Football in Italy stepped up a level with the creation of the Italian Football Federation and the Italian Football Championship.[8] Genoa competed in the first Italian Championship in 1898 at Velodrome Humbert I in Turin.[8] They defeated Ginnastica Torino 2–1 in their first official game on 8 May, before winning the first championship later that day by beating Internazionale Torino 3–1 after extra time.[9]
Genoa returned for the following season, this time with a few changes; the name of the club was altered to Genoa Cricket & Football Club, dropping the Athletic from its name. A change in shirt colour was also in order, as they changed to white and blue vertical stripes; known in Italy as biancoblu. Genoa won their second title on a one-day tournament which took place on 16 April 1899, by beating Internazionale Torino 3–1 for the second time. On their way to winning their third consecutive title in 1900 and also beat local rivals Sampierdarenese 7–0; a winning margin which would not be bettered by any team in the league until 1910. The final was secured with a 3–1 win over F.B.C. Torinese.[9]
The club strip was changed again in 1901, Genoa adopted its famous red-navy halves and therefore became known as the rossoblù; these are the colours used even to this day as with many other Italian clubs, such as Cagliari, Bologna and an endless list of minor clubs. After a season of finishing runners-up to Milan Cricket and Football Club, things were back on track in 1902 with their fourth title. Juventus emerged as serious contenders to Genoa's throne from 1903 onwards, when for two seasons in a row Genoa beat the Old Lady in the national final.[9]
Notably Genoa became the first Italian football team to play an international match, when they visited France on 27 April 1903 to play FVC Nice, winning the fixture 3–0. As well as winning the Italian championship in 1904, the year was also notable for Genoa reserves winning the first ever II Categoria league season; a proto-Serie B under the top level. From 1905 onwards when they were runners-up, Genoa lost their foothold on the Italian championship; other clubs such as Juventus, Milan and F.C. Pro Vercelli 1892 stepped up.[9]
The fall in part during this period can be traced back to 1908 when FIGC agreed to Federal Gymnastics protests forbidding the use of foreign players. Since Genoa's birth they had always had a strong English contingent. They disagreed, as did several other prominent clubs such as Milan, Torino and Firenze; as thus they withdrew from official FIGC competitions that year. The following season the federation reversed the decision and Genoa was rebuilt with players such as Luigi Ferraris[10] and some from Switzerland, such as Daniel Hug who came from FC Basel.[11] The rebuilding of the squad also saw the creation of a new ground in the Marassi area of Genoa, when built it had a capacity of 25,000 and was comparable to British stadiums of the time; it was officially opened on 22 January 1911.
Garbutt revival
With the introduction of the Italy national football team, Genoa played an important part, with the likes of Renzo De Vecchi; who was azzurri captain for some time, Edoardo Mariani and Enrico Sardi earning call-ups.[12] Englishman William Garbutt was brought in as head coach to help revive the club; Garbutt was the first professional manager in Italy and was renowned for being highly charismatic, and also for constantly smoking his tobacco pipe. He was dubbed "Mister" by the players; since then Italians have referred to coaches in general by the term.
Finally by 1914–15, Genoa had restored themselves as the top club from Northern Italy, winning the final round of the Northern section.[9] However, this particular year, the national final could not be played because of the outbreak of World War I, the finals of the Southern Italian section could not be decided and thus Genoa did not have a team to play. Genoa would be awarded the title in 1919 after the end of the war, it would be their first for eleven seasons.[13] The war took a harsh toll on Genoa as players Luigi Ferraris, Adolfo Gnecco, Carlo Marassi, Alberto Sussone and Claudio Casanova all died while on military duty in Italy; while footballing founder James Richardson Spensley was killed in Germany.[13]
In the early part of the next decade, Genoa remained a strong contender in the Northern section.[13] Garbutt led Genoa to championship success in 1922–23; beating Lazio 6–1 in the final, over the course of two legs.[9] The following season, Genoa made their way past Bologna in the Northern finals, but not without controversy; after riots in the second leg during the game in Bologna, the game was called off and FIGC awarded Genoa with a 2–0 victory.[13] In the national final that season, Genoa beat Savoia 4–1 over the course of two legs; this would be their ninth and to date final Italian championship.[14]
The squad during these two championship victories included; Giovanni De Prà, Ottavio Barbieri, Luigi Burlando and Renzo De Vecchi.[14] With Genoa's championship victory in 1923–24 came the introduction of the scudetto patch; which means following the season within which a club wins an Italian league championship, they are allowed to wear a shield shaped patch on their shirt which features the colours of the Italian flag. For the rest of the 1920s, the club's highest finish was in second place: the 1927–28 season when Genoa finished runners-up to Torino, with striker Felice Levratto scoring 20 goals in 27 games.
