Novara Football Club, commonly referred to as Novara, 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

Novara Novara (, Novarese: ) is the capital city of the province of Novara in the Piedmont region in northwest Italy, to the west of Milan. With 101,916 inhabitants (on 1 January 2021), it is the second most populous city in Piedmont after Turin. It is ...

Piedmont it, Piemontese , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = , demographics1_title2 ...

. The club was founded in 2021 by the City of Novara to replace old Novara Calcio that lost its professional status.

History

In December 1908 the ''F.A.S. (Football Association Studenti)'' was created by eight students of ''Liceo Carlo Alberto'', aged between 15 and 16 years; among them an engineer, Gianni Canestrini, and a lawyer, Piero Zorini. In Novara in those days, there were other small clubs like ''Voluntas'', ''Pro Scalon'', ''Ginnastica e Scherma'', ''Forza & Speranza'', ''Collegio Gallarini'' and many other student bodies. The best players from these teams came together to form ''Novara Calcio'', and made their debut in the Italian league on 3 November 1912. The first match was played against a team already then established as

Torino Turin ( , Piedmontese: ; it, Torino ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in Northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital from 1861 to 1865. T ...

, who won 2–1. In the years between World War I and World War II, Novara challenged with

Pro Vercelli Football Club Pro Vercelli 1892, commonly referred to as Pro Vercelli, is an Italian football club based in Vercelli, Piedmont. The club is mostly renowned as one of the most successful teams in the early football era of Italy, with seven natio ...

Alessandria Alessandria (; pms, Lissandria ) is a city and ''comune'' in Piedmont, Italy, and the capital of the Province of Alessandria. The city is sited on the alluvial plain between the Tanaro and the Bormida rivers, about east of Turin. Alessandria ...

and Casale to make the so-called ''"quadrilatero piemontese" (Piedmont Quadrilateral)''. Novara played a

Coppa Italia The ("Italy Cup") is an annual knockout cup competition in Italian football organized by the FIGC until the 2009–10 season and the Lega Serie A ever since. History The beginning of the tournament was turbulent, due to the complexity of ...

final against

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 1939. Novara's highest finish came in 1952 when they finished in eighth place 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 ...

During these years of staying in the top flight, Novara had

Silvio Piola Silvio Piola (; 29 September 1913 – 4 October 1996) was an Italian footballer who played as a striker. He is known as a highly prominent figure in the history of Italian football due to several records he set, and he is regarded as one of the ...

to thank. His many goals (which at the end of his career was over 300), made a huge contribution to the cause of Novara. Following his death in 1996, the stadium at which Novara play was dedicated in his name. In 1956 came relegation 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 another five years afterwards, they slipped down to

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 ...

due to a fraudulent complaint by a

Sambenedettese A.S. Sambenedettese S.r.l. is an Italian association football club, based in San Benedetto del Tronto, Marche. Sambenedettese currently plays in Serie D. History Foundation The club was founded in 1923 as ''U.S. Sambenedettese''. In 195 ...

player. A few successful seasons in Serie B followed, but then Novara stumbled again in 1977 with relegation to Serie C and worse in 1981 to

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 ...

. In the 1995–96 season, Novara were back in Serie C1, but this joy was short-lived as the following year, the ''biancoazzurri'' again had to deal with relegation. Years were spent in the shadows of Italian football until more recently when the league was won in the 2002–03 season.

From Serie C1 to Serie A

Consolidation in Serie C1 followed, later becoming

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� ...

, until the historic promotion of the 2009–10 season where the club returned to

after 33 years. On 12 June 2011, Novara remarkably secured its promotion to

after a 55-year absence from the league, by defeating

Padova Padua ( ; it, Padova ; vec, Pàdova) is a city and ''comune'' in Veneto, northern Italy. Padua is on the river Bacchiglione, west of Venice. It is the capital of the province of Padua. It is also the economic and communications hub of the ...

in the play-off final. Both consecutive promotions were achieved under the tenure of head coach

Attilio Tesser Attilio Tesser (born 10 June 1958) is an Italian association football manager and former defender, who is currently the head coach of Modena. Playing career Tesser, a defender, started his playing career with Treviso. He moved to Napoli in 19 ...

