6 Teams Who Came Back From Extinction
Extinction. The worst possible thing that can happen to the football club that you hold dear to your heart. Seeing your beloved club liquidated, the players you've grown to love depart, is every football fan's biggest fear.
The majority of clubs who have to endure this turbulent time do tend to come back under new ownership as a new company having been re-founded, usually in the bottom tier of their respective footballing ladder. Usually with a whole new squad, new management and no expectations; it's a completely blank slate.
Having said that, let's take a look at a few clubs who bounced back from extinction:
Parma
After being declared bankrupt in 2015 and subsequently relegated from Serie A, Parma were forced to begin the following season in Serie D as 'Parma Calcio 1913'. The Italian side were unable to find a buyer or pay off their debts totalling $218m, $63m of that being unpaid wages, and subsequently folded.
However, after a group of local entrepreneurs called Nuovo Inizio (New Beginning) took over the club and set about appointing former coach Nevio Scala as president and former player Luigi Apolloni, things started to change.
Parma Calcio 1913 admirably recorded three straight promotions to return to Italy's top table, proving that they wouldn't go down without a fight.
Rangers
One of the 11 founding members of the Scottish Football League, Rangers' world came crashing down when they were liquidated at the end of the 2011/12 season. As a new corporate identity known as Rangers Football Club Ltd, formerly Sevco Scotland Ltd, the Scottish side gained admittance to the fourth tier of Scottish football.
In just four years, the club recorded three promotions to return to the SPL, where they have since appointed Steven Gerrard as manager as they look to reignite their battle with Celtic for Scotland's top honours.
Napoli
It may be hard to believe now given their lofty standings in the Italian game, but Napoli were declared bankrupt and relegated to Italy's Serie C1 back in 2004.
Film producer Aurelio De Laurentiis re-founded the club under the name 'Napoli Soccer', and despite missing out on promotion at the first time of asking, Napoli ended up back in Serie A as early as 2007.
Since then, the club have won the Coppa Italia and have qualified for the Champions League on numerous occasions.
Fiorentina
After being unable to pay debts totalling $50m, Fiorentina were officially declared bankrupt in 2002. Having been placed into judicially controlled administration, the club was refused a place in Serie B and consequently ceased to exist.
In August of that year, however, Fiorentina were reborn under the name 'Associazione Calcio Fiorentina e Florentia Viola' with shoe and leather entrepreneur Diego Della Valle taking over, gaining admission to the fourth tier of Italian football.
2003 saw the club buy back the right to their original name and shirt design, and returned to Serie A for the 2004/05 season.
FC Wimbledon
After their decision to relocate the club from Wimbledon to Milton Keynes, FC Wimbledon fans reacted angrily. In retaliation to the decision, fans founded their own club called AFC Wimbledon.
The original club that had relocated, however, found attendance figures hard to come by and were placed into administration in 2003.
The administrator sold any player worth any sort of fee, but at the end of the 2003/04 season, the club were bought out and subsequently renamed Milton Keynes Dons.
Darlington FC
After inexplicably building a new 25,000 seater stadium in 2003, Darlington were placed into administration a decade later with the costs of their new ground a major factor in their financial issues.
A new club in the name of 'Darlington 1983' was founded and placed into the ninth tier of English football in time for the 2012/13 season. From then on, the club won three promotions in four seasons before the FA approved their request to change their name back to 'Darlington FC'.
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