Calcio Lecco

Calcio Lecco 1912, better known as Lecco , is a football club in Lecco, Lombardy, Italy. The club currently plays in Serie C, the third division of the Italian Football

Founded in 1912, it has played in three Serie A tournaments (the last of which in the 1966–1967 season) and eleven in Serie B (the last of which in the year 1972–1973). He includes in his palmarès the victory of one Italian Semi-professional Cup in the national field, and one Anglo-Italian Cup in the international field.

History

From '' Società Canottieri Lecco '' to ' 'Associazione Calcio Lecco' '

The football section of the city of Lecco was officially born on 22 December 1912 thanks to the idea of Vico Signorelli, member of the board of directors of the Società Canottieri Lecco, established on 27 September 1895 in the Caffè del Teatro Sociale. Since its foundation, the team's social colors have been blue-celestial, inspired by the Canottieri uniform. The first historical headquarters of the company was located in via Francesco Nullo.

On April 13, 1912, the Blucelesti played their first match against Clalcio Milian, 4–1 thanks to the opposing goals of Saverio and Rigoli, then, in the first years of competitive activity, Lecco played friendly matches and tournaments on a regional and local scale at the "Primavera" playing field with Achille Todeschini on the bench and then making his debut in an official championship organized by F.I.G.C. in the 1920–1921 season starting from the Promotion championship and reaching the finals-promotion for Serie A, touching the feat after the 0–0 against the comaschi of Calcio Epsirea.

A year later, in 1922, after Eugenio Ceppi's election as president of the club, the stadium where the blue-celestial players still play their home matches was inaugurated, called '' Campo sports di via Cantarelli '', today stadium Rigamonti-Ceppi.

On 22 July 1931, after having formed a provisional commission, Canottieri decided to leave the football sector due to the high economic efforts required and, to avoid the dissolution of the team, the ' Associazione Calcio Lecco 'was created. ', with Professor Gennaro Pensa as the first president and Mario Ceppi, son of the former president of Canottieri Eugenio Ceppi who died in 1931, as a member of the board of directors who will be the protagonist of the club's golden years. The first headquarters of this new company was the Salone del Caffè Commercio in Piazza XX Settembre.

From the era-Ceppi to the arrival in Serie A

In the second football decade, Lecco played championships at a decent level, at first remaining in the running for promotion to Serie B during the season in First Division 1931-1932 until the last day, until the last minute, then always remaining in the new Serie C finishing the championship between the high and medium-low positions of the standings.

At the corporate level, the situation was dramatic due to a great and serious economic crisis that was resolved in the summer of 1941 when the Provincial Committee of the C.O.N.I. appoints the accountant Mario Ceppi as extraordinary commissioner, who thanks also to local political aid , he succeeded in saving the Lecco football by smoothing out most of the debts. In the post-war period, during the 1945–1946 season the blu-celesti participated in the mixed Serie B-C Alta Italia, ending the season in second place behind the Pro Patria and managing to earn the play-off to access the finals for the promotion in A. In the play-off, however, at the Milan Arena the match ended 0–0 and the Federation subsequently canceled one of the bustocchi's matches by ordering the repetition of the match that brought Lecco third one step away from Serie A.

In the following years, from 1946 to 1948, Lecco collected two relegations, one of which caused by the new federal regulation that made Lecco overhang in the Promotion championship.

On 3 August 1948, a revolution began for Lecco with the appointment of Mario Ceppi as president, who led the team to a period of unstoppable growth and a leap in quality towards the highest category. During his stay at the top of the blue, Lecco in the space of seven years in which he concluded the seasons in Serie C starting from championship 1953–1954 always in the top positions of the standings , except for a brief parenthesis in Series IV, thanks to Angelo Piccioli on the bench, a former blue-sky player, in the Serie B 1959-1960 season, he won the Serie A to the team amid the enthusiasm of the fans and of an entire city.

The adventure in Serie A for Lecco began on 25 September 1960, when in their debut in the top flight, the Blucelesti lost 4–0 away to Fiorentina. The first victory for the Blucelesti in the top flight came on 9 October when on the slopes of Resegone, Lecco beat Padova at home for 2–1 and after a season of ups and downs culminating in the play-offs -final salvation against Udinese and Bari, the Lecchesi saved themselves tooth and nail thanks to Arienti's goals.

