ITALY: US Reggina (1932-1934) / AS Reggina (1934-1935, 1944-1986) / SS Dominante Reggio Calabria (1937-1940) / Reggina Calcio (1986-2015) / HinterReggio Calcio (2012-2013) / ASD Reggio Calabria (2015-2016) / SSD Reggio Calabria (2016) / Urbs Reggina 1914 (2016-2019) / Reggina 1914 (2019-2023) / La Fenice Amaranto ASD (2023-2024) / AS Reggina 1914 ASD (2024-)

Stadio Oreste Granillo, Reggio di Calabria (AS Reggina 1914 ASD, formerly US Reggina / AS Reggina / SS Dominante Reggio Calabria / Reggina Calcio / HinterReggio Calcio / ASD Reggio Calabria / SSD Reggio Calabria / Urbs Reggina 1914 / Reggina 1914 / La Fenice Amaranto ASD)

Italy, region: Calabria

27 IV 2025 / AS Reggina 1914 ASD - ASD Castrumfavara 3-1 / Serie D Group I (= ITA level 4)

Timeline

• 1914 / Foundation of a football club in Reggio di Calabria, Unione Sportiva (US) Reggio Calabria, by a group of 61 local civil servants. The club is one of a group of local clubs such as Girardengo, Giovani Calciatori, Audace, Ausonia, and Garibaldi, which play each other in friendlies and tournaments, with all matches taking place on a makeshift pitch laid out on the so-called Campi Francesi in the hillsides to the east of the city-centre. At the time, none of the clubs in Reggio are members of the Italian Football Association (FIGC).
• 1922 / US Reggio Calabria changes its name to become Reggio Foot-Ball Club (FBC). The year 1922 also marks the start of the construction works on a new stadium for Reggio FBC in the docks of Reggio di Calabria.
• 1924 / Reggio FBC joins the Italian Football Association, being placed in Seconda Divisione, the second level of the Italian football pyramid, organised regionally at the time. Also in 1924, after two years of preparations, the new stadium in the docks of the city, which is given the name Lanterna Rossa (‘Red Lantern’), is inaugurated with a league match between Reggio FBC and US Peloro from Messina (2-3).
• 1925 / Champions in Seconda Divisione Lega Sud Group D, Reggio FBC goes on to qualify for the Lega Sud title, in which it bows out in the semis (with no further information available). In those days of regionally organised football in Italy, league football in the southern half of the country was on a much lower level than in Lombardy and Emilia-Romagna, to the point of Lega Sud title winners refusing promotion to Prima Divisione – which may in part have been down to economic reasons as well.
• 1926 / Due to an extension of Reggio di Calabria’s harbour, Reggio FBC’s new stadium,  Lanterna Rossa, has to be abandoned. 
• 1927 / Following the eviction of the club from its stadium, Reggio FBC ceases all activities. In the 1926-27 season, the club finished bottom of the table in the Seconda Divisione Sud Group D, resulting in relegation to the Terza Divisione. Stopping short from outright dissolution, the club remains a member of the Italian Football Association, but without developing any activity during the 1927-28 season.
• 1928 / Following one year of inactivity, Reggio FBC is re-established with a new name, Unione Sportiva (US) Reggina, as it passes into the hands of a new owner, Giuseppe Vilardi, who brings together the means to purchase a plot of land in the Sant’Anna neighbourhood, to the southeast of the city-centre, where a new pitch is laid out. The ground is inaugurated with a 3-0 defeat at the hands of SC Vomero on November 4th, 1928. For the 1928-29 season, US Reggina is placed in the Sicilian (!) sub-group of the Campionato Meridionale di Prima Divisione, the third level of the Italian football pyramid.
• 1929 / Coached by Hungarian József Wereb, US Reggina finishes in second-last place of the Sicilian sub-group of the Campionato Meridionale, thus dropping back into the Seconda Divisione (level 4) along with bottom club US Peloro.
• 1930 / Runners-up in Group A of the Southern Directory of the Second Division, 1 point behind champions USF Paganese, US Reggina goes on to earn promotion to Prima Divisione (level 3) following a successful round of play-offs, with US Trani and US Molfetta being the other clubs to accede to that level. Reggina’s successful coach is Attilio Buratti.
• 1932 / At the initiative of US Reggina’s chairman Giuseppe Vilardi, works are undertaken to build the club a new, much bigger stadium than the pitch in Sant’Anna – with a new ground being erected within a year at Via Galilei, to the south of the city-centre of Reggio di Calabria. It is unclear if the stadium’s layout was similar to what it looked like in the 1960s, with an athletics track surrounding the pitch and open terraces alongside the eastern and southern side of it – although it is certain that no stands were added at the ground’s northern end. In its original shape, the grandstand on the western side of the ground was without a roof. The stadium, with an estimated capacity of 12,000, is named after Michele Bianchi, a Calabrian fascist who had been one of the organisers of the so-called March on Rome in October 1922 which brought Mussolini to power. Being considered one of the Duce’s closest collaborators, Bianchi rose through the ranks of the party to become a cabinet minister under Mussolini, but he succumbed to tuberculosis barely a year in office at the age of 46. The Stadio Michele Bianchi – situated on the exact spot of the current Stadio Oreste Granillo – is inaugurated with a league match between US Reggina and SS Siracusa, which ends in a goalless draw.
• 1934 / As US Reggina becomes a multi-sports club, the board decides to change the name to become Associazione Sportiva (AS) Reggina.
• 1935 / Having finished in thirteenth place in the Prima Divisione Girone H, the third level of the Italian football pyramid, in the 1934-35 season, the club temporarily ceases its activities due to financial problems, withdrawing its membership of the Italian Football Association.
• 1937 / As AS Reggina is re-established with a new name, Società Sportiva (SS) Dominante Reggio Calabria, after two years of inactivity, the club is placed in the Prima Divisione, meanwhile the fourth level of the Italian football pyramid, for the 1937-38 season.
• 1938 / Champions in the Calabrian group of the Prima Divisione, SS Dominante Reggio Calabria wins promotion to Serie C, the third level of Italy’s football pyramid, along with numbers two and three, AS Juventus Siderno and US Palmese.
• 1939 / Finishing in second-last place in Serie C Group H, with only 2 points from two draws in 22 matches, SS Dominante Reggio Calabria drops back into Prima Divisione along with bottom club AC Lecce – with Lecce only having finished below Dominante due to that club having incurred a deduction of 27 (!) points due to various violations of Italian FA regulations.
• 1940 / Due to financial problems as well as the outbreak of World War II, SS Dominante Reggio Calabria withdraws from the Italian football pyramid, with no notable footballing activities taking place in Reggio di Calabria in the following four years.
• 1943 / As Southern Italy is liberated from the fascist yoke in 1943, the Stadio Michele Bianchi must have been renamed Stadio Comunale in this year at its latest. Several sources speak about the stadium undergoing several more name changes in the following five decades, but no definite information regarding the matter is available.
• 1944 / After four years of inactivity, SS Dominante Reggio Calabria is re-established, taking on the club name which had also been in force in 1934-35, Associazione Sportiva (AS) Reggina, with the driving force behind the restart having been a local nobleman, Andrea Giunta. The club’s first matches are against teams of Allied troops. For the 1944-45 season, which is not a pan-Italian affair due to the north of the country still being under nazi / fascist rule, AS Reggina is placed in the Prima Divisione Provinciale, the fourth level of Italy’s football pyramid.
• 1945 / Champions in Prima Divisione Group A with coach Ottavio Misefari, AS Reggina is barred from taking part in the subsequent round of promotion play-offs due to irregularities in handling the transfer of a player called Caridi. Subsequently, however, the punishment was suspended, with the club being admitted to Serie C on sporting merits. 
• 1947 / Finishing in third place in Serie C’s Southern Group C, AS Reggina qualifies for a set of promotion play-offs against US Crotone and AC Messina, with the last-mentioned club winning the Serie B ticket – and Reggina thus missing out on an unprecedented promotion to Serie B.
• 1948 / Runners-up in Serie C’s Southern Group T, 1 point behind champions Club Calcio Catania, AS Reggina narrowly avoids being retrograded to the new fourth level of the Italian league pyramid, Promozione, with the number of Serie C groups being brought back to just four.
• 1952 / Finishing in second-last place in Serie C Group D with coach Pietro Piselli, AS Reggina is relegated to the new fourth level of the Italian football pyramid, IV Serie. The club had run into trouble in the early stages of the season, when one of their board members had made an attempt to bribe US Catanzaro player Ziletti during the away match against that club – with Reggina being given a 17-point deduction as a result.
• 1956 / Champions in IV Serie Group H, 6 points ahead of runners-up CRAL Cirio, AS Reggina wins promotion to Serie C. The successful coach is Oronzo Pugliese. The club goes on to have several relatively quiet seasons at the third ladder of Italian football.
• 1965 / Champions in Serie C Group C, 1 point ahead of runners-up AS Taranto, AS Reggina wins promotion to Serie B for the first time in club history. The successful coach is Tommaso Maestrelli. Also in or around 1965, the grandstand of the Stadio Comunale in Reggio di Calabria is equipped with a roof construction for the first time.
