ACF Friola
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| Full name | ACF Friola |
|---|---|
| Nickname(s) | I Rossi (The Reds) Le Aquile (The Eagles) La Riali (The Royals) |
| Short name | Friola |
| Founded | 19 April 1919 |
| Ground | Parco Nazionale |
| Capacity | 75,000 |
| Owner | Divo Gentili (50%) Aquila Friola (50%) |
| Chairman | Divo Gentili |
| Manager | Kurt Kilen |
| League | LegaUno |
| 2018-19 | LegaUno, 6th |
ACF Friola, commonly known as simply Friola, is an Atrescan professional football club based in Friola, Atresca. The club was founded in 1919 as Associazione Calcio Friola, and participated in its first LegaUno season in the 1921-22 edition of the league. Friola have consistently been a top-flight club, and have only been relegated once in 1940 - only AS Rocca and Aleanto Calcio have spent more seasons in the top flight of Atrescan football.
The club plays at the expansive Parco Nazionale, which opened in 2001, and has a capacity of 75,000. Before that, they played in the Stadio Alessio Patrizzi, named after one of the club's original founders. Friola have won one Atrescan league title and one Coppa d'Etrescia, both in the 1986-87 season, and made it to the semi-final of the Asuran League in the same season, before being eliminated 3-2 on aggregate by Midrasian club FC Almiaro.
Friola is notable for their distinct red and blue kits, and are nicknamed "The Reds", "The Eagles" and "The Royals".
History
Foundation
Associazione Calcio Friola was founded on April 19, 1919 by Alessio Patrizzi, Acacio De Prima and Germano Gangemi, three members of the Atrescan Royal Guard who were stationed in Friola. The club entered LegaTre in 1919, and secured promotion in back-to-back seasons, finding themselves in the LegaUno by the 1921-22 season. They capped off their inaugural season in the LegaUno with an 8th place finish out of 14 teams, scoring 39 goals throughout the season, 20 of whom were netted by Alvaro di Lemme, one of the club's early legends.
During the summer of 1922, the club moved from its old Parco Tara stadium to a newly constructed stadium in western Friola, named the Stadio Alessio Patrizzi, after the club's founders. Despite its recent construction, it was still one of the smaller stadiums in the LegaUno, with a capacity of only 19,800 - owing mainly to the dense nature of the city of Friola itself, making demolition costs high for the new club. Friola got its first taste of silverware in 1933 when they made it to the Coppa d'Etrescia finals, but came extremely short as they were thrashed 7–0 by reigning Coppa champions Olimpico Roussina.
First Coppa title, league hopes, and '40s–'50s
Since the 1933-34 Coppa d'Etrescia final, Friola had established themselves as one of the early "Big 6" in Atresca, a title that was often thrown around, along with Aleanto, AS Rocca, US Monte Sora, Atletico Roussina and Olimpico Roussina. The team frequently alternated between 5th and 6th in the league, tussling mainly with Monte Sora as the other four clubs challenged for the championship. This developed the rivalry known as La Conscritta ("The Conscript"), a play on words from the saying "bottom of the barrel". Although this name seemed to go against the two club's relative success, it was widely adopted by both clubs as a figurehead name for the clash.
Alfredo di Lamme retired from Friola in 1938, having spent eighteen years at the club between 1919 and 1938, scoring 417 goals in 612 appearances for the club. The club signed two new forwards after di Lamme's retirement: Vidorian Raúl Callazo, known more commonly as simply Raúl, and Midrasian Gabriel Sardou, known as Gabi. Raúl and Gabi would be a formidable strike partnership for Friola from their debuts, propelling the club to a 3rd place finish in the 1938-39 season, beating out Aleanto, Rocca and Monte Sora but falling short of the two Roussine-based powerhouses. Friola had a forgettable Coppa d'Etrescia campaign in that season, however, losing in the second round to LegaTre club Badessina (now Badesi) 1–0. Redemption quickly followed however as they met with Badessina in the 1939-40 edition of the cup, smashing them 12–0, with Raúl setting a Coppa record of seven goals in a single match. Their league ambitions fell short as their star defensive midfielder, Tropinese Turu Sajjan, was injured and ruled out for two months with a fractured humerus in his right arm after a nasty fall in a 2–1 victory against SC Rocca. He would return to the club in time for their Coppa d'Etrescia quarter-final, which they lost 1–0 to Aleanto Calcio.