US Triestina Calcio 1918

Did You Know?

• The club's badge features a white spontoon or halberd on a red background, inspired by the coat of arms and flag of the city of Trieste.
• The club's nickname Gli Alabardati (The Halberded) comes from the halberd on its badge.

History

In the early 1900s, Trieste saw a number of football clubs spring up, including Edera, which began in 1904 as part of a gymnastics society, and others like Circolo Sportivo Ponziana Trieste (1912) and Foot-Ball Club Trieste, which were more purely football-focused. After World War I, on 18 December 1918, Ponziana and Trieste came together at the historic Caffè Battisti on Viale XX Settembre. The merger was pushed by the military, as both sides had been using the parade ground at the Caserma G. Oberdan barracks.

The constant movement of players and fans created crowding issues, so Captain Guglielmo Tonon brokered a deal: football could continue only if the two clubs became one. At the founding meeting, Tranquillini, Stritzel, and Zigoi represented Trieste, while Godina, Zack, and Flaider represented Ponziana. The merger was formally approved on 19 January 1919, with a triumvirate of Bertazzoni, Fonda, and Vaccari put in charge of early operations. A final assembly on 2 February 1919 confirmed the new Unione Sportiva Triestina, which took the halberd of Trieste topped by a star as its badge.

The first president was Doimo Iviani Ivanissevich, a man of Dalmatian origin, who held the role until 1923. The team first played on a pitch inside the Caserma G. Oberdan barracks yard, then moved in 1919 to a new ground in Muggia, near Trieste. That same year, they won the Coppa Virgola and made it to the Coppa Appiani final, where they lost to Padova. From 1919 to 1920, they played in the Venezia Giulia regional championship.

In 1921, Triestina entered its first national competition, the Third Division (now Serie C). They stayed there for two more seasons before earning promotion to the Second Division (Serie B) in 1923–24. This came through a qualifying tournament for northern Italian teams: they beat Verona 3–2 in the semi-final and Pro Gorizia 1–0 in the final, with the winning goal coming from a Sommer penalty. Around this time, Ettore Tardivello took over as club president.