Taranto FC 1927

Taranto

Full name	Taranto Football Club 1927 S.r.l.
Nickname(s)	Gli Ionici (The Ionians) I Rossoblù (The Red and Blue) I Delfini (The Dolphins)
Founded	1927
Ground	Stadio Erasmo Iacovone, Taranto, Italy
Capacity	27,584
Chairman	Massimo Giove
Manager	Ezio Capuano
League	Serie C Group C
2022–23	Serie C Group C, 11th of 20
Website	Club website
Home colours Away colours Third colours

Taranto Football Club 1927, commonly referred to as Taranto, is a professional Italian football club, based in Taranto, Apulia. Originally founded in 1927 by the union of two pioneering clubs that created the first city squad, Taranto currently plays in Serie C Group C. Taranto is 19th in the all-time Serie B ranking, though Taranto has not played in Serie B since 1993, having played in the "serie cadetta" 31 times, more than any other Italian club which never played in Serie A.

History

A.S. Taranto

The first team ever founded in the city of Taranto was the Mario Rapisardi, established in 1904. However, in 1904 another team, U.S. Pro Italia, was founded. That year, the two teams attempted unsuccessfully to merge with each other. In 1911, after the founding of Audace Foot Ball Club by a group of local students, a rivalry between the two teams started, lasting until 1927, when the two teams merged to form A.S. Taranto. The new team first promoted to Serie B in 1935, played only one year in that category. In 1947, after merging with U.S. Arsenale Taranto, another team in the city, the club assumed the name of U.S. Arsenaltaranto, which lasted until 1955, when the old one was restored. In 1965, the new venue was inaugurated, after a hundred days of construction. A number of years played in Serie B and Serie C saw the highest peak ever reached by Taranto in 1977–1978, when the team, led by striker Erasmo Iacovone, was seriously fighting for a surprising promotion. However, on 6 February 1978, Iacovone was killed in a car accident. After his death, Taranto's venue was named after him. Taranto left Serie B in 1980/1981 and reached it again three years later. In 1985 the club was declared bankrupt by magistrates, and was taken over before the end of that season. Because of all that, it was forced to change its name to a different one, Taranto Football Club SpA. However, after more economic woes, the team was disbanded in 1993.

Another club

A new team, named Taranto Calcio 1906, was established in 1993 and registered to Serie D by the FIGC. The team reached Serie C2/C in 1994/1995, but went into liquidation in 1998, so that a new team, again named U.S. Arsenaltaranto, was admitted to Serie D. In 2000 it was admitted to Serie C2/C, and changed its name to Taranto Calcio Srl. However, in 2004 the team was declared bankrupt one more time, and the consequent bankruptcy auction entrusted the club in the hands of businessman Vito Luigi Blasi, who changed its name in Taranto Sport Srl. In 2005/2006, the team ended second, gaining a spot in the promotion play-offs. The final phase of the Serie C2/C league ended in a triumph for Taranto Sport, which won the playoff finals against Rende and returned to Serie C1/B.

On 29 June 2012 it was excluded from Italian professional football and did not take its place in the 2012–13 championship of Lega Pro Prima Divisione.^[1]

Taranto Football Club 1927

On 20 July 2012 the new company Taranto Football Club 1927 S.p.A. was established.^{[citation needed]} It restarted from the Serie D (Girone H)^[2] thanks to Article 52 of N.O.I.F.^[3] In 2013 the team finished 7th in the league. In 2014 it ended the season in second place and lost to Arezzo in the play-offs. The next season ended in similar fashion, with Taranto ending the season in second place and losing in the play-offs semifinal to Sestri Levante.

In 2015 the club was renamed to Società Sportiva Dilettantistica Taranto Football Club 1927.^{[citation needed]} In 2016 the team finished the season in second place and lost in the play-offs to Fondi, but eventually benefitted from a repechage and promoted to Lega Pro. The following season Taranto finished 20th in Lega Pro/C and thus got relegated back to Serie D after just one season. In 2017–18 the team finished 4th in Serie D/H and lost to Cavese the playoff final. A year later the team finished 3rd in Serie D/H but again lost in the playoff final, this time to Audace Cerignola. The team finished 6th in 2019–20 Serie D/H, thus failing to qualify for the playoffs. In 2020-21, Taranto finished in first place in Group H, thus securing promotion to Serie C.

Colors and badge

The team's colors are red and blue.

Current squad

As of 19 January 2024^[update][4]

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  ITA Andrea Loliva 3 DF  ITA Antonio Ferrara 4 DF  ITA Ivan De Santis 5 DF  BRA Matias Antonini 6 DF  ITA Cristian Riggio 7 MF  ITA Antonio Romano 8 MF  ITA Andrea Bonetti (on loan from Juventus) 11 FW  ITA Luigi Samele (on loan from Sassuolo) 14 MF  ITA Alfredo Bifulco 15 DF  ITA Patrick Enrici 17 DF  ITA Ciro Panico 18 MF  ITA Esmeraldo Kondaj 19 DF  ITA Jonas Heinz (on loan from Südtirol) 20 DF  ALB Daniel Hysaj

No. Pos. Nation Player 23 MF  ITA Simone Calvano 26 GK  ITA Gianmarco Vannucchi 27 MF  ITA Gianmarco Papaserio 28 MF  ITA Marco Fiorani 29 MF  ITA Loris Zonta (on loan from Vicenza) 70 MF  ITA Federico Capone 72 FW  ITA Gianluca Mastromonaco 77 FW  SEN Mamadou Kanouté 96 FW  ITA Francesco Orlando 99 FW  ITA Michael Fabbro — DF  ITA Mirko Miceli (on loan from Turris) — DF  ITA Christian Travaglini (on loan from Cagliari) — DF  ITA Federico Valietti (on loan from Genoa) — FW  ITA Michael De Marchi

Out on loan

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

No. Pos. Nation Player — MF  ITA Luca Crecco (at Latina until 30 June 2024)

No. Pos. Nation Player — MF  ITA Giovanni Maiorino (at Termoli until 30 June 2024)

References

External links

• (in Italian) Official site, archived from the original on 7 April 2020, retrieved 16 June 2021
• (in Italian) Miky & Genny – Complete database since 1904 and current season
• (in Spanish) El jinete marino de Taranto