AC Legnano
File:Logo AC Legnano.svg | |||
Full name | Associazione Calcio Dilettantistica Legnano S.r.l. | ||
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Nickname(s) | I Lilla (The Lilacs) | ||
Founded | 1913 2011 (refounded) | ||
Ground | Stadio Giovanni Mari, Legnano, Milan, Italy | ||
Capacity | 5,000 | ||
Owner | Enea Benedetto | ||
Chairman | Enea Benedetto | ||
Manager | Gianluca Zattarin | ||
League | Serie D | ||
2022–23 | Serie D Group A, 6th of 20 | ||
Website | https://aclegnano.it/ | ||
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Associazione Calcio Dilettantistica Legnano, commonly referred to as Legnano, is an Italian football club based in Legnano, Lombardy. Founded in 1913, Legnano played three seasons in Serie A and a total of eleven seasons in the top tier of the Italian football league system. Legnano's most recent appearance in Serie A dates back to 1954, whereas in 1957 the club took part for the last time – to date – in a Serie B championship (the second tier of Italian football). Since then the club have played at their highest at the third tier of the Italian league. The team's colours are lilac and white. After financial struggles and bankruptcy in 2010 the club folded and reformed in 2011 as ASD Legnano Calcio 1913; in 2015 they regained the right to name themselves ACD Legnano Calcio and to merge their history with the one of the 97-year-old club previously folded.[1]
History
Foundation
The club were founded in 1913 as Football Club Legnano. Several notable players appeared for Legnano in its early years. Goalkeeper Angelo Cameroni was called up to the Italy national side in 1920; he was the first Legnano player to achieve this. Luigi Allemandi played four seasons with the club from 1921 onwards, until he was bought by Italian giants Juventus. He later won the World Cup with Italy at the 1934 FIFA World Cup.
Serie A: Club at their peak
Legnano first gained access to Serie A for the 1930–31 season; the previous year they had finished as runners up in Serie B. The first match at the top level of Italian football was the shocking 2–1 defeat of Italy's oldest club, Genoa C.F.C. Unfortunately for Legnano, they finished at the bottom of the table that season and were relegated; other notable results however were a 1–1 draw with eventual runners up A.S. Roma, and a 2–1 defeat of S.S.C. Napoli in Naples. In the 1935–1936 season, the club changed their name to Associazione Calcio Legnano. Left-winger Emilio Caprile was called up by the azzurri, to play in two international games during 1948. He became the first Legnano player to score for Italy with a goal in each match.
Slide down the Italian league
After their last relegation from Serie A in 1953–54, the club have gradually declined. First they came close to promotion to the league with a 3rd position in B, but two years later they were relegated to Serie C. Legnano spent 18 consecutive seasons competing in Serie C, able to finish as high as 5th 3 successive seasons. 1974–75 saw the club slump to Serie D; this was soon rectified as coach Luciano Sassi pulled the club into Serie C2 with a runner up spot in 1977–78.
Giovanni Mari lifts Legnano
Giovanni Mari took over as club president in 1979 and under him, Legnano would achieve the championship of Serie C2. A.C. Legnano had last finished in first position in any league in 1919. The club's stadium was renamed Stadio Giovanni Mari in his honour.
The refoundation
Following bankruptcy in 2010, Legnano would fold. It was refounded on 15 July 2011, as A.S.D. Legnano Calcio 1913 and was admitted to Group N of Prima Categoria Lombardy in the 2011–12 season. The club was promoted to Group A of Promozione Lombardy.[2] The club had a second successive promotion after finishing as champions of Group A of Promozione Lombardy next season and was promoted to Group A of Eccellenza Lombardy. On 7 May 2015, A.S.D. Legnano Calcio 1913 re-acquired the name Associazione Calcio Legnano.[3] They finished Eccellenza Lombardy as 4th in 2014–15 but were eliminated in the play-offs. They finished Group A of Eccellanza Lombardy as 2nd and were qualified for the play-offs again. They defeated Torviscosa with 4–1 aggregate in semifinal and Sankt Georgen with 4–3 aggregate in final and were promoted to Serie D.
