U.S. Alessandria Calcio 1912
Encyclopedia
Unione Sportiva Alessandria Calcio 1912 is the professional Italian football
club based in Alessandria
, Piedmont
.
In the current season, it plays in Lega Pro Seconda Divisione group A.
between 1929 and 1960 and 21 in Serie B
(last in 1975); also reached one Coppa Italia
final in 1936. The most successful period in the history of the team was the one between World War I and World War II, when was part with Novara
, Pro Vercelli and Casale
of the so-called Quadrilatero Piemontese ("Piedmont Quadrilateral"), which forged great players and gained important trophys.
One of the most famous players who has ever wore the characteristic grey shirt of the team is 1969 European Footballer of the Year
award winner Gianni Rivera
; also World Champions Luigi Bertolini
, Felice Borel
, Giovanni Ferrari
and Pietro Rava
, and famous footballers like Carlo Carcano
and Adolfo Baloncieri played for Alessandria. With the promotion in 2009 in Lega Pro Prima Divisione, the team has finally left back a period of financial troubles, with internal problems that led the club to bankruptcy in 2003.
Football arrived in Alessandria in the end of 19th century; there are reports regarding a match played in which a teams of Alessandria played against one from Genoa
. In 1896 born Unione Pro Sport Alessandria, followed in the same year by the soccer teams of athletic clubs Forza e Concordia, which wore dark-grey shirt, and Forza e Coraggio, with pearl-grey kits. Unione Pro Sport took part in some exhibition tournaments
with teams based in Turin
and Genoa between 1897 and 1898; in 1897 won in Genoa the soccer trophy at the National Gymn Competition. On 15 March 1898 was invited to join the constituents of F.I.F.
, then took part in the first official championship qualification round and, feeling itself penalized in favour of F.B.C. Torinese
and Genoa C.F.C., preferred to get back and keep on participating in tournaments organized by F.G.N.I..
In 1908 Forza and Coraggio members decided to set up a team which could finally disputing the Italian Championship. It happened on 18 February 1912 with the foundation of Alessandria Foot Ball Club by Enrico Badò, Amilcare Savojardo e Alfredo Ratti, who was elected first "director" (chairman). The first shirts, bought from Vigor Torino, were azure
, with a large, vertical, white stripe in the center. The team was been admitting in Promozione (second division) for the season 1912–13, immeditely gaining a promotion after a decisive match played against Vigor Torino in Novara
(3–0). In the same year businessman Giovanni Maino offered eleven grey shirts, similar to those wore by his famous cycling
team, to Alessandria F.B.C.
in the "Quinquennio d'Oro" period and who became on 31 January 1915 the first Alessandria footballer wearing Italy national football team
jersey. Already in 1914–15 season the grey team in Piedmont good shaped, missing for only two points the admission to final round.
After World War I Alessandria F.B.C. continued to improve its performances: in 1919–20 season clearly prevailed in the elimination round and then stopped in front of Genoa in the semifinals. In November 1920, F.B.C. merged with another Alessandria team, U.S. Alessandrina, established in 1915, keeping the grey shirt and changed its name to Alessandria U.S.. At the end of 1920–21 season the club gained admission to North-Italy championship semifinals after a playoff played in Milan
against Modena F.C.
. On 10 July 1921 Alessandria U.S. lost the chance to qualify for the Northern Italy final, surrendering in front of U.S. Pro Vercelli in a violent match bitterly contested by grey players: they chose to withdraw in protest after just an hour of play (0–4), after a serious head injury occurred in Carcano.
In subsequent years Alessandria U.S. continued to show excellent performances, but never succeeded in finding the right way to win a championship: the tournament was dominated by Pro Vercelli and Genoa, from Bologna C.F.C. and Turinese teams.
and Novara, came the first trophy: the Coppa CONI, an experimental sorta Coppa Italia
, won after a double final played against Casale (1–1 in Casale Monferrato
and 2–1 in Alexandria). In the first round Alessandria, which was trained by Carlo Carcano, defeated Livorno, Andrea Doria, Brescia
, Alba Rome and Napoli
. Later that year the works for the new stadium started. Alessandria players at the time were Giovanni Ferrari, Luigi Bertolini and Adolfo Baloncieri, which in the summer of 1927 signed for Torino F.C..
