Editing Hellas Verona FC (section)

== History ==

=== Origins and early history ===

Founded in 1903 by a group of students at Liceo "Scipione Maffei", the club was named ''Hellas'' (the Greek word for Greece), at the request of a professor of [[classics]].<ref>{{cite book|last=Bertoldi|first=Luigi|title=80 anni di storia del Verona Calcio|year=1983|publisher=Editoriale Bortolazzi-Stei |location=Verona|page=11}}</ref> At a time in which football was played seriously only in the larger cities of northwestern Italy, most of Verona was indifferent to the growing sport. However, when in 1906 two city teams chose the city's Roman amphitheatre as a venue to showcase the game, crowd enthusiasm and media interest began to rise.

During these first few years, Hellas was one of three or four area teams playing at a municipal level while fighting against city rivals Bentegodi to become the city's premier football outfit. By the 1907–08 season, Hellas was playing against regional teams, and an intense rivalry with [[Vicenza Calcio|Vicenza]] that has lasted to this day was born.
[[File:1957–58 Serie A - AC Verona v Juventus FC - John Charles.jpg|thumb|left|January 26, 1958. A.C. Verona — [[Juventus FC]] 2–3, Matchday 18 of the [[1957–58 Serie A]]. Juventus striker [[John Charles]] (center) in action versus Verona's defence.]]
From 1898 to 1926, Italian football was organised into regional groups. In this period, Hellas was one of the founding teams of the early league and often among its top final contenders. In 1911, the city helped Hellas replace the early, gritty football fields with a proper venue. This allowed the team to take part in its first regional tournament, which until 1926, was the qualifying stage for the national title.

In 1919, following a return to activity after a four-year suspension of all football competition in Italy during World War I, the team merged with city rival Verona and changed its name to Hellas Verona. Between 1926 and 1929, the elite "''Campionato Nazionale''" assimilated the top sides from the various regional groups. Hellas Verona joined the privileged teams, yet struggled to remain competitive.

[[Serie A]], as it is structured today, began in 1929, when the ''Campionato Nazionale'' turned into a professional league. Still an amateur team, Hellas merged with two city rivals, Bentegodi and Scaligera, to form AC Verona. Hoping to build a first class contender for future years, the new team debuted in Serie B in 1929. It would take the ''gialloblu'' 28 years to finally achieve their goal. After first being promoted to Serie A for one season in 1957–58, in 1959, the team merged with another city rival (called Hellas) and commemorated its beginnings by changing its name to Hellas Verona AC.

=== Success in the 1970s and 1980s ===
[[File:1972–73 Serie A - Hellas Verona v AC Milan - Sirena scores, Sabadini looks.jpg|thumb|right|[[Paolo Sirena]] scoring the first goal for Verona during a 5–3 victory over [[AC Milan]] on the last day of the [[1972–73 Serie A|1972-73 Serie A]] season]]
Coached by [[Nils Liedholm]], the team returned to Serie A in 1968 and remained in the elite league almost without interruption until 1990. Along the way, it scored a famous 5–3 win in the 1972–73 season that cost [[A.C. Milan|Milan]] the ''[[scudetto]]'' (the Serie A title). The fact that the result came late during the last matchday of the season makes the sudden and unexpected end to the ''rossoneri'''s title ambitions all the more memorable.

In 1973–74, Hellas finished the season in fourth-last, just narrowly avoiding relegation, but were nonetheless sent down to [[Serie B]] during the summer months as a result of a scandal involving team president Saverio Garonzi. After a year in Serie B, Hellas returned to Serie A.

In the 1975–76 season, the team had a successful run in the [[Coppa Italia]], eliminating highly rated teams such as [[Torino F.C.|Torino]], [[Cagliari Calcio|Cagliari]] and [[Inter Milan|Internazionale]] from the tournament. However, in their first ever final in the competition, Hellas were trounced 4–0 by [[S.S.C. Napoli|Napoli]].
[[File:1975–76 Hellas Verona.jpg|thumb|left|A line-up of A.C. Hellas Verona in the 1975–76 season.]]
Under the leadership of coach [[Osvaldo Bagnoli]], in 1982–83 the team secured a fourth-place in Serie A (its highest finish at the time) and even led the Serie A standings for a few weeks. The same season Hellas again reached the Coppa Italia final. After a 2–0 home victory, Hellas then travelled to [[Turin]] to play [[Juventus F.C.|Juventus]] but were defeated 3–0 after extra time.

Further disappointment followed in the 1983–84 season when the team again reached the Coppa Italia final, only to lose the Cup in the final minutes of the return match against defending Serie A champions [[A.S. Roma|Roma]].