• 1966 / Finishing in fourth place in its first season in Serie B, AS Reggina only narrowly misses out on promotion to the top flight of the Italian football landscape, finishing just 1 point behind the club in third place, AC Mantova, which wins promotion to Serie A.
• 1968 / For the first time in club history, AS Reggina manages to reach the quarterfinals of the Coppa Italia, Italy’s main cup tournament, in which the club loses its home tie at the Stadio Comunale against Bologna FC 2-3 – a score which is converted in a reglementary 0-2 defeat due to a pitch invasion by supporters, in which the referee is manhandled. The subsequent away match ends in a clear-cut 4-0 defeat.
• 1974 / Finishing in third-last place in Serie B, AS Reggina drops back into Serie C after nine years, alongside AS Bari and bottom club Calcio Catania. The relegation had been all the more tragic, given that Reggina had collected as many points as the three (!) clubs above them, AC Perugia, AC Reggiana, and Brindisi Sport, with goal difference being decisive. In the course of the season, AS Reggina had sacked coach Gianbattista Moschino as well as his successor Ettore Recagni, with the season being finished by caretaker duo Domenico Cataldo and Olmes Neri.
• 1983 / Finishing in sixteenth place in Serie C1 Group B with coach Rosario Sbano, who had taken over from Franco Scoglio in the course of the season, AS Reggina drops down into Serie C2, the fourth level of the Italian football pyramid, along with US Livorno, Paganese Calcio, and bottom club AC Nocerina.
• 1984 / Champions in Serie C2 Group D, 4 points ahead of runners-up AC Nocerina, AS Reggina manages an immediate return to Serie C1. The successful coach is Claudio Tobia.
• 1985 / Finishing in joint fourteenth place in Serie C1 Group B with SS Cavese, but with a slightly inferior goal difference (-1 vs. -5), AS Reggina, still coached by Claudio Tobia, drops back into Serie C2 after just one season, along with AS Francavilla, US Akragas, and bottom club AC Nocerina. Also in or around 1985, the north end of the Stadio Comunale in Reggio di Calabria, hitherto not having remained empty, is equipped with a relatively high terrace, which becomes the part of the stadium housing the most ardent supporters. Total capacity of the ground goes up from c. 12,000 to c. 15,000.
• 1986 / Runners-up in Serie C2 Girone D, 2 points behind champions AC Nocerina, AS Reggina wins promotion back to Serie C1 at the first opportunity. The successful coach is Giuseppe Caramanno. That summer, AS Reggina goes bankrupt and is saved from disappearing altogether as a group of local entrepreneurs around new chairman Lillo Foti takes over the club. Due to the bankruptcy, an obligatory name change is effectuated, with the club taking on the name Reggina Calcio.
• 1988 / Finishing in third place in Serie C1 Group B with coach Nevio Scala, Reggina Calcio qualifies for a promotion play-off against the number three club in Group A, ACG Virescit Boccaleone, with the play-off in Perugia’s Stadio Renato Curi being attended by no fewer than 20,000 Reggina fans. Going on to win the encounter 2-0 (goals by Giuseppe Bagnato and Tarcisio Catanese), Reggina Calcio goes on to win promotion to Serie B alongside the top two clubs in Serie C1 Group B, Polisportiva Licata and Cosenza Calcio 1914, both of which had gathered 2 more points in the regular season than the club from Reggio di Calabria.
• 1989 / Finishing in fifth place in its first season back in Serie B after fourteen years, Reggina Calcio qualifies for a promotion play-off against US Cremonese, played at Stadio Adriatico in Pescara, with the club from Cremona winning the penalty shoot-out (0-0 A.E.T.). As such, Reggina Calcio, supported on the day by a fan following of no fewer than 23,000, misses out on promotion to Serie A. Following the 1988-89 season, coach Nevio Scala leaves the club, signing a deal with Parma AC, with which he has an extremely successful seven-year spell before moving on to clubs such as Borussia Dortmund, Beşiktaş JK, and FK Spartak Moskva.
• 1991 / Finishing in third-last place in Serie B with coach Aldo Cerantola, Reggina Calcio suffers relegation to Serie C1 along with Salernitana Sport, US Triestina Calcio, and bottom club Barletta Calcio Sport.
• 1994 / Runners-up in Serie C1 Group B, 7 points behind champions AC Perugia, Reggina Calcio qualifies for the promotion play-offs, in which the club is knocked out in the semis by AC Juventus Stabia (5-4 aggr. A.E.T.). Also in 1994, first plans are drawn up for a thorough renovation of the Stadio Comunale in Reggio di Calabria, with a local architect, Nino Romeo, being charged with the job to design a completely new stadium on the same location. In the early stages of the project, Romeo is assisted in the organisational part of his assignment by  Oreste Granillo, president of AS Reggina between 1960 and 1977.
• 1995 / Runaway champions in Serie C1 Group B, 10 points ahead of runners-up US Avellino, Reggina Calcio manages an immediate return to Serie B. The successful coach is Giuliano Zoratti.
• 1997 / Works on the complete reconstruction of the Stadio Comunale in Reggio di Calabria get underway, with the South Curve being the first to be knocked down and replaced by a new, much larger uncovered all-seater stand, which becomes the new home of the club’s most ardent supporters. Also in 1971, former club president Oreste Granillo, who had been involved in the building project from the outset in 1995, passes away at the age of 71.
• 1998 / Following the construction of the new Curva Sud, the North and East Stands are knocked down and replaced by two uncovered all-seater stands, which have the exact same height as the new Curva Sud.
• 1999 / Finishing in fourth place in Serie B, Reggina Calcio wins promotion to Serie A for the first time in club history, along with the three clubs ahead of them, Hellas Verona FC, Torino Calcio, and US Lecce. The decisive points are obtained in a 2-1 away win against Torino Calcio at the Stadio delle Alpi in Turin (att 60,000, Reggio goals by Francesco Cozza & Tonino Martino). The successful coach is Bruno Bolchi, who had replaced Elio Gustinetti in the course of the season. For the new season, Reggina Calcio signs a one-year loan deal with Internazionale FC involving the arrival of a young midfielder by the name of Andrea Pirlo. Reggina Calcio’s first Serie A match, away against Juventus FC at Stadio delle Alpi in Turin, ends in a respectable 1-1 draw. Also in 1999, with the removal of the athletics track and the construction of a completely new grandstand being the last phase of the building works, the new Stadio Comunale is given a new name, Stadio Oreste Granillo – with the club thus honouring its emblematic former president. The new stadium, with a total capacity of just over 27,500, is inaugurated with the league match between Reggina and AC Fiorentina (2-2).
• 2000 / In its first-ever Serie A season, Reggina Calcio manages a respectable eleventh place. After one year with the club (28 matches, 6 goals), midfielder Andrea Pirlo moves back to Internazionale FC, going on to become one of the best footballers of his generation, being part of the Italian squad which won the 2006 World Cup in Germany and gathering a total of 116 caps (2002-2015). As one of his replacements, Reggina Calcio signs Chilean international midfielder Jorge Vargas from CD Universidad Católica. Also in 2000, the Italian national team plays its first-ever international game in Reggio di Calabria, a friendly match against Portugal (2-0, goals by Mauro Iuliano & Francesco Totti) in the run-up to the 2000 European Championships, with some 25,000 spectators attending the match.
• 2001 / Finishing in joint fourteenth place in Serie A with Hellas Verona FC, Reggina Calcio, coached by Franco Colomba, plays a tie-breaker against that club, with Reggina drawing the short straw (2-2 aggr. & defeat on away goals). As such, the club drops back into Serie B after two seasons, along with Vicenza Calcio, SSC Napoli, and bottom club AS Bari.
• 2002 / Finishing in third place in Serie B, Reggina Calcio manages an immediate return to the top flight of Italian football, along with champions Como Calcio as well as Modena FC and Empoli FC. The successful Reggina coach is Franco Colomba. In the summer of 2002, Reggina Calcio manages some spectacular international signings, notably Paraguayan midfielder Carlos Paredes from FC Porto, who had taken part on behalf of his country in the 1998 and 2002 World Cups, and Japanese international midfielder Shunsuke Nakamura from Yokohama F-Marinos.
• 2003 / Finishing in joint fourteenth place in Serie A with Atalanta BC, Reggina Calcio meets the club from Bergamo in a tie-breaker, going on to win the encounter 2-1 (aggr.) and thus narrowly saving its skin. In October 2003, Italy plays its second-ever international match in Reggio di Calabria, with the Stadio Oreste Granillo seeing the home side defeat Azerbaijan handsomely (4-0, two goals by Filippo Inzaghi & one each by Christian Vieri and Mauro di Vaio) in a Euro qualifier, attended by 22,100 spectators.
• 2004 / Czech defender Martin Jiránek, who had joined Reggina Calcio from FC Slovan Liberec in 2001, is called up for his country’s squad in the 2004 European Championships in Portugal, following which he leaves Reggina to play for FK Spartak Moskva. 
