The history of football in Monopoli officially began in 1958 with the foundation of the sports club Rinascente Calcio Monopoli, thanks to the efforts of president Mario Tarantino. The club was created to start from scratch after the bankruptcy of Audace Monopoli and chose to initially enrol in the Second Division, thus avoiding inheriting past debts. In 1966, the club was re-founded under the name Associazione Calcio Monopoli, thus beginning a sporting tradition that has spanned decades of regional and national championships, with numerous company changes and important competitive challenges.
The first corporate group included historical figures such as Giovanni Vacca, Alfredo Palmieri, the Giliberti brothers, and other local executives who contributed to structuring a team capable of competing and moving up the category. The technical set-up was perfected with the help of coach Michele Sinesi and with significant purchases such as that of Lino Brunetti, a former Serie A player. In the following years, Monopoli asserted itself on the regional scene, moving from the Second Category up to Promotion, with particularly successful years and promotions obtained also thanks to Coppa Italia tournaments at amateur level.
Among the team's most curious anecdotes, in the years when matches could not yet be decided on penalties, a coin was used to decide the outcome of the play-offs, as happened several times in the battles for promotion. The 1978-79 season was also famous, with strong exchanges in the market and moments of great technical and managerial tension, which nevertheless kept Monopoli firmly in the categories of professional championships such as Serie C2 and then Serie C1.
The club went through various phases, until it transformed in recent years into the modern Società Sportiva Monopoli 1966, still active in the Serie C championships, the third national division. The club's readmission to the Lega Pro, after a football betting scandal in the 2014-2015 seasons, marked an important return to professional football.
Monopoli's youth sector is particularly well organised and structured. It includes various categories, from the smallest youth teams up to the Primavera, passing through the Under-15, 16, 17 and 18. The team has a network of affiliated teams involving the very young, beginners, first kickers and little friends, with a technical and corporate organisation that aims at the development of local talents and their sporting and human growth.
To sum up, Monopoli football was born from the local community's desire to revive a sporting tradition after initial difficulties, with great passion and sacrifice. The club has seen a succession of important management figures, moments of glory on the field with promotions and leading teams, and a youth structure that represents the beating heart of the sports project. This path is reflected today in a solid Monopoli Calcio, with a strong identity linked to the territory and visible in the categories ranging from the youth teams to the first team that competes at a professional level in Serie C.
This history of football in Monopoli, with its historical details, people, anecdotes and development of sports categories, represents an important heritage for the city and its fans, laying the foundations for new challenges in the local football future.
Official sources and historical archive of Monopoli calcio
Official sources and historical archives for the Società Sportiva Monopoli 1966 can be found mainly through:
The official website of the Monopoli Calcio club can be found at monopolicalcio.it/1966. Here you can find news, releases, information on the youth sector, and updates on the first team and official activities. The club headquarters is at Vito Simone Veneziani Stadium in Monopoli (BA), with official telephone number +39 080.4107697.
The Wikipedia page dedicated to Società Sportiva Monopoli 1966, which summarises the club's history since its foundation in 1958 and its refoundation in 1966, the changes in categories, the protagonists and the most important moments in its sporting history, including the corporate events of recent decades.
Online historical archive dedicated to Italian and regional football, such as Tuttocampo.it, which offers a database of results, rankings and historical documents for amateur and professional teams, useful for delving into the minor and youth leagues.
Official social pages of the club, such as the “S.S. Monopoli 1966” Facebook page where recent and historical content is shared, including video material and archive photos.
Facebook groups of local fans and historians who tell the story of Monopoli Calcio, with testimonies and historical material shared by the community.
These sources are the main reference points for historical research and official documents related to Monopoli football and the green-and-white sports club.
