Calcio Lecco 1912

Not to be confused with US Lecce.

Lecco

Full name	Calcio Lecco 1912 S.p.A.
Nickname(s)	I Blucelesti (The Navy and Sky Blues)
Founded	1912;112 years ago (1912)
Ground	Stadio Rigamonti-Ceppi
Capacity	5,508
Owner	Paolo Di Nunno
Chairman	Cristian Di Nunno
Manager	Andrea Malgrati
League	Serie B
2022–23	Serie C Group A, 3rd of 20 (promoted via play-offs)
Website	Club website
Home colours Away colours Third colours
Current season

Calcio Lecco, or simply Lecco, is a football team based in Lecco, Lombardy, Italy. Founded in 1912, the club plays in Serie B.

Lecco has played in three Serie A tournaments (the last of which in the 1966–67 season) and eleven in Serie B (the last of which in 1972–73). The club won one Coppa Italia Semiprofessionisti domestically, and one Anglo-Italian Cup internationally.

History

Early history (1912–1931)

On 22 December 1912, on the idea of board member Vico Signorelli, Società Canottieri Lecco (founded on 27 September 1895 at the Caffè del Teatro Sociale) set up its own football section. The club colors were blue and light blue, taken from the historic Canottieri uniform. ^[1] The first headquarters was set up in Francesco Nullo street. ^[2]

On 13 April 1913, the Blucelesti (noted in some documents as "Canottieri Lecco Football Club") played their first match in a 4–1 defeat to Milan. They then participated in local friendlies and tournaments, coached by Achille Todeschini. Canottieri Lecco's debut in a FIGC-sanctioned tournament took place in the 1920–21 Promozione  [ it ] season: they played their first game on 5 December 1920, beating Olona 6–2 away from home. Canottieri were close to promotion to Serie A; however, after a 0–0 draw against Como-based Esperia  [ it ] meant that Lecco remained in Promozione. ^[3]

A year later, in 1922, Eugenio Ceppi was elected president of Canottieri, who put his own land to build a new sports field (which eventually became the Stadio Rigamonti-Ceppi). ^[3] The inauguration was celebrated on 15 October. ^[4] In the following decade, the Blucelesti had fluctuating performances. In 1926, after finishing runners-up in the league, they were admitted to the Prima Divisione via repechange, remaining there for three years. ^[5]

On 22 July 1931, after forming a provisional commission made up of the lawyer Vittorio Rigoli, the accountant Achille Gilardenghi, the engineer Nino Todeschini and the surveyor Giovanni Lanfritto, Canottieri (at the same time as the death of Eugenio Ceppi) decided to abandon the football sector due to the high economic efforts required (ITL 50,000). ^[5] To avoid the dissolution of the team, a group of members formed Associazione Calcio Lecco, with Professor Gennaro Pensa as the first president and Mario Ceppi (son of the late Eugenio) as a leading member of the board. The first decision of the independent club was a drastic cost cut: the technical director Achille Todeschini (former player) liquidated almost all players not based in Lecco, replacing them with local players. ^[6]

Di Nunno presidency (2017–present)

On 9 June 2017, Paolo Di Nunno purchased the club at auction, which became Calcio Lecco 1912. ^[7] During the 2022–23 Serie C season, Lecco finished in third place and qualified to the national round of the promotion play-offs. After defeating Ancona, Pordenone and Cesena, Lecco qualified to the final against Foggia, who they beat 5–2 on aggregate thanks to three goals by Franco Lepore. They were thus promoted to the Serie B for the first time in 50 years. ^[8]

Players

Current squad

As of 2 February 2024 ^[9]

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player 1 GK   ITA Riccardo Melgrati 2 DF   CRO Vedran Celjak 4 DF   SWE Zinedin Smajlović (on loan from Lecce) 5 MF   ITA Duccio Degli Innocenti (on loan from Empoli) 6 DF   ITA Alessandro Bianconi 7 MF   ITA Gabriel Lunetta 8 MF   ITA Alessandro Sersanti (on loan from Juventus) 10 FW   ITA Eddie Salcedo (on loan from Inter Milan) 11 MF   FIN Henri Salomaa (on loan from Lecce) 12 GK   ITA Luca Bonadeo 13 DF   ITA Elio Capradossi 14 FW   ITA Vittorio Parigini 17 DF   ITA Alessandro Caporale 21 MF   ITA Giovanni Crociata 22 GK   ITA Umberto Saracco (on loan from Cerignola)

