Lucchese 1905 s.r.l., or simply Lucchese, 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
Lucca,
Tuscany that plays in
Serie C, the third tier of Italian football. The club was first founded in 1905, having last been in
Serie A in 1952.
History
Foundation
The club was founded on 25 May 1905, giving the town of
Lucca its first football team. Originally named Lucca Football Club the club was founded by the Vittorio brothers and Guido Mensini. The first large achievement by the club was winning the ''Goblet of the King'' during the 1919–20 season, not long after the tournament's foundation. The same season Lucca won the Regional cup of Tuscany.
From U.S. Lucchese-Libertas to A.S. Lucchese Libertas
U.S. Lucchese-Libertas
In 1924 the club merged with another local team and changed its name to Unione Sportiva Lucchese-Libertas. During the 1920s, notable players at the club included
Ernesto Bonino
Ernesto Pietro Bonino (16 January 1922 – 29 April 2008) was an Italian singer of pop and jazz standards whose peak of popularity was during the 1940s and 50s.
A native of Turin, Ernesto Bonino began his career in the late 1930s as a teenage si ...
and
Giovanni Moscardini
Giovanni Moscardini (; 1897–1985), also known as Johnny Moscardini, was an Italian Scottish footballer who played as a forward for Lucchese, Pisa, Genoa and Italy. He was one of the earliest of the '' Oriundi''. While the majority of these fo ...
.
The 1930s saw the club promoted to
Serie B, and then in 1936, Lucchese won promotion to
Serie A, the top league in
Italy, where they stayed for three seasons. The club were relegated back to Serie B as World War II started. Prior to the war, players such as
Egri Erbstein Egri can refer to following:
* Agriș ( hu, Egri), a commune in Romania
* Lajos Egri
Lajos N. Egri (June 4, 1888 – February 7, 1967) was a Hungarian-American playwright and teacher of creative writing. He is the author of ''The Art of Dramati ...
,
Aldo Olivieri and
Antonio Perduca were fan's favorites. Lucchese won promotion again to Serie A in 1947 and remained there for 5 seasons.
A.S. Lucchese Libertas
In 1984 the club changed its name to A.S. Lucchese Libertas.
The club spent also several seasons in Serie B (last 1998–99) and
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 ...
, being also coached by
Luigi Simoni, UEFA Cup-winning coach with
Inter Milan.
In 2008 the club folded due to serious financial issues and was admitted in the Italian bottom (amateur) division
Terza Categoria before being declared formally bankrupt in December 2008.
From S.S.D. Sporting Lucchese to A.S. Lucchese Libertas 1905
S.S.D. Sporting Lucchese
A new re-born team called Società Sportiva Dilettantistica Sporting Lucchese was admitted to
Serie D to represent the city of
Lucca.
In its first season of existence, Sporting Lucchese promptly won the ''Girone E'' round of Serie D, thus acquiring the right to take part to the
2009–10 Lega Pro Seconda Divisione
The 2009–10 Lega Pro Seconda Divisione season was the thirty-second football league season of Italian Lega Pro Seconda Divisione since its establishment in 1978, and the second since the renaming from Serie C to Lega Pro.
It was divided into tw ...
.
A.S. Lucchese Libertas 1905
After the promotion, the new club took the denomination of Associazione Sportiva Lucchese Libertas 1905 starting with the new season, after the Sporting Lucchese owner acquired the naming and logo rights of the old, original team in a public auction. Lucchese made a second consecutive promotion after finishing as champions of Group B of Lega Pro Seconda Divisione. The club has spent the
2010–11 season in
Lega Pro Prima Divisione.
However, in the summer of 2011, Lucchese was excluded from professional football by COVISOC for financial irregularity reasons, and didn't appeal against the decision.
From A.S.D. F.C. Lucca 2011 to A.S. Lucchese Libertas 1905
* F.C. Lucca 2011
On 1 August 2011, a new club was founded to represent the city of Lucca: the team was called Associazione Sportiva Dilettantistica Football Club Lucca 2011 and in it was promoted from
Eccellenza Tuscany to
Serie D at the end of the
2011–12 season.
* F.C. Lucchese 1905
The club changed its name to F.C. Lucchese 1905 soon after being promoted.
* A.S. Lucchese Libertas 1905
In the summer 2013 the club changed his name back to A.S. Lucchese Libertas 1905. On that same season, Lucchese returned to professionalism after winning the Group D of the
2013–14 Serie D
The 2013–14 Serie D was the sixty-sixth edition of the top level Italian non-professional football championship. It represented the fifth tier in the Italian football league system.
It consisted of 161 teams, after the exclusion of Nardò and ...
, and thus ensuring a spot in the inaugural season of the unified
2014–15 Lega Pro
The 2014–15 Lega Pro was the first season of the unified Lega Pro division in place of the old Prima Divisione and Seconda Divisione. The league is composed of 60 teams divided into three different groups of 20 each.
Teams
A total of 60 team ...
league.
After a struggling season in the
2018–19 Serie C
The 2018–19 Serie C was the fifth season of the unified Serie C division, the third tier of the Italian football league system.
Teams
The league originally featured 60 teams. However, it saw the bankruptcy and subsequent withdrawal of Andria, ...
that was hit by more financial issues involving the club, Lucchese failed to submit its application 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 ...
, and was declared bankrupt once again on 1 July 2019.
* S.S.D. Lucchese 1905
Immediately after being excluded from Serie C, a further new incarnation of the club, named as S.S.D. Lucchese 1905, was admitted by the Football Federation to
Serie D.
Colors and badge
The team's traditional colors are red and black. The team is nicknamed ''Rossoneri''.
Stadium
Their home ground is the
Stadio Porta Elisa, which is situated on Via dello Stadio in Lucca.
Notable former players
Honours
Serie B:
*Champions:
1935–36,
1946–47 (Group B)
Serie C:
*Champions: 1960–61
*Runners-up: 1945–46, 1977–78
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 ...
:
*Runners-up: 1989–90
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 ...
:
*Champions: 1985–86, 2009–10
Serie D:
*Champions: 1968–69, 2008–09, 2013–14
Tuscany League Division 1:
*Champions: 1929–30, 1932–33, 1933–34
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 ...
:
*Champions: 1919–20
Coppa Italia Serie C
*Champions: 1989–90
Players
Current squad
.
References
External links
Official Site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lucca
Football clubs in Tuscany
Association football clubs established in 1905
Italian football First Division clubs
Serie A clubs
Serie B clubs
Serie C clubs
1905 establishments in Italy
Coppa Italia Serie C winning clubs