Unione Sportiva Grosseto 1912 is an
Italian association football club, based in the city of
Grosseto
Grosseto () is a city and ''comune'' in the central Italian region of Tuscany, the capital of the Province of Grosseto. The city lies from the Tyrrhenian Sea, in the Maremma, at the centre of an alluvial plain on the Ombrone river.
It is the m ...
, Tuscany. The club was founded in 1912 as ''Unione Ginnico Sportiva Grossetana''. The team's most associated nickname is ''grifone'', after its logo, depicting a
griffon. Its colours are red and white, and it currently plays 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 ...
, the fourth level of Italian football.
The club's most recent success consists of 6 consecutive participations 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 ...
between 2007 and 2013, notably reaching the play-off semifinals in
2008-09. It was most recently refounded in 2017.
History
The club was founded in 1912 as ''Football Club Grosseto'', and made its debut in a match played and lost in
Orbetello
Orbetello is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Grosseto (Tuscany), Italy. It is located about south of Grosseto, on the eponymous lagoon, which is home to an important Natural Reserve.
History
Orbetello was an ancient Etruscan settlemen ...
. The club joined the
Italian Football Federation
The Italian Football Federation ( it, Federazione Italiana Giuoco Calcio; FIGC), known colloquially as ''Federcalcio'', is the governing body of football in Italy. It is based in Rome and the technical department is in Coverciano, Florence.
It ...
only nine years later, in 1921, being admitted in the ''
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 ...
'' division. In 1927, the club changes its official colours from black/white to the current white/red.
Since its foundation, Grosseto played extensively from
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 ...
to the amateur leagues. In 1995 the club was cancelled by the football federation because of financial troubles, thus losing the right to participate in the
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 ...
after having won
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 ...
the same year. Following these events, Grosseto joined
Eccellenza
The Eccellenza (, "excellence") is the fifth level (since 2014–15) of Italian football. It is a regional league, composed of 28 divisions divided geographically. All 20 regions are represented by at least one division except for Piedmont and Ao ...
, ending it in fifteenth place being therefore relegated to Promozione. However, two consecutive promotions from 1997 to 1999 brought Grosseto back to Serie D.
The Camilli Era (2000-2015)
In 2000, Piero Camilli purchased the club with the aim to bring Grosseto back into the pros. In the 2001–2002 season, Grosseto ended as Serie D (Round F) runners-up but were later admitted to Serie C2 to fill a league vacancy. The club successively won Serie C2 in 2004, being thus promoted 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 ...
. In 2005, Grosseto qualified for the promotion playoffs, losing the semifinal to
Pavia
Pavia (, , , ; la, Ticinum; Medieval Latin: ) is a town and comune of south-western Lombardy in northern Italy, south of Milan on the lower Ticino river near its confluence with the Po. It has a population of c. 73,086. The city was the capit ...
; one year later, Grosseto gained again a spot in the playoffs, where they defeated
Sassari Torres
Torres is an Italian football club based in the city of Sassari. It plays in Serie C, the third division of the Italian football league system.
Re-founded in 2017, the club is the continuation of the Società per l'Educazione Fisica Torres, bor ...
in the semi-finals, but lost to
Frosinone
Frosinone (, local dialect: ) is a town and ''comune'' in Lazio, central Italy, the administrative seat of the province of Frosinone. It is located about south-east of Rome close to the Rome-Naples A1 Motorway. The city is the main city of the Va ...
in the finals, missing the opportunity to be 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 ...
for its first time in history. However, in the 2006–2007 season, under head coach
Antonello Cuccureddu
Antonello Cuccureddu (, ; 4 October 1949) is an Italian association football coach and former player who played as a defender. He last managed Lega Pro Prima Divisione club Grosseto in 2014.
Club career
A central defender, Cuccureddu spent hi ...
, who replaced
Massimiliano Allegri
Massimiliano Allegri (; born 11 August 1967), also known as Max Allegri, is an Italian professional football manager and former player who is the manager of club Juventus.
During his playing career, Allegri played in the Serie A as a midfielder ...
after the ninth matchday, Grosseto finally managed to win Serie C1/A following a 1–0 away win at
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 final matchday with a goal by
Carl Valeri Carl may refer to:
*Carl, Georgia, city in USA
*Carl, West Virginia, an unincorporated community
*Carl (name), includes info about the name, variations of the name, and a list of people with the name
*Carl², a TV series
* "Carl", an episode of tel ...
, thus gaining a historical spot in the
Serie B 2007-08
Series may refer to:
People with the name
* Caroline Series (born 1951), English mathematician, daughter of George Series
* George Series (1920–1995), English physicist
Arts, entertainment, and media
Music
* Series, the ordered sets used i ...
. Cuccureddu left Grosseto by mutual consent with the club a few days following the triumphal win, and
Giorgio Roselli
Giorgio Roselli (born 1 October 1957) is an Italian professional football coach and a former player, who played as a midfielder.
Career
Born in Montone, Roselli began playing football with local side Spoleto. In 1975, he signed with Internaziona ...
was appointed to replace him for the 2007–08 Serie B club campaign.
