Unione Calcio AlbinoLeffe is an Italian association football club representing

Albino Albinism is the congenital absence of melanin in an animal or plant resulting in white hair, feathers, scales and skin and pink or blue eyes. Individuals with the condition are referred to as albino. Varied use and interpretation of the term ...

and

Leffe Leffe () is a premium beer brand owned by InBev Belgium, the European operating arm of the global Anheuser–Busch InBev brewery giant. There are several beers in the range, and they are marketed as abbey beers. They are brewed in large qua ...

, two small towns located in

Val Seriana The Serio ( Lombard: ''Sère'') is an Italian river that flows entirely within Lombardy, crossing the provinces of Bergamo and Cremona. It is long and flows into the Adda at Bocca di Serio south of Crema Crema or Cremas may refer to: Cr ...

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 ...

. The club played in

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 ...

for nine consecutive years and narrowly missed promotion 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 ...

at the end of the 2007–08 season. It currently 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 ...

and has been in the Italian third tier since its relegation in 2011–12.

History

The club was created in 1998 as a result of the merger between former

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 ...

(fourth division) teams Albinese Calcio and Società Calcio Leffe, respectively from

and

, two neighboring towns. In their first season, the club finished 2nd in the

and won a promotion having defeated

A.C. Prato Associazione Calcio Prato is an Italian association football club, based in Prato, Tuscany. Prato currently plays in Serie D/E, having last been in Serie B in 1964. History The club was founded in 1908. In season 2010–11 the team played i ...

in the Girone A Play-offs final. After rising to

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 ...

(the Italian third division), they performed at the middle of the pack, finishing 9th in 2000 and 13th in 2001. However, in 2002, the ''Seriani'' went to the finals of the

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 ...

, where they defeated

Livorno Livorno () is a port city on the Ligurian Sea on the western coast of Tuscany, Italy. It is the capital of the Province of Livorno, having a population of 158,493 residents in December 2017. It is traditionally known in English as Leghorn (pronou ...

2–1 at home before losing 2–3 on the road. They won the tournament on the tiebreaker (most away goals scored). In league play they again finished 13th. In 2003, AlbinoLeffe, under coach

Elio Gustinetti Elio Gustinetti (born 29 March 1955 in Bergamo) is an Italian football manager. Coaching career From Leffe to AlbinoLeffe Leffe and Albinese Gustinetti started his coaching career in 1988 with Serie D club Leffe, ending the season in thir ...

, finished second in league play before heading to the promotion play-off. There, they defeated

Padua 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 semifinals, then had a surprising triumph over

Pisa Calcio Pisa Sporting Club, commonly referred to as Pisa, is an Italian football club based in Pisa, Tuscany. The team currently plays in Serie B. The club was founded in 1909 as Pisa Sporting Club and refounded in 1994 as Pisa Calcio (and registered i ...

, which pushed them up to

. The team moved from the small ''Martinelli Stadium'' in

, where they used to play home matches before promotion to Serie B, to the bigger ''

Stadio Atleti Azzurri d'Italia Stadio Atleti Azzurri d'Italia, known for sponsorship reasons as the Gewiss Stadium since July 2019 and as Stadio di Bergamo in UEFA competitions, is a stadium in Bergamo, Italy. It is the home of club Atalanta and has a capacity of 21,000 seat ...

'' located in

Bergamo Bergamo (; lmo, Bèrghem ; from the proto- Germanic elements *''berg +*heim'', the "mountain home") is a city in the alpine Lombardy region of northern Italy, approximately northeast of Milan, and about from Switzerland, the alpine lakes Como ...

, the chief-town of the province where both Albino and Leffe are located. Even though AlbinoLeffe was considered to be an outsider in Serie B, which historically includes several former

Scudetto The ''scudetto'' (Italian language, Italian for: "little shield") is a decoration having the colors of the flag of Italy which is sewn onto the jersey of the Italian sports clubs that won the highest level championship of their respective sport in ...

winners, the team remarkably managed to avoid relegation in the last two seasons. In 2005–2006, after a great comeback in the second half of the season following the appointment of

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 ...

as new head coach, Albinoleffe ended the season in eighteenth place and managed to save itself from relegation by prevailing in the playouts against

Avellino Avellino () is a town and ''comune'', capital of the province of Avellino in the Campania region of southern Italy. It is situated in a plain surrounded by mountains east of Naples and is an important hub on the road from Salerno to Benevento. ...

