USD Mazara

U.S.D. Mazara, commonly known just as Mazara, is an Italian football team from Mazara del Vallo, Sicily. They currently play in the league Eccellenza Sicily.

Mazara
Full nameUnione Sportiva Dilettantistica Mazara
Nickname(s)I Gialloblù (The Yellow-and-Blues)
I Canarini (The Canaries)
Founded1946 (U.S. Mazara)
1996 (merger)
GroundStadio Nino Vaccara, Mazara del Vallo, Italy
Capacity3,266
ChairmanGiovanni Li Causi
Head coachRiccardo Abbenante
LeagueEccellenza Sicily/A
2022–23Eccellenza Sicily/A, 7th

History

Foundation and early years

Mazara was founded in 1946. However, a team representing Mazara del Vallo — Unione Sportiva Mazara' — was not founded until 1957–1958. Initially, the team played in the Promozione league. They played in Serie D from 1960 to 1961 but were relegated three years later. The club played in Serie D from 1971 to 1972 before they were relegated again. They returned to play in Serie D in 1976–1977 after winning a promotion playoff to Canicattì 1–0. The playoff match took place at Stadio Renzo Barbera, Palermo, attended by 12,000 people, the majority of whom were Mazara supporters. Following the promotion, the club consecutively played in Serie D for 19 seasons.

Promotion attempts

During the 1980s and early 1990s, Mazara often aimed to win the Serie D league but always missed their goal. In 1985, coach Ignazio Arcoleo led Mazara to win Serie D, so they were planned to be promoted to Serie C2, but the Football Federation later cancelled the promotion because of alleged match-fixing, and Mazara's bitter rivals Trapanis were promoted in their place. Mazara narrowly missed promotion on several occasions: the club placed second in 1988–1989, just one point behind winners Acireale; in 1990–1991, third behind Gangi, who then lost the playoff match to Matera; in 1993–1994, seventh after having led the point count for almost the whole first half of the season.

Relegation, decline and merger
First logo of the club after the 1996 fusion

After nineteen Serie D seasons, Mazara encountered serious financial troubles. In 1994–1995, they were relegated to Eccellenza, where another local team, S.C. Mazara 2000, was already playing. Mazara 2000 was a minor, young team that quickly climbed the football pyramid to Eccellenza. Mazara proper appeared to be an old team under decline. Both teams played in Eccellenza in 1995–1996, challenging each other in a local derby. Mazara placed fourth at the end of the season, whereas Mazara 2000 obtained seventh place. Mazara, under growing economic difficulties, agreed to merge with Mazara 2000. The merged team's name was Gruppo Sportivo Mazara 1946 (Mazara 1946 Sports Group).

The new football team included almost all the best players from the two former local clubs. Their first season in 1996–1997 was very successful, winning Eccellenza hands down and returning to Serie D. The first season for the new club in the Italian fifth-ranked division ended with just Mazara earning one point above the relegation limit. The 1998–1999 campaign was even harder. Since Mazara ended the season with the same number of points as Sancataldese, they were forced to play a single-legged relegation playoff. Held in Termini Imerese, the match ended in a 1–0 win for Mazara, which escaped relegation again.

Affected by heavy financial struggles, Mazara's team comprised young and inexperienced players in the 1999–2000 Serie D season. They were relegated to Eccellenza with just 8 points in 34 matches, placed last in number of points in the league.

Mazara experienced a period of decline. It was relegated to the Promozione (7th-ranked division) in 2003–2004 after losing relegation playoffs to Licata. With a new property, the club returned to Eccellenza in 2005–2006 under coach Filippo Cavataio, a native of Mazara and a former centre back of several Serie C teams. In 2006–2007, the club, again coached by Cavataio, ended the regular season phase in third place, behind Alcamo and Carini. They were admitted to the promotion playoff semifinal, where they eliminated Kamarat (from Cammarata) in a one-legged semifinal after a 0–0 tie. Mazara moved to the next round because of their best placement in the regular season. However, another tie with second-placed Carini in the final caused Mazara to be eliminated. Mazara failed to receive promotion in the following season, finishing in fifth place after a long battle with Nissa and bitter rivals Trapani, who then defeated and eliminated Mazara in the following promotion play-off tournament. All three matches (two in the regular season, plus a one-legged play-off match) against Trapani were played behind closed doors.