The club started their historical first Serie B campaign with three disappointing consecutive defeats which led, on 11 September 2007, to the dismissal of Roselli and his replacement with former
Parma
Parma (; egl, Pärma, ) is a city in the northern Italian region of Emilia-Romagna known for its architecture, Giuseppe Verdi, music, art, prosciutto (ham), Parmigiano-Reggiano, cheese and surrounding countryside. With a population of 198,292 ...
boss
Stefano Pioli
Stefano Pioli (; born 20 October 1965) is an Italian football manager and a former footballer who played as a defender. He is the head coach at Serie A club AC Milan, whom he led to the Serie A title in 2022.
Playing career
Pioli, a native of ...
,
who led the team to a mid-table finish.
The
2008–09 season started with higher expectations under new head 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 ...
; the team started its season showing a very impressive form, but then a result crisis led Grosseto out of the promotion playoff zone, causing the dismissal of Gustinetti and his replacement with Ezio Rossi. The subsequent return of Gustinetti led the team to finish in 6th place and Grosseto acceded to the
play-off
The playoffs, play-offs, postseason or finals of a sports league are a competition played after the regular season by the top competitors to determine the league champion or a similar accolade. Depending on the league, the playoffs may be eithe ...
. The ''maremmani'' won the first match against
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 ...
(2–0), but they lost the second match being surpassed by the rivals (1–4), in a scandal game where Grosseto finished with 7 players and failed the promotion to
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 ...
.
The
2009–10 season was a relatively good season for the club, which finished in 7th place only a few points off the play-off zone. It was still a memorable season for Grosseto, thanks to their top striker
Mauricio Pinilla
Mauricio Ricardo Pinilla Ferrera (born 4 February 1984) is a Chilean former professional footballer who played as a striker.
After beginning his career at Universidad de Chile, he signed for Inter Milan at the age of 19, but never appeared for ...
who scored 24 goals in 24 matches and was transferred to
US Palermo
Palermo Football Club, more simply known as Palermo F.C. or Palermo (; scn, Paliemmu, link=no, ), is an Italian football club based in the Sicilian city of Palermo, conventionally founded for the first time on 1 November 1900.
Among the clu ...
, in the
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 the 2010 summer transfer market.
On 10 August 2012, Grosseto was provisionally, not yet enforceable, relegated, by the Disciplinary Commission set up for Scommessopoli scandal investigations, to Lega Pro Prima Divisione because of their involvement in the Scommessopoli scandal. Furthermore, the president of Grosseto has been suspended from all football activities for five years. But on 22 August 2012, Grosseto and its president are absolved by the Court of justice, eliminating the verdict of the first instance and so readmitted to Serie B.
The club suffered relegation at the end of the
2012-13 season, bringing 6 consecutive years in Serie B to an end. This was followed by two years of competing in the third division of Italian football. In the summer of 2015, owner Piero Camilli ended his 15-year tenure at the club.
FC Grosseto (2015-2017)
A new club, ''F.C. Grosseto S.S.D.'' successfully applied as a successor on 6 August 2015.
However, the club folded after a relegation to
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 ...
in 2017.
Ceri ownership: the return of US Grosseto 1912
On 18 July 2017, local entrepreneurs Mario and Simone Ceri, owners of ''Associazione Calcio Roselle'' (a local football club from the city suburb of
Roselle) competing in Eccellenza Toscana, came on the scene. Following an agreement with former owner Piero Camilli and leveraging the league status, Ceri renamed the club to ''Associazione Sportiva Dilettantistica Unione Sportiva Grosseto 1912'', thus inheriting the sporting tradition of the city.
The 2017–18 season ended with a third place in Eccellenza Tuscany, followed by a first place and promotion 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 ...
the following season. The 2019–20 season marked the return of the club to the fourth level of Italian football and a second consecutive promotion to the
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 ...
for the 2020–2021 season.
Lamioni ownership: 2022...
In November 2022, famous local entrepreneur
Giovanni Lamioni bought the franchise from previous owner Salvatore Guida. Lamioni gave the presidency role to Antonio Fiorini and called back Filippo Vetrini for the general sporting director place. The city welcomed the negotiation very positively and regained a vanished enthusiasm for the disappointing results of the previous season. Lamioni has announced that he will set up a team that will compete to return 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 ...
in 2023–24.
Squad
Current squad
Achievements
*
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 ...
**Winners (1): 2006–07
*
Supercoppa di Lega Serie C1
**Winners (1): 2007
*
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 ...
**Winners (1): 2003–04
*
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 ...
**Winners (4): 1960–61, 1972–73, 1994–95, 2019-20
**Runners-up (1): 2001–02
*
Eccellenza
The Eccellenza (, "excellence") is the fifth level (since 2014–15) of Italian football. It is a regional league, composed of 28 divisions divided geographically. All 20 regions are represented by at least one division except for Piedmont and Ao ...
Tuscany
**Runners-up (1): 1997–98
**Winners (1): 2018-2019
*
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 ...
Tuscany
**Winners (1): 1996–97
References
External links
Official site of U.S. Grosseto F.C.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Grosseto
Football clubs in Tuscany
Association football clubs established in 1912
Serie C clubs
1912 establishments in Italy