The team made its first European appearance in the [[1983–84 UEFA Cup]] and were knocked out in the second round of the tournament by [[SK Sturm Graz|Sturm Graz]]. Hellas were eliminated from the [[1985–86 European Cup]] in the second round by defending champions and fellow Serie A side Juventus after a contested game, the result of a scandalous arbitrage by the French Wurtz, having beaten [[PAOK F.C.|PAOK]] of Greece in the first round.<ref>{{Cite news| title = 1985/86 European Champions Clubs' Cup| url = https://www.uefa.com/uefachampionsleague/history/clubs/52301--verona/| publisher = UEFA| access-date = 22 September 2011| archive-date = 4 November 2012| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20121104055424/http://www.uefa.com/uefachampionsleague/season=1985/clubs/club=52301/history/index.html| url-status = live}}</ref>

In 1988, the team had their best international result when they reached the UEFA Cup quarterfinals with four victories and three draws. The decisive defeat came from German side [[SV Werder Bremen|Werder Bremen]].

=== 1984–1985 ''Scudetto'' ===
[[File:Osvaldo Bagnoli, Hellas Verona 1985.jpg|thumb|left|[[Osvaldo Bagnoli]], ''Scudetto'' winning coach of Hellas Verona in 1985]]
Although the [[1984–85 Serie A|1984–85 season]] squad was made up of a mix of emerging players and mature stars, at the beginning of the season no one would have regarded the team as having the necessary ingredients to make it to the end. Certainly, the additions of [[Hans-Peter Briegel]] in midfield and of Danish striker [[Preben Elkjær Larsen|Preben Elkjær]] to an attack that already featured the wing play of [[Pietro Fanna]], the creative abilities of [[Antonio Di Gennaro]] and the scoring touch of [[Giuseppe Galderisi]] were to prove crucial.

To mention a few of the memorable milestones on the road to the ''scudetto'': a decisive win against Juventus (2–0), with a goal scored by Elkjær after having lost a boot in a tackle just outside the box, set the stage early in the championship; an away win over [[Udinese Calcio|Udinese]] (5–3) ended any speculation that the team was losing energy at the midway point; three straight wins (including a hard-fought 1–0 victory against a strong Roma side) served notice that the team had kept its polish and focus intact during their rival's final surge; and a 1–1 draw in [[Bergamo]] against [[Atalanta B.C.|Atalanta]] secured the title with a game in hand.

Hellas finished the year with a 15–13–2 record and 43 points, four points ahead of [[Torino F.C.|Torino]] with Internazionale and [[U.C. Sampdoria|Sampdoria]] rounding out the top four spots. This unusual final table of the [[Serie A]] (with the most successful Italian teams of the time, Juventus and Roma, ending up much lower than expected) has led to many speculations. The 1984–85 season was the only season when referees were assigned to matches by way of a random draw. Before then each referee had always been assigned to a specific match by a special commission of referees (''designatori arbitrali''). After the betting scandal of the early 1980 (the [[Totonero 1980|Calcio Scommesse scandal]]), it was decided to clean up the image of Italian football by assigning referees randomly instead of picking them, to clear up all the suspicions and accusations always accompanying Italy's football life. This resulted in a quieter championship and in a completely unexpected final table.

In the following season, won again by Juventus, the choice of the referees went back in the hands of the ''designatori arbitrali''. In 2006, a [[Calciopoli|major scandal in Italian football]] revealed that certain clubs had been illegally influencing the referee selection process in an attempt to ensure that certain referees were assigned to their matches.

=== Between Serie A and Serie B ===
These were more than mere modest achievements for a mid-size city with a limited appeal to fans across the nation. But soon enough financial difficulties caught up with team managers. In 1991 the team folded and was reborn as Verona, regularly moving to and fro between Serie A and Serie B for several seasons. In 1995 the name was officially returned to Hellas Verona.<ref name="Forza Italian Football 2011 p425">{{cite web | title=Hellas Verona On the Rise Once More | website=Forza Italian Football | date=July 13, 2011 | url=https://forzaitalianfootball.com/2011/07/hellas-verona-on-the-rise-once-more-2/ | access-date=March 8, 2024}}</ref><ref name="Oysan / Soccer Authority 2021 h703">{{cite web | title=Hellas Verona Football Club: The Complete Guide | website=Oysan / Soccer Authority | date=August 27, 2021 | url=https://oysan.org/hellas-verona/ | access-date=March 8, 2024}}</ref>