In the following season, in Serie A, although the team was strengthened with the purchase of Bengt Lindskog and Beniamino Di Giacomo, the blucelesti were relegated in Serie B to the penultimate place before with Angelo Piccioli and then with Camillo Achilli on the bench.
After four top cadet championships in Serie B from the championship 1962–1963 to the season (1965–1966) the Blucelesti managed to earn their last championship of Serie A in the season 1966–1967, always with Angelo Piccioli at the helm, but in the last year the team suffered in the back, with a surprise in the last game, when the team already relegated , managed to snatch a 1–1 to A.C. Milan at San Siro thanks to a goal by Schiavo.

Serie C and the last season in Serie B

Once the glories of Serie A ended, a two-year hell period began for the Blucelestos in cadeteria, where the volcanic ''presidentissimo '' Mario Ceppi in 1967 left the presidency to Giovanni Mambretti and then returned to the club a short time later, where in first year of Serie B, the team survived the play-offs, beating the competition of Messina and Venezia and then relegated to Serie C the following year closing in penultimate place in the standings with Renato Gei on the bench.

The first year in Serie C, Lecco barely touched the return to Serie B, collecting a series of eight consecutive useful games and reaching only one point from the top of the table thanks to nine goals from Pedroni, then, in the following two seasons in the third series, the team first finished the championship in eighth place and subsequently, in the tournament of Serie C 1971–72, the blucelesti found the Serie B after three years winning group A.

The championship of Serie B 1972-1973 for Lecco was not easy and was characterized by excellent sales such as that of Chinellato and the technical changes that led to the exemption of Angelo Longoni and the bench call of Francesco Meregalli which brought the team to the last place in the standings with only 25 points.

From that moment on, for Lecco football after the "era-Ceppi" began a slow decline that brought the team up to the amateur categories.

From post-Ceppi to the 2000s

The seven years that followed between Serie C and the new Serie C1 from 1974 to 1980 with Carlo Rizza as the new helmsman of the company in place of Ceppi who died on 15 June 1983, the team sailed in mid-ranking positions and then relegated to Serie C2 from season 1979–1980, at the end of the third consecutive championship in the fourth professional division, the Blucelesti sank in the Interregional Championship gained after a last place in the standings.

After the change of ownership, and the arrival of Alberto Frigerio, a difficult period began for Lecco due to the unfulfilled promises of the top management to bring the club back to Serie C2 quickly and the wrong market choices that led to the blucelesti to touch several times the return among the professionals. Among these sensational that occurred in the 1985–86 season with the hiring as technician of the unknown Agostino Alzani, such as to "burst" the "Alzani grain": a large part of the blue people , including the Lecco Club Mario Ceppi, said he was ready to totally desert the stadium if Lecco was confirmed for the entire season, which, after an Italian Cup match, was exonerated already at the end of the first day of championship, as well as quickly replaced by the President with Stefano Angeleri.

The satisfactions came, at the end of the Interregional Championship 1989-1990, when after six years spent among the amateurs, the Blucelesti after a second final place were fished in Serie C2 to complete organic.

Colors and badge

The team's colours are blue and dark blue.

Honours

League

* Serie C (Tier 3)
** Winners (1): 1971–72
* Serie D (Tier 4)
** Winners (1): 1949–50
* Eccellenza (Tier 5)
** Winners (1): 2002–03
* Trofeo Comitato Regionale Lombardia (Tier 6)
** Winners (1): 2003

Cups

* Coppa Italia Semiprofessionisti:
** Winners (1): 1976–77
* Anglo-Italian Cup:
** Winners (1): 1977

Affiliated clubs

* Bath City F.C.

Players

Current squad

''As of 14 December 2022.''

Out on loan

Former players

       ''Main page: Calcio Lecco players''

Former managers

       ''Main page: Calcio Lecco managers''

References

External links

Official site

Football clubs in Italy
Football clubs in Lombardy
Association football clubs established in 1912
Serie A clubs
Serie B clubs
Serie C clubs
1912 establishments in Italy
Coppa Italia Serie C winning clubs
Serie D clubs

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