ACR Messina facts for kids
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| Full name | Associazioni Calcio Riunite Messina S.r.l. | ||
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| Nickname(s) | Giallorossi (Yellow-red) Biancoscudati (White-shield) |
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| Founded | 1900 as Messina F.C. | ||
| Ground | Stadio Comunale San Filippo-Franco Scoglio, Messina, Italy |
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| Capacity | 38,722 | ||
| Chairman | Pietro Sciotto | ||
| Head coach | Giacomo Modica | ||
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Associazioni Calcio Riunite Messina S.r.l. is a football club from Messina, a city in Sicily, Italy. The team is often called A.C.R. Messina. They play in Serie C, which is the third highest football league in Italy.
Contents
History of A.C.R. Messina
The club started way back in 1900 as Messina F.C.. For most of its history, the team has played in the lower Italian football leagues. They were in Serie B in 2007–08, and before that, they spent three years in Serie A, Italy's top league. In 2008, Messina had money problems and had to leave professional football. They then joined an amateur league called Serie D.
Messina has reached the last 16 in the Coppa Italia (Italian Cup). They also made it to the semi-finals of the Coppa Italia Serie C (a cup for Serie C teams).
The club has played in Serie A five times in total. Their first time was in the 1960s, and their second was in the 2000s. Their best finish ever was 7th place in the 2004–05 season.
Early Years: 1900 to 1939
The story of Messina Football Club began in August 1900. A student named Alfredo Marangolo came back to Sicily from London, England. He had seen how popular football was becoming there.
Marangolo officially started Messina Football Club on December 1, 1900. He had help from an English reverend named "Caulifield."
Marangolo also knew Ignazio Majo Pagano, who started another team, Anglo Palermitan (Palermo), a month before Messina. The first ever game between two Sicilian teams was played on April 18, 1901. Messina played Palermo, and 1,000 fans watched. Palermo won the game 3–2.
These two Sicilian clubs became good friends and rivals. They started a competition called the Whitaker Challenge Cup. Messina won their first trophy in 1905, beating Palermo 3–2. They won the cup again the next year with a 2–1 victory.
In 1908, a big earthquake hit Messina, and about 60,000 people died. This greatly affected the club. Some players and a financial supporter passed away. Football started again the next year, thanks to Arthur Barret Lascelles, who used his own money to keep the club going. By 1910, the club ran out of money and closed down. Another club, Società Ginnastica Garibaldi Messina, took its place for a short time but also closed during World War I.
After World War I, a new club called US Messinese was formed. They played in the Coppa Federale Siciliana, a championship for Sicilian teams. Messina finished second.
In 1921–22, the club played in the Italian Football Championship for the first time. Over the next few years, different Messina teams merged. In 1922, Umberto I Messina joined US Messinese, and the club became US Messinese Umberto I. Then, this team merged with Messina Sporting Club to form Messina Football Club. By 1924, FC Messina was replaced by a reformed US Messinese.
Messinese made it to the semi-finals of the International League in 1924–25 after beating Palermo. They were promoted to Serie B in 1932–33 and stayed there for six seasons. During this time, they had a strong rivalry with Calcio Catania.
Changes and Mergers: 1940 to 1947
In 1940–41, AC Messina stopped playing. The next season, a club called US Peloro 1906 changed its name to US Mario Passamonte. They wanted to join Serie C, but it didn't happen until the next season.
All Italian football stopped for World War II. After the war, in 1945, several teams merged, including US Passamonte and AP Messina. This created AS Messina. However, some players and officials formed a rival club called Giostra Messina. Both teams reached the finals of the Southern League.
A.C. Riunite Messina is Born
In 1947, the two teams, AS Messina and Giostra Messina, joined together. They formed a new club called Associazioni Calcio Riunite Messina, often shortened to AC Riunite Messina.
The 1950s started well for Messina. They won the Serie C championship. In their first season in Serie B, they avoided being sent down to a lower league. The next season, they finished in third place.
