S.S. Akragas Città dei Templi

Akragas

Full name	Società Sportiva Akragas Città dei Templi
Nickname(s)	Giganti, Akragantini, Biancoazzurri, Il Gigante
Founded	1939 (inactive) 1952 (reactivated)
Ground	Stadio Esseneto, Agrigento, Italy
Capacity	10,000[1]
President	Silvio Alessi
Manager	Pino Rigoli
League	Lega Pro (Girone C)
2014–15	Serie D/I, 1st (promoted)
Website	Club home page
Home colours Away colours Third colours

Società Sportiva Akragas Città dei Templi, commonly referred to as S.S. Akragas, is an Italian association football club based in Agrigento, Sicily. The club was founded in 1929 and currently plays in the Lega Pro.

History

The foundation

An ancestor of the club was known to have played since at least the early-1930s as Associazione Calcio Agrigento.^[2] The club had moderate success in the lower divisions of Italian football; it progressed beyond the regional Sicilian scene to Serie C for the first time for the 1939–40 season.^[3]

By the late 1940s A.C. Agrigento had fallen in stature, competing in the regional Promozione Sicily league after being relegated;^[3] their decline fully set in 1952 when the club became defunct due to financial difficulties.^[3]

Revival as Akragas

Following the previous club's closure, Akragas was revamped and a new team was set up by chairman Enzo Lauretta during 1952. The club was renamed Unione Sportiva Akragas,^[4] rather than using the Italianized version of the name, the club paid homage to the city's Magna Graecia roots. A noted figure in Sicilian football, Carmelo Di Bella was put in place as the club's first manager, while Gaspare Gallo was its first captain.^[5] To attract the attention of the supporters of defunct Agrigento, Akragas changed its colour, abandonning its violet and taking the white and blue of Agrigento.

In the 2013–14 season, Akragas barely missed out on promotion to Lega Pro in favour of Savoia, but would go on to achieve this in the next season by winning Group I of the Serie D league. They began to play in the Lega Pro after the 2015–16 season.

Colours and badge

The team plays in a light blue and white striped kit.

Current squad

As of 10 February 2016^[6]

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Position Player GK Roberto Maurantonio GK Alessandro Vono GK Antonio Lo Monaco DF Ciro Capuano DF Daniele Marino DF Thiago Cazé da Silva DF Andrea Scrugli DF Zach Muscat [7] DF Alessio Grea DF Andrea De Rossi MF Bruno Vicente MF Urban Žibert

No. Position Player MF Juan Alberto Mauri MF Salvatore Aloi MF Francesco Salandria MF Maiko Candiano MF Nikolay Dyulgerov FW Salvatore Roghi FW Vito Leonetti FW Mattia Fiore FW Fabio Aveni FW Giuseppe Madonia FW Matteo Di Piazza FW Matias Cristaldi

Non-playing staff

• Manager: Pino Rigoli
• Technical coordinator: Sergio Almirón^[8]

Honours

Serie C2:

• Runner-up (1): 1982–83

Serie D:

• Winners (3): 1980–81; 1991–92; 2014–15
• Runner-up (2): 1958–59; 2013–14

Eccellenza Sicily:

• Winners (1): 2012-13

Promozione Sicily:

• Winners (3): 1956–57; 1977–78

Prima Categoria Sicily:

• Runners-up (1): 1952–53

References

1. http://www.ssakragas.it/locations/505500737757
2. "Coppa Italia: il dossier sulle 19 big in campo". Lega Nazionale Dilettanti. 7 October 2007.
3. "Storia dell’Akragas Calcio". Criluge Flash. 7 October 2007.
4. "Libri. Presentata la storia ilustrata dell'Unione Sportiva Akragas". Akragas.net. 7 October 2007.
5. "Fotogallery Anni '50". Conosecrel Akragas. 7 October 2007.
6. "Team – Prima Squadra". Società Sportiva Akragas Città dei Templi (in Italian). Retrieved 2 February 2015.
7. http://agrigentoweb.it/calciomercato-muscat-allakragas-da-malta-dicono si-05_01_2016
8. UFFICIALE: Akragas, Almirón rescinde ma resta come coordinatore area tecnica tuttolegapro.com (Italian)

External links

• Official website