Udinese Calcio is a professional football club based in Udine, Friuli-Venezia Giulia, Italy. The team currently competes in the Serie A, the first tier of Italian football. It was founded on 30 November 1896 as a sports club, and on 5 July 1911 as a football club.
Vincenzo Iaquinta is an Italian former professional footballer who played as a striker.
Antonio Di Natale is an Italian football coach and former professional player who played as a striker.
SSC Napoli returned to Serie A, following a couple of years in Serie B, where the club had rebuilt itself following the disastrous 1997–98 season, when it scored merely 14 points from 34 games.
Udinese Calcio bounced back from the hugely disappointing 2001–02 Serie A season, in which it only just managed to avoid relegation. Under new coach Luciano Spalletti, Udinese gathered strength, and was a constant feature on the top half of the league table. Even though the squad lacked the goalscoring punch, the defence led by Néstor Sensini and surprising goalkeeper Morgan De Sanctis held it together to such a degree it finished sixth in the league. Also Czech signing Marek Jankulovski impressed, the Napoli signing switching form left-wing to left back, causing interest from several bigger clubs. In the offence, Udinese's most influential player was David Pizarro, who scored seven times from the midfield and grabbed the attention from Lazio, who tried to sign him and teammate Martin Jørgensen immediately after the season had finished. Undisclosed Lazio players refused moving to Udine as compensation for the transfers, and both stayed on, much to the relief of Spalletti.
Genoa had a mixed season, in which it struggled to replace world-class striker Diego Milito, who moved on to Internazionale, where he was key in winning the treble in 2010. Such a player was difficult to find, and his Argentinian replacements Hernán Crespo and Rodrigo Palacio lacked the final punch. Crespo had it in his younger years, of course, but despite four goals in the autumn, he was offloaded to Parma, as Genoa put its faith in David Suazo for the goalscoring. Sergio Floccari also departed, and the Lazio signing scored more goals for the Roman club in half the year than what any player did for Genoa the whole season, while Suazo became a flop. The defence did not perform at expected level either, and even though the team scored several goals by many players, the defensive holes ensured the team did not repeat the fifth position from the year before.
Genoa C.F.C. enjoyed its best season in recent history and finished fifth in Serie A. Topscorer Diego Milito hit the back of the net 24 times, and earned a move to Inter prior to the 2009-10 season. The ex-player and 29-year-old Argentinian Milito, arrived from relegated Spanish side Real Zaragoza, and the returnee performed his best season yet. Thanks to his goals and Thiago Motta's midfield display, Genoa finished in the top 5, and nearly pipped Fiorentina to the final Champions League spot. Motta was also sold to Inter in the summer, which left a huge fold in the Genoa squad.
A.C. Perugia were relegated from Serie A with a bang, following a chaotic season, in which president Luciano Gaucci managed to upset the Italian football society, by claiming that the referees' were deliberately trying to relegate Perugia to Serie B. Prior to the season, he performed a PR-stunt, when signing Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi's son Al-Saadi Gaddafi He also continued trying to sign female players, trying to sign both Hanna Ljungberg and Victoria Svensson, according to Swedish daily Aftonbladet.
U.C. Sampdoria enjoyed its best season since 1993–94, when the club finished third in Serie A and won Coppa Italia. In 2004-05 Sampdoria was able to finish fifth in the standings, thanks to a robust defence and a goalscoring ace in secondary striker Francesco Flachi, who played the football of his life. With only 29 goals conceded, the defence of Sampdoria was fully comparable with those of top sides Juventus and Milan, and coach Walter Novellino was hailed for the strong performance in the club's second season since its return to Serie A.
U.C. Sampdoria returned to Serie A after a four year-absence, and immediately re-established itself as a team on the top half of the domestic championship. Goalkeeper Francesco Antonioli offered crucial experience, but apart from him did the bulk of the squad play in the 2002-03 Serie B, with top goalscorers Fabio Bazzani and Francesco Flachi quickly adjusting themselves to the higher pace of Serie A. Midfielders Sergio Volpi and Angelo Palombo also stood out. Right back Aimo Diana even earned a call-up to the national team following his performances.
