Lucchese 1905 s.r.l., or simply Lucchese, 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 Bra ...

club, based in

Lucca Lucca ( , ) is a city and ''comune'' in Tuscany, Central Italy, on the Serchio River, in a fertile plain near the Ligurian Sea. The city has a population of about 89,000, while its province has a population of 383,957. Lucca is known as one o ...

Tuscany Tuscany ( ; it, Toscana ) is a Regions of Italy, region in central Italy with an area of about and a population of about 3.8 million inhabitants. The regional capital is Florence (''Firenze''). Tuscany is known for its landscapes, history, art ...

that 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 ...

, the third tier of Italian football. The club was first founded in 1905, having last been 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 ...

in 1952.

History

Foundation

The club was founded on 25 May 1905, giving the town of

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 Ernesto Pietro Bonino (16 January 1922 – 29 April 2008) was an Italian singer of pop and jazz standards whose peak of popularity was during the 1940s and 50s. A native of Turin, Ernesto Bonino began his career in the late 1930s as a teenage si ...

and Giovanni Moscardini. The 1930s saw the club promoted 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 ...

, and then in 1936, Lucchese won promotion to

, the top league 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 largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

, 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 Aldo Olivieri (; 2 October 1910 – 5 April 2001) was an Italian football goalkeeper from 1931 to 1943, and manager after World War II. Club career Olivieri was born in San Michele Extra, Verona.He played for Hellas Verona, Lucchese, and Bresci ...

and Antonio Perduca 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 Luigi "Gigi" Simoni (22 January 1939 – 22 May 2020) was an Italian football official, player and manager. A skilled tactician, as a coach Simoni enjoyed notable success in earning promotion from Serie B to Serie A with the teams he managed, a ...

, UEFA Cup-winning coach with

Inter Milan Football Club Internazionale Milano, commonly referred to as Internazionale () or simply Inter, and colloquially known as Inter Milan in English-speaking countries, is an Football in Italy, Italian professional Association football, football ...

. In 2008 the club folded due to serious financial issues and was admitted in the Italian bottom (amateur) division

Terza Categoria The Terza Categoria is the lowest level of amateur football in Italy. It is the ninth level in the Italian football league system. Each individual league winner within the Terza Categoria level progresses to their closest regional league in the ...

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 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 ...

to represent the city of

. 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 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� ...

. 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 Eccellenza Tuscany ( it, Eccellenza Toscana) is the regional Eccellenza football division for clubs in Tuscany, Italy. It is competed amongst 37 teams, in three different groups (A, B and C). The winners of the Groups compete together in final rou ...

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

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 Stadio Porta Elisa is a multi-use stadium in Lucca, Italy. The authorized capacity is 7,386, but it can hold about 12,000; 2,500 of them are covered. History The stadium was named after , a gate in the east of the historic walls of Lucca, name ...

, which is situated on Via dello Stadio in Lucca.

Notable former players

Honours

: *Champions: 1935–36, 1946–47 (Group B)

: *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

: *Champions: 1968–69, 2008–09, 2013–14

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 Coppa Italia Serie C ( it, Serie C Italian Cup), formerly named Coppa Italia Lega Pro, is a straight knock-out based competition involving teams from Serie C in Italian football first held in 1972. Format There are a total of six rounds in the 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