Associazione Calcio Dilettantistica Legnano, commonly referred to as Legnano, 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

Legnano Legnano (; or ''Lignàn'') is an Italian town and ''comune'' in the north-westernmost part of the Metropolitan City of Milan, Province of Milan, about from central Milan. With 60,259, it is the thirteenth-most populous township in Lombardy. Le ...

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 ...

. Founded in 1913, Legnano played three seasons in Serie A and a total of eleven seasons in the top tier of the Italian football league system. Legnano's most recent appearance in Serie A dates back to 1954, whereas in 1957 the club took part for the last time – to date – in a Serie B championship (the second tier of Italian football). Since then the club have played at their highest at the third tier of the Italian league. The team's colours are lilac and white. After financial struggles and bankruptcy in 2010 the club folded and reformed in 2011 as ASD Legnano Calcio 1913; in 2015 they regained the right to name themselves ACD Legnano Calcio and to merge their history with the one of the 97-year-old club previously folded.

History

Foundation

The club were founded in 1913 as ''Football Club Legnano''. Several notable players appeared for Legnano in their early years. Goalkeeper

Angelo Cameroni Angelo Arturo Cameroni (; 1 April 1891 – 22 September 1961) was an Italian professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper. He made his only appearance for the Italy national football team on 18 January 1920 in a game against France ...

was called up to the Italian national side in 1920; he was the first Legnano player to achieve this.

Luigi Allemandi Luigi Allemandi (; 8 November 1903 – 25 September 1978) was an Italian footballer who played as a defender, usually as a left back. He was a member of the Italy national team which won the 1934 World Cup. Club career Born in San Damiano Mac ...

played four seasons with the club from 1921 onwards, until he was bought by Italian giants

Juventus Juventus Football Club (from la, iuventūs, 'youth'; ), colloquially known as Juve (), is a professional Association football, football club based in Turin, Piedmont, Italy, that competes in the Serie A, the top tier of the Italian football leagu ...

. He later won the World Cup with Italy at the

1934 FIFA World Cup The 1934 FIFA World Cup was the second edition of the FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international football championship for senior men's national teams. It took place in Italy from 27 May to 10 June 1934. The 1934 World Cup was the first in w ...

Serie A: Club at their peak

Legnano first gained access to Serie A for the 1930–31 season; the previous year they had finished as runners up in Serie B. The first match at the top level of Italian football was the shocking 2–1 defeat of Italy's oldest club,

Genoa C.F.C. Genoa Cricket and Football Club, commonly referred to as Genoa (), is a professional football club based in Genoa, Liguria, Italy, that competes in , the second division of the Italian football league system. Established in 1893, Genoa is ...

Unfortunately for Legnano, they finished at the bottom of the table that season and were relegated; other notable results however were a 1–1 draw with eventual runners up A.S. Roma, and a 2–1 defeat of

S.S.C. Napoli Società Sportiva Calcio Napoli, commonly referred to as Napoli (), is an Italian professional football club based in the city of Naples ( it, Napoli, nap, Napule), Campania that plays in Serie A, the top flight of Italian football. Napoli ha ...

in Naples. In the 1935–1936 season, the club changed their name to ''Associazione Calcio Legnano''. Left-winger

Emilio Caprile Emilio Caprile (; 30 September 1928 – 5 March 2020) was an Italian footballer who played as a forward. A versatile player, he was capable of playing both as a striker and as a left winger. Club career Born in Genoa, Emilio Caprile's Serie A de ...

was called up by ''the azzurri'', to play in two international games during 1948. He became the first Legnano player to score for Italy with a goal in each match.

Slide down the Italian league

After their last relegation in from Serie A in 1953–54, the club have gradually declined. First they came close to promotion back into the league with a 3rd position in B, but two years later they were relegated down to Serie C. Legnano spent 18 years in a row competing in Serie C, only able to finish as high as 5th in that time (they achieved this three times). 1974–75 saw the club slump down to Serie D; this was soon rectified as coach Luciano Sassi pulled the club back into Serie C2 with a runners up spot in 1977–78.

Giovanni Mari lifts Legnano

Giovanni Mari took over as club president in 1979 and under him, Legnano would achieve the championship of

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 ...

