the Stadio Nereo Rocco in Trieste on the Italian Peninsula.[6] For most of the following season, the club played at the Stadio Is Arenas in the neighbouring municipality of Quartu Sant'Elena. It was deemed unsafe by the league, forcing them to play behind closed doors before leaving the ground in April 2013.[7] The Sant'Elia was demolished for a new stadium in 2017, and the club moved to the temporary Sardegna Arena next to it.[8]

Colours, badge and nicknames[]

Cagliari's badge incorporates the flag of Sardinia

The official red and blue colours of Cagliari mirror those featured on the stemma of Cagliari.[9] The red parts of the stemma are a reference to the coat of arms of the House of Savoy, a family which was previously the monarchy of Italy and more relevantly to Cagliari in particular, the Kingdom of Sardinia.[9] The blue part of the stemma features the sky and the sea, also a castle; this is because the old historic centre of Cagliari is walled and called the Castello.[9] Due to the use of these colours on their shirt in halves, the club is commonly nicknamed rossoblu.[10]

Cagliari have had several different logo designs during their history, all of which feature the flag of Sardinia.[11] Usually the badge also features the club colours; if there is a change, the main difference has been the colour of the border or the shape.[11] Since June 2015, the badge features an "Old French"-shaped escutcheon with red and blue halves, with the club's name written in white just above the flag of Sardinia. The Moors' heads have, for the first time, been turned to the right as of 2015 so as to match the Sardinian flag after it was updated in 1992.[12]

Due to the fact that Cagliari are the main club from the island of Sardinia, they are nicknamed the "Isolani" ("Islanders").[13]

Honours[]

National titles[]

  • Serie A:
  • Serie B:
  • Serie C / Serie C1:
    • Winners (1): 1951–52
      Southern leagues: 1930–31, 1961–62, 1988–89
  • Coppa Italia
    • Runners-up (1): 1968–69
  • Coppa Italia Serie C:
    • Winners (1): 1988–89

European titles[]

UEFA Cup:

Divisional movements[]

Series Years Last Promotions Relegations
A 42 2021–22 - Decrease 5 (1976, 1983, 1997, 2000, 2015)
B 29 2015–16 Increase 6 (1964, 1979, 1990, 1998, 2004, 2016) Decrease 4 (1935✟, 1948, 1960, 1987)
C 13 Increase 4 (1931, 1952, 1962, ) Decrease 1 (1940)
84 out of 90 years of professional football in Italy since 1929
Sardinia 6 1946–47 Increase 2 (1937, 1947√) never

Players[]

Current squad[]

As of 25 August 2021[14]

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 Italy ITA Simone Aresti
2 DF Uruguay URU Diego Godín
6 MF Croatia CRO Marko Rog
8 MF Romania ROU Răzvan Marin
9 FW Argentina ARG Giovanni Simeone
10 MF Brazil BRA João Pedro (captain)
14 MF Italy ITA Alessandro Deiola
15 DF Italy ITA Giorgio Altare
16 MF Netherlands NED Kevin Strootman (on loan from Marseille)
18 MF Uruguay URU Nahitan Nández
20 MF Uruguay URU Gastón Pereiro
21 MF Uruguay URU Christian Oliva
No. Pos. Nation Player
22 DF Greece GRE Charalampos Lykogiannis
23 DF Italy ITA Luca Ceppitelli
25 DF Italy ITA Gabriele Zappa
27 MF Italy ITA Alberto Grassi (on loan from Parma)
28 GK Italy ITA Alessio Cragno
29 DF Brazil BRA Dalbert (on loan from Inter)
30 FW Italy ITA Leonardo Pavoletti
31 GK Serbia SRB Boris Radunović
32 FW Colombia COL Damir Ceter
33 DF Slovakia SVK
40 DF Poland POL Sebastian Walukiewicz
44 DF Italy ITA Andrea Carboni

Other players under contract[]

As of 30 July 2021

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 Italy ITA Nunzio Lella
— DF Italy ITA Simone Pinna
39 MF Italy ITA Roberto Biancu
12 MF Italy ITA Fabrizio Caligara
No. Pos. Nation Player
24 MF Italy ITA Paolo Faragò
— FW Brazil BRA Diego Farias
— FW Italy ITA Luca Gagliano
— FW Italy ITA Riccardo Ladinetti

Out on loan[]

As of 17 August 2021.

