Associazione Sportiva Casale Calcio is an Italian football club, based in Casale Monferrato, Piedmont. The team's nickname nerostellati (the “the starred-blacks”) refers to the team’s colours of black with a white star on the heart.

History

When the club was founded in 1909 Casale was at the geographical centre of the new footballing movement. Genoa, Pro Vercelli, Internazionale Torino and Alessandria were all leading clubs in the Italian football league system and Casale soon joined their number.

In May 1913 Casale became the first Italian club to defeat an English professional team when they beat Reading FC 2–1. Reading won all the other games on this tour, defeating Genoa, Milan, Pro Vercelli and the Italian national team.

In the following season Casale won the national title for the first and (as of 2006) only time. At this time Italian football was organized on a regional basis and the national championship was divided into three stages. Casale topped Ligurian-Piedmontese division and proceeded, along with second-placed Genoa, to compete in a division comprising the top northern teams. (The others being Inter Milan, Juventus, Vicenza and Verona.) Having won that division, Casale defeated central-southern champions Lazio 7–1, 0–2 in the two-leg final.

After World War I Casale remained in the top division for a couple of decades, representing what was the cradle of early Italian football.

With the development of professionalism, Casale was progressively relegated to lower divisions, 1934 being their last year in Serie A.

At the end of the 2005–2006 season Casale finished bottom of Serie C2/A; in 2006–2007 they are expected to play in Serie D/A, joining their old rivals the “Greys” of Alessandria.

References

• For 1913: http://www.btinternet.com/~rfc1871/news/features/italiantour.htm and Il Calcio a Casale M.to
• For 1914: http://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Campionato_di_calcio_italiano_1914

External links

• Official Website
• Boys Casale: an Ultras site with more coverage on the foundation of the club and its early years.

Italian football clubs | 1909 establishments

Associazione Sportiva Casale Calcio | Associazione Sportiva Casale Calcio