In 2008–09, Mazara returned, expecting to win the league, and established themselves in the top positions of the league. However, in January 2009, the club unwillingly gained national news coverage due to a key home game against first-placed Villabate. Mazara striker Francesco Erbini scored a goal in the first minutes of the match, but the referee disallowed the goal and restarted the game as Mazara's players were celebrating, thus allowing Villabate to score a goal with no significant opposition on the pitch. Due to heavy protests, the referee sent off three Mazara footballers in succession and abandoned the pitch minutes later.[1][2] The Sicilian Football Federation then announced that the match was to be replayed on 10 March; Mazara won the game 2–0 and established themselves in first place.[3] On 22 March, after a 4–0 home win against Marsala in a local derby, Mazara mathematically ensured first place in the league table. They had a six-point advantage over Villabate and only one remaining match to be played, marking their return to the Serie D after nine years.[4]

Serie D and fusion
Mazara 1946 during a home match in 2009

The club's comeback season to Serie D was hailed by financial problems, mostly caused by the move from a regional league to a national one. Former player Giovanni Iacono was appointed head coach on an unusual part-time basis. Throughout the season, Mazara found themselves at the bottom side of the league despite managing to achieve some prominent results, such as home wins to fallen giants Messina, and arch-rivals and league leaders Trapani. The club also experienced the loss of former Palermo striker and its team captain, Francesco Erbini. He was banned from the league for ten months in February 2010 because he greeted two club staff members under criminal investigation.[5] Despite these issues, the club ended the season above the relegation playoff zone, ensuring that they would play in the next Serie D season. In July 2010, a fusion was announced between the main Mazara club and the historical local youth system club Aurora Mazara. The new club took the name Mazara Calcio A.S.D.[6]

Mazara successfully returned to Serie D in 2010 as Eccellenza Sicily champions and played two seasons. They were relegated in 2011 as second-last placed in the Round I of the top amateur league in Italy. In their first season back in Eccellenza, Mazara clearly stated their intent to return immediately to Serie D by acquiring several top players, including former Torino striker Akeem Omolade. Despite several attempts, the club suffered difficult times. The 2013–14 season was particularly disastrous: Mazara narrowly escaped relegation through playoffs, which were decided by a last-minute extra-time draw against Rocca di Caprileone.

For the 2014–15 season, Mazara appointed Nicola Terranova, former assistant coach and older brother of Serie A defender Emanuele Terranova, as the new head coach. The club ended the season in second place behind winners Marsala. Qualifying for the national playoff phase, they were eliminated in the finals by Apulia-based club Nardò.

The 2015–16 season started with Terranova again at the team's helm. A Palermo-based consortium took over the club. New leader Elio Abbagnato (former club chairman from 1989 to 1991, and father-in-law of former Italy international Federico Balzaretti) appointed former Serie A player Tommaso Napoli as Mazara's new manager. Playing in Eccellenza, the club ended in seventh place. Mazara had a very successful campaign in the Coppa Italia Dilettanti, winning the regional cup for the first time. They ended the national phase, which offered an additional Serie D spot to the competition winners, as runners-up, losing to Unione Sanremo in the final.

In the new season, Andrea Pensabene became the new head coach, replacing Mazara-born Giacomo Modica in September. In November 2016, Abbagnato sold the club to managing director Filippo Franzone.[7]

The club changed ownership again in 2019, sold by Palermo-based Franzone to a local consortium. In 2023, the club was renamed U.S.D. Mazara.[8]

Colours and badge

The official team colours for every major sports team in Mazara are canary yellow and blue, which are also the official colours of Mazara del Vallo.

Mazara's original team badge was reminiscent of the 1996 merger between the two local and rival clubs U.S. Mazara and S.C. Mazara 2000. Both two characteristic elements of the respective original crests, respectively the canary bird and the seahorse, were present on it, along with the words "GS MAZARA 1946". That logo was dropped in 2010 in favour of a new version depicting only the canary.

Stadium
Entrance of Stadio Nino Vaccara, Mazara del Vallo

Mazara plays its home matches at Stadio Nino Vaccara, a small stadium along the local Mazaro river. Originally a dirt floor stadium without seats, Stadio Nino Vaccara undertook a massive restructuring in the early 2000s, implementing a synthetic field and a numbered seats-only grandstand with a roof.

The stadium is divided into three sectors: the numbered grandstand (tribuna centrale) with a capacity of 1,086; the curva (not a curved sector), where organized supporters sit down, with a capacity of 800; and the gradinata in front of the grandstand, with a capacity of 1,380, usually opened in exceptional cases.[9]

Outside the stadium, right beside the main entrance, murals depict fishermen and fishing boats characteristic of Mazara del Vallo.

