U.C. AlbinoLeffe
Encyclopedia
Unione Calcio AlbinoLeffe is an Italian association football club
based in Leffe
and also representing the town of Albino
, in the Province of Bergamo
, Lombardy. AlbinoLeffe plays its home games at the Atleti Azzurri d'Italia stadium, in the city of Bergamo
, and its official colors are dark blue and azure blue. The team currently plays in Serie B
, the second tier of the Italian football league system.
(fourth division) teams Albinese Calcio and S.C. Leffe, respectively from Albino and Leffe, two neighboring towns. In their first season, the club finished 2nd in the Serie C2
and won a promotion after defeating Modena
in the Girone A playoffs. After rising to the Italian Serie C1
(third division), they performed at the middle of the pack, finishing 9th in 2000 and 13th in 2001.
However, in 2002, the Seriani went to the finals of the Coppa Italia Serie C
, where they defeated Livorno 2–1 at home before losing 2–3 on the road. They won the tournament on the tiebreaker (Most away goals scored).In league play they again finished 13th. In 2003, AlbinoLeffe, under coach Elio Gustinetti
, finished second in league play before heading to the promotion play-off. There, they defeated Padua
in the semifinals, then had a surprising triumph over Pisa Calcio
final, which pushed them up to Serie B
.
The team plays its home games at the Atleti Azzurri d'Italia stadium in Bergamo
, the chief-town of the province where both Albino and Leffe are located, on account of the Leffe municipal stadium's low capacity (2,260 seats). AlbinoLeffe used to play there before its promotion to Serie B. Even though AlbinoLeffe was considered to be an outsider in Serie B, which historically includes several former Scudetto winners, the team remerkably managed to avoid relegation in the last two seasons. In 2005–2006, after a great comeback in the second half of the season following the appointment of Emiliano Mondonico
as new head coach, Albinoleffe ended the season in eighteenth place and managed to save itself from relegation by prevailing in the playouts against Avellino
(score: 2–0, 2–3). The 2006–2007 Serie B campaign, the fourth consecutive for the small Lombard team, ended with a good tenth place, well ahead of the relegation zone.
Historically, AlbinoLeffe's home games have been characterized by very low attendance, as shown by the average 2,400 spectators per game in the 2006–07 season, the most successful in the club history.
With local hero Gustinetti back in charge of the team and despite a lineup composed of relative unknowns, the club's 2007–08 campaign
started surprisingly well, with the team leading the Serie B table for a few weeks and arousing the interest of the national media, which began providing regular coverage of the team's games. This has thus far failed to improve the club's low home attendance, however. During the season, AlbinoLeffe confirmed as a potential candidate for direct promotion to Serie A, however a string of poor results, ended with four consecutive home defeats, the final one being a 0–4 loss to Rimini
, denied them the chance to achieve a place in the top two, and persuaded club chairman Gianfranco Andreoletti to sack Gustinetti, who then confirmed not to be in good relationships with the chairman, and appoint youth team coach Armando Madonna
as caretaker boss for the final regular season match and the following promotion playoffs. Even after a 1–0 loss to Brescia
, AlbinoLeffe managed to win at home in the second leg (2–1) and qualified for the final against Lecce
. In the first leg they suffered a 1–0 loss. On 15 June the second match was played in Lecce and the result of the match was 1–1 so AlbinoLeffe didn't reach Serie A.
Football in Italy
Football is the most popular sport in Italy. The Italian national football team has won the FIFA World Cup 4 times , trailing only Brazil . Italy's club sides have won 27 major European trophies, making them the most successful European nation in the subject of football...
based in Leffe
Leffe, Italy
Leffe is a town and comune near the Alps in Lombardy, Italy. It is nearly 80 kilometers from Milan, and administratively part of the province of Bergamo. The town is well known because of its textile industry.-External links:*...
and also representing the town of Albino
Albino, Italy
Albino is a comune in the province of Bergamo, in Lombardy, northern Italy. It is located north of Bergamo and is situated in the Seriana valley. The population continues to increase.- History:...
, in the Province of Bergamo
Province of Bergamo
The Province of Bergamo is a province in the Lombardy region of Italy. It has a population of 1,098,740 , an area of 2,722.86 square km, and contains 244 comuni...