• 2005 / In the best-ever season in club history, Reggina Calcio manages a tenth place in Serie A with coach Walter Mazzarri. That same year, Reggina midfielder Giandomenico Mesto is the first (and so far only-ever) player of the club to be called up for the Italian national squad. Mesto, who had won a place in Reggina’s first team after a spell at the club’s youth academy, had previously already represented his country’s U23 side at the Olympic Games in Athens, winning a bronze medal. He went on to play in Reggio di Calabria for nine years, eventually signing a contract with Udinese Calcio in 2007. Mesto did not manage more than three caps for Italy and missed out on a call-up for the Italian squad which went on to win the 2006 World Cup. Also in 2005, after three seasons at Reggina, Japanese midfielder Shunsuke Nakamura signs for Celtic FC. Nakamura would represent his country in the 2006 and 2010 World Cups, collecting a total of 98 caps between 2000 and 2010.
• 2006 / After supporters’ misconduct in the derby game between Reggina Calcio and FC Messina Peloro, Reggina has to play its final league game of the season against Juventus FC away from its own Stadio Oreste Granillo. With Bari’s Stadio San Nicola being chosen as the replacement venue, Juve goes on to win the match (0-2) as well as the Italian title, only to see the trophy being taken away weeks later due to the so-called Calciopoli bribery scandal, which sees the club from Turin being punished with relegation to Serie B. In this affair, Reggina chairman Lillo Foti also turns out to have behaved illegitimately, having obtained illicit advantages through the control of referee designations. As a result, Reggina Calcio is punished with a deduction of 17 points for the 2006-07 season, a number later reduced to 11. Undeterred, Foti remains at the helm of the club, luring Real Madrid CF to Reggio di Calabria for a pre-season friendly on the occasion of the twentieth anniversary of his presidency (0-1, goal by Raúl). In the summer of 2006, after four seasons with the club as well as a third World Cup with Paraguay, Carlos Paredes leaves Reggina Calcio to sign a deal with Sporting Clube de Portugal.
• 2007 / Finishing in fourteenth place in Serie A, 1 point ahead of the drop zone, Reggina Calcio saves its skin by virtue of a 2-0 home win over AC Milan on the last day of the season. The club, which owes a lot to its prolific striking duo Rolando Bianchi (18 goals) and Nicola Amoruso (17), would have finished in eighth place without the 11-point deduction incurred in the Calciopoli scandal. In the summer of 2007, after eight seasons with Reggina, Chilean midfielder Jorge Vargas leaves the club for a deal at Empoli FC. One of the players replacing him in Reggina’s 2007-08 squad is midfielder Édgar Bareto, who signs from Dutch side NEC. Bareto is a Paraguayan international who represented his country in the 2006 World Cup.
• 2008 / Various renovation works are carried out at Stadio Oreste Granillo, involving the grandstand being equipped with new seats and the addition of various electronic scoreboards.
• 2009 / Coached by Nevio Orlandini, Reggina Calcio finishes in second-last position in Serie A, thus dropping back into Serie B after seven seasons, along with Torino FC and bottom club US Lecce. In the summer of 2009, Paraguayan midfielder Édgar Bareto leaves Reggina after two seasons following a deal with Atalanta BC.
• 2010 / Chilean midfielder Carlos Carmona, purchased by Reggina from O’Higgins FC in 2008, is called up for his country’s squad in the 2010 World Cup. Following that tournament, Carmona leaves the club for Atalanta BC.
• 2011 / Finishing in sixth place in Serie B, Reggina Calcio qualifies for the promotion play-offs, in which the club is knocked out in the semis by Novara Calcio (2-2 aggr., Novara progressing on the back of a better league finish).
• 2012 / A renovation of the outside of the grandstand at Stadio Oreste Granillo is undertaken, with the works being only partially finished due to financial difficulties. Also in 2012, HinterReggio Calcio, a non-league club from Ravagnese, a suburb of Reggio di Calabria, wins the title in Serie D Group I, 1 point ahead of runners-up Nuova Cosenza Calcio, thus acceding to Lega Pro Prima Divisione, the fourth level of Italy's football pyramid. Because HinterReggio's own ground, the Stadio Comunale Rione Ravagnese does not meet league regulations, the club is allowed to move into Stadio Oreste Granillo as groundsharers with Reggina Calcio.
• 2013 / Finishing in fourteenth place in Lega Pro Seconda Divisione Group B, HinterReggio Calcio goes on to suffer defeat in a relegation play-off against US Gavorrano, resulting in the club dropping back to Serie D, the fifth level of the football pyramid. No longer constrained to meet regulations concerning the dimensions and safety of its home ground, the club relinquishes Stadio Oreste Granillo after one season, moving back to its own Stadio Comunale Rione Ravagnese, where it spends the last two years of its existence - eventually ceasing all activities in 2015 after an existence of barely nine years.
• 2014 / Coached by the caretaker duo Franco Gagliardi and Diego Zanin, who had taken over after three subsequent sackings of other coaches, Reggina Calcio finishes in second-last place in Serie B, thus dropping back into Lega Pro (level 3) along with Novara Calcio, Calcio Padova, and bottom club SS Juve Stabia.
• 2015 / Finishing in nineteenth place in Lega Pro Group C, Reggina Calcio only narrowly avoids a second relegation in a row, winning a relegation play-off against derby rivals ACR Messina (2-0 aggr.). However, pressed down by a debt of nearly 20 million euros, Reggina Calcio withdraws from regular league football for the new season, remaining dormant for the time being. Meanwhile, an amateur club is founded to take its place, Associazione Sportiva Dilettante (ASD) Reggio Calabria, which is placed in Serie D for the 2015-16 by the Italian Football Association.
• 2016 / Finishing in fourth place in Serie D Group I with former player Francesco Cozza as coach, ASD Reggio Calabria qualifies for the promotion play-offs, in which the club bows out in the semis against USD Cavese 1919 (2-1). Subsequently, however, the club is placed in Serie C due to extra promotion places turning out to be available. In March 2016, ASD Reggio Calabria changes its name to become Società Sportiva Dilettantistica (SSD) Reggio Calabria, only to come up with a new name change mere months later, starting the 2016-17 season as Urbs Reggina 1914 – this following an agreement with Lillo Foti, owner of the dormant Reggina Calcio, which allowed the phoenix club the use of the adjective Reggina. In effect, this heralded the definitive end of Reggina Calcio.
• 2019 / Finishing in seventh place in Serie C Group C – Serie C being the new name for Lega Pro since 2017 – in spite of a deduction of 4 points, Urbs Reggina 1914 qualifies for the promotion play-offs, in which the club edges past SS Monopoli 1966 in R1 (1-1 & Reggina progressing on the back of a better league finish), only to be knocked out by Calcio Catania in R2 (4-1). That same summer, Urbs Reggina 1914 abbreviates its name, which from then on is simply Reggina 1914. In spite of missing out on promotion to Serie B, the club brings its stadium in order to comply with new regulations for that divisions, with new chairs with backrests being added to the East Stand. Due to the fact that these chairs are larger than their backless predecessors, total capacity of Stadio Oreste Granillo goes down from 27,500 to 26,343. In the following year, the seats at both short ends of the ground are replaced as well, with capacity dropping to 22,868 as a result.
• 2020 / In the 2019-20 season, broken off in March 2020 due to the first COVID lockdown, Reggina 1914 finds itself in first place in Serie C Group C with 30 of 38 matches played, 9 points ahead of closest followers SSC Bari. On that basis, the club is placed in Serie B for the new season. The successful coach is Domenico Toscano. In the summer of 2020, the club completes the signing of Northern-Irish striker Kyle Lafferty of Sunderland FC, who had taken part in the 2016 European Championships with his country. 
• 2021 / After managing just 9 matches (1 goal) for Reggina 1914 in the 2020-21 season, Kyle Lafferty leaves the club to sign a deal with Kilmarnock FC.
• 2022 / Filippo Inzaghi, former striker of AC Milan and the Italian national team (part of his country’s winning squad in the 2006 World Cup & goalscorer in Italy’s 2003 encounter with Azerbaijan at Stadio Oreste Granillo), joins Reggina 1914 as coach after a spell with Brescia Calcio.
• 2023 / Finishing in seventh place in Serie B, Reggina 1914 qualifies for the promotion play-offs, in which the club is knocked out in R1 by FC Südtirol (1-0). After one season, coach Filippo Inzaghi leaves the club for US Salernitana 1919. In the summer of 2023, Reggina 1914 is excluded from taking part in league football for the new season due to not solving its debts with the Italian Football Association in time. As a result, the club folds, ceasing all activities, thus leaving room to a new phoenix club, La Fenice Amaranto Associazione Sportiva Dilettantistica (ASD), generally being referred to as LFA Reggio Calabria, which is allowed to start the 2023-24 season in Serie D. 
• 2024 / Finishing in fourth place in Serie D Group I, La Fenice Amaranto ASD qualifies for the promotion play-offs, knocking out US Vibonese Calcio in the semis (0-1), only to be pegged by Siracusa Calcio in the final (2-1) – with not even Siracusa winning promotion due to no additional Serie C places turning out to be available for the new season. In the summer of 2024, La Fenice Amaranto ASD changes its name to become Associazione Sportiva (AS) Reggina 1914 Associazione Sportiva Dilettantistica (ASD).
• 2025 / Runners-up in Serie D Girone D, 1 point behind champions Siracusa Calcio 1924, AS Reggina 1914 ASD qualifies for the promotion play-offs, in which the club knocks out US Vibonese in the semis (2-0), going on to edge past Scafatese Calcio 1922 in the final (1-0 A.E.T.). However, due to no extra promotion places turning out to be available, the club misses out on promotion to Serie C.

