Genoa

- Charles De Grave Sells
- S. Blake
- G. Green
- W. Riley
- Daniel G. Fawcus
- Sandys
- E. De Thierry
- Jonathan Summerhill Sr.
- Jonathan Summerhill Jr.
- Charles Alfred Payton
the football (soccer) section of Genoa was officially opened by James Richardson Spensley. It was amongst the oldest in Football in Italy at the time, the only other founded clubs were two in Turin. With the football section of Genoa opened, Italians were allowed to join and found a new ground in the form of Ponte Carrega.
The first friendly match took place at home, against a mixed team of Internazionale F.C. Torino and F.B.C. Torinese; Genoa lost 1–0. Not long after, Genoa recorded its first victory away against U.S. Alessandria Calcio 1912 winning 2–0. Friendly games also took place against various British sailors such as those from HMS Revenge (1892).

Championship dominance

Football in Italy stepped up a level with the creation of the Italian Football Federation and the Italian Football Championship. Genoa competed in the first Italian Championship in Italian Football Championship 1898 at Stadio Motovelodromo Umberto I in Turin. They defeated R.S. 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.

Genoa returned for the Italian Football Championship 1899, this time with a few changes; the name of Genoa 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 April 16 1899, by beating Internazionale Torino 3–1 for the second time. On their way to winning their third consecutive title in Italian Football Championship 1900 and also beated 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.C. Torinese.

Genoa strip was changed again in Italian Football Championship 1901, Genoa adopted its famous red-navy halves and therefore became known as the rossoblu; these are the colours used even to this day as many other Italian club do as Cagliari, Bologna and an endless list of minor clubs. After a season of finishing runners-up to A.C. Milan, things were back on track in Italian Football Championship 1902 with their fourth title. Juventus emerged as serious contenders to Genoa's throne from Italian Football Championship 1903 onwards, when for two seasons in a row Genoa beat the Old Lady in the national final.
Notably Genoa became the first Italian football team to play an international match, when they visited France on 27 April 1903 to play OGC Nice, winning the fixture 3–0. As well as winning the Italian championship in Italian Football Championship 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 Italian Football Championship 1905 onwards when they were runners-up, Genoa lost their foothold on the Italian championship; other clubs such as Juventus, Milan and U.S. Pro Vercelli Calcio stepped up.

The fall in part during this period can be traced back to Italian Football Championship 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 F.C. 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 and some from Switzerland. 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 Italian 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. Englisman William Garbutt was brought in as head coach to help revive the club; Garbutt was the first professional manager in Italy and he was considered to have a strong charisma, constantly smoking his Smoking pipe (tobacco). He was dubbed "Mister" by the players; since then Italians have referred to coaches in general with the term.

Finally by Italian Football Championship 1914-15, Genoa had restored themselves as the top club from Northern Italy, winning the final round of the Northern section. However, a national final was not played because Genoa did not have an opposition; the finals of the Southern Italian section was not decided due to the outbreak of World War I. Genoa would be awarded the title in 1919 after the end of the war, it was their first for eleven seasons. 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.
Just after the war, Genoa remained a strong contender in the Northern section. Garbutt led Genoa to championship success in Italian Football Championship 1922-23 where they beat S.S. Lazio 6–1 in the final, over the course of two legs. The Italian Football Championship 1923-24, Genoa made their way past Bologna F.C. 1909 in the Northern finals, but not without controversy; after riots in the second leg during the game in Bologna, the game was called off due to crowd rioting and FIGC awarded Genoa with a 2–0 victory. In the national final that season, Genoa beat F.C. Savoia 1908 4-1 over the course of two legs; this would be their ninth and to date final Italian championship.

The squad during these two championship victories included; Giovanni De Pra, Ottavio Barbieri, Luigi Burlando and Renzo De Vecchi. With Genoa's championship victory in 1923–24 came the introduction of the scudetto patch; which means following the season 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, Genoa did not win the championship, with the highest they were able to finish being second place, like in the Italian Football Championship 1927-28 season when they finished runners-up to Torino, with striker Felice Levratto scoring 20 goals in 27 games.

Genova 1893 period

Due to the strongly United Kingdom connotations attached to the name, Genoa were forced to change it by the Italian fascism to Genova 1893 Circolo del Calcio in 1928. Genoa competed in a proto-European Cup in the form of the Mitropa Cup, where they went out in the quarter-finals after losing heavily to SK Rapid Wien. They followed this with a runners-up position back at home in the league, they finished behind F.C. Internazionale Milano in the Serie A 1929-30 season; this would be their last top level championship runners-up spot to date.

