Contents

AC Legnano

Legnano

Full name	Associazione Calcio Dilettantistica Legnano S.r.l.
Nickname(s)	I Lilla (The Lilacs)
Founded	1913 2011 (refounded)
Ground	Stadio Giovanni Mari, Legnano, Milan, Italy
Capacity	5,000
Owner	Enea Benedetto
Chairman	Enea Benedetto
Manager	Gianluca Zattarin
League	Serie D
2022–23	Serie D Group A, 6th of 20
Website	Club website
Home colours Away colours

Associazione Calcio Dilettantistica Legnano, commonly referred to as Legnano, is an Italian football club based in Legnano, Lombardy. Founded in 1913, Legnano played three seasons in Serie A and a total of eleven seasons in the top tier of the Italian football league system.

Legnano's most recent appearance in Serie A dates back to 1954, whereas in 1957 the club took part for the last time – to date – in a Serie B championship (the second tier of Italian football). Since then the club have played at their highest at the third tier of the Italian league.

The team's colours are lilac and white. After financial struggles and bankruptcy in 2010 the club folded and reformed in 2011 as ASD Legnano Calcio 1913; in 2015 they regained the right to name themselves ACD Legnano Calcio and to merge their history with the one of the 97-year-old club previously folded.^[1]

History[edit]

Foundation[edit]

The club were founded in 1913 as Football Club Legnano.

Several notable players appeared for Legnano in its early years. Goalkeeper Angelo Cameroni was called up to the Italy national side in 1920; he was the first Legnano player to achieve this. Luigi Allemandi played four seasons with the club from 1921 onwards, until he was bought by Italian giants Juventus. He later won the World Cup with Italy at the 1934 FIFA World Cup.

Serie A: Club at their peak[edit]

Legnano first gained access to Serie A for the 1930–31 season; the previous year they had finished as runners up in Serie B. The first match at the top level of Italian football was the shocking 2–1 defeat of Italy's oldest club, Genoa C.F.C.

Unfortunately for Legnano, they finished at the bottom of the table that season and were relegated; other notable results however were a 1–1 draw with eventual runners up A.S. Roma, and a 2–1 defeat of S.S.C. Napoli in Naples.

In the 1935–1936 season, the club changed their name to Associazione Calcio Legnano.

Left-winger Emilio Caprile was called up by the azzurri, to play in two international games during 1948. He became the first Legnano player to score for Italy with a goal in each match.

Slide down the Italian league[edit]

After their last relegation in from Serie A in 1953–54, the club have gradually declined. First they came close to promotion back into the league with a 3rd position in B, but two years later they were relegated down to Serie C.

Legnano spent 18 years in a row competing in Serie C, only able to finish as high as 5th in that time (they achieved this three times). 1974–75 saw the club slump down to Serie D; this was soon rectified as coach Luciano Sassi pulled the club back into Serie C2 with a runners up spot in 1977–78.

Giovanni Mari lifts Legnano[edit]

Giovanni Mari took over as club president in 1979 and under him, Legnano would achieve the championship of Serie C2. This was the first time A.C. Legnano had finished first position in any league since 1919. The club's stadium was later named Stadio Giovanni Mari in honour of the man.

The refoundation[edit]

Following bankruptcy in 2010, Legnano subsequently folded.

It was refounded on 15 July 2011, as A.S.D. Legnano Calcio 1913 and was admitted to Group N of Prima Categoria Lombardy in the 2011–12 season. The club was promoted to Group A of Promozione Lombardy.^[2]

The club had a successive second promotion after finishing as champions of Group A of Promozione Lombardy next season and was promoted to Group A of Eccellenza Lombardy.

On 7 May 2015, A.S.D. Legnano Calcio 1913 re-acquired the name Associazione Calcio Legnano.^[3] They finished Eccellenza Lombardy as 4th in 2014–15 but were eliminated in the play-offs. They finished Group A of Eccellanza Lombardy as 2nd and were qualified for the play-offs again. They defeated Torviscosa with 4–1 aggregate in semifinal and Sankt Georgen with 4–3 aggregate in final and were promoted to Serie D.

Players[edit]

Notable former players[edit]

Attilio Demaría

Gigi Riva

Nicholas Frey

Pedro Kamata

Karl-Erik Palmér

Paolo Pulici

Davide Fontolan

Chedric Seedorf

Marco Simone

Hermann Lindemann

Staff[edit]

Presidential history[edit]

Over the years Legnano has had various owners, chairmen or presidential figures; here is a chronological list of the presidents;

1917–1924 Antonio Bernocchi

1924–1925 Carlo Delle Piane

1925–1927 Ernesto Castiglioni

1927–1929 Antonio Bernocchi

1929–1931 Giuseppe Mario Perozzi, Mario Raimondo and Riccardo Pezzoni (board of regents)

1931–1933 Ernesto Castiglioni

1933–1934 Primo Colombo (extraordinary commissioner)

1934–1945 Giulio Riva

1945–1952 Pino Mocchetti

1952–1953 Luigi Mandelli (extraordinary commissioner), following Giovanni Mari

1953–1954 Giovanni Mari

1954–1956 Giuseppe Mario Perozzi (extraordinary commissioner)

1956–1959 Davide Casero (extraordinary commissioner)