All photos: (c) W.B. Tukker / www.extremefootballtourism.blogspot.com. Publication of any of these images only after permission of author

ITALY: US Bari (1934-1943) / AS Bari (1945-1990)

Stadio della Vittoria, Bari (formerly US Bari & AS Bari)

Italy, region: Apulia

April 2025 / no match visited

Timeline

• 1901 / Foundation of the first football club in Bari – and the whole of Apulia, for that matter – which is given the name Club Foot-Ball Challenge. This students’ club has no more than an ephemeral existence. 
• 1908 / Foundation a new football club in Bari at the initiative of a group of enthusiasts led by the Austrian Floriano Ludwig. The new club is given the name Bari Foot-Ball Club (FBC). A pitch is laid out on the military parade ground in the San Pasquale neighbourhood, with matches being organised against English sailors on this so-called Campo San Lorenzo. Still in 1908, a breakaway club is formed, Unione Sportiva (US) Ideale.
• 1909 / Taking part in an official competition for the first time, Bari FBC is placed in the Southern Group of the Seconda Categoria, the second tier of the fledgling Italian football pyramid, in which clubs from Southern Italy are heavily underrepresented at the time. Also in 1909, following the breakaway of US Ideale, another group of Bari FBC members decides to form their own club, Foot-Ball Club (FBC) Liberty – with founding father Floriano Ludwig being one of the men making the step to Liberty. Whereas Ideale has a working-class image, Liberty becomes the club of the local Bari aristocracy. All Bari clubs play their football at the Campo San Lorenzo – mostly friendlies among one another.
• 1911 / The only Bari club to take part in official league championships, Bari FBC, withdraws from the league pyramid, sticking to playing just friendly matches in the following years.
• 1915 / Bari FBC folds, ceasing all activities. FBC Liberty and US Ideale succeed in surviving the difficult World War I years, in which many players are called up for army service.
• 1921 / FBC Liberty wins promotion to the Apulia Group of the Prima Divisione, the first tier of Italian football.
• 1922 / One year after their city-rivals, US Ideale also accedes to the Apulia Group of the Prima Divisione.
• 1923 / US Ideale finishes as runners-up in the Apulia Group of the Prima Divisione, only 1 point behind champions SS Pro Italia. Subsequently, the club takes part in the nationwide title play-offs, being knocked out in the group stage, in which it finishes in second place behind SS Lazio.
• 1924 / Runners-up in the Apulia Group of the Prima Divisione, 1 point behind champions Audace FC, US Ideale takes part in the nationwide title play-offs for the second year running, yet again suffering elimination in the group stage. Also in 1924, Bari FBC is reconstituted as Foot-Ball Club (FBC) Bari, going on to win the Apulia Group of the Seconda Divisione by winning 2-0 against its only adversary, US Ferrovieri, also from Bari. As such, the club joins US Ideale and FBC Liberty in the Prima Divisione.
• 1925 / FBC Liberty finishes as runners-up in the Apulia Group of the Prima Divisione, with an equal number of points as winners SS Pro Italia. Subsequently, the club is eliminated in the semifinals of the title play-offs. Meanwhile, FBC Bari finishes in last place, dropping back into the Seconda Divisione, but the club ceases its activities for the 1925-26 season. Also in 1925, the Campo San Lorenzo, venue of all footballing activities in Bari since 1908, is abandoned in favour of the newly laid-out Campo degli Sports, situated between the Via Carbonara (modern-day Corso Benedetto Croce) and Via Vaccarella (nowadays Via Giulio Petroni) in the Carrassi neighbourhood. The area has been purchased by Liberty’s chairman, Pietro Giorgio, who, being a professional engineer, also designs the new ground – the only facility for spectators around the perimeter being a grandstand with some 700 covered seats on the northern touchline. The new stadium, which is also used by US Ideale, is inaugurated on December 25th, 1925, with a match between FBC Liberty and US Anconitana (1-0).
• 1926 / After one year, FBC Bari resumes its activities, being placed in the fourth division of the football pyramid, the Terza Divisione – more specifically in the Apulian Group A of this division.
• 1927 / Finishing in last place in the Terza Divisione, FBC Bari folds, ceasing all activities permanently. That same year, FBC Liberty changes its name to become Bari Football Club (FC).
• 1928 / Champions in Group D of the Prima Divisione – meanwhile the second level of the Italian football pyramid – 4 points ahead of runners-up AC Fiorentina, Bari FC wins promotion to the Divisione Nazionale. After the 1927-28 season, Bari FC concludes a merger with US Ideale, resulting in the foundation of Unione Sportiva (US) Bari. As the Campo degli Sports seems on the small side for the top tier of Italian football, a modest terrace is added on the south side of the ground, opposite the main stand, allowing 2,000 more spectators to attend home matches. Given the growing interest in football in Bari, plans are presented by Bari’s mayor, Araldo di Crollalanza, to construct a new, much larger municipal stadium in the Marisabella neighbourhood. Crollalanza proposes to call the stadium the Stadio della Vittoria in honour of the fallen Italian soldiers on the Isonzo Front in World War I. However, in the following years, the mayor’s plans are effectively stalled.
• 1929 / Under the aegis of Hungarian coach Ernő Erbstein, US Bari finishes in thirteenth place (of sixteen) in Group A of the Divisione Nazionale, not enough to save the club from relegation – given that the two groups of this top tier are replaced by a single new top division, the so-called Serie A. As such, US Bari finds itself in Serie B for the 1929-30 season. In the fall of 1929, Bari striker Raffaele Costantino is the club’s first player – as well as the first player from the second tier of Italian football – to be called up for the Italian national team. Costantino, who had already worn the colours of Liberty from 1922 onwards, moves from Bari to AS Roma in 1930, eventually returning to his home club five years later. In the course of his career, Costantino also won 23 caps for Italy (8 goals).
• 1931 / Runners-up in Serie B, with an equal number of points as champions AC Fiorentina, but with a slightly inferior goal difference (3 goals), US Bari wins promotion to Serie A. The successful coach is János Hajdu, another Hungarian. Also in 1931, the Campo degli Sports is given a thorough renovation, with the pitch being moved 40 metres in the direction of the Via Vaccarella and the old main stand being incorporated into a much larger grandstand on the northern touchline, able to hold 4,400 spectators. With terraces at the western and eastern ends being added, total capacity is now up to some 10,000.
• 1932 / In spite of the works carried out the previous year, the Campo degli Sports proves too small for Serie A football. Therefore, a tender is issued to bring to fruition the stalled stadium plan of Araldo di Crollalanza from 1928, with the competition being won by construction company Romolo Vaselli from Rome in January 1933.
• 1933 / Coached by Lászlo Barr, who replaced Ernő Erbstein in the course of the season, US Bari finishes in second-last place in Serie A, thus dropping back into Serie B along with bottom club USB Pro Patria et Libertate. Despite this adversity, construction works on the projected Stadio della Vittoria get underway in the summer of 1933 – a single-ring structure able to hold some 30,000 spectators.
• 1934 / Finishing in third place in Serie B Group B, only 3 points behind champions AC Perugia, US Bari qualifies for the promotion play-offs with five other clubs, with Bari finishing in joint first place with AC Sampierdarenese. As only one promotion place is at stake, the two clubs meet for a tie-break match at Bologna’s Stadio Littoriale, which the club from Genoa manages to win with the smallest difference (1-0). As such, US Bari ultimately misses out on an immediate return to Serie A. Later that year, on September 6th, 1934, the Stadio della Vittoria is inaugurated in the presence of Italy’s strongman Benito Mussolini – this in spite of the fact that the monumental 42-metre-high entrance tower, the so-called Torre di Maratona, is not finished yet. On November 25th, US Bari plays its last-ever home match at the Campo degli Sports, a 2-0 win over AFC Venezia, with the club also managing a win in its first competitive match at the Stadio della Vittoria, against AC Comense (3-1). In the following decades, the old Campo degli Sports remains in use for US Bari’s training sessions as well as lower team football and non-league football by other clubs.