. This was the first time A.C. Legnano had finished first position in any league since 1919. The club's stadium was later named Stadio Giovanni Mari in honour of the man.

The refoundation

Following bankruptcy in 2010, Legnano subsequently folded. It was refounded on 15 July 2011, as ''A.S.D. Legnano Calcio 1913'' and was admitted to Group N of Prima Categoria Lombardy in the 2011–12 season. The club was promoted to Group A of

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 ...

Lombardy. The club had a successive second promotion after finishing as champions of Group A of Promozione Lombardy next season and was promoted to Group A of Eccellenza Lombardy. On 7 May 2015, A.S.D. Legnano Calcio 1913 re-acquired the name ''Associazione Calcio Legnano''.Ripreso simbolo e nome AC LEGNANO
They finished Eccellenza Lombardy as 4th in 2014–15 but were eliminated in the play-offs. They finished Group A of Eccellanza Lombardy as 2nd and were qualified for the play-offs again. They defeated Torviscosa with 4–1 aggregate in semifinal and Sankt Georgen with 4–3 aggregate in final and were promoted to Serie D.

Players

Notable former players

* Attilio Demaría *

Gigi Riva Luigi "Gigi" Riva (; born 7 November 1944) is an Italian former professional footballer who played as a centre-forward. Considered to be one of the best players of his generation, as well as one of the greatest strikers of all time, Riva enjoyed ...

Nicholas Frey Nicolas Sébastien Frey (born 6 March 1984) is a French former professional footballer who played as a right back. Club career Born in Thonon-les-Bains, Haute-Savoie, Frey played exclusively at amateur level in his country, joining AS Cannes' y ...

Pedro Kamata Pedro Kamata (born 6 September 1981) is a Congolese former professional footballer who played as a winger. Born in Angola, he made one appearance for the DR Congo national team. Club career Kamata was born in Luanda, Angola. He started his c ...

* Karl-Erik Palmér *

Paolo Pulici Paolo Pulici (; born 27 April 1950) is an Italian football manager and former footballer who played as a striker. With 172 goals in all competitions, he is the all-time record goalscorer for Torino. He had several nicknames: amongst the most f ...

Davide Fontolan Davide Fontolan (born 24 February 1966) is an Italian former professional footballer who played as a midfielder, usually as a left winger. Club career Fontolan was born in Garbagnate Milanese, Province of Milan. He started his playing career wi ...

Chedric Seedorf Chedric Seedorf (born 20 April 1983 in Naarden) is a former Dutch footballer who played as a midfielder. Club career Like his brothers Clarence and Jürgen and his cousin Stefano he is the product of the Ajax youth academy, but in 1999 his father ...

* Marco Simone *

Hermann Lindemann Hermann Lindemann (29 October 191023 July 2002) was a German football player and later manager. He played for a number of German club sides, before participating in an all-star team tour of Iceland in the summer of 1938 while playing as a striker ...

Staff

Presidential history

Over the years Legnano has had various owners, chairmen or presidential figures; here is a chronological list of the presidents; * 1913–1916 Aldo Visconti and Eugenio Tosi (honorary president) * 1917–1924

Antonio Bernocchi Antonio Bernocchi (17 January 1859 – 8 December 1930) was an Italian industrialist, who built up a successful textile factory at Legnano, in Lombardy. Life Bernocchi was born on 17 January 1859 at Castellanza in the province of Varese, in ...