After a three-year stay, their last stint in Serie A ended in grief in 2002. That season emerging international talents such as [[Adrian Mutu]], [[Mauro Camoranesi]], [[Alberto Gilardino]], [[Martin Laursen]], [[Massimo Oddo]], [[Marco Cassetti]] and coach [[Alberto Malesani]] failed to capitalise on an excellent start and eventually dropped into fourth-to-last place for the first time all season on the final match day, enforcing relegation into Serie B.<ref name="Forza Italian Football 2011 p425"/>

=== Decline and Serie C (2002–2011) ===
[[File:Hellas Verona.jpg|thumb|upright|left|[[Luisito Campisi]] playing for Hellas Verona in 2009]]
Following the 2002 relegation to Serie B, team fortunes continued to slip throughout the decade. In the 2003–04 season Hellas Verona struggled in [[Serie B]] and spent most of the season fighting off an unthinkable relegation to [[Serie C1]]. Undeterred, the fans supported their team and a string of late season wins eventually warded off the danger. Over 5,000 of them followed Hellas to Como on the final day of the season to celebrate.

In 2004–05, things looked much brighter for the team. After a rocky start, Hellas put together a string of results and climbed to third spot. The ''gialloblù'' held on to the position until January 2005, when transfers weakened the team, yet they managed to take the battle for Serie A to the last day of the season.

The [[2006–07 Serie B]] seemed to start well, due to the club takeover by [[Pietro Arvedi D'Emilei]], which ended nine years of controversial leadership under chairman [[Gianbattista Pastorello]], heavily contested by the supporters in his later years at Verona. However, Verona was immediately involved in the relegation battle, and [[Massimo Ficcadenti]] was replaced in December 2006 by [[Giampiero Ventura]]. Despite a recovery in the results, Verona ended in an 18th place, thus being forced to play a two-legged playoff against 19th-placed [[Spezia Calcio 1906|Spezia]] to avert relegation. A 2–1 away loss in the first leg at La Spezia was followed by a 0–0 home tie, and Verona were relegated to Serie C1 after 64 years of play in the two highest divisions.

Verona appointed experienced coach [[Franco Colomba]] for the new season with the aim to return to Serie B as soon as possible. However, despite being widely considered the division favourite, the ''gialloblù'' spent almost the entire season in last place. After seven matches, club management sacked Colomba in early October and replaced him with youth team coach (and former Verona player) [[Davide Pellegrini]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.channel4.com/sport/football_italia/oct8f.html |publisher=Channel 4|work=Football Italia |title=Punch-drunk Verona fire Colomba |date=8 October 2007 |access-date=14 November 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071201124950/http://www.channel4.com/sport/football_italia/oct8f.html |archive-date=1 December 2007 |url-status=dead }}</ref> A new owner acquired the club in late 2007, appointing [[Giovanni Galli]] in December as new director of football and [[Maurizio Sarri]] as new head coach. Halfway through the 2007–08 season, the team remained at the bottom of Serie C1, on the brink of relegation to the fourth level ([[Serie C2]]). In response, club management sacked Sarri and brought back Pellegrini. Thanks to a late-season surge the ''scaligeri'' avoided direct relegation by qualifying for the relegation play-off, and narrowly averted dropping to [[Lega Pro Seconda Divisione]] in the final game, beating [[Aurora Pro Patria 1919|Pro Patria]] 2–1 on aggregate. However, despite the decline in results, attendance and season ticket sales remained at 15,000 on average.

For the 2008–09 season, Verona appointed former [[U.S. Sassuolo Calcio|Sassuolo]] and [[Piacenza Calcio|Piacenza]] manager [[Gian Marco Remondina]] with the aim to win promotion to Serie B. However, the season did not start impressively, with Verona being out of the playoff zone by mid-season, and club chairman Pietro Arvedi D'Emilei entering into a coma after being involved in a car crash on his way back from a league match in December 2008. Arvedi died in March 2009, two months after the club was bought by new chairman Giovanni Martinelli.

