In the metropolitan area of Naples lies Torre Annunziata, a town that once lived off its flour mills and pasta factories. There, on 21 November 1908, Savoia was born, one of the oldest clubs in southern Italy. The team in the white shirt turns 118 this year. It is a story with an almost-title of Italian champions, many falls and even more rebirths.

The town of flour

In 1908 the economy of Torre Annunziata was booming thanks to flour and pasta. So it is no coincidence that the club was founded by industrialists from the town's mills and pasta factories, with help from members of the local middle class. The first name was Unione Sportiva Savoia. The first president was Ciro Ilardi, and among the founding members was Willy Fornari, who also took on the role of first coach.

One name, three versions

There is no single answer to how the name "Savoia" came about. The first version says it was the battle cry of the Savoy soldiers alongside whom the founders had served. The second sees it as a tribute to the royal House of Savoy, which ruled Italy at the time. The third links it to the Cinema-Teatro Savoia, where the club is said to have been founded. None has been confirmed. The link with the royal house came back to life in 2022, however, when Emanuele Filiberto di Savoia became president.

White as flour

The colour of the shirt is perhaps the loveliest detail of this story. The founders chose white because flour is white too, the raw material that gave the town its living. Since then Savoia have worn white, with exceptions you can count on one hand. In May 1919, in the 1937-38 season and in the 1945 Campania championship the team played in light blue, but each time it returned to white. The shirt has often been paired with black shorts and black socks. The white and black duo can also be seen in today's Zeus kits: the white home shirt and the black away shirt.

From royal coat of arms to shield

The team's first badge was the Savoy coat of arms itself, which stayed on the shirt from 1908 to 1930. Then, until 1936, it was combined with the fasces of the fascist regime inside a blue oval. In 1978 a stylised shield arrived. The 2015 refoundation kept it with small changes, such as a black border and the inscription "OP SAVOIA". It is no coincidence that one of the team's nicknames is Biancoscudati, meaning "the white shields".

The summer of 1924

The high point came in the 1923-24 season. Savoia won the Campania group and then the championship of the South, the Lega Sud, becoming champions of Central and Southern Italy. In the national final they faced the reigning champions Genoa. They lost the first leg 3-1, but on 7 September 1924 they drew 1-1. It was the first time a team from the Centre-South had avoided defeat in a match against a club from the North. Second place in Italy remains the club's best ever result.

Falls and rebirths

In 1946-47, under the name Torrese, the team played in Serie B for the first time and finished sixth. In 1999 it returned to the second tier through the play-offs, but went straight back down. Hard years followed, with bankruptcy in 2001, refoundations and many seasons in the amateur leagues. In 2011 the historic brand was bought at auction, and in 2014 the team returned to professional football after 13 years. Since 2018 it has been called Savoia 1908. Its home, the Stadio Alfredo Giraud, opened in 1962 and took the name of a former club vice-president in 1982.

Savoia have fallen many times, yet they have always found a way to get back up, with a white shirt as clean as the town's flour. Happy birthday to the Biancoscudati and to all of Torre Annunziata!

See Savoia shirts and merchandise at sportarena.gr.

Photo: Stadio Alfredo Giraud – Alexdevil, Wikimedia Commons, licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.