* 1924–1925 Carlo Delle Piane * 1925–1927 Ernesto Castiglioni * 1927–1929

* 1929–1931 Giuseppe Mario Perozzi, Mario Raimondo and Riccardo Pezzoni (board of regents) * 1931–1933 Ernesto Castiglioni * 1933–1934 Primo Colombo (extraordinary commissioner) * 1934–1945 Giulio Riva * 1945–1952 Pino Mocchetti * 1952–1953 Luigi Mandelli (extraordinary commissioner), following Giovanni Mari * 1953–1954 Giovanni Mari * 1954–1956 Giuseppe Mario Perozzi (extraordinary commissioner) * 1956–1959 Davide Casero (extraordinary commissioner) * 1959–1963 Luciano Caccia * 1963–1964 Felice Bossi (extraordinary commissioner) * 1964–1975 Augusto Terreni * 1975–1979 Rolando Landoni (extraordinary commissioner) * 1979–1986 Giovanni Mari * 1986 Ulrico Lucarelli * 1986–1987 Giovanni Mari * 1987–1996 Ferdinando Villa * 1996–1999 Mario Pighetti * 1999 Mauro Rusignolo * 1999–2002 Mauro Rusignolo * 2002–2005 Antonio Di Bari * 2005–2007 Giovanni Simone * 2007–2009 Giuseppe Resta * 2009–2010 Giacomo Tarabbia * 2010 Alessio Fiore * 2011–2015 Nicolò Zanda * 2015 Salvatore Verdoliva * 2015–''incumbent'' Vanessa Paolillo

Managerial history

Below is a list of AC Legnano coaches from 1913 until the present day: * 1913–1914 Adamo Bonacina * 1914–1915 Pariani * 1915–1916 Primo Colombo * 1916–1917 Primo Colombo *: Nino Resegotti * 1917–1919 Technical Committee: Primo Colombo, Adamo Bonacina and Giuseppe Venegoni * 1919–1923 Primo Colombo * 1923–1925

Imre Schöffer Imre is a Hungarian masculine first name, which is also in Estonian use, where the corresponding name day is 10 April. It has been suggested that it relates to the name Emeric, Emmerich or Heinrich. Its English equivalents are Emery and Henry. ...

* 1925–1927 Primo Colombo * 1927–1928

* 1928–1929

Armand Halmos Armand refer to: People * Armand (name), list of people with this name *Armand (photographer) (1901–1963), Armenian photographer *Armand (singer) (1946–2015), Dutch protest singer *Sean Armand (born 1991), American basketball player *Armand, ...

* 1929–1931

Luigi Barbesino Luigi Barbesino (; 1 May 1894 – 20 April 1941) was an Italian association footballer and manager from Casale Monferrato in the region of Piedmont. A midfielder, he was a one club man in the truest sense of the term, spending his eight playin ...

* 1931–1933

Otto Krappan Otto Krappan (11 October 1886 – 2 February 1942) was a German professional football manager. Career Born in Nagyszeben, Austria-Hungary, in a family of Transylvanian Saxons, (today Sibiu, Romania). Krappan managed several clubs in Italy betwee ...

* 1933–1934 Francesco Lattuada *: Vinicio Colombo * 1934–1935 Vinicio Colombo * 1935–1936

Enrico Crotti Enrico is both an Italian masculine given name and a surname, Enrico means homeowner, or king, derived from ''Heinrich'' of Germanic origin. It is also a given name in Ladino. Equivalents in other languages are Henry (English), Henri (French), Enri ...

* 1936–1945

* 1945–1946 Attilio Demaria * 1946–1947 Róbert Winkler * 1947–1949

Giuseppe Galluzzi Giuseppe Galluzzi (10 November 1903 – 6 December 1973) was an Italian footballer and manager from Florence. He was a prominent figure in the Florentine football scene, appearing for ''CS Firenze'' and then ACF Fiorentina after the merger took p ...

* 1949–1950

Ugo Innocenti Ugo is the Italian form of Hugh, a widely used name of Germanic origin. Its diminutive form is Ugolino. It is also a Nigerian Igbo first name. It may refer to: People * Vgo (stonemason), medieval stonemason * Ugo Bassi, a Roman Catholic priest ...

* 1950–1951

and

Héctor Puricelli Héctor "Ettore" Puricelli (; 15 September 1916 – 14 May 2001) was a football player and manager who played as a striker. Born in Uruguay, he represented Italy at international level. As a player, he is most famous for his time with Italian club ...

* 1951–1952

* 1952–1953

* 1953–1954

* 1954–1957

* 1957–1959 Mario Zidarich * 1959–1960 Renato Picentini * 1960–1962

Giuseppe Molina Giuseppe is the Italian form of the given name Joseph, from Latin Iōsēphus from Ancient Greek Ἰωσήφ (Iōsḗph), from Hebrew יוסף. It is the most common name in Italy and is unique (97%) to it. The feminine form of the name is Gius ...

