The Seamen Milano are an American football team based in

Milan Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city h ...

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 ...

that competes in the

Italian Football League Italian Football League (IFL) is the top level American football league in Italy established in 1980. History In the 1970's teams formed and played in Italy. In 1980 the first official American football league in Italy was established and crow ...

. The team will join the

European League of Football The European League of Football (ELF) is a professional sports#American football, professional American football sports league, league. The league (as of the 2023 season) consists of 17 teams located in Germany, Poland, Spain, Austria, Italy, S ...

for the 2023 season.

History

80s

The Seamen Milano were founded by

Sergio Galeotti Sergio Galeotti (July 26, 1945 – August 14, 1985) was an Italian architect and co-founder of the Giorgio Armani Corporation. Galeotti attended the artistic high school in Carrara and worked at several architectural firms in Italy. Giorgio Armani ...

, a shareholder of the "Giorgio Armani SpA" on October 27, 1981. In the 1980s they were one of the most successful Italian teams collecting two Italian Super Bowl appearances in 1987 and 1989, with an overall record of 68 wins, 4 draws and 39 defeats in 111 games played. The team folded in 1990. They won the Under 20 National Championship in 1989.

1987 season

After finishing the regular season with a record of 11–1, the Milano Seamen defeated the Giaguari Torino 49–3 in the eight-finals. Their winning streak continued after defeating the Rhinos 29-6 and the Doves 20 to 14 in the quarter- and semi-finals respectively. They lost the Super Bowl against the

Frogs Legnano The Legnano Frogs established in 1977, are an American football team from the city of Legnano, in the Metropolitan City of Milan, in Lombardy, Italy. It has black and silver as its social colors, while it has a frog as a symbol, hence the name o ...

24 to 27 after suffering a TD pass with a few seconds remaining on the game clock.

Re-foundation

After 19 years, in 2009, the team was reestablished by a group of former players, winning the Under 19 championship a year later in 2010 with a lot of athletes from the Falcons Milano, a team disbanded in 2009, the Seamen took part at the II Division championship.

IFL

In 2010, the Seamen Milano were admitted to the

Championship. In 2012

Joe Avezzano Joe Avezzano (November 17, 1943 – April 5, 2012) was an American football player and coach. He was the head football coach at Oregon State University from 1980 to 1984, compiling a record of 6–47–2. Avezzano was later an assistant coach w ...

became the Head Coach of the Milano Seamen. In 2014 the Seamen won the Italian Super Bowl for the first time in their history, beating the

Parma Panthers The Parma Panthers are an American football team based in Parma, Italy that competes in the Italian Football League. The team was founded in 1981 by Vic Dasaro, an American veterinary student attending university in Parma. Dasaro created the te ...

33–3.

DIVISION 1

In 2019 the Milano Seamen won the

Italian Bowl Italian Football League (IFL) is the top level American football league in Italy established in 1980. History In the 1970's teams formed and played in Italy. In 1980 the first official American football league in Italy was established and crow ...

, beating the

Guelfi Firenze The Guelphs and Ghibellines (, , ; it, guelfi e ghibellini ) were factions supporting the Pope and the Holy Roman Emperor, respectively, in the Italian city-states of Central Italy and Northern Italy. During the 12th and 13th centuries, rivalr ...

Velodromo Vigorelli

After the renovation of the historical stadium ended up in 2018, the Milano Seamen were able to play again their home games there, after the brief experience at the

Stadio Breda Stadio Ernesto Breda is a multi-use stadium in Sesto San Giovanni, Italy. It is currently used for both Association football, football and American football matches and it's the home ground of S.S.D. Pro Sesto, Inter Milan Women and Inter Milan ...

Sesto San Giovanni Sesto San Giovanni (; lmo, Sest San Giovann, label=Western Lombard ), locally referred to as just Sesto ( lmo, Sest, links=no), is a ''comune'' in the Metropolitan City of Milan, Lombardy, northern Italy. Its railway station is the northernmost s ...

U19

Seamen's Youth Sector, is one of the best of the country;in fact during the 2019–2020 season the Under 19 team reached the national final, in which they beat the Giaguari Torino 8–6. That game was played in

Velodromo Vigorelli Velodromo Vigorelli (from 2001 officially Velodromo Maspes-Vigorelli) is a semi-covered velodrome in Milan, Italy. It is currently used mostly for American football events, in fact, surrounded by the track, there is a standard size football f ...

one of the best frames for American Football in Italy.

Honours

** Champions: (5) 2014, 2015, 2017–2019

References

1981 establishments in Italy American football teams established in 1981 American football teams in Italy Sport in Milan {{amfoot-team-stub