In 1928 Alessandria went close to winning the championship; after been qualificated for the eight-team final round, the grey team started to fight for the title against Baloncieri's Torino. It was a heavy, unexpected defeat at Casale to erase the glorious dreams of Carcano's team, for which was not enough to defeat Torino in the direct match to reach it at the top. Alessandria's Goalkeeper Curti, suspected by most of planning sport illicit, was soon expelled. Furthermore authorities, already heavily discredited after the "Allemandi
Case", deemed unnecessary, to investigate on the mysterious trend of the match.
At the end of 1928–29 season Alessandria was admitted to the first edition of Serie A tournament (1929–30, 6th place) and finally inaugurated the new stadium. In the early thirties several players left the club, still tied to amateurism
, to migrate to large centers; Carcano, Ferrari and Bertolini signed for Juventus and the grey team greatly lost its potential, not gaining anymore but middle-ranking positions.
In 1936 the team, after beating Cremonese
, Modena, Lazio
and Milan
, joined Coppa Italia final
, played in Genoa
on 11 June and lost to Torino (1–5). In the summer of 1936 S.S. Lazio, that was trying to set up a team which could win the championship, offered the team the considerable amount of 400,000 Italian lire for the three promising midfielders Busani
, Riccardi and Milano: grey managers agreed, but the team was no longer up to expectations and fell for the first time in Serie B
at the end of 1936–37 season.
and Mario Sperone
obtained the return in Serie A. The permanence in that category was not particularly rewarding and lasted just two years; on 2 May 1948 the club got the heaviest defeat ever suffered by a team in the Italian Serie A history, losing 0–10 against Torino F.C. At the end of that championship, the greys returned in Serie B.
In the Forties, Alexandria was the protagonist of a curious episode when, before a game against Venezia
, the referee ordered a change of the two teams split, because in his view, the gray shirt was indistinguishable from the black one of the opponents. After the match, F.I.G.C. asked the arbitrator to undergo an eye examination, which shows color-blind: a visit then became mandatory for all referees. Also in those years, the club launched the young talent Gino Armano
.
In the late Forties and during the early Fifties Alessandria alternated years of Serie B to the first championships in Serie C
, following the unfortunate relegation of 1950.
and later defeating after extra time Brescia in a qualification match. If in the first decades of its existence the club found its force in the oestrus of its brilliant forwards, in this period proved to be an excellent interpreter of the so-called catenaccio
. In 1959 a young Gianni Rivera
debuted in Serie A. Also in the same year Alessandria played its first match in an international competition, facing the Velež Mostar
in Mitropa Cup
.
This happy period for the Alexandrian club ended after 1959–60 relegation. In the Sixties the greys declined in Serie C and in the first Seventies failed several times the promotion in B. In 1973 the club won the first edition of the Coppa Italia Serie C
, defeating Avellino
in the final match. At the end of 1973–74 championship the club was promoted in Serie B; that season ended up in a frantic way, with coach Dino Ballacci
sacking and the subsequent resignation of chairman Sacco, disputed by supporters.
, Alessandria returned in Serie C. Since that moment the gray team became a fixture in that category for almost thirty years. In the 1986–87 season the club, suffering by serious economical matters after the abandonment of the Calleri family, was sustained for a period by Massese chairman Bertoneri, who was planning to extend its interests in more than a club (he had tried to baste negotiations with the leaders of Prato
and Carrarese
): in that dramatic situation Alessandria relegated for the first time in regional categories, except to be later rescued summer of 1987, subsequently to Montebelluna
failure.
In that same year came to head of Alessandria the founder of AGV Gino Amisano, which joined his name to the club for almost fifteen years; in this period the team gained two promotions in Serie C1
(in 1988–89 and 1990–91) and obtained economical support by Kappa
clothing company. In Serie C1 the club obtained good results, but never ran for promotion; in 1998, after a hard championship, Alessandria fell again in Serie C2, overwhelmed in the relegation playout by Pistoiese
.
After the 1999–00 season, hopes of promotion subsided the following year, due to declining performances. The next several years were especially turbulent for the club as the Spinelli family struggled with their finances. Alessandria was dropped to the amateur leagues and the club was declared bankrupt in 2003..
championship. In 2004 a consortium of local businessmen purchased the original brand.
It since the 2009-10 season, the club as taken part in the Lega Pro Prima Divisione championship. In the summer of 2011 it was relegated by the Corte di Giustizia Federale of FIGC (the Italian Football Association's Court of Justice) to Lega Pro Seconda Divisione when former president Giogio Veltroni was found guilty of a betting scandal.