Recent times
Preziosi took over in 2003, when Genoa should have been relegated to C1 series after a dismal season, but was instead "saved" along with Catania and Salernitana by the football federation's controversial decision to extend Serie B to 24 teams.[36] Things started to look up for Genoa; they won Serie B in 2004–05. However, allegations were raised that the club had fixed a match on the last day of the season between themselves and Venezia. The 3–2 victory in the match saw Genoa win the league, with a draw having been good enough to maintain its position in the end. The Disciplinary Committee of FIGC saw fit to instead place Genoa bottom of the league and relegate them down to Serie C1 with a three-point deduction on 27 July 2005.[37]
For their season in Serie C1 for 2005–06, Genoa were hit with a six-point penalty from the previous season. After leading for much of the season, they eventually finished as runners-up and were entered into the play-offs, beating Monza 2–1 on aggregate to achieve promotion back into Serie B.[22] During the summer break Gian Piero Gasperini was brought in as the new manager, he helped the club to gain promotion during the 2006–07 season, it was ensured on the last day of the season where they drew a 0–0 with Napoli, both clubs were happily promoted back into Serie A.[38]
The 2007–08 season, the first Serie A championship played by Genoa in 12 years, saw it finishing at a respectable tenth place, right after the "big ones" of Italian football.
A careful summer market session saw chairman Preziosi strengthening the core of the team while parting from some players on favourable economical terms (for example selling striker Marco Borriello to AC Milan for a hefty sum).[39] Genoa's aims for the 2008–09 season were set on a UEFA Cup spot. This was achieved after a strong season which saw the team finish 5th in Serie A, besting traditional powerhouses like Juventus, Roma, and Milan, and winning both Genoa derbies against Sampdoria, with Diego Milito finishing among the top scorers of the championship. Genoa subsequently lost Milito and midfielder Thiago Motta to Internazionale, but were able to bring in striker Hernán Crespo. Things however didn't go as planned, with the injury-plagued team eliminated in the early stages of Europa League and Coppa Italia and reaching a rather disappointing ninth place in Serie A in 2010.
In the 2010–11 season Genoa, whose ranks had been revolutionised once again save for some long-serving players, struggled along in the mid-positions of the league; a slew of questionable results early in the season led chairman Preziosi to fire trainer Gian Piero Gasperini, who had led the team since the 2007–08 season, and to select Davide Ballardini as his successor. The newcomer, despite not securing memorable successes, kept the team steadily afloat in the "left part" of the ranking, managing to win two consecutive derbys against rivals Sampdoria in December and May.
The 2011–12 and 2012–13 seasons saw Genoa place in 17th both times, one spot away from relegation to Serie B football.
In the 2014–15, Genoa, in sixth place and set to qualify for the UEFA Europa League qualifying round, were denied a UEFA license[40] because they filed paperwork late and because the Stadio Luigi Ferraris was not currently up to standard for UEFA competition. The spot was passed on to 7th placed Sampdoria.[41]
On September 7, 2018 the 125th anniversary of the foundation was celebrated. A celebration parade was made in the city of Genoa during the night of September 7, 2018; a banner of several meters was dedicated to the tragedy of the collapse of the Morandi Bridge.