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

No. Pos. Nation Player
— GK Italy ITA (at Olbia until 30 June 2022)
— GK Italy ITA Guglielmo Vicario (at Empoli until 30 June 2022)
— DF Italy ITA (at Olbia until 30 June 2022)
— DF Italy ITA (at Vis Pesaro until 30 June 2022)
— DF Republic of the Congo CGO Senna Miangué (at Cercle Brugge until 30 June 2022)
— DF Italy ITA Alessandro Tripaldelli (at SPAL until 30 June 2022)
No. Pos. Nation Player
— MF Italy ITA Federico Marigosu (at Grosseto until 30 June 2022)
— MF France FRA Mattéo Tramoni (at Brescia until 30 June 2022)
— FW Italy ITA Alberto Cerri (at Como until 30 June 2022)
— FW Italy ITA (at Legnago until 30 June 2022)
— FW Angola ANG Zito Luvumbo (at Como until 30 June 2022)

Retired numbers[]

Main article: Retired numbers in football

11 – Italy Luigi Riva, Forward, 1963–78
13 – Italy Davide Astori z"l, Defender (2008–14) – posthumous honour[15]

Notable former players[]

See also: Category:Cagliari Calcio players

This shortlist only includes players with at least 100 appearances for the club and/or an appearance in an edition of the FIFA World Cup.


Cagliari have a long history of Uruguayan players,[16][17] numbering 16 as of 2014; the most used of them was Diego López with 314 games, while others include Enzo Francescoli, Fabián O'Neill and Darío Silva.[18] In addition, Uruguayan Óscar Tabárez managed the team from 1994 to 1995.[19]

Presidential history[]

Cagliari have had numerous presidents over the course of their history, some of which have been the owners of the club, others have been honorary presidents, here is a complete list of them:[20]

  • Antonio Zedda (1921)
  • Gaetano Fichera (1920–21)
  • Giorgio Mereu (1921–22)
  • Angelo Prunas (1922–24)
  • Agostino Cugusi (1924–26)
  • Vittorio Tredici (1926–28)
  • Carlo Costa Marras (1928–29)
  • Enzo Comi (1929–30)
  • Giovan Battista Bosazza (1930–31)
  • Guido Boero (1931–32)
  • Vitale Cao (1932–33)
  • Enrico Endrich (1933)
  • Pietro Faggioli (1933–34)
  • Aldo Vacca (1934–35)
  • Mario Banditelli (1935–40)
  • Giuseppe Depperu (1940–43)
  • Eugenio Camboni (1944–46)
  • Umberto Ceccarelli (1946–47)
  • Emilio Zunino (1947–49)
  • Domenico Loi (1949–53)
  • Pietro Leo (1953–54)
  • Efisio Corrias (1954–55)
  • Ennio Dalmasso (1955–57)
  • Giuseppe Meloni (1958–60)
  • Enrico Rocca (1960–68)
  • Efisio Corrias (1968–71)
  • Paolo Marras (1971–73)
  • Andrea Arrica (1973–76)
  • Mariano Delogu (1976–81)
  • Alvaro Amarugi (1981–84)
  • Fausto Moi (1984–86)
  • Luigi Riva (1986–87)
  • Lucio Cordeddu (1987)
  • Antonio Orrù (1987–91)
  • Massimo Cellino (1991–05)
  • Bruno Ghirardi (2005–06)
  • Massimo Cellino (2006–14)
  • Tommaso Giulini (2014–present)

Managerial history[]

Cagliari have had many managers and trainers, some seasons they have had co-managers running the team, here is a chronological list of them from when they founded in 1920 onwards.[21]

