Aurora Pro Patria 1919, commonly referred to as Pro Patria, is an

Italian football Football ( it, calcio ) is the most popular sport in Italy. The Italy national football team is considered to be one of the best national teams in the world. They have won the FIFA World Cup four times (1934, 1938, 1982, 2006), trailing only ...

club based in

Busto Arsizio Busto Arsizio (; lmo, label= Bustocco, Büsti Grandi) is an Italian city and ''comune'' in the south-easternmost part of the Province of Varese, in the region of Lombardy, in Northern Italy, north of Milan. The economy of Busto Arsizio is main ...

Lombardy Lombardy ( it, Lombardia, Lombard language, Lombard: ''Lombardia'' or ''Lumbardia' '') is an administrative regions of Italy, region of Italy that covers ; it is located in the northern-central part of the country and has a population of about 10 ...

. It currently plays in

Serie C The Serie C () is the third-highest division in the Italian football league system after the Serie B and Serie A. The Lega Italiana Calcio Professionistico (Lega Pro) is the governing body that runs the Serie C. The unification of the Lega Pro ...

. In

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

, Pro Patria translates to "For the Fatherland".

History

Pro Patria et Libertate

The club was founded in 1919. The club has played in

Serie A The Serie A (), also called Serie A TIM for national sponsorship with TIM, is a professional league competition for football clubs located at the top of the Italian football league system and the winner is awarded the Scudetto and the Coppa ...

fourteen times mostly during the first half of the 20th century, the last time being in 1955–56. In 1995 the club, then officially named ''Pro Patria et Libertate'', was disqualified from

Serie D The Serie D () is the top level of semi-professional football in the country. The fourth tier of the Italian league system, the competition sits beneath the third professional league, Serie C. It is administered by the Lega Nazionale Dilettant ...

Pro Patria Gallaratese G.B.

The

Gallaratese Gallaratese is a district ("quartiere") of Milan, Italy, part of the Zone 8 administrative division of the city. It is located about 7 km north-west of the city centre. It borders on the ''comune'' of Pero to the north and on the districts ...

Gallarate Gallarate (; Lombard: ''Galaraa'') is a city and ''comune'' of Alto Milanese of Lombardy and of Milan metropolitan area, northern Italy, in the Province of Varese. It has a population of some 54,000 people. It is the junction of railways to Va ...

was admitted to Serie C2, in order to keep the historical brand alive, it changed its name to ''Pro Patria Gallaratese G.B.'' (G.B. being for

and

, respectively): the club is considered the direct heir of ''Pro Patria et Libertate''. The club played in the fourth tier until 2002, when the club won promotion to

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 ...

via the playoffs. In 2008 the club was relegated to Serie C2 after losing in the playoffs to

Hellas Verona Hellas Verona Football Club, commonly referred to as Hellas Verona or simply Verona, is a professional Italian football club based in Verona, Italy, that currently plays in Serie A. The team won the Serie A Championship in 1984–85. His ...

by 2–1 on aggregate, but was later readmitted to

Lega Pro Prima Divisione Lega Pro Prima Divisione was the third highest 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. Before the 1978� ...

to fill a vacancy. In June 2008, a club takeover was completed and ambitious plans for a return to

Serie B The Serie B (), currently named Serie Balkrishna Industries, BKT for sponsorship reasons, is the second-highest division in the Italian football league system after the Serie A. It has been operating for over ninety years since the 1929–30 ...

were unveiled. However, impressive performances in the Lega Pro Prima Divisione 2008–09 were accompanied by financial troubles, which led to the club being declared insolvent by the local magistrate in April 2009 due to excessive financial debts. The club's president was later arrested and has to stand trial on charges related to the bankruptcy. The drive to Serie B came to nothing for the team in a most bitter way; badly losing the home return match of their playoff final against Padova, who played with 10 men after an early sending off.

Aurora Pro Patria 1919

On 27 June 2009 Aurora Pro Patria 1919, owned by the Tesoro family, construction businessmen from

Apulia it, Pugliese , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = , demographic ...

, acquired the sports title from the liquidator of the old company. In the season 2009–10 it was relegated to

Lega Pro Seconda Divisione 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 ...

. In the 2012–13 season it was promoted to

. In the 2014–15 season it was relegated to Serie D, but it was readmitted to Lega Pro to fill vacancies. However, a second consecutive relegation to

brought the club down to the amateur levels of Italian football. Pro Patria is one of the most important football club in the

Varese Varese ( , , or ; lmo, label= Varesino, Varés ; la, Baretium; archaic german: Väris) is a city and ''comune'' in north-western Lombardy, northern Italy, north-west of Milan. The population of Varese in 2018 has reached 80,559. It is the c ...

area but due to the recent performances on the pitch, the team has never been able to reach the same level of fame as before.

2013 racism incident

On 3 January 2013, the club was hosting

A.C. Milan Associazione Calcio Milan (), commonly referred to as AC Milan or simply Milan, is a professional Association football, football club in Milan, Italy, founded in 1899. The club has spent its entire history, with the exception of the 1980–81 ...

in a friendly match, when a small group of people in the crowd aimed abusive chants at black A.C. Milan players, including

M'Baye Niang M'Baye Hamady Niang (born 19 December 1994) is a professional footballer who plays as a forward for club Auxerre. Born in France, he plays for the Senegal national team. He made his professional debut at the age of 16 in a league match for Ca ...

Urby Emanuelson Urby Vitorrio Diego Emanuelson (born 16 June 1986) is a Dutch former professional footballer. He is the currently assistant trainer of Utrecht. As a product of the Ajax Youth Academy, Emanuelson spent most of his career at Ajax playing as a l ...

Sulley Muntari Suleyman Ali "Sulley" Muntari (born 27 August 1984) is a Ghanaian former professional footballer who played as a midfielder. He spent most of his career in Italy, playing for clubs such as Udinese, Internazionale, and Milan. During his time w ...

and

Kevin-Prince Boateng Kevin-Prince Boateng (; born 6 March 1987), also known as Prince, is a professional footballer who plays as a midfielder or forward for club Hertha BSC. Born in Germany, he represented the Ghana national team. Coming through the youth system, ...

. Boateng reacted angrily, kicking the ball into the stands, before the entire Milan team walked off the field in protest, causing the game to be abandoned. The final verdict on the incident, however, stated that the punishment handed down was not in reference to racism allegations. Pro Patria was subsequently forced to play one game behind closed doors because of this incident.

Players

Current squad

Notable former players

Ferdinando Piro Ferdinando Piro (born 12 June 1977 in Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory large ...

Honours

: Winners: 1946–47 (Group A) *

: Winners: 2017–18

References

External links

Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pro Patria Football clubs in Lombardy Busto Arsizio Association football clubs established in 1919 Italian football First Division clubs Serie A clubs Serie B clubs Serie C clubs 1919 establishments in Italy