List of seasons
SeasonLeaguePlacementOther
1956–57Prima Divisione5th
1957–58Prima Divisione1stpromoted
1958–59Prima Categoria7th
1959–60Prima Categoria1stpromoted after playoff against Milazzo
1960–61Serie D10th
1961–62Serie D7th
1962–63Serie D8th
1963–64Serie D17threlegated
1964–65Prima Categoria7th
1965–66Prima Categoria11th
1966–67Prima Categoria15th
1967–68Prima Categoria7th
1968–69Prima Categoria2nd
1969–70Prima Categoria1st6 points later deducted because of match fixing, AMAT Palermo promoted at its place
1970–71Promozione1stpromoted
1971–72Serie D17threlegated
1972–73Promozione2nd
1973–74Promozione3rd
1974–75Promozione3rd
1975–76Promozione1stpromoted after playoff against Canicattì
1976–77Serie D7th
1977–78Serie D10th
1978–79Serie D12th
1979–80Serie D8th
1980–81Serie D18th2 points deducted; no relegations in that season
1981–82Serie D14th
1982–83Interregionale12th
1983–84Interregionale8th
1984–85Interregionale1st5 points later deducted because of match fixing, Trapani promoted in their place
1985–86Interregionale11th
1986–87Interregionale7th
1987–88Interregionale12th
1988–89Interregionale]]2nd
1989–90Interregionale6th
1990–91Interregionale3rd
1991–92Interregionale4th
1992–93Campionato Nazionale Dilettanti14th
1993–94Campionato Nazionale Dilettanti7th
1994–95Campionato Nazionale Dilettanti17threlegated
1995–96Eccellenza4thmerged with Mazara 2000 at the end of the season
1996–97Eccellenza1stpromoted
1997–98Campionato Nazionale Dilettanti14th
1998–99Campionato Nazionale Dilettanti14thsaved from relegation after playoff against Sancataldese
1999–00Campionato Nazionale Dilettanti18threlegated
2000–01Eccellenza6th
2001–02Eccellenza7th
2002–03Eccellenza3rd
2003–04Eccellenza13threlegated after playoff against Licata
2004–05Promozione5th
2005–06Promozione1stpromoted
2006–07Eccellenza3rd
2007–08Eccellenza5th
2008–09Eccellenza1stpromoted
2009–10Serie D12th
2010–11Serie D18threlegated
2011–12Eccellenza9th
2012–13Eccellenza10th
2013–14Eccellenza13th
2014–15Eccellenza2ndlost national playoff finals to Nardò
2015–16Eccellenza7thCoppa Italia Dilettanti Sicilia winners, Coppa Italia Dilettanti runners-up after losing to Sanremese in the final
2016–17Eccellenza9th
2017–18Eccellenza6th
2018–19Eccellenza8th
2019–20Eccellenza6th
2020–21Eccellenza3rd
2021–22Eccellenza9th
2022–23Eccellenza7th
2022–23Eccellenza–

Notable managers

Achievements

References
  1. "Italian Insanity: As one team celebrates, the other team scores". 101 Great Goals. 27 January 2009. Archived from the original on 2 February 2009. Retrieved 12 February 2009.
  2. "Esultano, gli altri segnano – Guarda il video" (in Italian). La Gazzetta dello Sport. 25 January 2009. Retrieved 12 February 2009.
  3. "Mazara-Villabate finì in rissa: si rigioca" (in Italian). Corriere dello Sport – Stadio. 10 March 2009. Retrieved 22 March 2009.
  4. "Casertana, Milazzo e Mazara promosse in D" (in Italian). Corriere dello Sport – Stadio. 22 March 2009. Retrieved 23 March 2009.
  5. "Inneggia a indagati mafia Giocatore sospeso 10 mesi" (in Italian). la Repubblica. 17 February 2010. Retrieved 28 February 2010.
  6. "COMUNICATO STAMPA N° 10 Del 8 luglio 2010" (in Italian). Mazara Calcio ASD. 7 July 2010. Retrieved 5 August 2010.
  7. "Mazara Calcio: Filippo Franzone "Sarò il presidente più operaio di sempre"" (in Italian). Sport del Golfo. 6 November 2016. Retrieved 6 January 2017.
  8. "Sport: cambio di denominazione da FC Mazara Calcio a USD Mazara" (in Italian). Televallo. 18 July 2023. Retrieved 31 August 2023.
  9. "Disposte le misure di sicurezza per lo stadio "Nino Vaccara"" (in Italian). MazaraOnline. 5 April 2006. Archived from the original on 11 July 2007. Retrieved 29 July 2007.
  10. Including 5-points deduction because of alleged matchfixing
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