Founded: 1906, Stadium: Stadio Alberto Picco, Capacity: 11,466
Spezia Calcio was founded in 1906 by the Swiss banker Hermann Hurni, who played for the early Crystal Palace amateur teams in London during his time there as a student. He played for Crystal Palace again in 1909. The first Spezia playing kit, light blue and white, was a second-hand amateur Crystal Palace kit donated to Hurny when he returned to La Spezia. In 2008, due to financial difficulty and following their relegation from Serie B, the club was forced to declare bankruptcy. The team was refounded in 2008 as A.S.D. Spezia Calcio 2008. Spezia’s official club colours are white and black. Spezia’s fanbase is almost exclusively based in the city of La Spezia and the surrounding areas, due to the domination of Liguria of its two largest clubs Genoa and Sampdoria, who are heavily supported throughout the region. Spezia maintains minor rivalries with Liguria’s more traditional powerhouses, Genoa and Sampdoria. Similarly, the club has played many notable fixtures against Pisa, which has become known as the Tuscan-Ligurian Derby, as well as a rivalry with Carrarese in the Derby Lunense. The Spezia logo is in the shape of a ball. The furthest outline is gold. The following outline is black. The biggest outline which comes next in the pattern is white. At the top of the white outline is the team name “Spezia,” and at the bottom is its founding date, “1906”. Then there is another black outline and another white outline. Lastly, there is a black bullseye with the letters “A,” “S,” and “C” mixed together in a clever design.