, Lombardy. AlbinoLeffe plays its home games at the Atleti Azzurri d'Italia stadium, in the city of Bergamo
Bergamo
Bergamo is a town and comune in Lombardy, Italy, about 40 km northeast of Milan. The comune is home to over 120,000 inhabitants. It is served by the Orio al Serio Airport, which also serves the Province of Bergamo, and to a lesser extent the metropolitan area of Milan...
, and its official colors are dark blue and azure blue. The team currently plays in Serie B
Serie B
Serie B, currently named Serie bwin due to sponsorship reasons, is the second-highest division in the Italian football league system after the Serie A. It is contested by 22 teams and organized by the Lega Serie B since July 2010, after the split of Lega Calcio that previously took care of both the...
, the second tier of the Italian football league system.
History
The club was created in 1998 as a result of the merger between former Serie C2Serie C2
Lega Pro Seconda Divisione is the name of the fourth highest football league in Italy, the lowest with a professional status. Usually it consists of 54 teams, but in the season 2010–11 the teams are only 49 divided geographically into three divisions of 17, 16 and 16 teams each...
(fourth division) teams Albinese Calcio and S.C. Leffe, respectively from Albino and Leffe, two neighboring towns. In their first season, the club finished 2nd in the Serie C2
Serie C2
Lega Pro Seconda Divisione is the name of the fourth highest football league in Italy, the lowest with a professional status. Usually it consists of 54 teams, but in the season 2010–11 the teams are only 49 divided geographically into three divisions of 17, 16 and 16 teams each...
and won a promotion after defeating Modena
Modena F.C.
Modena Football Club is an Italian football club based in Modena, Emilia-Romagna. The club was formed in 1912 and currently plays in Italian Serie B, after being relegated from a two year period in Serie A in the year 2004. The team's previous stay in Italy's top division ended in 1964. The team...
in the Girone A playoffs. After rising to the Italian Serie C1
Serie C1
Lega Pro Prima Divisione is the name of the third highest football league in Italy. It consists of 36 teams, divided geographically into two divisions of 18 teams each. Until 2008 it was known as Serie C1....
(third division), they performed at the middle of the pack, finishing 9th in 2000 and 13th in 2001.
However, in 2002, the Seriani went to the finals of the Coppa Italia Serie C
Coppa Italia Serie C
Coppa Italia Lega Pro , formerly named Coppa Italia Serie C, is a straight knock-out based competition involving teams from Lega Pro in Italian football. All games, including the final, are on a home/away basis....
, where they defeated Livorno 2–1 at home before losing 2–3 on the road. They won the tournament on the tiebreaker (Most away goals scored).In league play they again finished 13th. In 2003, AlbinoLeffe, under coach Elio Gustinetti
Elio Gustinetti
Elio Gustinetti is an Italian football manager.- Leffe and Albinese :Gustinetti started his coaching career in 1988 with Serie D club Leffe, ending the season in third place. He then moved at Promozione club Albinese, leading them to win the league and gaining promotion to Serie D...
, finished second in league play before heading to the promotion play-off. There, they defeated Padua
Calcio Padova
Calcio Padova is an Italian football club, based in Padua, Veneto. The club was founded in 1910. Padova is playing in Serie B, having last been in Serie A in 1996...
in the semifinals, then had a surprising triumph over Pisa Calcio
Pisa Calcio
Associazione Calcio Pisa 1909 is an Italian association football club, based in Pisa, Tuscany. The club was founded in 1909 as Pisa Sporting Club and refounded in 1994 as A.C. Pisa , after the cancellation of the old one because of economical troubles...
final, which pushed them up to Serie B
Serie B
Serie B, currently named Serie bwin due to sponsorship reasons, is the second-highest division in the Italian football league system after the Serie A. It is contested by 22 teams and organized by the Lega Serie B since July 2010, after the split of Lega Calcio that previously took care of both the...
.
The team plays its home games at the Atleti Azzurri d'Italia stadium in Bergamo
Bergamo
Bergamo is a town and comune in Lombardy, Italy, about 40 km northeast of Milan. The comune is home to over 120,000 inhabitants. It is served by the Orio al Serio Airport, which also serves the Province of Bergamo, and to a lesser extent the metropolitan area of Milan...
