Catania Wiki

Calcio Catania was formed in 1908 by workers on English cargo ships who brought the game of football to Italy. The first Catania team's match was against Royal Yacht Catania, an English ship that employed a Catanian crew. Although it was just a pastime to the ship workers, football caught on in a big way. Film director Gaetano Vantimiglia helped found the Catania team, first known as A. S. Educazione Fisica Pro Patria. The name was later changed to Unione Sportiva Catanese and in the 1920s it became Societa Sportiva Catania.

The team has spent a lot of its playing years in Serie B but they now play in Serie A. They have had some success in the top league, reaching 8th place twice in Serie A during the 1960s.

Catania plays its home matches at Stadio Angelo Massimino, a stadium built in 1937 that seats 23,420. Their home colors are blue shirts with vertical red stripes, blue shorts and black socks. The stadium was formerly called Stadio Cibali but was renamed in 2002 to honor former club president Angelo Massimino who died in 1996. The team has tentative plans to move to Stadio Dei Palici, a 33,765 seat facility south of the city of Catania.

Vincenzo Montella, nicknamed L'Aeroplanino ("the little airplane") in his playing career, manages Catania.