• 1935 / Champions in Serie B Group B, 1 point ahead of closest rivals Modena FC, US Bari manages a return to Serie A after an absence of two seasons, along with Group A winner, Genova 1893, which defeats US Bari in the honorary nationwide Serie B title play-offs (4-1 aggr.). Bari’s successful coach is András Kuttik, who replaced Engelbert König in the course of the season.
• 1939 / Bari striker Cesarino Grossi, who had been called up for a military team invited to play a gala match in Tirana on the occasion of King Zog’s marriage, is killed, with the official version of the story being that he was hit by a lightning strike – but there was also talk of an ambush by Albanian opposition groups or rebels. Grossi, a short, agile player nicknamed the centravanti tascabile or ‘pocket striker’, was only 22 years old.
• 1940 / US Bari reaches the semifinals of the Coppa Italia, in which the club is knocked out by Genova 1893 (2-0). In the spring of 1940, as Mussolini prepares his ill-fated invasion of Greece, a large number of mules, intended to be used in the army bunch, are temporarily housed in the Stadio della Vittoria, due to be shipped to Albania. However, during their stay at the ground, the straw which is fed to the animals catches fire, with considerable damage at the stadium as a result.
• 1941 / After six consecutive seasons in the top flight of Italian football, with three eleventh places being the best result, US Bari now finishes bottom of the table in Serie A with coach Luigi Ferrero, resulting in the club being retrograded to Serie B along with the club in second-last place, AC Novara. Until the present day, Bari has never managed six or more consecutive Serie A seasons.
• 1942 / Champions in Serie B, 2 points ahead of AFC Vicenza, US Bari manages an immediate return to Serie A. The successful coach is Stanislao Klein, who replaced András Kuttik in the course of the season.
• 1943 / Finishing in second-last place in Serie A along with two other clubs, US Triestina and AFC Venezia, US Bari has to play a three-way play-off to determine which of the three has to accompany bottom club AC Liguria to Serie B. With a 3-0 defeat at the hands of AFC Venezia in Bologna’s Stadio Littoriale being the final nail in the coffin, US Bari finishes in last place in this play-off, thus suffering the drop. However, due to regular league football being suspended for the following season due to Italy being split in two zones following the Allied invasion of Sicily and Southern Italy, the relegation is never put into effect. On December 2nd, 1943, a heavy bombardment by Allied air forces on Bari results in the Stadio della Vittoria being hit by two bombs – one of those piercing the canopy of the grandstand. Once the city is occupied by the Allies, the stadium is requisitioned by the liberating troops.
• 1944 / Re-establishment of FBC Liberty as Polisportiva Liberty, but the club only holds out for two years, folding in 1946. Towards the end of the year, in December 1944, US Bari, having been inactive for over a year, is reconstituted and taken over by a new board.
• 1945 / The new board of US Bari carries out a name change to mark the new start, renaming the club Associazione Sportiva (AS) Bari, with the change officially coming into effect on January 1st, 1945. Meanwhile, in the early months of 1945, with the war having moved to the north of Italy, a competition tournament is held in Apulia, the so-called Torneo Misto Pugliese, with US Bari finishing in first place, 3 points ahead of closest rivals US Arsenale. As the Stadio della Vittoria has not yet been returned to the club, AS Bari plays its first home matches in this tournament at another venue, the Campo Antonio Lella, an improvised pitch at Via Crispi laid out by the newly reformed Polisportiva Liberty. Finally, on March 4th, 1945, the go-ahead signal having been given to the club by the Allied forces, AS Bari plays its first post-war home match at the Stadio della Vittoria, a 3-1 win over US Presidio Lecce.
• 1946 / For the 1945-46 season, two combined leagues are put together, one in Northern Italy and one in the centre and south of the country, with Serie A and Serie B clubs to give all of them an opportunity to qualify for the new 1946-47 Serie A. In the central and southern group, AS Bari manages a joint first place with AP Napoli, with the club thus easing to Serie A qualification for the new season. Meanwhile, also in 1946, the canopy of the Stadio della Vittoria, destroyed in the December 1943 bomb attack, is reconstructed, with all costs being paid personally by Bari’s new strongman Tommaso Annoscia.
• 1947 / Coached by András Kuttik, AS Bari finishes in seventh place in Serie A – still the best result in club history to date, earning the popular 1946-47 team the nickname Stella del Sud or ‘Star of the South’. Also in 1947, for the first time, the Italian national team plays an international match in Bari, with 30,000 spectators attending the 3-1 win over Czechoslovakia at the Stadio della Vittoria.
• 1950 / Coached by the club’s umpteenth Hungarian trainer, György Sárosi, AS Bari finishes in second-last place in Serie A, thus dropping back into Serie B along with bottom club AC Venezia.
• 1951 / Finishing in eighteenth place (of 21 clubs) in Serie B, AS Bari suffers its second relegation in a row, descending into Serie C for the first time, along with AC Spezia, Seregno FBC, US Cremonese, and bottom club US Anconitana. In the course of the season, Bari had no fewer than seven successive coaches, the last one being club icon Raffaele Costantino, who ultimately proves unable to stop the rot. With the club’s presidency leaving, the reins of the club are temporarily taken over by a municipal regency commission.
• 1952 / In spite of finishing in sixth place in Serie C Group D, AS Bari suffers its third (!) relegation in a row due to a reorganisation of the league pyramid, which sees the number of Serie C groups being brought back. For the 1952-53 season, the club finds itself in the so-called IV Serie or fourth tier of the Italian league system. Also in 1952, US Ideale and FBC Liberty (renamed FC Liberty) are both re-established, with these clubs settling at the old Campo degli Sports. Liberty would go on to have a seven-year spell in Serie D, eventually folding in 1968.
• 1954 / Champions in IV Serie Group H, 8 points ahead of runners-up AS Enna, AS Bari wins promotion to Serie C. The successful coach is Francesco Capocasale.
• 1955 / Finishing top of the table in Serie C, with an equal number of points as US Livorno, but with a slightly better goal difference, AS Bari manages a return to Serie B after four seasons. The successful coach is Francesco Capocasale. Meanwhile, the Stadio della Vittoria plays host to an Italy international friendly for the second time, as the Azzurri defeat Belgium (1-0) in an encounter attended by some 42,000 spectators.
• 1958 / Runners-up in Serie B, 2 points behind champions US Triestina, AS Bari qualifies for a promotion-relegation play-off against Serie A bottom club AC Verona, going on to win the encounter 2-1 on aggregate, with the two matches being played at Bologna’s Stadio Littoriale and Rome’s Stadio Olimpico. The successful coach is Federico Allasio, who earns himself a contract with AC Torino for the following season. After the promotion, AS Bari signs Atalanta BC’s Argentinian midfielder Raúl Conti, who would stay at the club for four seasons and is considered by many one of the best players ever to play for Bari.
