Virtus Entella, commonly referred to as Entella, is an Italian professional football club based in Chiavari, Liguria. Founded in 1914, the club currently competes in the Serie C Group B.

Virtus Entella
Full nameVirtus Entella S.r.l.
Nickname(s)I Biancocelesti (The White and Sky Blues)
I Diavoli Neri (The Black Devils)
Founded1914; 110 years ago (1914)[1] (as F.B.C. Entella)
GroundStadio Comunale,
Chiavari, Italy
Capacity5,535
ChairmanAntonio Gozzi
ManagerGennaro Volpe
LeagueSerie C Group B
2023–24Serie C Group B, 14th of 20
Websitehttps://www.entella.it/

History

edit

1914: Foundation

edit

The club was founded in 1914 as Foot-Ball Club Entella. It took its name from the river Entella, flowing between Chiavari and Lavagna.[2]

2001: Bankruptcy

edit

Foot-Ball Club Entella went bankrupt in 2001.

2002: Refoundation

edit

It was refounded in 2002 as Unione Sportiva Valle Sturla Entella. In the summer of 2010 it was renamed Virtus Entella, after it had been admitted in Lega Pro Seconda Divisione. In summer 2012, Virtus Entella was promoted, for the first time, to Lega Pro Prima Divisione by repechage to fill the vacancies created.[3] They completed the 2012–13 season in style, taking part to the promotion playoff, where they were defeated by Lecce in the semi-finals.

In the 2013–14 season, Virtus Entella took part to the Girone A of the Italian third tier, and topped the league for most of the season. On 4 May 2014, a 2–1 away win at Cremonese in the final day of the season ensured Virtus Entella the league championship title and a spot in the 2014–15 Serie B, in what will be the club's first appearance ever in the Italian second tier.

2014: Serie B Period

edit

The team was promoted in Serie B for the first time in history in 2014. In the 2014–15 season they got relegated once again, in the relegation playoffs as they lost to Modena. But after the relegation of Calcio Catania to Lega Pro for sporting fraud it was readmitted to Serie B. Virtus Entella finished 19th at the conclusion of the 2017–18 season and lost a relegation playoff to Ascoli by virtue of being the lower ranked team after the two-legged tie finished 0–0 on aggregate.

2018: Return to Serie C

edit

The team returned to the Italian third tier, now named Serie C for the 2018-19 season. During the season, they also achieved a surprise qualification to the round of 16 of the 2018–19 Coppa Italia, defeating Genoa on penalties during the process. That season they won the Serie C and thus earned promotion to the Serie B.

Current squad

edit
As of 30 August 2024.[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 Paroni
2 DF   ITA Alessandro Garattoni
6 DF   ITA Andrea Tiritiello
7 MF   ITA Giacomo Tomaselli
8 MF   GRE Antonis Siatounis
9 FW   ITA Davide Castelli
10 FW   ITA Matteo Casarotto
14 MF   ITA Andrea Corbari
15 DF   ITA Ivan Marconi
16 DF   ITA Claudio Manzi
17 FW   LUX Adulai Djabi Embalo
19 MF   ITA Marco Piredda
21 MF   ITA Jacopo Lipani
22 GK   ITA Federico Del Frate
No. Pos. Nation Player
23 DF   ITA Luca Parodi
24 MF   ITA Andrea Franzoni
26 DF   ITA Stefano Di Mario
29 FW   ITA Claudio Santini
32 DF   ITA Davide Zappella
36 FW   SEN Alioune Thioune
40 MF   ITA Gabriele Costa
43 MF   ALB Angelo Ndrecka
47 MF   ITA Giovanni Di Noia
70 FW   ITA Davide Bariti
77 FW   ESP Bernat Guiu
87 DF   ITA Umberto Ghio
90 DF   ITA Denis Portanova
99 GK   LTU Ovidijus Šiaulys

Out on loan

edit

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

No. Pos. Nation Player
DF   ITA Federico Bonini (at Catanzaro until 30 June 2025)
DF   ITA Stefano Roberto Reali (at Pianese until 30 June 2025)
MF   ITA Ernesto Matteazzi (at Empoli U19 until 30 June 2025)
No. Pos. Nation Player
FW   ITA Emanuele Banfi (at Lavagnese until 30 June 2025)
FW   ITA Samuele Vianni (at Mestre until 30 June 2025)

Honours

edit

Notable former players

edit

Presidents and managers

edit

Antonio Gozzi has been the President of the Virtus Entella since 2007. He was arrested and released in March 2015.[5][6][7][8]

References

edit
  1. ^ "Italy - ACD Virtus Entella - Results, fixtures, squad, statistics, photos, videos and news - Soccerway".
  2. ^ Aldo Pio Feoli (29 November 2014). "I Diavoli Neri nell'inferno del Comunale: per l'Entella è la prima in Serie B". www.ilciriaco.it. Retrieved 11 May 2015.
  3. ^ http://www.entella.it/prima-squadra/1195-ripescaggio-ufficiale-il-presidente-gozzi-grazie-chiavari.html[permanent dead link]
  4. ^ "Virtus Entella squad". Soccerway. Retrieved 27 September 2022.
  5. ^ "Gozzi dopo l'arresto: «Chiederò se devo fare passi indietro»". 20 March 2015.
  6. ^ "Affaire Kubla, Gozzi: "Totale estraneità. Martedì dimissioni da Federacciai"".
  7. ^ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 26 March 2015.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  8. ^ "Il Comitato di presidenza di Federacciai: «A Gozzi piena fiducia»". 11 May 2019.