U.S. Lecce

Unione Sportiva Lecce, commonly referred to as Lecce (), is an Italian football club based in Lecce, Apulia. The club play in Serie A in the 2022–23 season, the top level of the Italian football pyramid, having been promoted from Serie B. Lecce plays its home games at Stadio Via del Mare, which has a capacity of 31,533 spectators.

The club was formed in the 1908 and has spent a large part of their recent history bouncing between Italy's second division and Serie A, where the team debuted in the 1985–86 season. Its best Serie A finish is the ninth place obtained in the 1988–89 season. The club is 27th in the Serie A all-time table and is the second club from Apulia as regards appearances in the first two tiers of Italian football, with 16 Serie A seasons and 29 Serie B seasons.

Lecce won a Serie B title in 2022 and 2010, a Coppa Italia Serie C in 1975 and an Anglo-Italian Cup Semiprofessionals in 1976.

Lecce players and fans are nicknamed ''salentini'' or simply ''giallorossi'' or ''lupi''.

History

Lecce was founded as Sporting Club Lecce on 15 March 1908, initially including football, track-and-field and cycling sports. The first club president was Francesco Marangi. The first colours worn by Lecce during this time were black and white stripes, known in Italy as ''bianconeri''.

In its formative years, Lecce played in mostly regional leagues and competitions. During the 1923–24 season, the club dissolved before returning on 16 September 1927 as Unione Sportiva Lecce. The club was still wearing black and white stripes (similar to Juventus' kit) at this point, and the first president under the name Unione Sportiva Lecce was Luigi López y Rojo.

League: Early years 1930s, 40s and 50s

Taranto Sport played Lecce in a game for promotion to Serie B from the local Southern Italian league; Lecce were victorious winning 3–2 after extra time. They were entered into Serie B for the 1929–30 season. The first game match played in the league was against Novara on 6 October 1929, a 2–1 victory. Lecce would eventually finish 13th. However, for the second time in the club's history, it ceased activity at the end of the 1931–32 season.

Four years later, Lecce returned and competed Serie C, finishing 11th in their return season. Around this time, the club was in turmoil: the following season they withdrew from Serie C after four days, and then during the 1938–39 season, they finished in third place but were moved down to 12th after it was revealed the club had violated the league's federal regulations.

The club finished in first place during the 1943–44 season, but club football was then suspended due to World War II. Nonetheless, when club football resumed, Lecce finished as champions of Serie C, gaining promotion back into Serie B. Two decent seasons followed (finishing fourth and third in respective seasons), with star player Silvestri scoring 20 goals in one season, before the club was relegated.

Lecce stayed down in Serie C for six seasons during this period, though this was not a particularly successful time for the club. Striker Anselmo Bislenghi scored 83 goals for the club during this period, thus becoming a hero. The club slipped even lower to Serie D, Serie IV, where they spent three years.

Seventeen seasons of Serie C: 1960s, 70s and 80s

From 1959 to 1975, Lecce played 17 seasons in Serie C. They came extremely close to promotion several times during that period, finishing in second place three seasons in a row (1971–72, 1972–73, 1973–74) before gaining promotion in the 1975–76 season.

The same year as their promotion, Lecce tasted cup success, winning the Coppa Italia Serie C. In 1976, Lecce took part in the Anglo-Italian Cup#Semi-professional era, Anglo-Italian Cup, notching up a 4–0 victory against Scarborough F.C., Scarborough.

In 1980, a scandal occurred which rocked Italian football, including Lecce under president Franco Jurlano. However, Jurlano was able to demonstrate his innocence and the scandal only lead to disqualification of player Claudius Merlo. Later, the club was struck by a tragedy in 1983: players Michele Lo Russo and Ciro Pezzella died in an automotive accident. To this day, Lo Russo remains the club record holder for most number of appearances, with 415.

Promotion to Serie A: mid-1980s and 90s

Under the management of Eugenio Fascetti, Lecce would achieve promotion to Serie A for the first time in 1985. They finished bottom and were relegated after only one season, but defeated A.S. Roma, Roma 3–2 away in the penultimate game to deal a fatal blow to Roma's title hopes. Losing a promotion play-off 2–1 to A.C. Cesena, Cesena the following season, they would return to Serie A in 1988.