The "Stadio Giuseppe Moccagatta" was built in 1929 and it can hold 3896 spectators. It is a multi-use stadium, however it is primarily used for football matches. The stadium is owned by the Municipality of Alessandria
. It has a grass pitch whose dimensions are 105 by 68.4 meters.
Giulio Cappelli
Carlo Carcano
Bert Flatley
Luciano Foschi
Lajos Kovács
Ferenc Molnár
Corrado Orrico
Roberto Pruzzo
Pietro Rava
Giuseppe Sabadini
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...
club based in Alessandria
Alessandria
-Monuments:* The Citadel * The church of Santa Maria di Castello * The church of Santa Maria del Carmine * Palazzo Ghilini * Università del Piemonte Orientale-Museums:* The Marengo Battle Museum...
, Piedmont
Piedmont
Piedmont is one of the 20 regions of Italy. It has an area of 25,402 square kilometres and a population of about 4.4 million. The capital of Piedmont is Turin. The main local language is Piedmontese. Occitan is also spoken by a minority in the Occitan Valleys situated in the Provinces of...
.
In the current season, it plays in Lega Pro Seconda Divisione group A.
Brief history
Founded in 1912, Alessandria spent 13 seasons in Serie ASerie A
Serie A , now called Serie A TIM due to sponsorship by Telecom Italia, is a professional league competition for football clubs located at the top of the Italian football league system and has been operating for over eighty years since 1929. It had been organized by Lega Calcio until 2010, but a new...
between 1929 and 1960 and 21 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...
(last in 1975); also reached one Coppa Italia
Coppa Italia
The 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...
final in 1936. The most successful period in the history of the team was the one between World War I and World War II, when was part with Novara
Novara Calcio
Novara Calcio is an Italian football club based in Novara, Piedmont.-History:In December 1908 the F.A.S. was created by eight students of Liceo Carlo Alberto, aged between 15–16 years; among them an engineer, Gianni Canestrini, and a lawyer, Piero Omodei Zorini...
, Pro Vercelli and Casale
A.S. Casale Calcio
Associazione Sportiva Casale Calcio is an Italian football club, based in Casale Monferrato, Piedmont.The club currently plays in Lega Pro Seconda Divisione....
of the so-called Quadrilatero Piemontese ("Piedmont Quadrilateral"), which forged great players and gained important trophys.
One of the most famous players who has ever wore the characteristic grey shirt of the team is 1969 European Footballer of the Year
European Footballer of the Year
The "", literally translated as "the golden ball" and often referred to as the European Footballer of the Year award, was an annual association football award. It was presented to the player who had been considered to have performed the best over the previous calendar year...
award winner Gianni Rivera
Gianni Rivera
Giovanni Rivera is an Italian former football midfielder, mostly as an offensive playmaker, who was awarded the Ballon d'Or, one of the most prestigious individual awards in football, in 1969. He played the majority of his career with Serie A side A.C. Milan...
; also World Champions Luigi Bertolini
Luigi Bertolini
Luigi Bertolini was an Italian football midfielder.-Biography:Born in Busalla, province of Genoa, he played in the 1920s for Savona, Alessandria and Juventus. He played 135 matches for Juventus, scoring five goals, helping the team to win four Serie A tournaments...
, Felice Borel
Felice Borel
Felice Placido Borel was an Italian football player who played as a striker.His older brother Aldo Borel played football professionally, spending 10 seasons in the Serie A, and their father Ernesto Borel played for OGC Nice, AS Cannes and Juventus F.C. in the 1900s and 1910s...
, Giovanni Ferrari
Giovanni Ferrari
Giovanni Ferrari was an Italian football player. He played 125 times for Juventus F.C and scored 35 goals for the club...
and Pietro Rava
Pietro Rava
Pietro Rava was an Italian football defender and coach. He won the 1936 Summer Olympics and the 1938 FIFA World Cup with the Italian national team....
, and famous footballers like Carlo Carcano
Carlo Carcano
Carlo Carcano born in Masnago, Province of Varese was an Italian footballer and manager. As a player Carcano was a one club man, playing for Alessandria as well as representing Italy....
and Adolfo Baloncieri played for Alessandria. With the promotion in 2009 in Lega Pro Prima Divisione, the team has finally left back a period of financial troubles, with internal problems that led the club to bankruptcy in 2003.
First football teams in Alessandria and birth of Foot Ball Club
Genoa
Genoa |Ligurian]] Zena ; Latin and, archaically, English Genua) is a city and an important seaport in northern Italy, the capital of the Province of Genoa and of the region of Liguria....