The club's league form became highly erratic during the early 1930s, with varying league positions; it was during the Serie A 1933-34 season that Genova suffered their first ever relegation to Serie B, the second league of Italian football. Thankfully for the club, they were able to bounce back under the management of Vittorio Faroppa, winning promotion by finishing top of their group ahead of Novara Calcio. In 1936, the ambitious Juan Culiolo took over as president of the club; in Serie A 1936-37 they achieved a 6th place finish and also won the Coppa Italia by beating A.S. Roma 1–0 with a goal from Mario Torti.

During the Serie A 1937-38 Genova finished in third place, this was a particularly tight season with winners F.C. Internazionale Milano finishing only three points ahead of the club. That summer Italy national football team competed in the 1938 FIFA World Cup and won, three Genova players formed part of the triumphant squad in the form of Sergio Bertoni, Mario Genta and Mario Perazzolo. Genoa finished the decade on a high, maintaining a top five foothold in the top level of the Italian league.

World War II affected dramatically the entire Italian football movement, but Genova did not recover as well as other clubs. In 1945, Genoa chose to revert their name to Genoa Cricket and Foot-Ball Club, the one which they had used in the very early days of the Italian championship. In the years just after the war, Genoa were still popular with the fans, with people previously associated with Genoa such as Ottavio Barbieri and William Garbutt returning for managerial spells. Genoa also had a new rival in the form of U.C. Sampdoria, who were founded by a merger of two other clubs in 1946 and would groundshare at Stadio Luigi Ferraris.

Post-war period

After the Second World War the ability of Genoa to finish in the upper ranks of Serie A declined in a significant manner; throughout the rest of the 1940s Genoa were middle-table finishers. The Serie A 1948-49 saw three highly significant results, Genoa beat F.C. Internazionale Milano 4–1, the famous Torino F.C. Il Grande Torino side 3–0 and Calcio Padova 7–1. The 1950s started in poor fashion for the club, they had bought Argentine Mario Boyé from Boca Juniors but he stayed only one season and Genoa Serie A 1950-51 after finishing bottom of the table, but after two seasons they achieved their return after winning Serie B, ahead of A.C. Legnano. Ragnar Larsen was a noted player for Genoa during this period and they sustained mid-table finishes for the rest of the decade.

Despite suffering a relegation in Serie B 1959-60 and then a promotion back up to Serie A in 1961–62, Genoa had a respectable amount of cup success in the first half of the 1960s. Genoa won the anecdotique 'Coppa delle Alpi in 1962; it was the first time the competition had been competed between club teams instead of international ones, the final was played at home while Genoa beat French club Grenoble Foot 38 by 1–0 with a goal from Nizza. Genoa won the same competition again two years later, the final was held at the Wankdorf Stadium in Berne, Switzerland; Genoa defeated Calcio Catania 2–0, with both goals from Giampaolo Piaceri to take the trophy.

The celebrations for Genoa did not last long however, as the year following their last cup success they were relegated down to Serie B again. This time their stay at the second tier of the Italian football system would be far longer than previous relegations, Genoa was unstable as it changed manager each season. Genoa even experienced their first relegation to Serie C in 1970, financially Genoa fell into difficulties and had several ownership changes.

Mixed times

Throughout the 1970s, Genoa would mostly play in second league. Under the management of Arturo Silvestri Genoa made its way back to Serie A for the Serie A 1973-74 season, but they were relegated straight back down. For the return of Il Grifone to Serie A a couple of seasons later, the squad featured the likes of Roberto Rosato, Bruno Conti and a young Roberto Pruzzo. This time they stuck it out in the top division for two seasons before succumbing to relegation in Serie A 1977-78; the relegation was particularly cruel as the side above them ACF Fiorentina surved on goal-difference of just a single goal, the two teams had played each other on the final day of the season ending in a 0–0 draw.

The relegation was bad for Genoa in more ways than one, they lost some of their top players who could have offered them a swift return; such as Roberto Pruzzo's move to A.S. Roma where he would go on to have great success. After a couple of middle-table finishes in Serie B, Genoa earned promotion during the Serie B 1980-81 season under manager Luigi Simoni, Genoa finished as runners-up behind only A.C. Milan who had been relegated the previous season for their part in the Totonero betting scandal.

Still with Simoni at the helm as manager, Genoa were able to survive in Serie A for their returning season, finishing just one point ahead of the relegated AC Milan. In a dramatic last day of the season, Genoa were trailing 2–1 to S.S.C. Napoli with five minutes left, until on the 85th minute Mario Faccenda scored the goal that secured the point needed by Genoa, starting a owing friendship between the two club's fans.
A couple of seasons later in Serie A 1983-84 Genoa would not be so lucky, despite beating champions Juventus F.C. on the final day of the season, Genoa were relegated even though they finished the season with the same number of points as surviving S.S. Lazio; this was because Lazio had recorded better results in matches against Genoa.