Under Carlo Mazzone, Lecce finished a respectable ninth place in 1989. Stars of the side included striker Pedro Pasculli and midfielders Antonio Conte and Paolo Benedetti. They lasted three seasons before relegation, and returned two years later. The 1993–94 season saw Lecce finish in last place with a pitiful 11 points, the lowest ever of any Serie A team, and a second relegation came the following year.

Giampiero Ventura saw Lecce achieve two successive promotions from Serie C to Serie A before leaving for Cagliari Calcio, Cagliari. Once more, it proved a struggle in Serie A despite the best efforts of striker Francesco Palmieri and a famous away win against A.C. Milan, Milan on 19 October 1997.

In the summer of 1998, Pantaleo Corvino was appointed new sports director, gaining a reputation for scouting new talents in the years to come. The team was good enough to return to Serie A in 1999 and begin another three-year stint in the top-flight, with yet another return to Serie A in 2003.

Three years in Serie A (2003–2006)

In 2004, under Delio Rossi, who had been managing the club since 2002, Lecce achieved an impressive result, reaching a high-point of tenth despite a poor first half of the season. Famous performances include two sensational victories in a row, first against Italian giants Juventus 3–4 in Turin (the first ever win at the Stadio Delle Alpi for Lecce) and then against Inter Milan, Internazionale 2–1 at the Stadio Via del Mare.

In 2004–05 Serie A, 2004–05, coach Zdeněk Zeman oversaw a highly attack-minded team that scored plenty of goals. Lecce ended the year again finishing tenth, putting in the spotlight talents like Valeri Bojinov and Mirko Vučinić. The team had the second-best attack with 66 goals (Juventus came first with 67) and the worst defence, with 73 goals conceded. This is a record, as for the first time the team with the worst defence managed to survive in the history of Serie A.

The 2005–06 Serie A, 2005–06 season was a continual struggle for Lecce. The club changed its manager two times (Silvio Baldini for Angelo Adamo Gregucci and in January 2006 youth team coach Roberto Rizzo, supported by goalkeeper coach Franco Paleari, for Baldini). The numerous managerial moves could not turn Lecce's fortune as they were relegated with a few games to spare and ended the season in 19th place. In June 2006, Giovanni Semeraro returned at the helm of the club after nine months. The club re-appointed Zdeněk Zeman as manager, just one year after he left the club.

Lecce was unable to avoid relegation from Serie A, despite some initial hope due to the Serie A scandal of 2006, Serie A match-fixing scandal.

Two-year stint in Serie B and promotion

The club had a mixed start to the 2006–07 Serie B, 2006–07 season in Serie B, winning three home matches (including a win against early league leaders Genoa C.F.C., Genoa), though they suffered poor away form. After a large drop in form, recording 10 losses in 18 matches, Zeman was sacked as manager and replaced by Giuseppe Papadopulo. On 10 March 2007, Lecce clinched a historical victory over Frosinone Calcio, Frosinone, beaten 5–0 at Stadio Via del Mare. Having gained 36 points in the second half of the season, Lecce ended the season in the middle of the table, in ninth place. In 2007, Lecce gained more points than any other team in Serie B.

The 2007–08 Serie B, 2007–08 season saw Lecce fight for a place in Serie A for the next season. Despite earning 83 points (12 more than sixth-placed Pisa Calcio, Pisa) and boasting the best defence in the tournament, the ''giallorossi'' were forced to face play-offs for promotion in the top flight. In the semi-final, they beat Pisa in both legs (1–0 away and 2–1 at home) to secure a place in the final against Unione Calcio AlbinoLeffe, AlbinoLeffe. Then they won the first leg 1–0 away, before securing a 1–1 draw in the second leg at the Studio Via del Mare to gain promotion.

Between Serie A and Serie B

After persistent rumours, Papadopulo quit due to a difference of opinion with the general manager of the club and was replaced by Mario Beretta, who had a quite satisfactory start in the 2008–09 Serie A season. He remained in charge for twenty-seven games, but, due to four defeats in the last five matches, with the team one point below the survival zone, he was sacked and Luigi De Canio was appointed new manager. Seven points earned in ten matches were not enough to secure Lecce a spot in the next Serie A season. Relegation was official with one match to spare, after a 1–1 home draw against ACF Fiorentina, Fiorentina.

