Taranto Sport

Football club infobox
clubname = Taranto


fullname = Taranto Sport Srl
nickname = "Ionici", "Rossoblu"
founded = 1906
ground = Stadio Erasmo Iacovone, Taranto, Italy
capacity = 28,000 | chairman = flagicon|Italy Vito Luigi Blasi
manager = flagicon|Italy Marco Cari
league = Lega Pro Prima Divisione - B
season = 2007-08
position = Serie C1/B, 3rd
pattern_la1=_red_stripes|pattern_b1=_redstripes|pattern_ra1=_red_stripes
leftarm1=000075|body1=000075|rightarm1=000075
shorts1=000075|socks1=000075|pattern_la2=
pattern_b2=_thindkbluesides|pattern_ra2=|leftarm2=FF0000
body2=FFFFFF|rightarm2=FF0000|shorts2=FFFFFF|socks2=FFFFFF

Taranto Sport is an Italian football club, based in Taranto, Apulia. The club was founded in 1906 and refounded in 2004. Taranto currently plays in Lega Pro Prima Divisione, having last been in Serie B in 1993. The team's colors are red and blue.

History

The first team ever founded in the city of Taranto was the "Mario Rapisardi", established in 1904. However in 1906 another team, "U.S. Pro Italia", was founded; still that year, the two teams attempted unsuccessfully to merge each other. In 1911, after the founding of "Audace Foot Ball Club" by a group of local students, a rivality between the two teams started, lasting until 1927, when the two teams merged to form "A.S. Taranto". The new team first promoted to Serie B in 1935, playing only one year in that category. In 1947, after a merge with "U.S. Arsenale Taranto", another team in the city, the club assumed the denomination of "U.S. Arsenaltaranto", which lasted until 1955, when the old one was restored. In 1965, the new venue was inaugurated, after a hundred days necessary to build it. A number of years played in Serie B and Serie C saw the highest peak ever reached by Taranto in 1977-1978, when the team, led by striker Erasmo Iacovone, was seriously fighting for a surprising promotion; however, in February 6 1978, Iacovone was killed in a car accident; after his death, the Taranto venue was entitled to him. Taranto left Serie B in 1980/1981, in order to reach it again three years later; in 1985 the club was declared bankrupt by the magistrature, and successively was taken over before the end of that season. Because of all that, it was forced to change its denomination to a different one, "Taranto Football Club SpA". However, after several other economical troubles, the team was cancelled in 1993.

A new team, named "A.S. Taranto 1906", was established in 1993 and registered to Serie D. The team reached Serie C2/C in 1994/1995, but went into liquidation in 1998, so that a new team, again named "U.S. Arsenaltaranto", was admitted to Serie D. In 2000 it was admitted to Serie C2/C, and changed its denomination to "Taranto Calcio Srl". However, in 2004 the team was declared bankrupt one more time, and the consequent bankruptcy auction entrusted the club in the hands of businessman Vito Luigi Blasi, who changed its name in "Taranto Sport Srl". In 2005/2006, the team ended second, gaining a spot in the promotion play-offs. The final phase of the Serie C2/C league ended in a triumph for Taranto Sport, which won the playoff finals against Rende and returned back to Serie C1/B.

Current squad

"As of 2008-05-12" [cite web|url=http://www.tarantochannel.tv/it/1a_squadra/rosa.asp |publisher=Taranto Sport |language=Italian |accessdate=2008-05-12 |title=Staff tecnico e giocatori]

References

External links

*it icon [http://www.tarantochannel.tv Official site]