Full list of presidents and years of club management
Here is the complete and detailed list of the chairmen of the Monopoli football club with the years of management:
1958 - ? : Mario Tarantino (founder of Rinascente Calcio Monopoli)
? - 1979 : Nicola Petrosillo
1979 - 1982 : Alfredo Palmieri
1982 - 1984 : Donato Lavermiccola
1984 - 1985 : Vitantonio Laruccia
1985 - 1986 : Vincenzo Giannotti
1986 - 1994 : Pasquale Bellomo
1994 - 2006 : (not specified, probably several presidents in the period)
2006 - 2008 : Domenico Ladisa
2008 - 2009 : Vito Ladisa
2009 - 2010 : Floriana Ladisa
2010 - 2013 : Sergio Fanizzi
2013 - 2018 : Enzo Mastronardi
2018 - 2022 : Onofrio Lopez
2022 - present : Francesco Rossiello
This list bears witness to how the corporate management of Monopoli Calcio has shifted from historical local figures to a modern administration that has guided the team to important goals. In particular, the Ladisa period represented family continuity in management, while the leadership of Enzo Mastronardi and Onofrio Lopez coincided with the rebirth and stabilisation of the club at a professional level in Serie C. Today, president Francesco Rossiello represents continuity and focus on the future of Monopoli calcio.
Fans of Monopoli calcio history of the Monopoli ultras
The historically heartfelt and proud supporters of Monopoli Calcio originated in the 1970s with the birth of the first ultras groups that animated the Curva Nord of the Vito Simone Veneziani Stadium. Among the first ultras groups was the “Fedelissimi Club La Forbice”, founded in 1973, one of the first to use the term “ultras” in southern Italy. Subsequently, the ultras movement consolidated especially from the 1980s with the formation and affirmation of groups such as the “Army Korps” in 1980, the “Bad Boys” from 1986-87, the “Ultras Monopoli” in 1993 and finally the “Cani Sciolti Monopoli” in 2011.
The Monopoli fans are distinguished by their strong territorial attachment and passion for the team, animating the Curva Nord with choruses, banners and choreographies at home matches. The most heartfelt rivalries are with Brindisi, with whom the so-called “derby of records” is played due to important clashes in the 2004-2005 Eccellenza championship with record scores. Other historic rivalries are with teams such as Fidelis Andria, Barletta and Taranto, while those with Casarano, Martina Franca, Virtus Francavilla, Cosenza, Cavese, Campobasso, Nocerina, Juve Stabia, Benevento, Potenza, Gelbison and Bisceglie are of lesser importance. Relations with the Cerignola fans are not good.
The fans' historical twinning includes those with Salernitana (ended in 2023), Chieti (ended in 2021), and long-term friendships with Trani and Fasano, with whom there is still respect and sportsmanship. Other friendly relations have been established over time with foreign fans such as Nuremberg, La Louvière and Heracles Almelo, and with Italian groups such as Sud 1996 of Napoli, Turris and Catania.
To sum up, the Monopoli football fans are a cohesive group with deep historical roots, a strong sense of local belonging, intense rivalries and friendship and twinning relationships that testify to the liveliness and passion of the Monopoli fans.
List of relegated leagues and promotions for each season
A complete and detailed list of the championships played by Monopoli Calcio in the various seasons, with the relevant promotions and relegations, is an important piece of data for tracing the club's sporting history.
Monopoli Calcio, since its birth in the 1950s and re-foundation in 1966, has competed in championships at various levels, mainly among Italy's minor leagues such as Serie D, Serie C2, Serie C1 and Serie C, with some entries in regional categories such as Eccellenza and Promozione in its most difficult phases.
Here is a summary of the main sporting seasons:
1970s - 1980s: Participations between Serie D and Serie C2 with successive promotions and relegations, including to regional promotion, with moments of growth alternating with seasons of difficulty.
1990-2000: Stabilisation in Serie C2, occasionally Serie C1, with some relegations to Serie D and returns to C2. Key promotions and playoff victories are recalled.
2000-2010: An up and down period with relegations to Eccellenza and Promozione, but also restarts and new victories in regional and national amateur championships.
2010-Present: Return to Serie C (Legapro) with Monopoli, which has established itself in recent seasons as a stable and competitive team in the Serie C round of the Serie C, confirming permanence and salvation, with no recent direct relegation.
Unfortunately, the detailed list of each individual championship, with precise years and placings, promotions and relegations, requires in-depth consultation of the FIGC archives and specific historical sources such as official websites and historical sports databases.
In general, the promotions that occurred marked positive turning points in the club's history, while relegations represented moments of difficulty but also of renewal. The most important promotions were the leap from Serie D to Serie C2 and from C2 to C1, while the most significant relegations were to regional categories such as Eccellenza or Promozione.
For a detailed official list of years, rankings, promotions and relegations, I would recommend consulting the official Monopoli Calcio website, historical FIGC archives, and sites specialising in Italian football statistics.
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