• 1961 / Finishing in joint fourteenth place (with eighteen clubs taking part) in Serie A with AC Lecco and AC Udinese, AS Bari has to play a three-way play-off to determine which of the three clubs has to join bottom sides AC Napoli and SS Lazio to Serie B. Finishing in last place in these play-offs with coach Luis Carniglia, who had replaced Francesco Capocasale in the course of the season, AS Bari proves unable to avoid the drop.
• 1963 / Runners-up in Serie B, 2 points behind champions ACR Messina, AS Bari joins the club from Sicily as well as play-off winners SS Lazio in a return to the top flight of Italian football. Moreover, Bari also qualifies for the semis of the Coppa Italia, in which the club is knocked out by eventual winners Atalantia BC. Also in 1963, the Torre di Maratona, the monumental tower at the entrance gate of the Stadio della Vittoria, which had fallen into disrepair, is removed to avoid a collapse of the construction. 
• 1964 / Coached by Paolo Tabanelli – the last of three trainers to guide the club in the 1963-64 season – AS Bari finishes bottom of the Serie A table, thus dropping back into Serie B after just one season, along with Modena FC and SPAL.
• 1965 / Finishing in third-last place in Serie B with coach Hugo Lammana, AS Bari suffers its second relegation in a row, descending into Serie C along with US Triestina and bottom club Parma AS.
• 1966 / Floodlight pylons are added to the set-up at the Stadio della Vittoria, enabling evening matches to be played at the stadium. The facilities are inaugurated in a gala match against SK Austria Klagenfurt.
• 1967 / Champions in Serie C Group C, 7 points ahead of runners-up US Avellino, AS Bari manages an immediate return to Serie B. The successful coach is Lauro Toneatto. That same year, the Campo degli Sports, Bari’s stadium between 1925 and 1934, is knocked down to make way for housing.
• 1969 / Finishing in third place in Serie B, AS Bari records its second promotion in a row, acceding to Serie A along with champions SS Lazio and runners-up AC Brescia. The successful coach is Lauro Toneatto.
• 1970 / Coached by Carlo Mateucci, who had replaced Oronzo Pugliese in the course of the season, AS Bari finishes bottom of the Serie A table, thus dropping back into Serie B after just one season, along with AC Brescia and SSC Palermo.
• 1971 / Finishing in joint second place in Serie B, only 1 point behind champions AC Mantova, AS Bari has to play a three-way play-off with Atalanta BC and US Catanzaro to determine which of the three earns the second and third promotion tickets. In the end, AS Bari draws the short straw, finishing in last place in the play-off and thus being the only club of the three not to accede to Serie A.
• 1974 / Finishing in second-last place in Serie B with coach Carlo Regalia, AS Bari drops back into Serie C along with AS Reggina and bottom club Calcio Catania. 
• 1975 / Runners-up in Serie C Group C, 1 point behind champions Calcio Catania, AS Bari only just misses out on an immediate return to Serie B.
• 1977 / Champions in Serie C Group C, 6 points ahead of closest rivals US Paganese, AS Bari wins promotion to Serie B. The successful coach is Giacomo Losi.
• 1978 / Restoration works are carried out at the Stadio della Vittoria at the behest of the Mattarese family, who have taken over the club. The works involve new entrance doors being put in place as well as the grandstand being equipped with new seats.
• 1983 / Having come close to promotion to Serie A in the previous season, AS Bari, coached by Luigi Radice, now finishes in joint last place in Serie B, thus descending into Serie C1 along with AC Reggiana, Bologna FC, and US Foggia. Also in 1983, the Stadio della Vittoria hosts an international friendly between Italy and Greece (3-0) in front of a sell-out crowd (40,000).
• 1984 / Champions in Serie C1 Group B, AS Bari manages an immediate return to Serie B along with runners-up AS Taranto, which finished 3 points behind them. The successful coach is Bruno Balchi. Also in 1984, AS Bari reaches the semifinals of the Coppa Italia for the third time in its history, knocking out Juventus FC and AC Fiorentina on their way to the semis and ultimately suffering elimination at the hands of AC Hellas Verona (5-2 aggr.). Bari was the first team from the third tier of the Italian football pyramid to come this far in the tournament – an achievement eventually equalled by US Alessandria Calcio 1912 in 2016.
• 1985 / Finishing in third place in Serie B, AS Bari wins its second promotion in a row, thus managing a return to the top flight of Italian football after an absence of fifteen years, along with champions Pisa SC and runners-up US Lecce – in fact, Bari had only finished 1 point behind these two clubs.
• 1986 / Finishing in second-last place in Serie A with coach Bruno Balchi, AS Bari drops back into Serie B after just one season, along with Pisa SC and bottom club US Lecce. Also in 1986, the decision is taken by Bari’s municipal authorities to have a new stadium built in view of the approaching 1990 World Cup, due to be held in Italy. The Stadio della Vittoria is deemed unsuitable and beyond renovation.
• 1987 / In October 1987, following a design by architect Renzo Piano, works get underway on the new-to-be-built Stadio San Nicola, situated on the far outskirts of Bari, alongside the road to Bitritto. 
• 1988 / For the fourth and last time, Italy’s national team plays a match at the Stadio della Vittoria, a 4-1 win against the Soviet Union in a preparatory match for the 1988 European Championships (att. 27,600).
• 1989 / Runners-up in Serie B, with an equal number of points as champions Genoa 1893, but with an inferior goal difference (five goals), AS Bari wins promotion to Serie A, with Udinese Calcio and US Cremonese also acceding to the top flight of Italian football. Following the promotion, Bari signs Brazilian international midfielder João Paulo of Guarani FC, who had been part of the Brazilian squad in the 1988 Olympic Games in Seoul. João Paulo would stay with the club for the following five years. 
• 1990 / Managing a respectable tenth place in the Serie A in the 1989-90 season, AS Bari also earned its only piece of international silverware by winning the Mitropa Cup, a revival of the important international cup tournament in the days prior to the European Cup – but which was now admittedly little more than a second-rank event. Finishing ahead of FK Radnički Niš and Pécsi MSC in the group stage, AS Bari went on to defeat Genoa 1893 in the final, played at Stadio della Vittoria in front of only 3,600 spectators; the only goal in the final was scored by Bari’s Carlo Perrone. For the 1990 World Cup, with the newly inaugurated Stadio San Nicola in Bari being one of the venues, Bari’s Argentine defender Néstor Lorenzo, who had been signed by the club from AA Argentinos Juniors the previous summer, is part of his country’s squad, which ultimately wins the silver medal. Lorenzo would leave Bari after just one season, signing a contract deal with Swindon Town FC. In fact, following the completion of the Stadio San Nicola, the Mitropa Cup final against Genoa proved the last-ever official match to be played at the stadium, with AS Bari moving into the newly inaugurated Stadio San Nicola for the 1990-91 season. In 56 years, Bari played a total of 945 league matches at the Stadio della Vittoria, which continues to be used for occasional non-league football matches and open-air concerts.
• 1991 / Over 20,000 Albanian refugees, who had crossed the Adriatic Sea on board of ship Vlora following the collapse of the communist regime in Tirana, are temporarily housed at the Stadio della Vittoria, causing such damage, that the ground is unfit for any purpose in the following years.
• 1996-97 / After several years of abandonment, the Stadio della Vittoria undergoes a thorough refurbishment in the fall of 1996 in view of the XIII. Mediterranean Games, due to be held in Bari in 1997, during which the athletics competition is held at the Stadio San Nicola, with the Stadio della Vittoria being used for some minor events.
• 2006 / The Stadio della Vittoria becomes the regular home base of rugby club Tigri Rugby Bari 1980 as well as American football club Navy Seals Bari (formerly called Patriots Bari).
• 2018 / The Stadio della Vittoria hosts a U21 Six Nations international match between Italy and Scotland.