Messina stayed in Serie B for the rest of the 1950s. In 1958, Goffredo Muglia became the new president. For the first time in their history, Messina won the Serie B championship in the 1962–63 season. It was a very close race, and Messina won on the last day.
For their first season ever in Serie A (1963–64), Messina's team included players like Morelli, Brambilla, and Clerici. Their first Serie A game was on September 15, 1963, a 3–1 loss to Sampdoria. The first half of the season was tough, with only two wins. But they played much better in the second half, winning seven games. They even beat big teams like Juventus (1–0) and Fiorentina (1–0). These wins helped them stay in Serie A, finishing 14th.
The next season in Serie A was not as good. They were sent down to Serie B, finishing 17th. Still, they had some great moments, like a 1–0 win against Roma and a big 4–0 win against Lazio on the last day.
Messina could not get back to Serie A right away. After three seasons in Serie B, they were relegated again. After several years in Serie C, Messina went down to Serie D in 1972–73. But they quickly bounced back, winning the Serie D championship and returning to Serie C. In 1979, Serie C2 was created, and Messina was placed in it.
By 1983, Messina won the Serie C2 championship. They had a future star player named Salvatore Schillaci. The club was doing well again. In 1985, they almost got promoted to Serie B, finishing third. The next season, they won Serie C1 and were promoted back to Serie B.
The 1980s were good for Messina in Serie B, with finishes in seventh and eighth place. In 1989, Schillaci was sold to Juventus. Three seasons after he left, Messina lost their spot in Serie B and went down to C1. Then, they faced more problems. In 1992–93, they finished 12th in Serie C1, but due to money issues, the Italian Football Federation stopped all professional football for Messina.
In 1993, the club was moved to an amateur league called Sicilian Promozione. In 1994, they joined Sicilian Eccellenza. They played in this league until 1998, when they were sent down again and then closed.
A New Start: A.S. Messina
Many people thought the decision to close the club was unfair. In the summer of 1993, a new club called A.S. Messina was started. Its goal was to bring the giallorossi (yellow-reds) back to professional football.
They played in the Campionato Nazionale Dilettanti (an amateur national championship) for four seasons. For the first three, they finished high up. But in 1996–97, they finished last and were sent down to the Sicilian Eccellenza league.
In the 1998–99 season, they were relegated to Sicilian Promozione and then closed down.
Rise of F.C. Messina Peloro
In the summer of 1994, after two other teams merged, U.S. Peloro was founded. They played two seasons in Eccellenza Sicily. In 1996, they were promoted to Campionato Nazionale Dilettanti (Serie D). In 1996, this club played in the same league as A.S. Messina, finishing 6th.
In July 1997, the club changed its name to Football Club Messina Peloro. In just a few seasons, the club quickly moved up through the Italian leagues. They won the Campionato Nazionale Dilettanti in 1997–98 and were promoted to Serie C2. In 2000, they were promoted to Serie C1. They then fought hard and won promotion to Serie B after play-offs. In less than ten years, Messina had climbed back up and was in the higher parts of the Italian league system.
After two seasons in Serie B, a local businessman named Pietro Franza took over. In 2003–04, Messina returned to Serie A under coach Bortolo Mutti. The club had not been in Italy's top league since 1965, which was 40 years earlier!
Many people thought Messina would struggle in Serie A in the 2004–05 season. But they surprised everyone with great results. They beat both Milan teams: AC Milan 2–1 at their stadium, and then Internazionale at home for the first time ever. The winning goal against Inter was scored by Rafael in the last moments of the game.
Messina managed to avoid being relegated all season and finished in seventh place. This was just one spot away from getting a place in the UEFA Cup, a big European competition. Also, during this time, for the first time in the club's history, Messina players were called up to play for the Italy national football team. Alessandro Parisi was called up in 2004, and Carmine Coppola was called up twice in 2005.
Even with their great performance, Messina was still in danger of being relegated from Serie A because of money problems. But they managed to stay in the league. In the 2005–06 season, Messina couldn't repeat their success. Coach Mutti was replaced by Giampiero Ventura. They seemed to be relegated after losing a derby game 3–0. However, because of a big scandal in 2006, Messina avoided relegation even though they finished 18th.