. In 1896 born Unione Pro Sport Alessandria, followed in the same year by the soccer teams of athletic clubs Forza e Concordia, which wore dark-grey shirt, and Forza e Coraggio, with pearl-grey kits. Unione Pro Sport took part in some exhibition tournaments
Exhibition game
An exhibition game is a sporting event in which there is no competitive value of any significant kind to any competitor regardless of the outcome of the competition...
with teams based in Turin
Turin
Turin is a city and major business and cultural centre in northern Italy, capital of the Piedmont region, located mainly on the left bank of the Po River and surrounded by the Alpine arch. The population of the city proper is 909,193 while the population of the urban area is estimated by Eurostat...
and Genoa between 1897 and 1898; in 1897 won in Genoa the soccer trophy at the National Gymn Competition. On 15 March 1898 was invited to join the constituents of F.I.F.
Federazione Italiana Giuoco Calcio
The Italian Football Federation , also known as Federcalcio, is the governing body of football in Italy. It organises the Italian football league, Coppa Italia, Italian national football team, and the Italian women's national football team...
, then took part in the first official championship qualification round and, feeling itself penalized in favour of F.B.C. Torinese
F.B.C. Torinese
Foot-Ball Club Torinese was an Italian football club from Turin, originally founded in 1894. The club is most noted for competing in the first ever Italian Football Championship and staying in the competition until the club finally became defunct in 1906....
and Genoa C.F.C., preferred to get back and keep on participating in tournaments organized by F.G.N.I..
In 1908 Forza and Coraggio members decided to set up a team which could finally disputing the Italian Championship. It happened on 18 February 1912 with the foundation of Alessandria Foot Ball Club by Enrico Badò, Amilcare Savojardo e Alfredo Ratti, who was elected first "director" (chairman). The first shirts, bought from Vigor Torino, were azure
Azure
In heraldry, azure is the tincture with the colour blue, and belongs to the class of tinctures called "colours". In engraving, it is sometimes depicted as a region of horizontal lines or else marked with either az. or b. as an abbreviation....
, with a large, vertical, white stripe in the center. The team was been admitting in Promozione (second division) for the season 1912–13, immeditely gaining a promotion after a decisive match played against Vigor Torino in Novara
Novara
Novara is the capital city of the province of Novara in the Piedmont region in northwest Italy, to the west of Milan. With c. 105,000 inhabitants, it is the second most populous city in Piedmont after Turin. It is an important crossroads for commercial traffic along the routes from Milan to Turin...
(3–0). In the same year businessman Giovanni Maino offered eleven grey shirts, similar to those wore by his famous cycling
Cycling
Cycling, also called bicycling or biking, is the use of bicycles for transport, recreation, or for sport. Persons engaged in cycling are cyclists or bicyclists...
team, to Alessandria F.B.C.
The first national championships and the post-war
In 1913 the team signed up the English player-coach George Arthur Smith, coming from the ranks of the Genoa: he proved to be a great football teacher and, thanks to him, soon exploded in the Twenties talented players like Adolfo Baloncieri and Carlo Carcano, who in Thirties coached Juventus F.C.Juventus F.C.
Juventus Football Club S.p.A. , commonly referred to as Juventus and colloquially as Juve , are a professional Italian association football club based in Turin, Piedmont...
in the "Quinquennio d'Oro" period and who became on 31 January 1915 the first Alessandria footballer wearing Italy national football team
Italy national football team
The Italy National Football Team , represents Italy in association football and is controlled by the Italian Football Federation , the governing body for football in Italy. Italy is the second most successful national team in the history of the World Cup having won four titles , just one fewer than...
jersey. Already in 1914–15 season the grey team in Piedmont good shaped, missing for only two points the admission to final round.
After World War I Alessandria F.B.C. continued to improve its performances: in 1919–20 season clearly prevailed in the elimination round and then stopped in front of Genoa in the semifinals. In November 1920, F.B.C. merged with another Alessandria team, U.S. Alessandrina, established in 1915, keeping the grey shirt and changed its name to Alessandria U.S.. At the end of 1920–21 season the club gained admission to North-Italy championship semifinals after a playoff played in Milan
Milan
Milan is the second-largest city in Italy and the capital city of the region of Lombardy and of the province of Milan. The city proper has a population of about 1.3 million, while its urban area, roughly coinciding with its administrative province and the bordering Province of Monza and Brianza ,...
against Modena F.C.
