Calcio Lecco 1912

Calcio Lecco 1912, or simply Lecco, is a football team based in Lecco, Lombardy, Italy. Founded in 1912, the club plays in Serie B.

Lecco
Full nameCalcio Lecco 1912 S.p.A.
Nickname(s)I Blucelesti (The Navy and Sky Blues)
Founded1912 (1912)
GroundStadio Rigamonti-Ceppi
Capacity4,997
ChairmanPaolo Di Nunno
ManagerLuciano Foschi
LeagueSerie B
2022–23Serie C Group A, 3rd of 20 (promoted via play-offs)
WebsiteClub website

Lecco has played in three Serie A tournaments (the last of which in the 1966–67 season) and eleven in Serie B (the last of which in 1972–73). The club won one Coppa Italia Semiprofessionisti domestically, and one Anglo-Italian Cup internationally.

History

Early history (1912–1931)

On 22 December 1912, on the idea of board member Vico Signorelli, Società Canottieri Lecco (founded on 27 September 1895 at the Caffè del Teatro Sociale) set up its own football section. The club colors were blue and light blue, taken from the historic Canottieri uniform.[1] The first headquarters was set up in Francesco Nullo street.[2]

On 13 April 1913, the Blucelesti (noted in some documents as "Canottieri Lecco Football Club") played their first match in a 4–1 defeat to Milan. They then participated in local friendlies and tournaments, coached by Achille Todeschini. Canottieri Lecco's debut in a FIGC-sanctioned tournament took place in the 1920–21 Promozione season: they played their first game on 5 December 1920, beating Olona 6–2 away from home. Canottieri were close to promotion to Serie A; however, after a 0–0 draw against Como-based Esperia meant that Lecco remained in Promozione.[3]

A year later, in 1922, Eugenio Ceppi was elected president of Canottieri, who put his own land to build a new sports field (which eventually became the Stadio Rigamonti-Ceppi).[3] The inauguration was celebrated on 15 October.[4] In the following decade, the Blucelesti had fluctuating performances. In 1926, after finishing runners-up in the league, they were admitted to the Prima Divisione via repechange, remaining there for three years.[5]

On 22 July 1931, after forming a provisional commission made up of the lawyer Vittorio Rigoli, the accountant Achille Gilardenghi, the engineer Nino Todeschini and the surveyor Giovanni Lanfritto, Canottieri (at the same time as the death of Eugenio Ceppi) decided to abandon the football sector due to the high economic efforts required (ITL 50,000).[5] To avoid the dissolution of the team, a group of members formed Associazione Calcio Lecco, with Professor Gennaro Pensa as the first president and Mario Ceppi (son of the late Eugenio) as a leading member of the board. The first decision of the independent club was a drastic cost cut: the technical director Achille Todeschini (former player) liquidated almost all players not based in Lecco, replacing them with local players.[6]

Di Nunno presidency (2017–present)

On 9 June 2017, Paolo Di Nunno purchased the club at auction, which became Calcio Lecco 1912.[7] During the 2022–23 Serie C season, Lecco finished in third place and qualified to the national round of the promotion play-offs. After defeating Ancona, Pordenone and Cesena, Lecco qualified to the final against Foggia, who they beat 5–2 on aggregate thanks to three goals by Franco Lepore. They were thus promoted to the Serie B for the first time in 50 years.[8]

Players

Current squad
As of 28 September 2023[9]

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player
1 GK Italy ITA Riccardo Melgrati
2 DF Croatia CRO Vedran Celjak
5 MF Italy ITA Duccio Degli Innocenti (on loan from Empoli)
6 DF Italy ITA Alessandro Bianconi
7 MF Italy ITA Luca Giudici
8 MF Italy ITA Alessandro Sersanti (on loan from Juventus)
9 FW Italy ITA Umberto Eusepi
11 FW Italy ITA Mattia Tordini
12 GK Italy ITA Luca Bonadeo
13 DF Italy ITA Matteo Battistini
16 MF Italy ITA Joshua Tenkorang (on loan from Cremonese)
17 DF Italy ITA Alessandro Caporale
18 FW Italy ITA Lorenzo Pinzauti
20 DF Italy ITA Francesco Donati (on loan from Empoli)
21 MF Italy ITA Giovanni Crociata
No. Pos. Nation Player
22 GK Italy ITA Umberto Saracco (on loan from Cerignola)
23 MF Italy ITA Eyob Zambataro
27 MF Moldova MDA Artur Ioniță (on loan from Pisa)
32 DF Italy ITA Franco Lepore
34 DF Italy ITA Luca Marrone
44 MF Italy ITA Davide Guglielmotti
68 DF Albania ALB Brayan Boci (on loan from Genoa)
73 FW Italy ITA Lorenzo Di Stefano
77 FW Italy ITA Doudou Mangni
80 MF Italy ITA Vittorio Agostinelli (on loan from Fiorentina)
83 DF Belgium BEL Mats Lemmens (on loan from Lecce)
90 FW United States USA Andrija Novakovich (on loan from Venezia)
96 MF Italy ITA Giorgio Galli
99 FW Italy ITA Nicolò Buso
— MF Italy ITA Francesco Ardizzone

Out on loan

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player
— DF Italy ITA Luca Stanga (at Rimini until 30 June 2024)
— MF Italy ITA Carlo Ilari (at Lumezzane until 30 June 2024)
No. Pos. Nation Player
— FW Italy ITA Cristian Bunino (at Brindisi until 30 June 2024)
— FW Italy ITA Alessandro Galeandro (at Gubbio until 30 June 2024)

Honours

League
  • Serie C (Level 3)
  • Serie D (Level 4)
    • Winners (2): 1949–50, 2018–19 (group A)
  • Eccellenza (Level 5)
    • Winners (1): 2002–03 (group B)

Cups

Affiliated clubs

References
  1. Borghese, Annalisa (1992). "Il territorio lariano dalla preistoria ai nostri giorni – L'Ottocento". Il territorio lariano e i suoi comuni (in Italian). Vol. 25. Milan: Editoriale del Drago. p. 391.
  2. "Storia e vicissitudini della Calcio Lecco 1912". leccochannelnews.it (in Italian). Retrieved 18 June 2023.
  3. "I primi calci". aclecco.it (in Italian). Archived from the original on 5 April 2004. Retrieved 18 June 2023.
  4. "Nasce il "Cantarelli"". aclecco.it (in Italian). Archived from the original on 10 February 2004. Retrieved 18 June 2023.
  5. "Il primo decennio". aclecco.it (in Italian). Archived from the original on 10 February 2004. Retrieved 18 June 2023.
  6. "Nasce l'A.C. Lecco". aclecco.it (in Italian). Archived from the original on 9 February 2004. Retrieved 18 June 2023.
  7. "Calcio Lecco, Paolo Di Nunno è il nuovo proprietario". lecconotizie.com (in Italian). 9 June 2017. Archived from the original on 10 July 2017. Retrieved 18 June 2023.
  8. "Il Lecco corona il suo sogno: torna in Serie B dopo 50 anni". Goal.com Italia (in Italian). 18 June 2023. Retrieved 18 June 2023.
  9. "Lecco squad". Soccerway. Retrieved 22 September 2022.
  10. "Per sempre: The footballing friendship of Bath City and Calcio Lecco 1912". Football Pink. 8 July 2020. Retrieved 3 October 2022.
  11. Bonacina, Matteo (17 August 2022). "VIDEO Serie C | Bath City, il bluceleste porta bene: vittoria thrilling per gli inglesi a Eastbourne". Lecco Channel News (in Italian). Retrieved 3 October 2022.
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