1959–1963 Luciano Caccia

1963–1964 Felice Bossi (extraordinary commissioner)

1964–1975 Augusto Terreni

1975–1979 Rolando Landoni (extraordinary commissioner)

1979–1986 Giovanni Mari

1986 Ulrico Lucarelli

1986–1987 Giovanni Mari

1987–1996 Ferdinando Villa

1996–1999 Mario Pighetti

1999 Mauro Rusignolo

1999–2002 Mauro Rusignolo

2002–2005 Antonio Di Bari

2005–2007 Giovanni Simone

2007–2009 Giuseppe Resta

2009–2010 Giacomo Tarabbia

2010 Alessio Fiore

2011–2015 Nicolò Zanda

2015 Salvatore Verdoliva

2015–incumbent Vanessa Paolillo

Managerial history[edit]

Below is a list of AC Legnano coaches from 1913 until the present day:

1914–1915 Pariani

1915–1916 Primo Colombo

1916–1917 Primo Colombo

Nino Resegotti

1917–1919 Technical Committee: Primo Colombo, Adamo Bonacina and Giuseppe Venegoni

1919–1923 Primo Colombo

1923–1925 Imre Schöffer

1925–1927 Primo Colombo

1927–1928 Imre Schöffer

1928–1929 Armand Halmos

1929–1931 Luigi Barbesino

1931–1933 Otto Krappan

1933–1934 Francesco Lattuada

Vinicio Colombo

1934–1935 Vinicio Colombo

1935–1936 Enrico Crotti

1936–1945 Enrico Crotti

1945–1946 Attilio Demaria

1946–1947 Róbert Winkler

1947–1949 Giuseppe Galluzzi

1949–1950 Ugo Innocenti

1950–1951 Ugo Innocenti and Héctor Puricelli

1951–1952 Héctor Puricelli

1952–1953 Ugo Innocenti

Héctor Puricelli

1953–1954 Giuseppe Galluzzi

1954–1957 Ugo Innocenti

1957–1959 Mario Zidarich

1959–1960 Renato Picentini

1960–1962 Giuseppe Molina

1962–1963 Luciano Lupi

1963–1964 Fausto Braga

1964–1967 Luciano Lupi

1967–1968 Carlo Facchini

1968–1969 Sergio Realini

1969–1970 Carlo Facchini

1970–1971 Carlo Facchini

Luciano Sassi

1971–1973 Luciano Sassi

1973–1974 Luciano Sassi

Giovanni Visentin

1974–1975 Fausto Braga

Mario Trezzi

1975–1979 Mario Trezzi

1979–1980 Adelio Crespi

1981–1983 Pietro Maroso

1983–1984 Pietro Maroso

Romualdo Capocci

1984–1986 Andrea Valdinoci

1986–1987 Giovanni Ardemagni

1987–1988 Mauro Bicicli

1989–1990 Giorgio Veneri

1990–1991 Luciano Magistrelli

Mauro Bicicli

1991–1992 Abramo Rossetti

Giancarlo Danova

1992–1993 Marco Torresani

1993–1995 Luigi Vallongo

1995–1996 Renzo Contratto

Giovanni Sacchi and Mauro Bicicli

1996–1997 Loris Boni

1997–1998 Carlo Muraro

1998–1999 Gian Marco Remondina

1999–2000 Roberto Bacchin

2000–2001 Roberto Bacchin

Carlo Muraro

Ernestino Ramella

2001–2002 Mario Belluzzo

Ernestino Ramella

2002–2003 Ernestino Ramella

Angelo Gregucci

2003–2004 Pierluigi Casiraghi

Stefano Di Chiara

2004–2005 Stefano Di Chiara

Arcangelo Sciannimanico

Giancarlo Oddi

2005–2006 Vincenzo Maiuri and Gianpaolo Spagnulo

Gianpaolo Spagnulo

Luciano Miani

Gianpaolo Spagnulo, and Nicolas Gennarielli

2006–2007 Gianfranco Motta

2007–2008 Claudio Gabetta

Egidio Notaristefano

2008–2009 Attilio Lombardo

2009–2010 Giuseppe Scienza

2011–2013 Massimo Rovellini

2013–2014 Massimo Rovellini

Alessandro Cerri

2014–incumbent Stefano Di Gioia

Honours[edit]

Serie C2

• Winners (2): 1982–1983 (group B), 2006–2007 (group A)

Campionato Nazionale Dilettanti

• Winners: 1992–1993 (group A)

Serie D

• Winners: 1999–2000 (group B)

Prima Categoria

• Winners: 2011–2012 (group N)

Promozione

• Winners: 2012–2013 (group A)

Prima Categoria:

• Runners-up (2): 1919–1920 (group C), 1920–1921 (group D)

Prima Divisione:

• Runners-up (2): 1922–1923 (group B), 1927–1928 (group B)

Serie B

• Runners-up (3): 1946–1947 (group A), 1950–1951, 1952–1953

Serie D:

• Runners-up (2): 1976–1977 (group B), 1977–1978 (group B)

Campionato Nazionale Dilettanti:

• Runners-up: 1997–1998 (group B)

Eccellenza:

• Runners-up: 2013–2014 (group A)

References[edit]

External links[edit]

• (in Italian) Official website
• (in Italian) Statistiche lilla