Virtus Verona, founded as Unione Sportiva Virtus Borgo Venezia in 1921, sometimes referred to as Virtus Vecomp Verona for sponsorship reasons, is an Italian association football club located in Borgo Venezia, a district of Verona, Veneto. It currently plays in Serie C.

Virtus Verona
Full nameAssociazione Virtusvecomp Verona
Nickname(s)Virtussini
Rossoblù
(The Red-Blues)
I Borgo-Veneziani
(The Borgo-Venetians)
I Ribelli Veronesi
(The Veronan Rebels)
Founded1921; 103 years ago (1921)
GroundStadio Gavagnin Nocini,[1][2]
Verona, Italy
Capacity1,200
ChairmanLuigi Fresco
ManagerLuigi Fresco
LeagueSerie C Group A
2023–24Serie C Group A, 11th of 20
WebsiteClub website
Current season

History

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The club was founded in 1921 as Unione Sportiva Virtus Borgo Venezia.

Virtus Verona, the third football club in Verona behind Chievo and Hellas Verona, is a unique case in Italy of a club whose chairman, Luigi Fresco, had also been the head coach of the first team for over 41 years, since 1982, after the other historic president Sinibaldo Nocini, who was in charge for 20 years. The club is also notable for being the only Italian professional football team to field a reserve team in the regional amateur divisions.

The club was promoted into professionalism for its first time ever at the end of the 2012–13 season, after winning the national playoff tournament in which they were qualified as fourth-placed in the Girone C of Serie D. At the end of the 2017–18 season, the club return into professionalism, in Serie C, the third tier of Italian soccer.

Colours and badge

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The social colours are red and blue, traditionally arranged in vertical stripes.

The club’s historical badge is an ancile red palate, closed externally by a white crown, suitable to contain the social name (sometimes written in abbreviated form).

In 2014 this badge was replaced by a shield, in which the corporate name is simplified in Associazione Virtus Verona: the first and third words are placed in the palate field, while the second (colored red) is placed in a curved white band placed in a shield.

Current squad

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As of 17 August 2024[3]

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

No. Pos. Nation Player
1 GK   ITA Enrico Alfonso (on loan from SPAL)
2 DF   ITA Etienne Catena (on loan from Cagliari)
3 DF   ITA Mattia Rigo (on loan from Hellas Verona)
4 DF   ITA Riccardo Lodovici
5 MF   ITA Dino Mehic
6 DF   ITA Manuel Daffara
7 MF   ITA Marco Amadio
8 MF   ITA Antonio Metlika
9 FW   ITA Gianluca Contini
10 MF   ITA Leonardo Zarpellon
11 DF   ITA Gianni Manfrin
12 GK   ITA Gabriele Fortin
16 MF   ITA Matteo Bassi
17 FW   NGA Smith Oghosa Oni
18 FW   ITA Paul Ojeh
21 FW   ARG Juanito
No. Pos. Nation Player
22 GK   GAM Sheikh Sibi
23 MF   ITA Francesco Toffanin
25 MF   ITA Nicolò Filippi
30 MF   ITA Christian Gatti
34 DF   ITA Diego Ronco (on loan from Como)
44 FW   ITA Mattia Pagliuca
47 FW   ITA Edoardo Cuel
74 FW   ITA Samuele Lerco
75 DF   ITA Tommaso Cielo
85 DF   ITA Nicolas Fiori
90 MF   NGA Christian Odogwu
95 DF   ITA Luca Munaretti (on loan from Cremonese)
97 MF   ITA Emanuele Souza Dos Santos
99 FW   ITA Federico Caia (on loan from Hellas Verona)
GK   ITA Alberto Zecchin
MF   ITA Fabio Rispoli (on loan from Como)

Supporters

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Virtus Verona supporters are known for their hardline anti-fascist and left-wing leanings. The group Virtus Fans created in 2006, was split up in 2015, from which 2 new groups emerged: Virtus Verona Rude Firm 1921 and the Lost Boys. The Virtus Verona Rude Firm 1921 have friendships with antifa supporters groups all over the world: Livorno Calcio, Cosenza Calcio, Wrexham, Olympique Marseille, FC St. Pauli, RSV Goettingen 05.[4][5][better source needed]

References

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  1. ^ "I nostri Campi". Archived from the original on 27 March 2014.
  2. ^ "Picture of the grandstand" (JPG).
  3. ^ "Virtus Verona squad". Soccerway. Retrieved 28 September 2022.
  4. ^ Virtus Verona Antifascista [user-generated source]
  5. ^ Virtus Verona Rude Firm 1921 [user-generated source]
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