The following season looked promising, as new transfer players were brought aboard, and fans enthusiastically embraced the new campaign. Season ticket figures climbed to over 10,000, placing Verona ahead of several Serie A teams and all but Torino in Serie B attendance.<ref>{{Cite news|title=Tifosi dell'Hellas Verona: 10.442 abbonamenti!|date=4 September 2009 |url=http://www.hellasweb.it/news/tifosi-dellhellas-verona-10-442-abbonamenti |publisher=HellasWeb|language=it |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110722041141/http://www.hellasweb.it/news/tifosi-dellhellas-verona-10-442-abbonamenti |archive-date=22 July 2011|trans-title=Hellas Verona fans: 10,442 season tickets!}}</ref> The team led the standings for much of the season, accumulating a seven-point lead by early in the spring. However, the advantage was gradually squandered, and the team dropped to second place on the second-last day of the season, with a chance to regain first place in the final regular season match against [[Calcio Portogruaro Summaga|Portogruaro]] on home soil. Verona, however, disappointed a crowd of over 25,000 fans<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.datasport.it/news/2010/maggio/9/26248/lega-pro-tabellini-34a-giornata.html |publisher=Data Sport |title=Lega Pro 1/B: i tabellini della 34.a giornata |date=9 May 2009 |access-date=8 November 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100512164623/http://www.datasport.it/news/2010/maggio/9/26248/lega-pro-tabellini-34a-giornata.html |archive-date=12 May 2010|trans-title=Lega Pro 1 / B: the scores of the 34th matchday|language=it}}</ref> and, with the loss, dropped to third place and headed towards the play-offs. A managerial change for the post-season saw the firing of Remondina and the arrival of [[Giovanni Vavassori]]. After eliminating [[A.C. Rimini 1912|Rimini]] in the semi-finals (1–0; 0–0) Verona lost the final to [[Delfino Pescara 1936|Pescara]] (2–2 on home soil and 0–1 in the return match) and were condemned to a fourth-straight year of third division football.

=== Rising again and Serie A comeback (2012–present) ===

Former [[1990 FIFA World Cup|1990 World Cup]] star [[Giuseppe Giannini]] (a famous captain of Roma for many years) signed as manager for the 2010–11 campaign. Once again, the team was almost entirely revamped during the transfer season. The squad struggled in the early months and Giannini was eventually sacked and replaced by former Internazionale defender [[Andrea Mandorlini]], who succeeded in reorganising the team's play and bringing discipline both on and off the pitch. In the second half of the season, Verona climbed back from the bottom of the division to clinch a play-off berth (fifth place) on the last day of the regular season. The team advanced to the play-off final after eliminating [[Sorrento Calcio|Sorrento]] in the semi-finals 3–1 on aggregate. Following the play-off final, after four years of Lega Pro football, Verona were promoted back to Serie B after a 2–1 aggregate win over [[U.S. Salernitana 1919|Salernitana]] on 19 June 2011.

On 18 May 2013, Verona finished second in Serie B and were promoted to Serie A after an eleven-year absence.<ref>{{Cite news| title = Hellas Verona back in Serie A after 11 years away| url = https://sports.yahoo.com/news/soccer-hellas-verona-back-serie-11-years-away-174534103.html| archive-url = https://archive.today/20130630172858/http://sports.yahoo.com/news/soccer-hellas-verona-back-serie-11-years-away-174534103.html| url-status = dead| archive-date = 30 June 2013| publisher = Yahoo Sports| date=18 May 2013}}</ref> Their return to the top flight began against title contenders Milan and Roma, beating the former 2–1 and losing to the latter 3–0. The team continued at a steady pace, finishing the first half of the season with 32 points and sitting in sixth place, eleven points behind the closest [[UEFA Champions League]] spot—and tied with Internazionale for the final [[UEFA Europa League]] spot. Verona, however, ultimately finished the year in tenth.

During the [[2015–16 Serie A|2015–16 season]], Verona had not won a single match since the beginning of the campaign until the club edged [[Atalanta B.C.|Atalanta]] 2–1 on 3 February 2016 in a win at home; coming twenty-three games into the season.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.espnfc.com/italian-serie-a/match/432040/hellas-verona-atalanta/report|title=Hellas Verona claim long-awaited first Serie A win of the season|work=ESPNFC|date=3 February 2016|access-date=3 February 2016|publisher=ESPN Sports Media|archive-date=7 February 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160207033246/http://www.espnfc.com/italian-serie-a/match/432040/hellas-verona-atalanta/report|url-status=dead}}</ref> Consequently, Verona were relegated from Serie A.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.espnfc.us/italian-serie-a/match/431919/hellas-verona-ac-milan/report|title=Hellas Verona relegated from Serie A despite late win over AC Milan|publisher=ESPN Sports Media|access-date=30 April 2016|archive-date=28 April 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160428180648/http://www.espnfc.us/italian-serie-a/match/431919/hellas-verona-ac-milan/report|url-status=dead}}</ref>

