Perugia Calcio

Perugia Calcio is a football club based in Perugia, Umbria, direct heir of the old A.C. Perugia, excluded from Italian football because of financial troubles. The new club currently plays in Italian Serie C1. The team's colors are red and white. The original club was formed in 1905, and was cancelled in 2005 after having spent a large part of recent years in Serie A (its last relegation came in 2004).

The team also won the Intertoto Cup in 2003.

Perugia had become known for taking a chance on players from "non-traditional" footballing nations, and was the first European team of Japanese star Hidetoshi Nakata.

Other famous former players included Ahn Jung-Hwan, Rahman Rezaei and Al-Saadi Qadhafi, son of Libyan leader Muammar al-Qaddafi.

The team came under scrutiny when its owner, Luciano Gaucci, criticized his own player, Ahn Jung-Hwan of Korea, for scoring the golden goal that knocked Italy out of the 2002 World Cup.

History

Promotion to Serie B in 1966 would mark the beginning of one of the club's most successful periods. Perugia spent the next eight years in Serie B before promotion to Serie A for the first time in 1975.

In the club's first Serie A season, Perugia finished 8th with 31 points- just short of a European place. Star players in the side included defender Pierluigi Frosio and midfielders Renato Curi and Franco Vannini. The side remained in the top half of the table for the rest of the decade, finishing runners-up in 1979 with 11 wins and 19 draws- the only unbeaten side not to win a title. However, tragedy and scandal marred this period- in 1977, Curi died of a heart attack during a league match with Juventus, while Vannini's career was ended by injury in 1979. The Totonero scandal in 1980 led to a 5-point penalty and relegation in 1981. Illario Castagner was coach during this period.

The club spent the first half of the 80s trying to get back to Serie A, nearly succeeding in 1985 with an 11-26-1 record. Another scandal in 1986 forced Perugia down to Serie C2. It was during this time that Fabrizio Ravanelli would be discovered, he would later go on to a career with Reggiana, Juventus, Middlesbrough and several other clubs before returning to Perugia.

The controversial and eccentric Luciano Gaucci took control of the club. The side returned to Serie B in 1994 and under the guidance of Giovanni Galeone reached Serie A in 1996. Perugia started well before Gaucci's bizarre decision to replace Galeone with Nevio Scala. The side's form slumped alarmingly before a late rally gave them a chance of survival- a 2-1 defeat at Piacenza in the final round sealed their fate. With Castagner back in charge, Perugia won a play-off with Torino to secure a return to the top flight.

The next six seasons saw Perugia hold their own in Serie A with an array of home-grown and foreign stars passing through the ranks, most notably Hidetoshi Nakata and Ahn Jung-Hwan. After relegation in 2004, Perugia lost another promotion play-off before financial difficulties forced them to Serie C1 once more.

Notable former players

External links

1905 establishments | Italian football clubs

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History

Notable former players

External links