, the chief-town of the province where both Albino and Leffe are located, on account of the Leffe municipal stadium's low capacity (2,260 seats). AlbinoLeffe used to play there before its promotion to Serie B. Even though AlbinoLeffe was considered to be an outsider in Serie B, which historically includes several former Scudetto winners, the team remerkably managed to avoid relegation in the last two seasons. In 2005–2006, after a great comeback in the second half of the season following the appointment of Emiliano Mondonico
Emiliano Mondonico
Emiliano Mondonico is an Italian football manager. He last served as head coach of Serie B side AlbinoLeffe.-Career:...
as new head coach, Albinoleffe ended the season in eighteenth place and managed to save itself from relegation by prevailing in the playouts against Avellino
U.S. Avellino
Associazione Sportiva Avellino 1912 , since summer 2010, is the new name of the Italian football club, based in Avellino, Campania. The club was founded in 1912 and its traditional colours are green and white...
(score: 2–0, 2–3). The 2006–2007 Serie B campaign, the fourth consecutive for the small Lombard team, ended with a good tenth place, well ahead of the relegation zone.
Historically, AlbinoLeffe's home games have been characterized by very low attendance, as shown by the average 2,400 spectators per game in the 2006–07 season, the most successful in the club history.
With local hero Gustinetti back in charge of the team and despite a lineup composed of relative unknowns, the club's 2007–08 campaign
Serie B 2007-08
The 2007-08 Serie B regular season is the seventy-sixth since its establishment. It started on August 25, 2007, and ended with the promotion playoff final on June 15, 2008....
started surprisingly well, with the team leading the Serie B table for a few weeks and arousing the interest of the national media, which began providing regular coverage of the team's games. This has thus far failed to improve the club's low home attendance, however. During the season, AlbinoLeffe confirmed as a potential candidate for direct promotion to Serie A, however a string of poor results, ended with four consecutive home defeats, the final one being a 0–4 loss to Rimini
Rimini Calcio F.C.
Associazione Calcio Rimini 1912 is an Italian association football club based in Rimini, Emilia-Romagna....
, denied them the chance to achieve a place in the top two, and persuaded club chairman Gianfranco Andreoletti to sack Gustinetti, who then confirmed not to be in good relationships with the chairman, and appoint youth team coach Armando Madonna
Armando Madonna
Armando Madonna is an Italian football manager and former player. He is the current manager of Piacenza in the Italian Serie B.-Playing:...
as caretaker boss for the final regular season match and the following promotion playoffs. Even after a 1–0 loss to Brescia
Brescia Calcio
Brescia Calcio , known simply as Brescia, is the largest football club in the Lombard city of Brescia, where it was founded in 1911.In the 2009–10 season, in the return leg of the Serie B playoff final, they defeated Torino 2-1 at home , returning to Serie A after a 5-year absence...
, AlbinoLeffe managed to win at home in the second leg (2–1) and qualified for the final against Lecce
U.S. Lecce
Unione Sportiva Lecce or simply U.S. Lecce is an Italian football club based in Lecce, Apulia who play in the Italian Serie A. After being crowned Serie B champions in 2009–10, the team successfully managed to avoid relegation in 2010-11....
. In the first leg they suffered a 1–0 loss. On 15 June the second match was played in Lecce and the result of the match was 1–1 so AlbinoLeffe didn't reach Serie A.