Colours, badge and nicknames
As Genoa was a British club the first ever colours of the club were those of the England national football team. Not long into the club's footballing history, the kit was changed to white and blue stripes in 1899; the blue was chosen to represent the sea as Genoa is a port city. In 1901 the club finally settled for their most famous red and blue halves shirt, this gained them the nickname of rossoblù together with Bologna, Cagliari and many more minor clubs.[46]
One of the nicknames of Genoa is Il Grifone which means "the griffin"; this is derived from the coat of arms belonging to the city of Genoa. The coat of arms features two golden griffins, either side of the St George's Cross.[47] As well as being evocative of the club's English founders, the cross is present on both the flag and coat of arms of the city of Genoa. St. George was also the patron saint of the former Republic of Genoa. The actual club badge of Genoa Cricket and Football Club is heavily derived from the city coat of arms, but also incorporated the club's red and blue colours.
Supporters and rivalriesMain article:
Genoa CFC has the bulk of its fans in Liguria, however they are also popular in Piedmont and the Aosta Valley.[48] The seafaring traditions of the Genoese and the presence of Genoese communities in distant countries did much to spread the appeal of Genoa some further than just Italy, and immigrants founded fan clubs in Buenos Aires, Amsterdam, Tokyo, Toronto, New York, San Francisco, Barcelona, Iceland and other places.
The most significant and traditional rivalry for Genoa, is the inner-city one with the club with whom they share a ground; Sampdoria. The two clubs compete together in the heated Derby della Lanterna ("Derby of the Lantern"); a reference to the Lighthouse of Genoa.[49] Genoa's supporters also have a strong distaste for AC Milan. A clash between opposing supporters in January 1995 resulted in the death of Genoese Vincenzo Spagnolo, who was stabbed to death by Milanese Simone Barbaglia. The assailant was a member of an informal group of football hooligans dubbed "The Barbour Ones", who used to routinely carry bladed weapons to matches, a practice made possible by the lax security measures of the time.[50]
Conversely, the fans of Genoa have long standing friendships with Napoli (which goes back to the 1982 last match of the season).[51] On the last day of the 2006–07 season, Genoa and Napoli drew a practical 0–0 ensuring both were promoted back into Serie A; Genoa ultras could be seen holding up banners saying "Benvenuto fratello napoletano", meaning, "Welcome, Neapolitan brother," and the two sets of fans celebrated together in a warm and ever-co-operating manner.[52]
On the other hand, the amicable relationship with the red-and-yellow supporters of Roma, fostered by the cession of striker Roberto Pruzzo in 1979 and lasting for most of the 80's has, in recent years, cooled up a bit while another strong fraternity, which saw Genoese football fans on friendly terms with Torino (since the exchange of Gigi Meroni between the two clubs at the end of the 1963–64 season and his untimely death on 15 October 1967[53]) has perhaps broken-down for good after the Torino-Genoa match of season 2008–09.
Starved for points and risking an humiliating relegation (one of many in a troubled recent history) the Turinese fans expected a friendly treatment from Genoa, which, in the heat of a pitched battle with Fiorentina for the fourth place (which could have won a Champions League spot for the team) did not comply, soundly beating Torino and to many effects sealing its fate. When during early August 2009 Genoa scheduled a friendly match with Nice in southern Piedmont, many Turinese hooligans travelled to the match location with the precise intention of starting trouble and disorder to "get even" with Genoa and its fans
Honours
National titles
Italian Football Championship / Northern League / Serie A:
- Winners (9): 1898, 1899, 1900, 1902, 1903, 1904, 1914–15, 1922–23, 1923–24
- Runners-up (8): 1901, 1905, 1912–13, 1913–14, 1921–22, 1924–25, 1927–28, 1929–30
Coppa Italia: 1
- Winners: 1936–37
- Runners-up: 1939–40
Serie B: 6
- Champions: 1934–35, 1952–53, 1961–62, 1972–73, 1975–76, 1988–89
- Runners-up: 1980–81
- Promoted: 2006–07
Sub-national titles
Serie C / Serie C1: 1 (North)
- Champions: 1970–71
- Runners-up : 2005–06
European titles
Mitropa Cup:
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Coppa delle Alpi: 2
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Anglo-Italian Cup: 1
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Youth titles
Campionato Nazionale Primavera: 1
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Coppa Italia Primavera: 1
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Primavera Super Cup: 2
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Torneo di Viareggio: 2
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