Lecce had a mixed start in the 2009–10 Serie B campaign, but clinched first place in November 2009 and kept it for the rest of the season. In May, the team was on the verge of promotion, but wasted opportunities in their last two matches meant they had to wait until the last match to celebrate their eighth elevation to the top flight in the last 25 years. A goalless home draw with U.S. Sassuolo Calcio, Sassuolo proved enough to clinch the Serie B title with 75 points and win the Coppa Ali della Vittoria.

Lecce ended a satisfactory 2010–11 Serie A season successfully avoiding relegation with one match to spare after beating arch-rival and already relegated A.S. Bari, Bari 2–0 away on 15 May 2011. In the last few matches, the team managed to win a tough battle against other underdogs and some glorious teams such as U.C. Sampdoria, Sampdoria that ended the season in despair. Manager Luigi De Canio left the team in June.

In the 2011–12 Serie A season, Lecce was relegated to Serie B. The start of the season was bad and new manager Eusebio Di Francesco was sacked in December, after 9 losses in 13 matches. Serse Cosmi was appointed new manager. Lecce refused to crumble as Cosmi's arrival instilled battling qualities into the relegation strugglers, who managed to gain a considerable number of points in the following months, but eventually failed to avoid relegation, due to four losses in the last five matches. Lecce managed to struggle until the final game.

Third division years

On 10 August 2012, Lecce was provisionally relegated by the Disciplinary Commission set up for the ''2011–12 Italian football scandal, Scommessopoli'' scandal investigations 2012–13 Lega Pro Prima Divisione because of their involvement. Furthermore, the former president of Lecce, Semeraro, was suspended from all football activities for five years. On 22 August 2012, Lecce's relegation was confirmed by the Federal Court of Justice. In the first season back into the third tier, Lecce ended in second place behind outsiders Trapani Calcio, Trapani and was surprisingly defeated in the promotion playoffs finals by another outsider club, Carpi F.C. 1909, Carpi. The following season ended in similar fashion, with Lecce failing to win the league once again and then losing the playoffs finals, this time to Frosinone Calcio, Frosinone, despite a number of high-level signings such as former U.S. Città di Palermo, Palermo star, and well-known Lecce supporter, Fabrizio Miccoli. In 2014–15 Lecce ended the season in sixth place and did not enter the playoffs.

Following the departure of the Tesoro family, the club was taken over by a consortium of entrepreneurs led by Saverio Sticchi Damiani. The club ended the 2015–16 season in third place, two points behind the second-placed team, and qualified for the playoffs round. After defeating Bassano Virtus, Bassano 3–0 at home, in the semi-finals Lecce lost to Foggia Calcio, Foggia in both the home and the away match. In the following season, Lecce finished in second place. The elimination came in the play-off quarterfinals against U.S. Alessandria Calcio 1912, Alessandria on Penalty shoot-out (association football), penalties after two draws in two matches.

Back to the top

In September 2017, Fabio Liverani was named new coach of Lecce, with whom he achieved two direct promotions from Serie C to Serie A, thus bringing the Salento club back to the Italian top-tier league after seven years. Lecce then fought against Genoa CFC, Genoa for survival and made it to the last day of the 2019–20 Serie A, 2019–20 season before being relegated with a home loss to Parma. The ''salentini'' missed out promotion to Serie A in the 2020–21 Serie B, 2020–21 season, losing to Venezia Football Club, Venezia in the play-off semifinals after a 4th-place finish, but then, with coach Marco Baroni, won the 2021–22 Serie B championship, thus celebrating their tenth elevation to the top flight and being awarded the Coppa Nexus. Lecce striker Massimo Coda was top scorer of the Serie B for two seasons in a row in 2020–21 and 2021–22.

Colours, badge, nicknames, and symbols

The team plays in red and yellow stripes, the heraldic colours of city. Lecce players and fans are referred to as ''salentini'' or ''giallorossi''. The official anthem of Lecce is ''Giallorossi per Sempre'' composed by Gioy Rielli. The symbol of Lecce is a female wolf under a Quercus ilex, holm oak tree which is typical to Apulia and is also the symbol of the city of Lecce.

Stadium

Lecce's home games are played in the 31,533-seater Stadio Via del mare.

