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Unione Sportiva Catanzaro is a football club based in Catanzaro, Calabria. The club was founded in 1929 and currently plays in Italian Serie B; after a relegation, last season, after just one year in Serie B, the team have been moved back to Serie B by office, because of vacancies related to other teams' exclusions. However, in its 2005/2006 Serie B campaign, Catanzaro came out last again, being therefore relegated to Serie C1 for the next season.
Its last stint in Serie A ended in 1983. The team's colors are red and yellow.
History
Catanzaro achieved promotion to Serie B in 1959, and reached the Italian Cup final in 1966. In 1971, they defeated Bari in a play-off to win promotion to Serie A for the first time.
Catanzaro's innaugural Serie A season saw them struggle and succumb to relegation on the final day with only 3 wins and 15 draws for 21 points. However, their first-ever Serie A win came in Round 16 with a 1-0 win over Juventus. After narrowly missing out on a return to Serie A in 1975, they bounced back in 1976 but once again lasted just one year.
A third promotion in 1978 ushered in the club's golden era with a five-year stay in Serie A. With a team including Claudio Ranieri, Gianni Improta and the iconic Massimo Palanca, Catanzaro managed a highly credible 9th place in 1979. Though they finished 14th and would have been relegated the following year, they won a reprieve thanks to forced relegations for Milan and Lazio. They managed 8th place in 1981 and 7th the following year before a dismal relegation in 1983. Much of the next four years was spent bouncing between Serie B and C1.
Catanzaro emerged as promotion contenders once more in 1988, with the ageless Palanca having returned to the club after a fruitless spell at Napoli. Finishing 5th, they would succumb to successive relegations in 1990 and 1991, staying in Serie C2 until 2003.
Current first team squad
As of February 11, 2006
Notable former players
External link
Italian football clubs | 1929 establishments
US Catanzaro | Unione Sportiva Catanzaro | US Catanzaro | U.S. Catanzaro | US Catanzaro
"U.S. Catanzaro"