  • Gaetano Fichera (1920–21)
  • Giorgio Mereu (1921–23)
  • Angelo Colombo (1923–26)
  • Natale Archibusacci (1926–27)
  • Róbert Winkler (1927–30)
  • Egri Erbstein (1930–32)
  • András Kuttik (1932–34)
  • Enrico Crotti (1934–35)
  • Ferenc Molnár (1935)
  • Roberto Orani (1935–36)
  • Renato Bonello (1936–38)
  • Róbert Winkler (1938–39)
  • Mariolino Congiu (1939–41)
  • Mariolino Congiu, Enrico Corrias (1941–42)
  • Mariolino Congiu (1942–46)
  • Raffaele D'Aquino (1946–48)
  • Róbert Winkler (1948–49)
  • Armando Latella (1949–50)
  • Mariolino Congiu (1950)
  • Enrico Carpitelli (1950–51)
  • Mariolino Congiu (1951)
  • Federico Allasio (1951–54)
  • Vincenzo Soro (1954)
  • Carlo Alberto Quario (1954–55)
  • Silvio Piola (1955–56)
  • Carlo Rigotti (1956–57)
  • Silvio Piola (1957)
  • Mariolino Congiu (1957–58)
  • Piero Andreoli (1958)
  • Stefano Perati (1958–60)
  • Carlo Rigotti (1960–61)
  • Arturo Silvestri (1961–66)
  • Ettore Puricelli (1967–68)
  • Manlio Scopigno (1968–72)
  • Edmondo Fabbri (1972–73)
  • Giuseppe Chiappella (1973–75)
  • Luigi Radice (1975)
  • Luis Suárez (1975–76)
  • Mario Tiddia (1976)
  • Lauro Toneatto (1976–78)
  • Mario Tiddia (1978–81)
  • Paolo Carosi (1981–82)
  • Gustavo Giagnoni (1982–83)
  • Mario Tiddia (1983–84)
  • Fernando Veneranda (1984–85)
  • Renzo Ulivieri (1985–86)
  • Gustavo Giagnoni (1986–87)
  • Enzo Robotti (1987–88)
  • Mario Tiddia (1988)
  • Claudio Ranieri (1 July 1988 – 30 June 1991)
  • Massimo Giacomini (1991)
  • Carlo Mazzone (1991–93)
  • Luigi Radice (1993–94)
  • Bruno Giorgi (1994)
  • Óscar Tabárez (1 July 1994 – 30 June 1995)
  • Giovanni Trapattoni (1 July 1995 – 13 February 1996)
  • Bruno Giorgi (1996)
  • Gregorio Pérez (1 July 1996 – 1 January 1997)
  • Carlo Mazzone (23 October 1996 – 30 June 1997)
  • Giampiero Ventura (1 July 1997 – 30 June 1999)
  • Óscar Tabárez (1 July 1999 – 15 September 1999)
  • Renzo Ulivieri (1999–00)
  • Gianfranco Bellotto (2000–01)
  • Giuseppe Materazzi (2001)
  • Antonio Sala (2001–02)
  • Giulio Nuciari (28 October 2001 – 23 December 2001)
  • Nedo Sonetti (2002)
  • Giampiero Ventura (1 July 2002 – 1 December 2003)
  • Edoardo Reja (1 July 2003 – 30 June 2004)
  • Daniele Arrigoni (2004 – 30 June 2005)
  • Attilio Tesser (1 July 2005 – 29 August 2005)
  • Daniele Arrigoni (29 August 2005 – 16 September 2005)
  • Davide Ballardini (15 September 2005 – 8 November 2005)
  • Nedo Sonetti (12 November 2005 – 30 June 2006)
  • Franco Colomba (17 December 2006 – 26 February 2007)
  • Marco Giampaolo (26 February 2007 – 13 November 2007)
  • Nedo Sonetti (2007)
  • Davide Ballardini (28 December 2007 – 30 June 2008)
  • Massimiliano Allegri (29 May 2008 – 13 April 2010)
  • Giorgio Melis (13 April 2010 – 30 June 2010)
  • Pierpaolo Bisoli (23 June 2010 – 15 November 2010)
  • Roberto Donadoni (16 November 2010 – 12 August 2011)
  • Massimo Ficcadenti (16 August 2011 – 8 November 2011)
  • Davide Ballardini (9 November 2011 – 11 March 2012)
  • Massimo Ficcadenti (11 March 2012 – 3 October 2012)
  • Ivo Pulga (3 October 2012 – 30 June 2013)
  • Diego López (1 July 2013 – 6 April 2014)
  • Ivo Pulga (6 April 2014 – 20 June 2014)
  • Zdeněk Zeman (20 June 2014 – 23 December 2014)
  • Gianfranco Zola (24 December 2014 – 9 March 2015)
  • Zdeněk Zeman (9 March 2015 – 21 April 2015)
  • Gianluca Festa (22 April 2015 – 12 June 2015)
  • Massimo Rastelli (12 June 2015 – 17 October 2017)
  • Diego López (18 October 2017 – 30 May 2018)
  • Rolando Maran (7 June 2018 – 3 March 2020)
  • Walter Zenga (3 March 2020 – 2 August 2020)
  • Eusebio Di Francesco (3 August 2020 – 22 February 2021)
  • Leonardo Semplici (22 February 2021 – )

In Europe[]

European Cup[]

Season Round Club Home Away Aggregate Reference
1970–71 First Round France Saint-Étienne 3–0 0–1 3–1 [22]
Second Round Spain Atlético Madrid 2–1 0–3 2–4

UEFA Cup[]

Season Round Club Home Away Aggregate Reference
1972–73 First Round Greece Olympiacos 0–1 1–2 1–3 [23]
1993–94 First Round Romania Dinamo București 2–0 2–3 4–3 [24]
Second Round Turkey Trabzonspor 0–0 1–1 1–1 (a)
Third Round Belgium Mechelen 2–0 3–1 5–1
Quarter-Final Italy Juventus 1–0 2–1 3–1
Semi-Final Italy Internazionale 3–2 0–3 3–5

Inter-Cities Fairs Cup[]

Season Round Club Home Away Aggregate Reference
1969–70 First Round Greece Aris Thessaloniki 3–0 1–1 4–1 [25]
Second Round East Germany Carl Zeiss Jena 0–1 0–2 0–3