(score: 2–0, 2–3). The 2006–2007 Serie B campaign, the fourth consecutive for the small Lombard team, ended with a good tenth place, well ahead of the relegation zone. Historically, AlbinoLeffe's home games have been characterized by very low attendance, as shown by the average 2,400 spectators per game in the 2006–07 season, the most successful in the club history. With local hero Gustinetti back in charge of the team and despite a lineup composed of relative unknowns, the club's 2007–08 campaign started surprisingly well, with the team leading the Serie B table for a few weeks and arousing the interest of the national media, which began providing regular coverage of the team's games. This has thus far failed to improve the club's low home attendance, however. During the season, AlbinoLeffe confirmed as a potential candidate for direct promotion to Serie A, however a string of poor results, ended with four consecutive home defeats, the final one being a 0–4 loss to

Rimini Rimini ( , ; rgn, Rémin; la, Ariminum) is a city in the Emilia-Romagna region of northern Italy and capital city of the Province of Rimini. It sprawls along the Adriatic Sea, on the coast between the rivers Marecchia (the ancient ''Ariminu ...

, denied them the chance to achieve a place in the top two, and persuaded club chairman

Gianfranco Andreoletti Gianfranco is a compound Italian given name, consisting of Gian- and Franco. ''Gian-'' comes from Giovanni and is used in compound names. It is closest to John or French Jean. Gianni means "God is gracious" and Franco means "Free man" or "Frenchman ...

to sack Gustinetti, who then confirmed not to be in good relationships with the chairman, and appoint youth team coach

Armando Madonna Armando Madonna (born 5 July 1963 in Alzano Lombardo, Province of Bergamo) is an Italian football manager and former player. Career Playing A midfielder, Madonna made his professional debut in 1981 for Atalanta; he then spent five seasons with ...

as caretaker boss for the final regular season match and the following promotion playoffs. Even after a 1–0 loss to

Brescia Brescia (, locally ; lmo, link=no, label= Lombard, Brèsa ; lat, Brixia; vec, Bressa) is a city and ''comune'' in the region of Lombardy, Northern Italy. It is situated at the foot of the Alps, a few kilometers from the lakes Garda and Iseo. ...

, AlbinoLeffe managed to win at home in the second leg (2–1) and qualified for the final against

Lecce Lecce ( ); el, label=Griko, Luppìu, script=Latn; la, Lupiae; grc, Λουπίαι, translit=Loupíai), group=pron is a historic city of 95,766 inhabitants (2015) in southern Italy. It is the capital of the province of Lecce, the province ...

. In the first leg they suffered a 1–0 loss. On 15 June, the second match was played in Lecce and its result was 1–1, so AlbinoLeffe did not reach

. At the end of the 2011–12 season, it was relegated to

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� ...

after 9 consecutive years in

. AlbinoLeffe following the systematic

match fixing In organized sports, match fixing is the act of playing or officiating a match with the intention of achieving a pre-determined result, violating the rules of the game and often the law. There are many reasons why match fixing might take place, ...

as a club controlled by

Singapore Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, borde ...

-based organized crime was penalized 10 points in the

2012–13 Lega Pro Prima Divisione The 2012–13 Lega Pro Prima Divisione season was the thirty-fifth football league season of Italian Lega Pro Prima Divisione since its establishment in 1978, and the fifth since the renaming from Serie C to Lega Pro. It was divided into two phas ...

Stadium and colors

From the

2003–04 Serie B The 2003–04 Serie B is the 72nd season since its establishment in 1929. It is the second highest football league in Italy. This 46 matchdays championship was the longest tournament in all the history of the Italian football. Teams Treviso, ...

season and until 2019, AlbinoLeffe played its home games at the Atleti Azzurri d'Italia stadium in the city of

. Previously they played in Stadio Carlo Martelli of

. Following Atalanta's renovation works on the stadium, the club reached a venue sharing agreement with

Giana Erminio Associazione Sportiva Giana Erminio S.r.l. is an Italian football club based in Gorgonzola, Lombardy. The team currently plays in Italy's . History The club was founded in 1909 as ''Unione Sportiva Argentia'', and later adopted the current name ...

from the nearby city of

Gorgonzola Gorgonzola (; ) is a veined blue cheese, originally from Italy, made from unskimmed cow's milk. It can be buttery or firm, crumbly and quite salty, with a "bite" from its blue veining. History Historically, gorgonzola has been produced for ...

allowing the club to play their home matches 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 ...

season at the

Stadio Città di Gorgonzola Stadio Città di Gorgonzola is a multi-use stadium in Gorgonzola Gorgonzola (; ) is a veined blue cheese, originally from Italy, made from unskimmed cow's milk. It can be buttery or firm, crumbly and quite salty, with a "bite" from its blue ...