All photos: (c) W.B. Tukker / www.extremefootballtourism.blogspot.com. Publication of any of these images only after permission of author

ITALY: AS Bari (1990-2014) / FC Bari 1908 (2014-2018) / SSC Bari SSD (2018-2019) / SSC Bari (2019-) / Team Altamura (2024)

Stadio San Nicola, Bari (SSC Bari, formerly AS Bari / FC Bari 1908 / SSC Bari SSD / Team Altamura)

Italy, region: Apulia

25 IV 2025 / SSC Bari - Modena FC 2018 1-2 / Serie B (= ITA level 2)

Timeline

• 1908 / A football pitch is laid out on the military parade ground in Bari, situated in the San Pasquale neighbourhood. This so-called Campo San Lorenzo is the breeding ground of football in Bari, with Bari FBC (founded in 1908), US Ideale (1908), and FBC Liberty (1909) all playing their matches at this venue.
• 1915 / Bari FBC, the oldest of the three main clubs in Bari, folds, ceasing all activities.
• 1924 / Bari FBC is re-established as FBC Bari.
• 1925 / With the Campo San Lorenzo being abandoned, the home matches of all three of Bari’s main football clubs move to the newly laid-out Campo degli Sports, which is in fact designed as well as owned by FBC Liberty’s chairman.
• 1927 / FBC Bari folds, ceasing all activities. That same year, FBC Liberty takes on the new name Bari FC.
• 1928 / Bari FC and US Ideale conclude a merger, resulting in the foundation of Unione Sportiva (US) Bari.
• 1934 / Moving away from the Campo degli Sports, US Bari settles at the newly constructed Stadio della Vittoria, inaugurated in September 1934 in the presence of Italy’s strongman Benito Mussolini.
• 1945 / Following the horrors of World War II, US Bari is taken over by a new consortium, which adapts the name of the club to become Associazione Sportiva (AS) Bari. The club continues to play its football at the Stadio della Vittoria in the following decades.
• 1984 / In December 1984, world football association FIFA takes the decision to give the organisation of the 1990 World Cup to Italy. Bari’s municipal authorities waste no time in indicating their interest to have Bari among the venue cities of the event, which provokes the question if the Stadio della Vittoria should be renovated or if a new stadium, to be built elsewhere, would be a preferable option.
• 1986 / Bari’s municipal council takes the decision to have a new stadium built, as the Stadio della Vittoria is deemed unsuitable as a World Cup venue as well as beyond renovation.
• 1987 / In October 1987, following a design by architect Renzo Piano, works get underway on the new-to-be-built Stadio San Nicola, situated on the far outskirts of Bari, alongside the road to Bitritto. Genoese architect Renzo Piano is the designer of several high-profile architectural works, most notably the Centre Pompidou in Paris. His original design for the stadium in Bari provides a lower ring in an artificial depression, topped by an upper ring in 26 different sectors, eight meters apart from each other. Apart from the optical effect, the separation of the top parts of the stands makes possible the isolation of groups of fans if need be. Moreover, a moat is envisaged between the lower ring and the playing field. In jest, the architect dubs his stadium design as Astronave or ‘Space Ship’. Originally, the projected capacity is 50,000, but, following a request by municipal authorities, an eight-lane athletics track is added to the set-up, resulting in a larger diameter of the stands and a total capacity of 58,270. On the downside, the roof above the structure now no longer protects the spectators in the front rows of the lower ring.
• 1990 / In May 1990, seven months later than originally planned, the new stadium in Bari is finally ready to be inaugurated – just in time for the 1990 World Cup, for which it is one of the selected venues. The ground – the largest football stadium in Southern Italy and the third-largest in Italy as a whole behind the Stadio Giuseppe Meazza in Milan and the Stadio Olimpico in Rome – is given the name Stadio San Nicola, thus honouring the patron saint of the city. This name is the winner of a popular vote, organised by the local newspaper Gazzetta del Mezzogiorno, with the turned-down suggestions being Stadio Mediterraneo, Stadio Azzurro, Stadio del Levante, and Stadio degli Ulivi. In early June, mere days before the start of the World Cup, the new stadium is inaugurated with a friendly between AS Bari and Milan AC, resulting in a 2-0 win for the home side – and Lorenzo Scarafoni being the first-ever goalscorer at the venue. In the World Cup itself, the stadium hosts three matches in the group stage, all in Group B: Soviet Union-Romania (0-2, both goals by Marius Lăcătuș), Cameroun-Romania (2-1), and Cameroun-Soviet Union (0-4). Subsequently, the spectators in Bari see Czechoslovakia ease past Costa Rica in the first knock-out round (4-1), while the Stadio San Nicola also hosts the match for the bronze medal between Italy and England (2-1). For the start of the regular 1990-91 season, AS Bari, which had finished in a respectable tenth place in Italy’s top division, the Serie A, in the previous season, settles at the Stadio San Nicola, abandoning its old Stadio della Vittoria.
• 1991 / The Stadio San Nicola hosts the European Cup final between FK Crvena Zvezda (Red Star Belgrade) and Olympique Marseille (0-0 A.E.T., Red Star wins penalty shoot-out). Meanwhile, for the 1991-92 season, AS Bari signs a host of big-name players, the best-known of them being Aston Villa FC midfielder David Platt, who had been one of England’s stars in the 1990 World Cup.
• 1992 / Bari Coach Gaetano Salvemini fails to mould his all-star ensemble into a team and is replaced by former Polish international Zbigniew Boniek, but to no avail; AS Bari finishes in fifteenth place in Serie A, thus dropping back into Serie B along with Verona FC, US Cremonese, and bottom club Ascoli Calcio 1898. David Platt, who scored 11 goals in his 29 league matches for Bari and was called up for his country’s squad taking part in the 1992 European Championships in Sweden, leaves the club, signing a contract with Juventus FC. AS Bari signs Sebastião Lazaroni, Brazil’s coach in the 1990 World Cup, as its new trainer, but he is unable to bring Bari back to the top flight and leaves the club after the 1992-93 season. Also in 1992, Antonello Venditti is the first high-profile artist to give an open-air concert at the Stadio San Nicola; in subsequent years, he would be followed by Vasco Rossi, Adriano Celentano, Eros Ramazzotti, and many others.
• 1993 / Defender Giovanni Loseto, who had broken into AS Bari’s first team from the club’s youth academy eleven years previously, now leaves the club for Pescara Calcio. In total, Loseto played 319 official matches for the club, an all-time record at that moment. 
• 1994 / Runners-up in Serie B, 5 points behind champions AC Fiorentina, AS Bari joins the Florentine club as well as Brescia Calcio and Calcio Padova in Serie A the following season. The successful coach is Giuseppe Materazzi. After five seasons at Bari, one of the darlings of the home supporters, Brazilian midfielder João Paulo, leaves the club, signing a deal with CR Vasco da Gama in his home country.
• 1995 / For the first time since the 1990 World Cup, the Stadio San Nicola is the venue for an international match, as Italy defeats Ukraine in a European Championships qualifier (3-1).
• 1996 / Coached by Eugenio Fascetti, who had replaced Giuseppe Materazzi as Bari’s coach in the course of the season, the club finishes in fifteenth place in Serie A, thus dropping back into Serie B along with Torino Calcio, US Cremonese, and bottom club Calcio Padova. Incredibly, given the bad placing of the club in the final ranking, Bari had a successful two-man forward line which scored 36 goals in total, Igor Protti (24) and Swedish World Cup star Kennet Andersson (12). Both of them leave the club, signing respective deals with SS Lazio (Protti) and Bologna FC (Andersson). Andersson’s departure is balanced by the arrival of another Swedish international, midfielder Klas Ingesson of Sheffield Wednesday FC.
• 1997 / Finishing in fourth place in Serie B, AS Bari manages an immediate return to Serie A along with champions Brescia Calcio as well as Empoli FC and derby rivals US Lecce. The successful coach is Eugenio Fascetti. In the summer of 1997, the XIII. Mediterranean Games are held in Bari, with the Stadio San Nicola being the main venue, with all athletics events as well as the final of the football tournament between the U23 teams of Italy and Turkey (5-1) taking place at the stadium. One of the other venues is the renovated Stadio della Vittoria.
• 1998 / After two seasons at AS Bari, Klas Ingesson leaves the club for Bologna FC. In the 1998 World Cup, held in France, two Bari players take part, Phil Masinga (South Africa) and Rachid Neqrouz (Morocco). In the early stages of the 1998-99 season, the UEFA Cup match between AC Fiorentina and HNK Hajduk Split (2-1) is played in Bari, due to Fiorentina not being allowed to play at its own Stadio Artemio Franchi following misconduct by their supporters during their 1996-97 Cup Winners’ Cup semifinal second leg match against Barcelona.
• 1999 / Bari defender Gianluca Zambrotta, who had signed for the club from Como Calcio two years previously, now joins Juventus FC, while also earning his first cap for Italy that same year. Zambrotta would wear his country’s deep-blue jersey on 98 occasions, being part of the squad which won the 2006 World Cup in Germany.
• 2000 / Bari players Yksel Osmanovski and Daniel Andersson are part of Sweden’s squad in the 2000 European Championships in Belgium and the Netherlands. 