* 1962–1963

Luciano Lupi Luciano is an Italian, Spanish and Portuguese given name and surname. It is derived from Latin ''Lucianus'', patronymic of ''Lucius'' ("Light"). The French form is ''Lucien'', while the Basque form is ''Luken''. Single name * Luciano (rapper) ...

* 1963–1964 Fausto Braga * 1964–1967

* 1967–1968

Carlo Facchini Carlo is a given name. It is an Italian form of Charles. It can refer to: *Carlo (name) *Monte Carlo *Carlingford, New South Wales, a suburb in north-west Sydney, New South Wales, Australia *A satirical song written by Dafydd Iwan about Prince Char ...

* 1968–1969 Sergio Realini * 1969–1970

* 1970–1971

Luciano Sassi Luciano is an Italian, Spanish and Portuguese given name and surname. It is derived from Latin ''Lucianus'', patronymic of ''Lucius'' ("Light"). The French language, French form is ''Lucien'', while the Basque language, Basque form is ''Luken''. ...

* 1971–1973

* 1973–1974

Giovanni Visentin Giovanni may refer to: * Giovanni (name), an Italian male given name and surname * Giovanni (meteorology), a Web interface for users to analyze NASA's gridded data * ''Don Giovanni'', a 1787 opera by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, based on the legend of ...

* 1974–1975 Fausto Braga *: Mario Trezzi * 1975–1979 Mario Trezzi * 1979–1980 Adelio Crespi * 1981–1983 Pietro Maroso * 1983–1984 Pietro Maroso *: Romualdo Capocci * 1984–1986 Andrea Valdinoci * 1986–1987

Giovanni Ardemagni Giovanni may refer to: * Giovanni (name), an Italian male given name and surname * Giovanni (meteorology), a Web interface for users to analyze NASA's gridded data * ''Don Giovanni'', a 1787 opera by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, based on the legend of ...

* 1987–1988

Mauro Bicicli Mauro Bicicli (17 April 1935 in Crema – 22 August 2001 in Crema) was an Italian professional football player and coach, who played as a midfielder. Death Bicicli died in 2001 due to a liver tumour. Honours Club ;Inter * Serie A The Serie ...

* 1989–1990 Giorgio Veneri * 1990–1991

Luciano Magistrelli Luciano Magistrelli (14 February 1938 – 19 December 2011) was an Italian footballer who played as a forward. He made 125 appearances in Serie A for Atalanta, played for several other clubs, and competed at the 1960 Summer Olympics in Rome with It ...

* 1991–1992 Abramo Rossetti *:

Giancarlo Danova Giancarlo Danova (18 November 1938 – 15 June 2014) was an Italian football forward who played for A.C. Milan, Torino F.C., Catania Calcio, Atalanta B.C., Fiorentina F.C. and Mantova Calcio. During his career he played on three Italian Cha ...

* 1992–1993 Marco Torresani * 1993–1995 Luigi Vallongo * 1995–1996

Renzo Contratto Renzo Contratto is an Italian sports agent and former professional footballer who played as a defender. In 2014, he was inducted into ACF Fiorentina Hall of Fame. Career In his youth, Contratto played for Barcanova, before starting his pro ...

*: Giovanni Sacchi and

* 1996–1997 Loris Boni * 1997–1998 Carlo Muraro * 1998–1999

Gian Marco Remondina Gian is a masculine Italian given name. It is a variant of Gianni and is likewise used as a diminutive of Giovanni, the Italian form of John. In Italian, any name including Giovanni can be contracted to Gian, particularly in combination with othe ...

* 1999–2000

Roberto Bacchin The name Robert is an ancient Germanic given name, from Proto-Germanic "fame" and "bright" (''Hrōþiberhtaz''). Compare Old Dutch ''Robrecht'' and Old High German ''Hrodebert'' (a compound of '' Hruod'' ( non, Hróðr) "fame, glory, ho ...

* 2000–2001

*: Carlo Muraro *:

Ernestino Ramella Ernestino Ramella (born 7 April 1955) is an Italian football manager and a former player who played as a striker Striker or The Strikers may refer to: People *A participant in a strike action *A participant in a hunger strike *Blacksmith's stri ...