No. Pos. Nation Player 23 GK   ITA Eugenio Lamanna 26 MF   ITA Marco Frigerio 27 MF   MDA Artur Ioniță (on loan from Pisa) 28 DF   FRA Corentin Louakima 29 FW   POL Marcin Listkowski (on loan from Lecce) 32 DF   ITA Franco Lepore 44 MF   ITA Davide Guglielmotti 45 FW   ITA Roberto Inglese (on loan from Parma) 68 DF   ITA Mario Ierardi (on loan from Vicenza) 81 FW   ITA Giacomo Beretta (on loan from Foggia) 83 DF   BEL Mats Lemmens (on loan from Lecce) 90 FW   USA Andrija Novakovich (on loan from Venezia) 96 MF   ITA Giorgio Galli 99 FW   ITA Nicolò Buso

Out on loan

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player — GK   ARG Joaquin Domingo Dalmasso (at Monopoli until 30 June 2024) — DF   ITA Matteo Battistini (at Crotone until 30 June 2024) — DF   ITA Luca Marrone (at Cremonese until 30 June 2024) — DF   ITA Luca Stanga (at Juve Stabia until 30 June 2024) — MF   ITA Francesco Ardizzone (at Monopoli until 30 June 2024) — MF   ITA Carlo Ilari (at Lumezzane until 30 June 2024)

No. Pos. Nation Player — FW   ITA Cristian Bunino (at Brindisi until 30 June 2024) — FW   ITA Alessandro Galeandro (at Gubbio until 30 June 2024) — FW   ITA Doudou Mangni (at Alessandria until 30 June 2024) — FW   ITA Lorenzo Pinzauti (at Renate until 30 June 2024) — FW   ITA Mattia Tordini (at Padova until 30 June 2024)

Honours

League

• Serie C (Level 3)
  • Winners (1): 1971–72 (group A)
• Serie D (Level 4)
  • Winners (2): 1949–50, 2018–19 (group A)
• Eccellenza (Level 5)
  • Winners (1): 2002–03 (group B)

Cups

• Coppa Italia Semiprofessionisti
  • Winners (1): 1976–77
• Anglo-Italian Cup
  • Winners (1): 1977

Affiliated clubs

• Bath City ^{[10] [11]}

References

1. Borghese, Annalisa (1992). "Il territorio lariano dalla preistoria ai nostri giorni – L'Ottocento". Il territorio lariano e i suoi comuni (in Italian). Vol. 25. Milan: Editoriale del Drago. p. 391.
2. "Storia e vicissitudini della Calcio Lecco 1912". leccochannelnews.it (in Italian). 30 August 2017. Retrieved 18 June 2023.
3. "I primi calci". aclecco.it (in Italian). Archived from the original on 5 April 2004. Retrieved 18 June 2023.
4. "Nasce il "Cantarelli"". aclecco.it (in Italian). Archived from the original on 10 February 2004. Retrieved 18 June 2023.
5. "Il primo decennio". aclecco.it (in Italian). Archived from the original on 10 February 2004. Retrieved 18 June 2023.
6. "Nasce l'A.C. Lecco". aclecco.it (in Italian). Archived from the original on 9 February 2004. Retrieved 18 June 2023.
7. "Calcio Lecco, Paolo Di Nunno è il nuovo proprietario". lecconotizie.com (in Italian). 9 June 2017. Archived from the original on 10 July 2017. Retrieved 18 June 2023.
8. "Il Lecco corona il suo sogno: torna in Serie B dopo 50 anni". Goal.com Italia (in Italian). 18 June 2023. Retrieved 18 June 2023.
9. "Lecco squad". Soccerway. Retrieved 22 September 2022.
10. "Per sempre: The footballing friendship of Bath City and Calcio Lecco 1912". Football Pink. 8 July 2020. Retrieved 3 October 2022.
11. Bonacina, Matteo (17 August 2022). "VIDEO Serie C | Bath City, il bluceleste porta bene: vittoria thrilling per gli inglesi a Eastbourne". Lecco Channel News (in Italian). Retrieved 3 October 2022.

External links

• Official website