Friday, September 23, 2011

23 September 1919 - Better Late Than Never

On 23 September 1919, the Italian Football Association declared Genoa the champions of the top flight. For the 1914-15 season.

In the 1914-15 season, the Italian title was determined by a tournament that divided the country into a Northern bracket on one side and a Central and Southern bracket on the other. Genoa won their group in the Northern bracket qualification round, then won their semifinal group as well, to reach a final Northern group that included Torino, Inter, and Milan.

With one match left to play in the Northern final group, and Genoa leading by two points, the outbreak of World War I forced the cancellation of the competition. The Central and Southern bracket had not even reached the semifinal stage. Thus the league did not have an official winner for the 1914-15 season.

After the conclusion of the war, play resumed in 1919. Not wanting to leave the champions' seat vacant, the Italian Football Association awarded the 1915 title to Genoa based on their position before the suspension of the competition. It was the seventh overall title for the Rossoblu, who lost several players and club founder James Richardson Spensley to the conflict. They proceeded to claim additional titles in 1923 and 1924, but have won none since.

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