• 2001 / Finishing bottom of the Serie A table with coach Arcangelo Sciannimanico, who had replaced Eugenio Fascetti in the course of the season, AS Bari drops back into Serie B after four seasons, along with Reggina Calcio, Vicenza Calcio, and SSC Napoli. Defender Antonio Cassano, who had broken into Bari’s first team from the club’s youth academy in 1999, leaves the club, signing a contract with AS Roma. Cassano would go on to wear the colours of Real Madrid CF, UC Sampdoria, AC Milan, Internazionale, and Parma FC. Moreover, Cassano won 39 caps for Italy. Another player to leave Bari following the relegation in 2001 is midfielder Simone Perrotta, who joins AC Chievo Verona. Perrotta, who won a total of 48 caps for Italy, was part of his country’s World Cup winning squad in 2006.
• 2002 / Replacing Attilio Perotti in the early stages of the 2002-03 season, former Juventus FC and World Cup legend Mario Tardelli becomes head coach at AS Bari. Tardelli would be sacked in the early stages of the following season, being replaced by Giuseppe Pilon.
• 2004 / Finishing in joint twenty-first place in Serie B with Venezia FC, AS Bari meets the club from Venice in a relegation tie-breaker, going on to suffer a 2-1 (aggr.) defeat. As such, the club is relegated to the third level of the Italian football pyramid, Serie C1, along with Pescara Calcio, US Avellino, and bottom club Como Calcio. Eventually, however, due to bankruptcies at US Anconitana (Serie A) and SSC Napoli (Serie B), AS Bari and Pescara Calcio are re-admitted in Serie B for the new season.
• 2006 / After supporters’ misconduct in the derby game between Reggina Calcio and FC Messina Peloro, Reggina has to play its final league game of the season against Juventus FC away from its own Stadio Oreste Granillo. With Bari’s Stadio San Nicola being chosen as the replacement venue, Juve goes on to win the match (0-2) as well as the Italian title, only to see the trophy being taken away weeks later due to the so-called Calciopoli bribery scandal, which sees the club from Turin being punished with relegation to Serie B. Later in 2006, Juventus returns to the Stadio San Nicola for its Coppa Italia R1 away match against AC Martina 1947 (0-3). Martina chose Bari’s ground as its own stadium was deemed unsuitable to receive its high-profile opponent.
• 2007 / After twelve years, the Stadio San Nicola plays host to an international match again, as Italy defeats Scotland in a Euro qualifier (2-0). Prior to the match, Bari’s municipal authorities have the missing and broken seats in the stadium replaced as well as the scoreboard restored.
• 2009 / After several difficult years in Serie B, AS Bari now clinches the title in the antechamber of Italian football, 4 points ahead of runners-up Parma FC. As such, the club wins promotion to Serie A along with the aforementioned club as well as AS Livorno Calcio. The successful coach is former Italian international midfielder Antonio Conte, who would leave the club following the title to join Juventus FC. Conte would go on to have coaching spells at the Italian national team as well as Chelsea FC, Internazionale, Tottenham Hotspur FC, and SSC Napoli. With its new coach Gian Piero Ventura, Bari would have a stable first season back in the top flight, finishing in tenth place in Serie A. The year 2009 also saw the Stadio San Nicola play host to the World Cup qualifier between Italy and Ireland (1-1), while a strong mistral destroyed parts of the roofing construction over the away end – with the construction only being brought in order three years later. More damage to the roofing construction – and subsequent renovation works – occurred in the following years.
• 2010 / The first-ever Bari player to be called up for the Italian World Cup squad, defender Leonardo Bonucci is part of his country’s team taking part in the 2010 World Cup. The defender, who had signed from Pisa SC the previous year, left the club in the summer of 2010 to join Juventus FC. Another Bari player to be called up for the World Cup tournament in South Africa is Honduran midfielder Edgar Álvarez.
• 2011 / Coached by Bortolo Mutti, who had replaced Gian Piero Ventura in the course of the season, AS Bari finishes bottom of the Serie A table, thus dropping back into Serie B along with UC Sampdoria and Brescia Calcio. Following the relegation, Belgian goalkeeper Jean-François Gillet leaves the club to sign a deal with Bologna FC. Gillet, who had spent two spells with Bari (ten seasons in total: 2000-03 & 2004-11) broke Giovanni Loseto’s club record of 319 official matches, as he defended the Apulian club’s goal in 353 matches in total – an all-time record. Also in 2011, the Stadio San Nicola hosted the international friendly between Italy and World Cup winners Spain (2-1).
• 2014 / Finishing in seventh place in Serie B, AS Bari qualifies for the promotion play-offs, in which the club knocks out FC Crotone in R1 (0-3), following which it manages a 4-4 (aggr.) draw against US Latina in the semis – not enough to progress to the following round, as Latina wins the ticket to the final based on having scored more points in the regular season. By that time, Bari’s failing to win promotion ranks as a minor problem, as the club had been declared bankrupt on March 10th, 2014, pressed down by a debt exceeding 30 million euro. With the club’s patrimony being purchased by an investor group gathered around former referee Gianluca Paparesta, Bari is allowed to keep its place in Serie B with a new name, FC Bari 1908. Also in 2016, Italy defeats the Netherlands in a friendly played at Stadio San Nicola (2-0).
• 2016 / Finishing in fifth place in Serie B, FC Bari 1908 qualifies for the promotion play-offs, in which the club is eliminated in R1 by Novara Calcio (3-4 A.E.T.). Also in 2016, Italy suffers its first-ever defeat in an international match played at Stadio San Nicola, losing 1-3 against France in a friendly.
• 2018 / In spite of being deduced 2 points due to financial problems, FC Bari 1908 finishes in seventh place in Serie B, enough to qualify for the promotion play-offs. However, in those play-offs, the club is eliminated in R1 by AS Cittadella (2-2 A.E.T. & Cittadella progresses based on having scored more points in the regular season). Following the 2017-18 season, with the new board having proved unable to solve the club’s grave financial difficulties, FC Bari 1908 is dissolved. Subsequently, the club is re-established as an amateur team, Società Sportiva Calcio (SSC) Bari Società Sportiva Dilettantistica (SSD). SSC Bari SSD is admitted to Serie D, the fourth tier of Italian football, for the 2018-19 season. 
• 2019 / Runaway champions in Serie D Group I, 11 points ahead of closest followers ASD Turris Calcio, SSC Bari SSD wins promotion to Serie C with its coach Giovanni Cornacchini. In June 2019, the club sheds its amateur (‘dilettante’) status, abbreviating its name to become SSC Bari.
• 2020 / Runners-up in Serie C Group C, 9 points behind champions Reggina 1914 on the basis of 30 of 38 matches played - with the 2019-20 season being cut short by the first COVID lockdown in March 2020 -, SSC Bari qualifies for the promotion play-offs, in which the club knocks out Ternana Calcio in the quarterfinals (1-1 & better league finish), going on to qualify for the final following a 2-1 (A.E.T.) win over Carrarese Calcio 1908 in the semis. However, in the final against Reggio Audace FC, played at the Stadio Città del Tricolore in Reggio Emilia, Bari suffers a 1-0 defeat, thus ultimately missing out on promotion. Also in 2020, the seats at the western and eastern sides of the Stadio San Nicola are replaced – with both short ends undergoing the same renovation two years later.
• 2021 / Finishing in fourth place in Serie C Group C, SSC Bari is knocked out in R1 of the promotion play-offs by Feralpisalò (1-0 aggr.).
• 2022 / Champions in Serie C Group C, 8 points ahead of runners-up US Catanzaro 1929, SSC Bari wins promotion to Serie B along with play-off winners Palermo FC. The successful coach is Michele Mignani. Bari’s Moroccan striker Walid Cheddira is called up for his country’s squad in the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.
• 2023 / SSC Bari has an excellent first season in Serie B, finishing in third place and qualifying for the promotion play-offs. Knocking out FC Südtirol in the semis (1-1 aggr. & qualification based on better league result), the club goes on to suffer a 2-1 (aggr.) defeat against Cagliari Calcio in the final, thus narrowly missing out on a second promotion in a row. Also in 2023, the Stadio San Nicola plays host to Italy’s Euro qualifier against Malta (4-0).
• 2024 / Finishing in seventeenth place in Serie B, SSC Bari only avoids relegation by defeating Ternana Calcio in a relegation tie-breaker (4-1 aggr.). The club’s Romanian striker George Puşcaş is called up for his country’s squad in the 2024 European Championships in Germany. In the first three months of the 2024-25 season, Team Altamura, a club which had won promotion to Serie C for the first time, groundshares with SSC Bari at the Stadio San Nicola while its own Stadio Antonio D’Angelo is upgraded to meet Serie C requirements.

Note - Below, a compilation of photos of two different visits: pictures 1-2 = non-matchday visit, April 22, 2025 / pictures 3-29 = match visit, April 25, 2025

All photos: (c) W.B. Tukker / www.extremefootballtourism.blogspot.com. Publication of any of these images only after permission of author