References[]

  1. ^ Marucci, Lorenzo (30 March 2019). "30 marzo 1994, impresa del Cagliari: nella semifinale d'andata di Uefa batte 3–2 l'Inter" [March 1994, great Cagliari performance: they beat Inter 3–2 in UEFA semi-final first leg] (in Italian). Tutto Mercato Web. Retrieved 8 February 2020.
  2. ^ Eve, James (1 June 2004). "Zola continues to charm old friends". The Times. Retrieved 24 January 2020.
  3. ^ "Serie A Review: Berardi treble sinks nine-man Milan, Cagliari relegated". FourFourTwo. 17 May 2015. Retrieved 24 January 2020.
  4. ^ "Cagliari back in Serie A! – Football Italia". www.football-italia.net. Archived from the original on 7 November 2017. Retrieved 2 May 2018.
  5. ^ Williams, John (11 June 2004). "England Fans Pose a Massive Dilemma". Leicester Mercury. University of Leicester. Retrieved 1 February 2020.
  6. ^ "Calcio, il Cagliari giocherà a Trieste anche contro la Juve" [Calcio, Cagliari will play at Trieste against Juve as well]. La Nuova Sardegna (in Italian). 19 April 2012. Retrieved 20 November 2019.
  7. ^ "Serie A: Cagliari cancel contract at Stadio Is Arenas in Quartu Sant'Elena". Sky Sports. 2 April 2013. Retrieved 1 February 2020.
  8. ^ "Cagliari, idea per lo stadio provvisorio a due passi dal Sant'Elia" [Cagliari, idea for provisional stadium stone's throw from the Sant'Elia] (in Italian). Cagliari News 24. 7 April 2016. Retrieved 1 February 2020.
  9. ^ Jump up to: a b c "Stemma Provincia di Cagliari". Comuni-Italiani. 24 June 2007. Archived from the original on 24 November 2007.
  10. ^ "Cagliari, e' Matri il primo colpo rossoblu: arriva dal Rimini". Eurosport. 24 June 2007. Archived from the original on 14 January 2009.
  11. ^ Jump up to: a b "Cagliari Calcio". WeltFussballArchiv.com. 24 June 2007. Archived from the original on 3 December 2012.
  12. ^ "Cagliari, cambiano stemma e sito" [Cagliari, badge and website changed]. L'Unione Sarda (in Italian). 24 June 2015. Retrieved 24 January 2020.
  13. ^ "Cagliari Calcio". About.com. 24 June 2007. Archived from the original on 24 August 2007.
  14. ^ "Team". Cagliari Calcio (in Italian). Retrieved 16 July 2019.
  15. ^ "Astori's number 13 shirt retired by Fiorentina and Cagliari following tragic passing". Goal.com. Archived from the original on 6 March 2018. Retrieved 6 March 2018.
  16. ^ "Cagliari, i giocatori dell'Uruguay in Sardegna: da Francescoli a Nandez" [Cagliari, the players from Uruguay in Sardinia: from Francescoli to Nández] (in Italian). Sky Sport. 5 November 2019. Retrieved 18 December 2020.
  17. ^ Lippi, Gabriele (30 January 2020). "Ranking definitivo degli uruguaiani del Cagliari" [Definitive ranking of Cagliari's Uruguayans]. www.esquire.com (in Italian). Retrieved 18 December 2020.
  18. ^ Gaviano, Enrico (5 February 2014). "Sedici gli uruguaiani con la maglia rossoblù" [Sixteen Uruguayans in the red and blue shirt]. La Nuova Sardegna (in Italian). Retrieved 18 December 2020.
  19. ^ "Uruguay-Cagliari: con Godin può continuare la storia d'amore" [Uruguay-Cagliari: with Godin the love story continues] (in Italian). Cagliari News 24. 11 September 2020. Retrieved 18 December 2020.
  20. ^ "Presidenti". CalcioCagliari.it. 8 June 2007. Archived from the original on 27 December 2008. Retrieved 14 September 2007.
  21. ^ "Allenatori Dal 1920 Ad Oggi". CalcioCagliari.it. 27 August 2007. Archived from the original on 27 December 2008. Retrieved 14 September 2007.
  22. ^ "UEFA Champions League 1970–71". UEFA. Archived from the original on 17 October 2017. Retrieved 28 August 2017.
  23. ^ "UEFA Europa League 1971–72". UEFA. Archived from the original on 17 October 2017. Retrieved 28 August 2017.
  24. ^ "UEFA Europa League 1993–94". UEFA. Archived from the original on 17 October 2017. Retrieved 28 August 2017.
  25. ^ "Inter-Cities Fairs Cup 1969–70". RSSSF. Retrieved 8 February 2020.

External links[]

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