. In 2021, the club opened a brand-new stadium in the town of

Zanica Zanica ( Bergamasque: ) is a ''comune'' (municipality) of around 8,804 inhabitants in the Province of Bergamo in the Italian region of Lombardy, located about northeast of Milan and south of Bergamo. Zanica borders the following municipalities: ...

with a capacity of 1,791 (with possibility of expansion to up to 5,500 in case of a promotion in Serie B) built next to the club's headquarters and training centre; the stadium was formally approved by the

Italian National Olympic Committee The Italian National Olympic Committee ( it, Comitato Olimpico Nazionale Italiano, CONI), founded in 1914 and a member of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), is responsible for the development and management of sports activity in Italy. ...

in March 2019. The stadium makes AlbinoLeffe the first Serie C team to own their home stadium. the inauguration match was played on 21 December 2021, a

league game against Pro Patria. The club's official colors are dark blue and azure blue, also used for home matches, while the outfit worn by the players for away matches is red and yellow. Up until the 2022/2023 season, the official stadium speaker of the club was Simone Altrocchi.

Honours

Domestic

*Winners (1): 2001–02

*Play-off Finals: 2007–08

*Runners-up (1): 2002–03

*Runners-up (1): 1998-1999

Players

Current squad

Out on loan

Club officials

Board of directors

''As of 1 September 2023''

Current technical staff

''As of 1 September 2023''

Seasons

Notable former players

The footballers enlisted below have had international cap(s) for their respective countries at junior and/or senior level and/or a significant number of caps and goals accumulated throughout a certain number of seasons for UC AlbinoLeffe. *

Andrea Belotti Andrea Belotti (; born 20 December 1993) is an Italian professional footballer who plays as a striker for club Roma and the Italy national team. Belotti started his career with AlbinoLeffe. He was later signed by Palermo, where he won a S ...

Alessandro Diamanti Alessandro Diamanti (; born 2 May 1983) is an Italian professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for A-League club Western United. At club level, he has previously played for Prato, Empoli, Fucecchio, Fiorentina, AlbinoLeffe, West Ham Uni ...

Federico Marchetti Federico Marchetti (; born 7 February 1983) is an Italian professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for Serie A club Spezia. Marchetti began his professional club career with Torino in 2002, and was subsequently loaned out to Pro Vercel ...

* Federico Peluso *

Marco Sau Marco Sau (, ; born 3 November 1987) is an Italian professional footballer who plays as a striker. Early life Sau has been nicknamed ''Pattolino'' (Duckling) since childhood. His idol growing up was the striker Gianfranco Zola, also from his na ...

Kewullay Conteh Kewullay Conteh (born 31 December 1977) is a Sierra Leonean former professional Association football, footballer who played as a defender. He spent most his career in Italy while representing the Sierra Leone national team at international le ...

* Karamoko Cissé *

Mehmet Hetemaj Mehmet Hetemaj (born 8 December 1987) is a Finnish former professional footballer who played as a defensive midfielder. He is of Kosovar Albanian descent and has represented both Finland national team and Kosovo national football team, but now ...

* Sergejs Vorobjovs *

Mirco Poloni Mirco Poloni (born 18 September 1974 in Trescore Balneario) is an Italian former association footballer. Poloni made his Serie A debut on 26 May 1991 against A.C. Torino, and is best known for having spent twelve consecutive seasons at AlbinoL ...

* Ivan Del Prato * Pierre Regonesi * Ruben Garlini *

Damiano Sonzogni Damiano may refer to: *Damiano (surname) *Damiano (given name) *Damiano, Pella, village in Pella regional unit, Greece. *Damiano Defence The Damiano Defence is a chess opening beginning with the moves: # e4 e5 # Nf3 f6? The defence is one of t ...

* Roberto Bonazzi *

Marco Cellini Marco Cellini (born 19 May 1981) is an Italian former footballer who played as a forward, and current head coach of Promozione amateurs Grassina. Playing career Born in the ''Campo di Marte'' Florence neighbourhood, next to the local Artemio ...

Francesco Ruopolo Francesco Ruopolo (born 10 March 1983) is an Italian former footballer who played as a forward. He spent most of his career in the 2nd highest division of Italian football, Serie B. Club career Parma Born in Aversa, Campania region, Ruopol ...

Christian Araboni Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...

Filippo Carobbio Filippo Carobbio (born 15 October 1979) is an Italian footballer who played as a midfielder. Football career Carobbio started his career at Atalanta youth team. He was farmed to Serie B and Serie C1 teams, then jointed Varese in co-ownership ...

* Roberto Previtali * Alessandro Salvi *

Andrea Soncin Andrea Soncin (born 5 September 1978) is an Italian football coach and former player who is currently in charge of the Italian women's national team. Football career Soncin started his professional career at Solbiatese of Serie C2. He then pl ...

* Fabio Gavazzi

Notable former managers

* Massimiliano Alvini * Marco Zaffaroni

References

External links

Official Website
{{DEFAULTSORT:AlbinoLeffe Football clubs in Lombardy Association football clubs established in 1998 Serie B clubs Serie C clubs Sport in the Province of Bergamo 1998 establishments in Italy Coppa Italia Serie C winning clubs