Players
Notable former players
Staff
Presidential history
Over the years Legnano has had various owners, chairmen or presidential figures; here is a chronological list of the presidents;
- 1913–1916 Italy Aldo Visconti and Eugenio Tosi (honorary president)
- 1917–1924 Italy Antonio Bernocchi
- 1924–1925 Italy Carlo Delle Piane
- 1925–1927 Italy Ernesto Castiglioni
- 1927–1929 Italy Antonio Bernocchi
- 1929–1931 Italy Giuseppe Mario Perozzi, Mario Raimondo and Riccardo Pezzoni (board of regents)
- 1931–1933 Italy Ernesto Castiglioni
- 1933–1934 Italy Primo Colombo (extraordinary commissioner)
- 1934–1945 Italy Giulio Riva
- 1945–1952 Italy Pino Mocchetti
- 1952–1953 Italy Luigi Mandelli (extraordinary commissioner), following Giovanni Mari
- 1953–1954 Italy Giovanni Mari
- 1954–1956 Italy Giuseppe Mario Perozzi (extraordinary commissioner)
- 1956–1959 Italy Davide Casero (extraordinary commissioner)
- 1959–1963 Italy Luciano Caccia
- 1963–1964 Italy Felice Bossi (extraordinary commissioner)
- 1964–1975 Italy Augusto Terreni
- 1975–1979 Italy Rolando Landoni (extraordinary commissioner)
- 1979–1986 Italy Giovanni Mari
- 1986 Italy Ulrico Lucarelli
- 1986–1987 Italy Giovanni Mari
- 1987–1996 Italy Ferdinando Villa
- 1996–1999 Italy Mario Pighetti
- 1999 Italy Mauro Rusignolo
- 1999–2002 Italy Mauro Rusignolo
- 2002–2005 Italy Antonio Di Bari
- 2005–2007 Italy Giovanni Simone
- 2007–2009 Italy Giuseppe Resta
- 2009–2010 Italy Giacomo Tarabbia
- 2010 Italy Alessio Fiore
- 2011–2015 Italy Nicolò Zanda
- 2015 Italy Salvatore Verdoliva
- 2015–incumbent Italy Vanessa Paolillo
Managerial history
Below is a list of AC Legnano coaches from 1913 until the present day:
- 1913–1914 Italy Adamo Bonacina
- 1914–1915 Italy Pariani
- 1915–1916 Italy Primo Colombo
- 1916–1917 Italy Primo Colombo
- Italy Nino Resegotti
- 1917–1919 Technical Committee: Italy Primo Colombo, Italy Adamo Bonacina and Italy Giuseppe Venegoni
- 1919–1923 Italy Primo Colombo
- 1923–1925 Hungary Imre Schöffer
- 1925–1927 Italy Primo Colombo
- 1927–1928 Hungary Imre Schöffer
- 1928–1929 Hungary Armand Halmos
- 1929–1931 Italy Luigi Barbesino
- 1931–1933 Hungary Otto Krappan
- 1933–1934 Italy Francesco Lattuada
- 1934–1935 Italy Vinicio Colombo
- 1935–1936 Italy Enrico Crotti
- 1936–1945 Italy Enrico Crotti
- 1945–1946 Italy Attilio Demaria
- 1946–1947 Hungary Róbert Winkler
- 1947–1949 Italy Giuseppe Galluzzi
- 1949–1950 Italy Ugo Innocenti
- 1950–1951 Italy Ugo Innocenti and Uruguay Italy Héctor Puricelli
- 1951–1952 Uruguay Italy Héctor Puricelli
- 1952–1953 Italy Ugo Innocenti
- 1953–1954 Italy Giuseppe Galluzzi
- 1954–1957 Italy Ugo Innocenti
- 1957–1959 Italy Mario Zidarich
- 1959–1960 Italy Renato Picentini
- 1960–1962 Italy Giuseppe Molina
- 1962–1963 Italy Luciano Lupi
- 1963–1964 Italy Fausto Braga
- 1964–1967 Italy Luciano Lupi
- 1967–1968 Italy Carlo Facchini
- 1968–1969 Italy Sergio Realini
- 1969–1970 Italy Carlo Facchini
- 1970–1971 Italy Carlo Facchini
- 1971–1973 Italy Luciano Sassi
- 1973–1974 Italy Luciano Sassi
- 1974–1975 Italy Fausto Braga
- 1975–1979 Italy Mario Trezzi
- 1979–1980 Italy Adelio Crespi
- 1981–1983 Italy Pietro Maroso
- 1983–1984 Italy Pietro Maroso
- Italy Romualdo Capocci
- 1984–1986 Italy Andrea Valdinoci
- 1986–1987 Italy Giovanni Ardemagni
- 1987–1988 Italy Mauro Bicicli
- 1989–1990 Italy Giorgio Veneri
- 1990–1991 Italy Luciano Magistrelli
- 1991–1992 Italy Abramo Rossetti
- 1992–1993 Italy Marco Torresani
- 1993–1995 Italy Luigi Vallongo
- 1995–1996 Italy Renzo Contratto
- 1996–1997 Italy Loris Boni
- 1997–1998 Italy Carlo Muraro
- 1998–1999 Italy Gian Marco Remondina
- 1999–2000 Italy Roberto Bacchin
- 2000–2001 Italy Roberto Bacchin
- 2001–2002 Italy Mario Belluzzo
- 2002–2003 Italy Ernestino Ramella
- 2003–2004 Italy Pierluigi Casiraghi
- 2004–2005 Italy Stefano Di Chiara
- 2005–2006 Italy Vincenzo Maiuri and Gianpaolo Spagnulo
- Italy Gianpaolo Spagnulo
- Italy Luciano Miani
- Italy Gianpaolo Spagnulo, and Italy Nicolas Gennarielli
- 2006–2007 Italy Gianfranco Motta
- 2007–2008 Italy Claudio Gabetta
- 2008–2009 Italy Attilio Lombardo
- 2009–2010 Italy Giuseppe Scienza
- 2011–2013 Italy Massimo Rovellini
- 2013–2014 Italy Massimo Rovellini
- Italy Alessandro Cerri
- 2014–incumbent Italy Stefano Di Gioia
Honours
- Winners (2): 1982–1983 (group B), 2006–2007 (group A)
Campionato Nazionale Dilettanti
- Winners: 1992–1993 (group A)
- Winners: 1999–2000 (group B)
- Winners: 2011–2012 (group N)
- Winners: 2012–2013 (group A)
- Runners-up (2): 1919–1920 (group C), 1920–1921 (group D)
- Runners-up (2): 1922–1923 (group B), 1927–1928 (group B)
- Runners-up (3): 1946–1947 (group A), 1950–1951, 1952–1953
- Runners-up (2): 1976–1977 (group B), 1977–1978 (group B)
Campionato Nazionale Dilettanti:
- Runners-up: 1997–1998 (group B)
- Runners-up: 2013–2014 (group A)
References
- ↑ (in Italian) Ripreso simbolo e nome AC LEGNANO Archived 4 July 2015 at the Wayback Machine
- ↑ (in Italian) Prima categoria lombarda girone "N" 2011/2012 Archived 4 October 2013 at the Wayback Machine
- ↑ (in Italian) Ripreso simbolo e nome AC LEGNANO Archived 4 July 2015 at the Wayback Machine
External links
- (in Italian) Official website
- (in Italian) Statistiche lilla