Lucchese 1905 s.r.l., or simply Lucchese, is an Italian football club, based in Lucca, Tuscany that plays in Serie C, the third tier of Italian football. The club was first founded in 1905, having last been in Serie A in 1952.

History

Foundation

The club was founded on 25 May 1905, giving the town of Lucca its first football team. Originally named Lucca Football Club the club was founded by the Vittorio brothers and Guido Mensini. The first large achievement by the club was winning the ''Goblet of the King'' during the 1919–20 season, not long after the tournament's foundation. The same season Lucca won the Regional cup of Tuscany.

From U.S. Lucchese-Libertas to A.S. Lucchese Libertas

U.S. Lucchese-Libertas

In 1924 the club merged with another local team and changed its name to Unione Sportiva Lucchese-Libertas. During the 1920s, notable players at the club included Ernesto Bonino and

Giovanni Moscardini Giovanni Moscardini (; 1897–1985), also known as Johnny Moscardini, was an Italian Scottish footballer who played as a forward for Lucchese, Pisa, Genoa and Italy. He was one of the earliest of the '' Oriundi''. While the majority of these fo ...

. The 1930s saw the club promoted to Serie B, and then in 1936, Lucchese won promotion to Serie A, the top league in Italy, where they stayed for three seasons. The club were relegated back to Serie B as World War II started. Prior to the war, players such as

Egri Erbstein Egri can refer to following: * Agriș ( hu, Egri), a commune in Romania * Lajos Egri Lajos N. Egri (June 4, 1888 – February 7, 1967) was a Hungarian-American playwright and teacher of creative writing. He is the author of ''The Art of Dramati ...

, Aldo Olivieri and

Antonio Perduca Antonio Perduca (born May 7, 1905) was an Italian professional football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of ...

were fan's favorites. Lucchese won promotion again to Serie A in 1947 and remained there for 5 seasons.

A.S. Lucchese Libertas

In 1984 the club changed its name to A.S. Lucchese Libertas. The club spent also several seasons in Serie B (last 1998–99) and

Serie C1 Lega Pro Prima Divisione was the third highest football (soccer), football league in Italy. It consisted of 33 teams, divided geographically into two divisions of 16 and 17 teams for group A and B respectively. Until 2008 it was known as Serie C1 ...

, being also coached by Luigi Simoni, UEFA Cup-winning coach with Inter Milan. In 2008 the club folded due to serious financial issues and was admitted in the Italian bottom (amateur) division Terza Categoria before being declared formally bankrupt in December 2008.

From S.S.D. Sporting Lucchese to A.S. Lucchese Libertas 1905

S.S.D. Sporting Lucchese

A new re-born team called Società Sportiva Dilettantistica Sporting Lucchese was admitted to Serie D to represent the city of Lucca. In its first season of existence, Sporting Lucchese promptly won the ''Girone E'' round of Serie D, thus acquiring the right to take part to the

2009–10 Lega Pro Seconda Divisione The 2009–10 Lega Pro Seconda Divisione season was the thirty-second football league season of Italian Lega Pro Seconda Divisione since its establishment in 1978, and the second since the renaming from Serie C to Lega Pro. It was divided into tw ...

A.S. Lucchese Libertas 1905

After the promotion, the new club took the denomination of Associazione Sportiva Lucchese Libertas 1905 starting with the new season, after the Sporting Lucchese owner acquired the naming and logo rights of the old, original team in a public auction. Lucchese made a second consecutive promotion after finishing as champions of Group B of Lega Pro Seconda Divisione. The club has spent the 2010–11 season in Lega Pro Prima Divisione. However, in the summer of 2011, Lucchese was excluded from professional football by COVISOC for financial irregularity reasons, and didn't appeal against the decision.

From A.S.D. F.C. Lucca 2011 to A.S. Lucchese Libertas 1905

* F.C. Lucca 2011 On 1 August 2011, a new club was founded to represent the city of Lucca: the team was called Associazione Sportiva Dilettantistica Football Club Lucca 2011 and in it was promoted from Eccellenza Tuscany to Serie D at the end of the 2011–12 season. * F.C. Lucchese 1905 The club changed its name to F.C. Lucchese 1905 soon after being promoted. * A.S. Lucchese Libertas 1905 In the summer 2013 the club changed his name back to A.S. Lucchese Libertas 1905. On that same season, Lucchese returned to professionalism after winning the Group D of the

2013–14 Serie D The 2013–14 Serie D was the sixty-sixth edition of the top level Italian non-professional football championship. It represented the fifth tier in the Italian football league system. It consisted of 161 teams, after the exclusion of Nardò and ...

, and thus ensuring a spot in the inaugural season of the unified

2014–15 Lega Pro The 2014–15 Lega Pro was the first season of the unified Lega Pro division in place of the old Prima Divisione and Seconda Divisione. The league is composed of 60 teams divided into three different groups of 20 each. Teams A total of 60 team ...

league. After a struggling season in the

2018–19 Serie C The 2018–19 Serie C was the fifth season of the unified Serie C division, the third tier of the Italian football league system. Teams The league originally featured 60 teams. However, it saw the bankruptcy and subsequent withdrawal of Andria, ...

that was hit by more financial issues involving the club, Lucchese failed to submit its application for the

2019–20 Serie C The 2019–20 Serie C was the sixth season of the unified Serie C division, the third tier of the Italian football league system. The season was scheduled to run from 24 August 2019 to 26 April 2020, however, on 9 March 2020, the Italian governmen ...

, and was declared bankrupt once again on 1 July 2019. * S.S.D. Lucchese 1905 Immediately after being excluded from Serie C, a further new incarnation of the club, named as S.S.D. Lucchese 1905, was admitted by the Football Federation to Serie D.

Colors and badge

The team's traditional colors are red and black. The team is nicknamed ''Rossoneri''.

Stadium

Their home ground is the Stadio Porta Elisa, which is situated on Via dello Stadio in Lucca.

Notable former players

Honours

Serie B: *Champions: 1935–36, 1946–47 (Group B) Serie C: *Champions: 1960–61 *Runners-up: 1945–46, 1977–78

: *Runners-up: 1989–90

Serie C2 Lega Pro Seconda Divisione was the fourth highest football league in Italy, the lowest with a professional status. Usually it consisted of 36 teams, but in the 2011–12 season, there were 41 teams divided geographically into two divisions of 2 ...

: *Champions: 1985–86, 2009–10 Serie D: *Champions: 1968–69, 2008–09, 2013–14 Tuscany League Division 1: *Champions: 1929–30, 1932–33, 1933–34

Promozione The Promozione (, "promotion") is the sixth level in the Italian football league system. Each individual league winner within the Promozione level progresses to their closest regional league in the Eccellenza level. Depending on each league's lo ...

: *Champions: 1919–20 Coppa Italia Serie C *Champions: 1989–90

Players

Current squad

References

External links

Official Site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lucca Football clubs in Tuscany Association football clubs established in 1905 Italian football First Division clubs Serie A clubs Serie B clubs Serie C clubs 1905 establishments in Italy Coppa Italia Serie C winning clubs