Messina started the 2006–07 season with Bruno Giordano as coach. But he was replaced by Alberto Cavasin in January 2007 because of poor results. In April, Cavasin was also fired, and Giordano came back. Giordano's second time was even worse, with four losses in four games. With Messina near the bottom of the table, Giordano was fired again and replaced by Bruno Bolchi. Messina was relegated at the end of the season.
After a quiet season in Serie B in 2007–08, the club's chairman, Pietro Franza, announced he couldn't find anyone to take over the club. He decided to give up Messina's spot in Serie B and join an amateur league. On August 1, 2008, Messina was confirmed to be in Serie D. In November 2008, a court declared the club bankrupt.
A.C. Rinascita Messina and Return
In March 2009, a businessman named Alfredo Di Lullo bought Football Club Messina Peloro. The club was renamed A.C. Rinascita Messina (rinascita means "revived"). The club changed owners a few more times.
In June 2012, a group led by football manager Pietro Lo Monaco bought the club. Messina finished 4th in their group in the 2011–12 season and made it to the promotion playoffs. They won their first playoff game but lost the second. Messina finally won their group in Serie D and were promoted to Lega Pro Seconda Divisione, the fourth level of Italian football. After winning the Lega Pro Seconda Divisione/B title, the club was allowed to play in the unified 2014–15 Lega Pro season.
A.C. Riunite Messina Today
Since the summer of 2014, the club's name is Associazioni Calcio Riunite Messina. In the 2014–15 season, the club was relegated to Serie D. However, they were allowed back into Lega Pro because of a sports fraud case involving other teams. Since 2015, Natale Stracuzzi has been the owner and president. The club had problems again in 2017 and was removed from Lega Pro. A new club, A.C.R. Messina S.s.d. a r.l., was then allowed to play in the 2017–18 Serie D.
Under the current owner, Pietro Sciotto, Messina was promoted back to Serie C in 2021 as league champions. They have been playing in the Italian third tier ever since.
Rivalries
Messina has a big rivalry with Reggina. This team is located on the mainland, very close to Messina. Their matches are called Derby dello Stretto ("Derby of the Strait") because Messina and Reggio Calabria are separated by the Strait of Messina.
Messina also has rivalries with Catania and Palermo. These are the other two biggest football clubs in Sicily, and their games are known as the Sicilian derbies.
Colors and Badge
The team's colors are yellow and red.
Current Squad
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Notable Players
Salvatore Aronica- Emanuele Curcio
Julio César de León- Arturo Di Napoli
Dimitrios Eleftheropoulos- Antonio Nocerino
- Alessandro Parisi
- Igor Protti
Rahman Rezaei- Christian Riganò
- Salvatore Schillaci
- Marco Storari
- Salvatore Sullo
Atsushi Yanagisawa- Riccardo Zampagna
Marco Zoro
Stadium
The club plays its home matches at the Stadio Comunale San Filippo. This stadium has been used by the team since the 2004–05 season.
The stadium can hold 37,895 people. It is named after the part of the city where it is located. Some people want to rename it after a former Messina manager, Franco Scoglio, or a local saint, Hannibal Mary Di Francia.
The team's old stadium, the Stadio Comunale Giovanni Celeste, has 11,000 seats. It is now used by S.S.D. Città di Messina, which is another team in the city.
Honours
A.C.R. Messina has won several championships:
- Serie B
- 1 time: 1962–63
- Serie C
- 2 times: 1949–50, 1985–86
- Serie C2
- 3 times: 1982–83, 1999–00, 2013–14
- Serie D
- 3 times: 1973–74 (Group I), 2012–13 (Group I), 2020-21 (Group I)
- Campionato Nazionale Dilettanti
- 1 time: 1997–98
- Sicilian Championship
- 1 time: 1924–25
- Whitaker Challenge Cup
- 2 times: 1905, 1906
See also
In Spanish: Associazioni Calcio Riunite Messina para niños
