As the club continue their rise back to the upper echelons of the Italian game, SPAL are competing in their first Serie B campaign in over 20 years.
On April 23, 2016, Gianmarco Zigoni scored the only goal for Societa Polisportiva Ars et Labor at the Stadio Paolo Mazza in Ferrara in a 1-1 draw against Arezzo to send the home crowd into delirium. The hosts only needed one point from that match to seal their promotion to Serie B after 23 long years of absence.
The 25-year-old striker was overjoyed to leave his mark in such a memorable match for SPAL, a club that once went toe-to-toe with the likes of AC Milan, Juventus, and Inter in the 50s and 60s. He joined thousands of Biancazzurri fans after the match in the Piazza Trento Trieste for a long night of celebrations, marking the end of the dark years of struggle and despair for SPAL.
Supporting him from the stands that day was also his father, Gianfranco Zigoni, the former Juventus striker and, interestingly, the man who last scored a top-flight goal against SPAL, in the last round of the 1967-68 Serie A campaign. While father Zigoni’s goal was bitter and dreadful for people of Ferrara, junior Zigoni’s goal was ecstatic and joyous.
Relegated that year, the club then struggled and fell into the lower leagues of Italian football never to return to the top level.
Founded initially as a cultural-religious society by a Salesian priest in 1907 under the name Circolo Ars et Labor, the sporting branch of the society went on its separate way in 1913 under a new name.
SPAL enjoyed 16 seasons in Serie A between 1951 and 1968, with renowned players like Oscar Massei, Carlo Novelli, Armando Picchi, Egidio Morbello, and of course, Fabio Capello.
The people of Ferrara still recall with pride the 1959-60 season when SPAL ended the season in a respectable fifth place, as they do their near success in 1962 Coppa Italia. Having crushed Juventus 4-1 in the semi-final, they would go on only to lose in the final to Napoli.
Since their relegation from Serie B in 1993, SPAL never really recovered, as continuous financial struggles dragged the team into amateur levels of the Italian football pyramid, yoyoing between Serie D and Serie C for 20 years.
In July 2013, SPAL merged with the other local club in Ferrara, Giacomense, owned by the Colombarini family.
The new team, born from the merger, was named S.P.A.L 2013, with the Colombarini’s transferring the structure of Giacomense to SPAL with Walter Mattioli stepping in as the new club president.
Under the new management, the Biancazurri quickly found their feet and, with two promotions in three seasons, they restored the football pride in the city of Ferrara as new ambitions arise with fans already dreaming big.
There is a question that should be posed, however, and that is do this club have the qualities to embark on a Serie B journey?
Coach Leonardo Semplici enjoys an attacking brand of football with his 3-5-2 formation. This resulted in 59 goals in 34 matches last season, the highest number of goals scored and the best goal-difference from all the other clubs in Lega Pro.
President Mattioli, though often seen emotionally celebrating SPAL’s come back together with fans, is aware that things will get significantly tougher as they progress into the second level of Italian football.
He has pointed out during off-season interviews that the club’s strategy doesn’t involve big spending, but rather developing certain ideas and programs to make a competitive team with a humble identity that relies on, above all, teamwork.
The President is full of praise for the current group of players who bought SPAL the Lega Pro title, among others Nicolas Giani, Daniele Gasparetto, Manuel Lazzari, Luca Mora, Mattia Finotto and Michele Castagnetti.
However, few changes were made in the attacking department as the club released 35-year-old striker Marco Cellini, the club’s top scorer from the last campaign who has since joined Livorno.
Mattioli moved quickly to replace Cellini by capturing Mirco Antenucci on a free transfer from Leeds United. The 31-year-old striker is considered a major coup as he joins with a vast Serie B experience and a good scoring record from his past spell at Torino, Ternana, Spezia, and Ascoli.
With Antenucci an indisputable starter, the prima punta position will be entrusted to Gianmarco Zigoni, who extended his loan spell from Milan or the young Alberto Cerri who was bought on loan from Juventus.
Two important additions were made during the summer to reinforce the midfield as Pasquale Schiattarella and Mariano Arini will add the necessary quality and experience to the team.
Ex-Crotone defender, Michele Cremonesi, will form the backline trio with team captain Giani and Gasparetto.
First choice keeper from last season, Paolo Branduani will be challenged by the highly rated Alex Meret who joined on loan from Udinese.
Mattioli is rather diplomatic on revealing ambitions for the new season, most probably due to the high unpredictability and competitive nature of Serie B. However, spirits are high in Ferrara and SPAL could build on that to pull out some surprises this upcoming season as their enchanting fairytale journey continues.
For calcio lovers, it should also be interesting to keep an eye on the development of Gianmarco Zigoni as he is eager to continue with good performances hoping to walk in footsteps of many previous Italian late bloomer prima puntas.
Two games into the 2016-17 Serie B season, SPAL sit sixth with three points. Their first victory came in the form of a 3-0 defeat of Vicenza, in which junior Zigoni completed the scoring in the game’s dying minutes.