Current squad
Out on loan
Seasons
| Season | Div | Pos | League record | Other | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| P | W | D | L | F | A | Pts | ||||
| 1998–99 | Serie C2/A Serie C2 Lega Pro Seconda Divisione is the name of the fourth highest football league in Italy, the lowest with a professional status. Usually it consists of 54 teams, but in the season 2010–11 the teams are only 49 divided geographically into three divisions of 17, 16 and 16 teams each... |
2nd | 34 | 16 | 10 | 8 | 44 | 35 | 58 | |
| 1999-00 | Serie C1/A Serie C1 Lega Pro Prima Divisione is the name of the third highest football league in Italy. It consists of 36 teams, divided geographically into two divisions of 18 teams each. Until 2008 it was known as Serie C1.... |
9th | 34 | 11 | 12 | 11 | 36 | 37 | 45 | |
| 2000–01 | Serie C1/A Serie C1 Lega Pro Prima Divisione is the name of the third highest football league in Italy. It consists of 36 teams, divided geographically into two divisions of 18 teams each. Until 2008 it was known as Serie C1.... |
13th | 34 | 7 | 18 | 9 | 27 | 31 | 39 | |
| 2001–02 | Serie C1/A Serie C1 Lega Pro Prima Divisione is the name of the third highest football league in Italy. It consists of 36 teams, divided geographically into two divisions of 18 teams each. Until 2008 it was known as Serie C1.... |
13th | 34 | 8 | 17 | 9 | 33 | 35 | 41 | |
| 2002–03 | Serie C1/A Serie C1 Lega Pro Prima Divisione is the name of the third highest football league in Italy. It consists of 36 teams, divided geographically into two divisions of 18 teams each. Until 2008 it was known as Serie C1.... |
2nd | 34 | 17 | 12 | 5 | 62 | 36 | 63 | |
| 2003–04 | Serie B Serie B Serie B, currently named Serie bwin due to sponsorship reasons, is the second-highest division in the Italian football league system after the Serie A. It is contested by 22 teams and organized by the Lega Serie B since July 2010, after the split of Lega Calcio that previously took care of both the... |
18th | 46 | 13 | 15 | 18 | 47 | 59 | 54 | |
| 2004–05 | Serie B Serie B Serie B, currently named Serie bwin due to sponsorship reasons, is the second-highest division in the Italian football league system after the Serie A. It is contested by 22 teams and organized by the Lega Serie B since July 2010, after the split of Lega Calcio that previously took care of both the... |
11th | 38 | 14 | 13 | 15 | 55 | 51 | 55 | |
| 2005–06 | Serie B Serie B Serie B, currently named Serie bwin due to sponsorship reasons, is the second-highest division in the Italian football league system after the Serie A. It is contested by 22 teams and organized by the Lega Serie B since July 2010, after the split of Lega Calcio that previously took care of both the... |
18th | 38 | 10 | 16 | 16 | 38 | 52 | 46 | |
| 2006–07 | Serie B Serie B Serie B, currently named Serie bwin due to sponsorship reasons, is the second-highest division in the Italian football league system after the Serie A. It is contested by 22 teams and organized by the Lega Serie B since July 2010, after the split of Lega Calcio that previously took care of both the... |
10th | 38 | 11 | 20 | 11 | 46 | 48 | 53 | |
| 2007–08 | Serie B Serie B Serie B, currently named Serie bwin due to sponsorship reasons, is the second-highest division in the Italian football league system after the Serie A. It is contested by 22 teams and organized by the Lega Serie B since July 2010, after the split of Lega Calcio that previously took care of both the... |
4th | 38 | 23 | 9 | 10 | 67 | 48 | 78 | |
| 2008–09 | Serie B Serie B Serie B, currently named Serie bwin due to sponsorship reasons, is the second-highest division in the Italian football league system after the Serie A. It is contested by 22 teams and organized by the Lega Serie B since July 2010, after the split of Lega Calcio that previously took care of both the... |
9th | 38 | 15 | 13 | 14 | 49 | 49 | 58 | |
| 2009–10 | Serie B Serie B Serie B, currently named Serie bwin due to sponsorship reasons, is the second-highest division in the Italian football league system after the Serie A. It is contested by 22 teams and organized by the Lega Serie B since July 2010, after the split of Lega Calcio that previously took care of both the... |
11th | 42 | 14 | 13 | 15 | 59 | 56 | 55 | |
| 2010–11 | Serie B Serie B Serie B, currently named Serie bwin due to sponsorship reasons, is the second-highest division in the Italian football league system after the Serie A. It is contested by 22 teams and organized by the Lega Serie B since July 2010, after the split of Lega Calcio that previously took care of both the... |
18th | 42 | 13 | 10 | 19 | 55 | 66 | 49 | |
Honours
- Coppa ItaliaCoppa ItaliaThe Coppa Italia is an Italian football annual cup competition. Its first edition was held in 1922, but the second champions were not crowned until 1936. Roma and Juventus lead the way with nine wins. Roma has contested more finals, 16, while Torino and Juventus follow with 13...
of Serie C- Champions 2002
- Serie C1Serie C1Lega Pro Prima Divisione is the name of the third highest football league in Italy. It consists of 36 teams, divided geographically into two divisions of 18 teams each. Until 2008 it was known as Serie C1....
group A- Runners up 2003
- Serie C2Serie C2Lega Pro Seconda Divisione is the name of the fourth highest football league in Italy, the lowest with a professional status. Usually it consists of 54 teams, but in the season 2010–11 the teams are only 49 divided geographically into three divisions of 17, 16 and 16 teams each...
group A- Runners up 1999