, who was confirmed as Novara boss also for the following 2011–12 top flight campaign. On 20 September 2011, the first home game in

for 55 years, Novara recorded an historic 3–1 victory over

Inter Inter may refer to: Association football clubs * Inter Milan, an Italian club * SC Internacional, a Brazilian club * Inter Miami CF, an American club * FC Inter Sibiu, a Romanian club * FC Inter Turku, a Finnish club * FK Inter Bratislava, a form ...

. This remarkable feat, however, was not representative of their season as Novara managed to win only one more game until the end of January, when it won again against

San Siro Stadio Giuseppe Meazza, commonly known as San Siro, is a football stadium in the San Siro district of Milan, Italy, which is the home of A.C. Milan and Inter Milan. It has a seating capacity of 80,018, making it one of the largest stadiums in ...

. The manager Attilio Tesser was replaced by veteran coach

Emiliano Mondonico Emiliano Mondonico (9 March 1947 – 29 March 2018) was an Italian professional footballer and coach. He played as a winger. His playing career was spent mostly with Cremonese, where it began and ended. Mondonico's 31-year-long managerial care ...

and re-hired one month later in a desperate and ultimately vain attempt by the owners to save the club from relegation. The club was immediately relegated again to

after one season. Novara finished 5th in 2012–13 season but were eliminated by

Empoli Empoli () is a town and ''comune'' in the Metropolitan City of Florence, Tuscany, Italy, about southwest of Florence, to the south of the Arno in a plain formed by the river. The plain has been usable for agriculture since Roman times. The comm ...

in the promotion play-offs. The following season was terrible for Novara as the club finished 19th in Serie B and lost in a play-out against

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 ...

, losing 4–2 on aggregate. Thus, Novara were relegated to

Lega Pro 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 ...

. Novara were crowned as champions of Group A of Lega Pro in 2014–15 and immediately returned to Serie B. In their first season back in Serie B they finished in a playoff spot but they lost to eventual winners

Pescara Pescara (; nap, label= Abruzzese, Pescàrë; nap, label= Pescarese, Piscàrë) is the capital city of the Province of Pescara, in the Abruzzo region of Italy. It is the most populated city in Abruzzo, with 119,217 (2018) residents (and approxim ...

in the semifinal. The following season saw them finish outside the playoffs in 9th, 4 points from a playoff spot. The following season saw Novara get relegated back to Lega Pro following a 20th-place finish in the

2017–18 Serie B The 2017–18 Serie B (known as the Serie B ConTe.it for sponsorship reasons) was the 86th season since its establishment in 1929. A total of 22 teams contested the league: 15 returning from the 2016–17 Serie B season, 4 promoted from 2016–1 ...

. During the summer of 2021, Novara lost its professional status and a phoenix club was founded in

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 ...

according to article 52 of FIGC's regulations ''NOIF''. They were promoted back to Serie C in May 2022, after finishing top of their group in

Current squad

Out on loan

Managers

Ferenc Molnár Ferenc Molnár ( , ; born Ferenc Neumann; 12 January 18781 April 1952), often anglicized as Franz Molnar, was a Hungarian-born author, stage-director, dramatist, and poet, widely regarded as Hungary’s most celebrated and controversial playw ...

(1931–32) *

Árpád Weisz Árpád Weisz (; also spelt ''Veisz''; 16 April 1896 – 31 January 1944) was a Hungarian Olympic association football, football player and manager. Weisz was Jewish, and was murdered with his wife and children by the Nazis during the Holocaust i ...

(1934–35) *

Evaristo Barrera Evaristo Vicente Barrera (December 30, 1911 – June 7, 1982) was an Argentine football striker. He played for Racing Club de Avellaneda and a number of football clubs in Italy. He was born in Rosario. Barrera started his professional career in ...