Club rivalries

The main rivalry is with the other most successful football team from Apulia, S.S.C. Bari. The match against them is called ''Derby di Puglia''. The first ''Derby di Puglia'' was played on 8 December 1929 in Serie B in Lecce, with the home team winning 1–0. After that occasion, the derby di Puglia was played many times in Serie C and Coppa Italia, and especially in Serie A. The first derby played in Serie A was played on 27 October 1985 in Bari, and was won by the home team. The last one was also played in Bari on 15 May 2011 and saw Lecce prevailing by 2-0 and securing their stay in Serie A (however that match was later object of an investigation for match-fixing). Among the most important wins in the derby for Lecce there is a Serie B match ended 4–0 in Bari on 22 December 2007.

On the other end, Lecce has a famous and long-standing friendship with the fans of S.S.D. Palermo, Palermo.

Players

Current squad

.

Out on loan

Notable players

* Antonio Conte – ''Serie A, Scudetto''-winning manager of Juventus and English Premier League-winning manager of Chelsea F.C., Chelsea as well as former Juventus and Italy national football team, Italy national team player; product of Lecce's youth system and Lecce native best known for his 13-year career playing for the ''bianconeri'' side
* Graziano Pellè – Italy international, product of Lecce's youth system and San Cesario di Lecce native, he is from Monteroni di Lecce. He made his Serie A debut with Lecce in 2004
* Javier Chevantón – Uruguay national football team, Uruguay international, all-time top-scorer for Lecce
* Juan Cuadrado – Colombia national football team, Colombia international
* Guillermo Giacomazzi – Uruguay national football team, Uruguay international
* Fabrizio Miccoli – former Italy international and childhood supporter of the club. He was born in Nardò and is from San Donato di Lecce, a town close to Lecce
* Luis Muriel – Colombia national football team, Colombia international
* Massimo Oddo – part of the squad which won the 2006 FIFA World Cup, spent a season on loan at Lecce towards the end of his career
* Dimitris Papadopoulos (footballer), Dimitris Papadopoulos – Greece national football team, Greece international and member of the UEFA Euro 2004-winning squad
* Pedro Pablo Pasculli – Argentina national football team, Argentina international, 1986 FIFA World Cup Winner
* Nenad Tomović – Serbia national football team, Serbia international
* Mirko Vučinić – Montenegro national football team, Montenegro international, began his career in Serie A with Lecce
* Gheorghe Popescu – Romania national football team, Romania international
* Valeri Bojinov – Bulgaria national football team, Bulgaria international
* Sebastjan Cimirotič – Slovenia national football team, Slovenia international
* Samuel Umtiti – France national football team, France international, 2018 FIFA World Cup Winner
* Franco Causio – Italy national football team, Italy international, 1982 FIFA World Cup Winner
* Christian Maggio – Italy national football team, Italy international, spent a season on loan at Lecce towards the end of his career
* Francesco Moriero – Italy national football team, Italy international, began his career in Serie A with Lecce
* Pietro Paolo Virdis – Italy national football team, Italy international, ended his career in Lecce

Coaching Staff

Coaching history

Lecce have had many coaches throughout the history of a club, in some seasons more than one coach was in charge. Here is a chronological list of them from 1927 onwards.

Coaching records

;All-time Top 10 coach appearances

;Most Serie A appearances

Honours

*Serie B
**Champions (2): 2009–10 Serie B, 2009–10, 2021–22 Serie B, 2021–22
*Serie C
**Champions (4): 1945–46 Serie C, 1945–46, 1975–76 Serie C, 1975–76, 1995–96, 2017–18 Serie C, 2017–18
*Coppa Italia Serie C
**Champions (1): 1975–76
*Anglo-Italian Cup, Anglo-Italian Semiprofessional Cup
**Champions (1): 1976–77

Youth team

*Campionato Nazionale Primavera
**Champions (2): 2002–03, 2003–04
*Coppa Italia Primavera
**Champions (2): 2001–02, 2004–05
*Supercoppa Primavera
**Champions (2): 2004, 2005

National championships

Player records

;All-time Top 10 Lecce Goalscorers

;Most appearances

;Most Serie A goals

;Most Serie A appearances

;Players capped for Italy national football team
*Marco Cassetti (3 call-ups, 2 caps) – 2005
*Vincenzo Sicignano (1 call-up) – 2005
*Andrea Esposito (1 call-up) – 2009