European experience

Genoa was purchased by Calabria entrepreneur Aldo Spinelli in 1985 and despite no longer having Simoni as manager, Genoa were finishing in the top half of Serie B. After a slip in form during 1987–88, Genoa refocused their energy and were able to achieve promotion back into Serie A the following season, finishing as champions ahead of A.S. Bari. Genoa, with an experienced trainer as Osvaldo Bagnoli who knew how to make the best out of underdog teams (he managed to win a championship at the helm of Hellas Verona in the eighties) and with a team sporting the talents of Carlos Aguilera and Tomáš Skuhravý among others achieved highs during the Serie A 1990-91 season where they finished fourth, remaining undefeated at home for the entire campaign, winning games against all the big sides including Juventus, F.C. Internazionale Milano, AC Milan, A.S. Roma, Lazio, Fiorentina, SSC Napoli, as well as their hated local rivals U.C. Sampdoria who won the title that season.
Subsequently Genoa gained entry to the UEFA Cup in the UEFA Cup 1991-92 season. Genoa had a good run, making it to the semi-finals before getting knocked out by AFC Ajax, the final winners of the competition; notably Genoa did the double over Liverpool F.C. in the quarter-finals becoming the first Italian side to beat the reds at Anfield. Unfortunately for Genoa, this episodic success was largely outdone by the results obtained by the other Genoese club, the UC Sampdoria, one of the protagonist in Europe in those years. Noted Genoa players during this period included Gianluca Signorini, Carlos Aguilera, Stefano Eranio, Roberto Onorati and John van 't Schip. Back in Serie A however, the same season as their UEFA Cup run, they finished just one place above the relegation zone; in the seasons following Genoa remained in the lower half of the table.

During the Serie A 1994-95 season Genoa were narrowly relegated, they finished level on points with Calcio Padova after the normal season period. This meant a relegation play-out was to be played between the two in Florence, the game was tied 1–1 at full time and went to a penalty shootout, Genoa eventually lost the shoot-out 5–4. While back down in Serie B, Genoa had another taste of international cup success when they became the final winners of the amateur's Anglo-Italian Cup by beating Port Vale F.C. 5–2 with Gennaro Ruotolo scoring a hat-trick. Chairman Spinelli sold Genoa in 1997, moving onto other clubs (U.S. Alessandria Calcio 1912 and, currently A.S. Livorno Calcio). The late 1990s and early 2000s would be the most trying time in the history of the club, with constantly changing managers, a poor financial situation and little hope of gaining promotion, outside of a decent 6th place finish in Serie B 1999-00. From 1997 until 2003, Genoa had a total of three different owners and four different chairmen, before Genoa was passed on to the businessman from Irpinia Enrico Preziosi, already chairman of Como football club he previously owned.

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. Things started to look up for Genoa; they won Serie B in 2004–05. However, allegations were raised that Genoa had fixed a match on the last day of the season between themselves and S.S.C. 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 on 27 July 2005. However, the trial seemed to be unfair since the Disciplinary Commitee is alleged of having wrote the sentence a few days before the trial actually began. Eventually, nobody managed to prove that in front of a court but, on the other side, the Criminal Court of Genoa dismissed all the allegations against Genoa's owner and management to have fixed the match against S.S.C. Venezia.

For their season in Serie C1 for Serie C1 2005-06, Genoa were hit with a six point penalty from the previous season. After leading for much of they season, they eventually finished as runners-up and were entered into the play-offs, beating A.C. Monza Brianza 1912 2-1 on aggregate to achieve promotion back into Serie B. During the summer break Gian Piero Gasperini was brought in as the new manager, he helped Genoa to gain promotion during the Serie B 2006-07 season, it was ensured on the last day of the season where they drew a 0–0 with S.S.C. Napoli, both clubs were happily promoted back into Serie A.

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 president Preziosi strengthening the core of Genoa while parting from some players on favourable economical terms. Genoa's aims for the 2008-2009 season were set on a UEFA Cup spot. This aim has gone beyond expectations, with a possible Champions League appearance either through a play-off or direct qualification.

Players

As of 2009-07-14

Out on loan

Retired numbers

- 6 – Gianluca Signorini, Libero (football), 1988–1995

- 12 – The fans of Gradinata Nord, "the twelfth man"

Notable players

Presidential history

Below is the endless presidential history of Genoa, from when Genoa was first founded playing cricket and athletics, until the present day.