UC Sampdoria had a successful season in the domestic league, finishing in sixth place. The club also captured Antonio Cassano from Real Madrid, with the notorious troublemaker settling in well at Sampdoria, helping the club to European qualification. The season also saw the first Serie A derbies between Sampdoria and Genoa since 1995, with Sampdoria winning the second one with 1-0, following a goalless draw in the beginning of the league campaign.
Reggina Calcio just renewed its Serie A contract, thanks to a late surge in the league competition and a successful spareggio against Atalanta. Reggina drew 0-0 at home, and then turned around a deficit to win 2-1 away from home, with Francesco Cozza and Emiliano Bonazzoli being the match-winners. The player who got the most headlines during the season was Japanese playmaker Shunsuke Nakamura, who scored seven goals and created several others. He also helped Reggina to get onto the Asian market, so the signing was largely hailed as a genial manoeuvre by president Pasquale Foti.
Reggina Calcio did renew its Serie A contract on the second consecutive occasion, ensuring the longest stay of the Calabrian club in the top division of Italian football. With returning coach Franco Colomba not being successful in his third stay at the club, Giancarlo Camolese guided the side to 13th place in the league. With only 29 goals scored, Reggina relied heavily on its defence for the survival, and Martin Jiránek plus defensive midfielder Davide Baiocco strengthened their reputations. After the season, Baiocco returned to Juventus, who in turn loaned him out to Reggina's arch-rivals Messina, newcomers for the 2004–05 season, setting up the first Messina strait derby in the highest division ever.
Reggina Calcio extended its stay in Serie A by a further season, despite being charged with involvement in Calciopoli at the end of the term. Reggina was allowed to retain its Serie A status, but was demoted eleven points out of its 2006-07 campaign, leading to the general consensus that its time in the top-flight division was running out, given that it had only sealed its Serie A stays by the shallowest of margins before.
Reggina Calcio was thought to be a prime candidate to be relegated in the 2006-07 season, since it had been deducted eleven points for its involvement in Calciopoli. At no stage had Reggina renewed its contract with more than a point or two, and therefore its 51 points in 38 games was a very high yield. The Serie A stay was extended thanks to the successful striking force of Rolando Bianchi and Nicola Amoruso, scoring an unprecedented 35 goals between them. Bianchi headed for Manchester City in the summer, and successful coach Walter Mazzarri found a new berth at Sampdoria.
Reggina Calcio managed to save its Serie A berth at the last minute, for the sixth consecutive season. Nicola Amoruso delivered 12 goals, which was five goals fewer than in the previous season, but enough to land a deal with Torino for the next season.
Reggina Calcio finally dropped out of Serie A, following seven years of balancing around the drop zone. Following its previous six years, the club had stayed in Serie A by less than three points on all occasions. In 2008–09, Reggina dropped off the pace mid-season and was nowhere near survival.
Atalanta B.C. lost its momentum it had built in its first two Serie A seasons in its stint, eventually being relegated following a playoff against Reggina. The championship was such competitive than Atalanta was only four points away from repeating its 9th place from the 2001-02 season, but instead had to face Serie B competition, losing key players such as Cristiano Doni, Luciano Zauri and Ousmane Dabo to bigger clubs.
Atalanta B.C. failed to prolong its Serie A stint by more than one season, due to a poor start to the season. Delio Rossi took over at the helm, and helped by the breakthroughs of striker Stephen Makinwa and playmaker Riccardo Montolivo, Atalanta was able to catch up with the teams above the relegation zone, but went down due to a 1-0 defeat to Roma in the penultimate round.
During the 2003–04 Italian football season, Udinese Calcio competed in the Serie A.