(1956–58) *

Carlo Parola Carlo Parola (; 20 September 1921 – 22 March 2000), was an Italian footballer and coach who played as a defender. Throughout his career, he won domestic titles with Italian club Juventus, both as a player and as a manager. At international lev ...

(1969–74) *

Bruno Bolchi Bruno Bolchi (; 21 February 1940 – 27 September 2022) was an Italian football manager and player, who played as a midfielder. Throughout his playing career, he played for Inter, Verona, Atalanta, and Torino, as well as the Italy national team ...

(1978–79) *

Angelo Domenghini Angelo Domenghini (; born 25 August 1941) is an Italian football manager, and former footballer, who played as a forward, often as a right winger, or even as a striker. Despite his creative role, he also had a notable eye for goal, as well as e ...

(1989–90) *

Luigi Delneri Luigi Delneri (born 23 August 1950), often incorrectly written as Del Neri, is an Italian football manager and a former player. After a playing career as a midfielder including for several Serie A clubs, he began managing in the lower leagues, a ...

(1992–94) *

Franco Colomba Franco Colomba (born 6 February 1955 in Grosseto) is an Italian football coach and former player, most recently in charge of Serie B club Livorno. Career Playing Colomba, a midfielder, started his playing career in Bologna, making his Serie A ...

(1994–95) * Alberto Marchetti (1999) * Giuliano Zoratti (1999–00) *

Luciano Foschi Luciano Foschi (born 3 July 1967) is an Italian football manager and former player, currently in charge of club Lecco. Playing career As a player, Foschi made his debut in the 1985-1986 football season as a defender for S.S. Lazio. He played ...

(2002–04) *

Antonio Cabrini Antonio Cabrini (; born 8 October 1957) is an Italian professional football manager and a former player. He played left-back, mainly with Juventus. He won the 1982 FIFA World Cup with the Italy national team. Cabrini was nicknamed ''Bell'Ant ...

(2005–06) *

(2009–12),

(2012),

(2012) * Alfredo Aglietti (2012–13) * Alessandro Calori (2013–14) * Alfredo Aglietti (2014) *

Marco Baroni Marco Baroni (born 11 September 1963) is an Italian football manager and former player, who played as a defender. He is current manager of Serie A club Lecce. Playing career Baroni started his career with Fiorentina, and reached his football ...

(2015–16) *

Roberto Boscaglia Rocco "Roberto" Boscaglia (born 24 May 1968 in Gela) is an Italian football coach and former midfielder. He was most recently the head coach of Foggia. Career A former amateur midfielder, Boscaglia took his first head coaching role in 2004 at t ...

(2016–17) *

Eugenio Corini Eugenio Corini (born 30 July 1970) is an Italian professional football coach and former player, currently in charge of Serie B club Palermo. A talented, dynamic, and hard-working playmaker, known for his precise long passing, flair, and his a ...

(2017–18) *

Domenico Di Carlo Domenico "Mimmo" Di Carlo (born 23 March 1964) is an Italian football coach and a former player, currently in charge of Pordenone. Career Player Di Carlo started his playing career in his native city, playing for the local Serie C2 team Real ...

(2017-18) * William Viali (2018-19) * Giuseppe Sannino (2018-19) * William Viali (2018-19) * Simone Banchieri (2019-20) * Simone Banchieri (2020-21) * Michele Marcolini (2020-21) * Simone Banchieri (2020-21)

Honours

League

: Winners: 1926–27, 1937–38, 1947–48 *

: Winners: 1964–65, 1969–70, 2009–10, 2014–15 *

: Winners: 1995–96, *

: Winners: 2021–22

Cups

* Supercoppa di Serie C : Winners: 2010, 2015 *

: Runners up: 1938-39.

Divisional movements

References

External links

Novara FC website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Novara Football clubs in Italy Football clubs in Piedmont and Aosta Valley Association football clubs established in 1908 Italian football First Division clubs Serie A clubs Serie B clubs Serie C clubs Serie D clubs 1908 establishments in Italy Phoenix clubs (association football) 2021 establishments in Italy