AC Legnano
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.
| Full name | Associazione Calcio Dilettantistica Legnano S.r.l. |
|---|---|
| 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 | Club website |
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 edit
Foundation edit
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 edit
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 edit
After their last relegation in from Serie A in 1953–54, the club have gradually declined. First they came close to promotion back into the league with a 3rd position in B, but two years later they were relegated down to Serie C.
Legnano spent 18 years in a row competing in Serie C, only able to finish as high as 5th in that time (they achieved this three times). 1974–75 saw the club slump down to Serie D; this was soon rectified as coach Luciano Sassi pulled the club back into Serie C2 with a runners up spot in 1977–78.
Giovanni Mari lifts Legnano edit
Giovanni Mari took over as club president in 1979 and under him, Legnano would achieve the championship of Serie C2. This was the first time A.C. Legnano had finished first position in any league since 1919. The club's stadium was later named Stadio Giovanni Mari in honour of the man.
The refoundation edit
Following bankruptcy in 2010, Legnano subsequently folded.
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 successive second 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 edit
Notable former players edit
Staff edit
Presidential history edit
Over the years Legnano has had various owners, chairmen or presidential figures; here is a chronological list of the presidents;
- 1913–1916 Aldo Visconti and Eugenio Tosi (honorary president)
- 1917–1924 Antonio Bernocchi
- 1924–1925 Carlo Delle Piane
- 1925–1927 Ernesto Castiglioni
- 1927–1929 Antonio Bernocchi
- 1929–1931 Giuseppe Mario Perozzi, Mario Raimondo and Riccardo Pezzoni (board of regents)
- 1931–1933 Ernesto Castiglioni
- 1933–1934 Primo Colombo (extraordinary commissioner)
- 1934–1945 Giulio Riva
- 1945–1952 Pino Mocchetti
- 1952–1953 Luigi Mandelli (extraordinary commissioner), following Giovanni Mari
- 1953–1954 Giovanni Mari
- 1954–1956 Giuseppe Mario Perozzi (extraordinary commissioner)
- 1956–1959 Davide Casero (extraordinary commissioner)
- 1959–1963 Luciano Caccia
- 1963–1964 Felice Bossi (extraordinary commissioner)
- 1964–1975 Augusto Terreni
- 1975–1979 Rolando Landoni (extraordinary commissioner)
- 1979–1986 Giovanni Mari
- 1986 Ulrico Lucarelli
- 1986–1987 Giovanni Mari
- 1987–1996 Ferdinando Villa
- 1996–1999 Mario Pighetti
- 1999 Mauro Rusignolo
- 1999–2002 Mauro Rusignolo
- 2002–2005 Antonio Di Bari
- 2005–2007 Giovanni Simone
- 2007–2009 Giuseppe Resta
- 2009–2010 Giacomo Tarabbia
- 2010 Alessio Fiore
- 2011–2015 Nicolò Zanda
- 2015 Salvatore Verdoliva
- 2015–incumbent Vanessa Paolillo
Managerial history edit
Below is a list of AC Legnano coaches from 1913 until the present day:
- 1913–1914 Adamo Bonacina
- 1914–1915 Pariani
- 1915–1916 Primo Colombo
- 1916–1917 Primo Colombo
- 1917–1919 Technical Committee: Primo Colombo, Adamo Bonacina and Giuseppe Venegoni
- 1919–1923 Primo Colombo
- 1923–1925 Imre Schöffer
- 1925–1927 Primo Colombo
- 1927–1928 Imre Schöffer
- 1928–1929 Armand Halmos
- 1929–1931 Luigi Barbesino
- 1931–1933 Otto Krappan
- 1933–1934 Francesco Lattuada
- 1934–1935 Vinicio Colombo
- 1935–1936 Enrico Crotti
- 1936–1945 Enrico Crotti
- 1945–1946 Attilio Demaria
- 1946–1947 Róbert Winkler
- 1947–1949 Giuseppe Galluzzi
- 1949–1950 Ugo Innocenti
- 1950–1951 Ugo Innocenti and Héctor Puricelli
- 1951–1952 Héctor Puricelli
- 1952–1953 Ugo Innocenti
- 1953–1954 Giuseppe Galluzzi
- 1954–1957 Ugo Innocenti
- 1957–1959 Mario Zidarich
- 1959–1960 Renato Picentini
- 1960–1962 Giuseppe Molina
- 1962–1963 Luciano Lupi
- 1963–1964 Fausto Braga
- 1964–1967 Luciano Lupi
- 1967–1968 Carlo Facchini
- 1968–1969 Sergio Realini
- 1969–1970 Carlo Facchini
- 1970–1971 Carlo Facchini
- 1971–1973 Luciano Sassi
- 1973–1974 Luciano Sassi
- 1974–1975 Fausto Braga
- 1975–1979 Mario Trezzi
- 1979–1980 Adelio Crespi
- 1981–1983 Pietro Maroso
- 1983–1984 Pietro Maroso
- 1984–1986 Andrea Valdinoci
- 1986–1987 Giovanni Ardemagni
- 1987–1988 Mauro Bicicli
- 1989–1990 Giorgio Veneri
- 1990–1991 Luciano Magistrelli
- 1991–1992 Abramo Rossetti
- 1992–1993 Marco Torresani
- 1993–1995 Luigi Vallongo
- 1995–1996 Renzo Contratto
- Giovanni Sacchi and Mauro Bicicli
- 1996–1997 Loris Boni
- 1997–1998 Carlo Muraro
- 1998–1999 Gian Marco Remondina
- 1999–2000 Roberto Bacchin
- 2000–2001 Roberto Bacchin
- 2001–2002 Mario Belluzzo
- 2002–2003 Ernestino Ramella
- 2003–2004 Pierluigi Casiraghi
- 2004–2005 Stefano Di Chiara
- 2005–2006 Vincenzo Maiuri and Gianpaolo Spagnulo
- Gianpaolo Spagnulo
- Luciano Miani
- Gianpaolo Spagnulo, and Nicolas Gennarielli
- 2006–2007 Gianfranco Motta
- 2007–2008 Claudio Gabetta
- 2008–2009 Attilio Lombardo
- 2009–2010 Giuseppe Scienza
- 2011–2013 Massimo Rovellini
- 2013–2014 Massimo Rovellini
- 2014–incumbent Stefano Di Gioia
Honours edit
- 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 edit
- ^ (in Italian) Ripreso simbolo e nome AC LEGNANO 4 July 2015 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ (in Italian) Prima categoria lombarda girone "N" 2011/2012 4 October 2013 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ (in Italian) Ripreso simbolo e nome AC LEGNANO 4 July 2015 at the Wayback Machine
External links edit
- (in Italian) Official website
- (in Italian) Statistiche lilla