Acireale Football Club

Foundation

The club's roots can be traced back to a previous club in the city, from whose ashes the current incarnation rose; the older club in the town played between 1928 and 1935. The club was founded on 11 June 1946, as A.C. Acireale, making its debut in Serie C, with its first squad coached by former Juventus player Luigi Bertolini. That early lineup included Core, Maccarrone, Cantarella, Dereani, Barattucci, Conti, Signorelli, Raciti, Grasso, Creziato, and Cusumano. The granata enjoyed several solid seasons, eventually earning promotion in the 1957–58 campaign, and later achieving promotion to Serie C in the 1968–69 season. Between the latter half of the 1960s and 1972, the club competed under the name "Acquapozzillo." Less than a decade after their ascent, the team dropped back to Serie D in the 1975–76 season and went on to participate in several editions of the Interregional Championship. The 1980s and 1990s would prove to be some of the most exciting years in Acireale's history. The team reached its culmination in 1992/1993 when, after a long period played in Serie C1, C2 and D, the team, coached by Giuseppe Papadopulo, surprisingly gained its first promotion to Serie B. During its first Serie B season in 1993–94, Acireale avoided relegation after having won a play-off against Pisa on penalties. But, in its next season, Acireale was not able to repeat their feat, and were relegated to Serie C1. Acireale successively played consecutively four season in Serie…