In the [[2016–17 Serie B|2016–17 Serie B season]], Hellas Verona finished second on the table and were automatically promoted back to Serie A. Hellas lasted one season back in the top division after finishing second last during the [[2017–18 Serie A|2017–18 Serie A season]] and were relegated back to Serie B.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.football-italia.net/120939/hellas-verona-are-relegated/|title=Hellas Verona are relegated|work=Football Italia|date=5 May 2018|publisher=Tiro Media}}</ref> At the end of the [[2018–19 Serie B|2018–19 season]], Hellas finished in fifth position and achieved promotion back to Serie A after defeating [[A.S. Cittadella|Cittadella]] 3–0 in the second leg of their [[2018–19 Serie B#Promotion play-offs|promotion play-off]] to win 3–2 on aggregate.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.espn.co.uk/football/hellas-verona/story/3866969/hellas-verona-promoted-back-to-serie-a/|title=Hellas Verona promoted back to Serie A|publisher=ESPN Sports Media|date=2 June 2019|agency=Associated Press}}</ref>

The club's return to the top flight in the [[2019–20 Serie A|2019–20 Serie A season]], in which it was considered a strong relegation candidate at the beginning of the campaign, was a successful one, with a ninth-placed finish. Heavily reliant on the defensive solidity of 20-year-old centre-back [[Marash Kumbulla]], [[Amir Rrahmani]] and goalkeeper [[Marco Silvestri]], along with the consistent performances of midfielder [[Sofyan Amrabat]], Verona was a surprise contender for Europa League qualification but fell out of the race after a downturn in form after the coronavirus break which temporarily halted the season.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://forzaitalianfootball.com/2020/08/hellas-verona-2019-20-season-review/|title=Hellas Verona Serie A 2019/20 Season Review|publisher=ForzaItalianFootball|date=7 August 2020}}</ref> A 2–1 win at home against eventual title winners [[Juventus F.C.|Juventus]] in February was a highlight of a season in which the club achieved 10 clean sheets and punched towards the higher end of the table despite its modest budget.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.footballteamnews.com/football-results-review/hellas-verona-italy-serie-a-2019-2020|title=Hellas Verona review 2019-20|publisher=footballteamnews}}</ref>

Ahead of Verona's second consecutive year in [[2020-21 Serie A|Serie A]], key players Amrabat, Rrahmani and Kumbulla were poached by [[A.C. Fiorentina|Fiorentina]], [[S.S.C. Napoli|Napoli]] and [[A.S. Roma|Roma]] respectively, and loanee [[Matteo Pessina]] returned to Atalanta. This left the club with a heavily weakened squad and it was once again expected to struggle in the league prior to the season-opening match.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://totalfootballanalysis.com/competitions/serie-a/hellas-verona-2020-21-season-preview-scout-report-tactical-analysis-tactics|title=Serie A 2020/21 Season Preview: Hellas Verona|website=totalfootballanalysis.com/|date=3 September 2020}}</ref> Despite these losses in the transfer window, Verona again finished in the top half of the league table, ending the season in 10th place with 45 points. Successful breakout seasons for attacking midfielder [[Mattia Zaccagni]], who was eventually called up to the [[Italy national football team|Italy national team]] as a reward for his performances, as well as wing-backs [[Federico Dimarco]] and [[Davide Faraoni]], were partly the reason for this achievement.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://football-italia.net/verona-2020-21-season-review/|title=Hellas Verona season review|publisher=Football Italia|date=27 May 2021}}</ref> At the end of the season, coach [[Ivan Jurić]] was appointed by [[Torino FC|Torino]] following his two impressive [[Serie A]] seasons with Verona, with the ''Gialloblu'' replacing him with [[Eusebio Di Francesco]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://football-italia.net/official-di-francesco-new-verona-coach/|title=Verona appoint Di Francesco|publisher=Football Italia|date=7 June 2021}}</ref>

Following another summer transfer window in which several of the club's star players were sold to Serie A rivals, namely Zaccagni transferring to [[S.S. Lazio|Lazio]], Marco Silvestri to [[Udinese Calcio|Udinese]] and Dimarco returning to [[Inter Milan|Inter]], the beginning of the [[2021-22 Serie A|2021-22 season]] proved to be much more difficult for Verona, as Di Francesco was fired and replaced with [[Igor Tudor]] after just three matches, all of which were defeats. This poor early-season form had left the club at the bottom of the table. Under the guidance of Tudor, the team regains competitiveness obtaining in the next eight matches three wins – including victories with Lazio and Juventus – four draws and only one defeat.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://football-italia.net/official-tudor-is-new-hellas-verona-coach/|title=Official: Tudor announced as new Verona manager|publisher=Football Italia|date=14 September 2021}}</ref>