* 2001–2002 Mario Belluzzo *:

* 2002–2003

Angelo Gregucci Angelo Adamo Gregucci (born 10 June 1964) is an Italian football coach and former player. Career Player Born in San Giorgio Ionico, Province of Taranto, Gregucci started his playing career in 1981 with Taranto, before moving to Alessandria ...

* 2003–2004 Pierluigi Casiraghi *:

Stefano Di Chiara Stefano Di Chiara (born 21 February 1957) is an Italian former professional footballer and manager, who played as a defender, and is the older brother of footballer Alberto Di Chiara, whom he played with during his time at Lecce, helping the cl ...

* 2004–2005

Arcangelo Sciannimanico Arcangelo is a given name and a family name. Notable people with the name include: * S. Michele Arcangelo, archangel in Jewish, Christian, and Islamic teachings *Andrea di Cione Arcangelo (1308–1368), Italian painter, sculptor, and architect act ...

Giancarlo Oddi Giancarlo is an Italian given name meaning "John Charles". It is one of the most common masculine given names in Italy and is often short for "Giovanni Carlo". Notable people with the name include: List A * Giancarlo Agazzi (1933–1995), Italia ...

* 2005–2006 Vincenzo Maiuri and

Gianpaolo Spagnulo Gianpaolo Spagnulo (born 26 September 1964) is an Italian retired footballer who last played for Taranto 1927 in his home country. Career Spagnulo started his senior career with S.S.D. Città di Brindisi. In 1992, he signed for Genoa C.F.C. ...

Luciano Miani Luciano is an Italian, Spanish and Portuguese given name and surname. It is derived from Latin ''Lucianus'', patronymic of ''Lucius'' ("Light"). The French language, French form is ''Lucien'', while the Basque language, Basque form is ''Luken''. ...

, and Nicolas Gennarielli * 2006–2007 Gianfranco Motta * 2007–2008

Claudio Gabetta Claudio is an Italian and Spanish first name. In Portuguese it is accented Cláudio. In Catalan and Occitan it is Claudi, while in Romanian it is Claudiu. Origin and history Claudius was the name of an eminent Roman gens, the most important me ...

Egidio Notaristefano Egidio Notaristefano (born 4 February 1966) is an Italian football manager. He is a former Italy under-21 international midfielder. Career Notaristefano began his playing career at Como in the early 1980s, and he made his Serie A debut in 1984. ...

* 2008–2009

Attilio Lombardo Attilio Lombardo (; born 6 January 1966) is an Italian retired football player turned manager; he is currently the assistant manager for the Italy national team. Throughout his career he was usually deployed as a wide midfielder, or as an of ...

* 2009–2010 Giuseppe Scienza * 2011–2013 Massimo Rovellini * 2013–2014 Massimo Rovellini *: Alessandro Cerri * 2014–''incumbent'' Stefano Di Gioia

Honours

*Winners (2): 1982–1983 (group B), 2006–2007 (group A) Campionato Nazionale Dilettanti *Winners: 1992–1993 (group A) Serie D *Winners: 1999–2000 (group B) Prima Categoria *Winners: 2011–2012 (group N)

*Winners: 2012–2013 (group A) Prima Categoria: *Runners-up (2): 1919–1920 (group C), 1920–1921 (group D)

Prima Divisione Prima Divisione (''First Division'') was the name of the first level of the Italian Football Championship from 1921 to 1926. The competition was initially founded in opposition to the FIGC by the richest clubs of Northern Italy, which disagreed the ...

: *Runners-up (2): 1922–1923 (group B), 1927–1928 (group B) Serie B *Runners-up (3): 1946–1947 (group A), 1950–1951, 1952–1953 Serie D: *Runners-up (2): 1976–1977 (group B), 1977–1978 (group B) Campionato Nazionale Dilettanti: *Runners-up: 1997–1998 (group B) Eccellenza: *Runners-up: 2013–2014 (group A)

References

External links

Official website

Statistiche lilla
{{DEFAULTSORT:Legnano Football clubs in Italy Football clubs in Lombardy Association football clubs established in 1913 Association football clubs disestablished in 2010 Italian football First Division clubs Serie A clubs Serie B clubs Serie C clubs 1913 establishments in Italy