;Players capped for Italy national under-21 football team

* Giulio Donati (8 caps)
* Cesare Bovo (7 caps, 1 goal) (UEFA European under-21 Championship winner)
* Andrea Bertolacci (7 caps, 1 goal)
* Luigi Garzya (7 caps)
* Pierluigi Orlandini (6 caps)
* Marco Amelia (5 caps)
* Giampiero Maini (5 caps)
* Marco Baroni (5 caps)
* Jonathan Bachini (3 caps)
* Guido Marilungo (3 caps, 1 goal)
* Jonathan Bachini (3 caps)
* Alberto Di Chiara (2 caps)
* Graziano Pellè (2 caps)
* Andrea Rispoli (2 caps)
* Alessio Scarchilli (2 caps)
* Antonio Conte (1 cap)
* Francesco Moriero (1 cap)
* Massimo Margiotta (1 cap)
* Giacomo Cipriani (1 cap)
* Matteo Ferrari (1 cap)
* Erminio Rullo (1 cap)

;Players capped for Italy national under-23 football team
* Simone Altobelli (3 caps)

;Players capped for Italy military football team
* Pietro De Santis (3 caps)

;Other national football teams
''List of foreign football players who had at least one cup in their national team while playing for Lecce''

* Kastriot Dermaku
* Ledian Memushaj
* Djamel Mesbah
* Pedro Pasculli
* Mazinho
* Valeri Bojinov
* Jaime Valdés
* Juan Cuadrado
* Luis Muriel
* Saša Bjelanović
* Davor Vugrinec
* Giannelli Imbula
* Alexei Eremenko
* Kwame Ayew
* Mark Edusei
* István Vincze
* Souleymane Diamouténé
* Mirko Vučinić
* Boban Nikolov
* Vitorino Antunes
* Romario Benzar
* Gheorghe Popescu
* Nenad Tomović
* Rodney Strasser
* Martin Petráš
* Sebastjan Cimirotič
* Žan Majer
* Dejan Govedarica
* Sergei Aleinikov
* David Sesa
* Karim Saidi
* Yevhen Shakhov (footballer, born 1990), Yevhen Shakhov
* Javier Chevantón
* Guillermo Giacomazzi
* Gabriel Cichero

World Cup players

The following players have been selected by their country in the FIFA World Cup, World Cup Finals, while playing for Lecce.

* Pedro Pablo Pasculli (1986 FIFA World Cup squads, 1986) (World Cup winner)
* Dejan Govedarica (1998 FIFA World Cup squads, 1998)
* Sebastjan Cimirotič (2002 FIFA World Cup squads, 2002)
* Davor Vugrinec (2002 FIFA World Cup squads, 2002)
* Karim Saidi (2006 FIFA World Cup squads, 2006) (on loan)
* Djamel Mesbah (2010 FIFA World Cup squads, 2010)

UEFA European Championship players

The following players have been selected by their country in the UEFA European Championship, European Championship Finals, while playing for Lecce.

* Sergei Aleinikov (UEFA Euro 1992 squads, 1992)
* Valeri Bojinov (UEFA Euro 2004 squads, 2004)
* Boban Nikolov (UEFA Euro 2020 squads, 2020)

Copa América players

The following players have been selected by their country in the Copa América Finals, while playing for Lecce.

* Pedro Pasculli (1987 Copa América squads, 1987)
* Mazinho (1991 Copa América squads, 1991)

Stadium information

*Name – Stadio Via del Mare
*City – Lecce
*Capacity – 31,533
*Inauguration – 1966
*Pitch Size – 105 x 70 metres

In fiction

Lecce is mentioned in many famous Italian movies and TV series.Il Lecce nei film cult
leccezionale.it Among these there are the movies ''Al bar dello sport'', ''Benvenuti al Nord'' and Eccezzziunale veramente - Capitolo secondo... me and the TV series ''I Cesaroni''.

U.S. Lecce is also mentioned in many songs.

In the game Captain Tsubasa 5: Hasha no Shōgō Campione, the main character Tsubasa Ohzora plays for this team.

References

External links

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Lecce

U.S. Lecce,
Football clubs in Apulia
Association football clubs established in 1908
Serie A clubs
1908 establishments in Italy
Phoenix clubs (association football)
Coppa Italia Serie C winning clubs