Empoli

Empoli FC is an Italian football club from the city of Empoli founded in 1920.

For about 60 years Empoli remained an unremarkable club on Italian football arena. Constantly rotating between lower divisions, the team got their first run into Serie B in the 1946/47 season. Only in 1986, the team announced themselves to Serie A making a flying start in a debut 1-0 win over Inter. However, their stay in the top-flight didn’t last for long: they were a footstep away from relegation in their debut season and finally got the boot finishing at the bottom of the 1987/88 Serie A table. Since that time, Empoli had another 7 seasons in the top league, but the farthest they have climbed up to was the 7th place finish in the 2006/07 campaign which earned them a ticket to the 2007/08 UEFA Cup.

In the 2008/09 campaign, the team found themselves in Serie B and compete in the second division to date. Despite the moderate success of their first team, Empoli is proud of its youth system which is considered one of the most prominent football youth academies in Italy. Moreover, such remarkable players as Antonio Di Natale, Daniele Adani, Ignazio Abate, Claudio Marchisio, Sebastian Giovinco and notable former player and a coach Luciano Spalletti had their spells at the club.

The team play their home matches at Stadio Carlo Castellani which can hold up to 19,847 spectators.