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...
. On 10 July 1921 Alessandria U.S. lost the chance to qualify for the Northern Italy final, surrendering in front of U.S. Pro Vercelli in a violent match bitterly contested by grey players: they chose to withdraw in protest after just an hour of play (0–4), after a serious head injury occurred in Carcano.
In subsequent years Alessandria U.S. continued to show excellent performances, but never succeeded in finding the right way to win a championship: the tournament was dominated by Pro Vercelli and Genoa, from Bologna C.F.C. and Turinese teams.
The CONI cup, the lost championship and the Serie A tournaments
In 1927, after a disappointing season after which the salvation from relegation in Division I came only after a series of playouts against Pisa, LegnanoA.C. Legnano
Associazione Calcio Legnano was an Italian football club, based in Legnano, Lombardy, that was founded in 1913. The team's colors were lilac and white. In the past Legnano have played three seasons in Italy's top league; Serie A, finishing bottom of the league each time.The club were perhaps best...
and Novara, came the first trophy: the Coppa CONI, an experimental sorta Coppa Italia
Coppa Italia
The 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...
, won after a double final played against Casale (1–1 in Casale Monferrato
Casale Monferrato
Casale Monferrato, population 36,058, is a town and comune in the Piedmont region of north-west Italy, part of the province of Alessandria. It is situated about 60 km east of Turin on the right bank of the Po, where the river runs at the foot of the Montferrato hills. Beyond the river lies the...
and 2–1 in Alexandria). In the first round Alessandria, which was trained by Carlo Carcano, defeated Livorno, Andrea Doria, 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...
, Alba Rome and Napoli
S.S.C. Napoli
Società Sportiva Calcio Napoli, commonly referred to as Napoli, is a professional Italian football club based in Naples and founded in 1926. The club has spent most of its history in Serie A, where it currently plays its 2011–12 season....
. Later that year the works for the new stadium started. Alessandria players at the time were Giovanni Ferrari, Luigi Bertolini and Adolfo Baloncieri, which in the summer of 1927 signed for Torino F.C..
In 1928 Alessandria went close to winning the championship; after been qualificated for the eight-team final round, the grey team started to fight for the title against Baloncieri's Torino. It was a heavy, unexpected defeat at Casale to erase the glorious dreams of Carcano's team, for which was not enough to defeat Torino in the direct match to reach it at the top. Alessandria's Goalkeeper Curti, suspected by most of planning sport illicit, was soon expelled. Furthermore authorities, already heavily discredited after the "Allemandi
Luigi Allemandi
Luigi Allemandi was an Italian footballer who played as a defender.Born in San Damiano Macra, province of Cuneo, he debuted in 1921 with A.C. Legnano. Later, he played with Juventus F.C., F.C. Internazionale Milano, A.S. Roma, S.S.C. Venezia and S.S. Lazio. He was a member of the Italian national...
Case", deemed unnecessary, to investigate on the mysterious trend of the match.
At the end of 1928–29 season Alessandria was admitted to the first edition of Serie A tournament (1929–30, 6th place) and finally inaugurated the new stadium. In the early thirties several players left the club, still tied to amateurism
Amateur sports
Amateur sports are sports in which participants engage largely or entirely without remuneration. Sporting amateurism was a zealously guarded ideal in the 19th century, especially among the upper classes, but faced steady erosion throughout the 20th century with the continuing growth of pro sports...
, to migrate to large centers; Carcano, Ferrari and Bertolini signed for Juventus and the grey team greatly lost its potential, not gaining anymore but middle-ranking positions.
In 1936 the team, after beating Cremonese
U.S. Cremonese
Unione Sportiva Cremonese is an Italian football club, based in Cremona. The club was founded in 1903. Cremonese played the 2005/2006 season in Serie B, having won Serie C1/A the previous season. However, in the 2005/2006 Serie B campaign, Cremonese came out twenty-first, being therefore relegated...
, Modena, Lazio
S.S. Lazio
Società Sportiva Lazio, commonly referred to as Lazio, is a professional Italian football club based in Rome. The team, founded in 1900, play in the Serie A and have spent most of their history in the top tier of Italian football...
and Milan
A.C. Milan
Associazione Calcio Milan, commonly referred to as A.C. Milan or simply Milan , is a professional Italian football club based in Milan, Lombardy, that plays in the Serie A. Milan was founded in 1899 by English lace-maker Herbert Kilpin and businessman Alfred Edwards among others...
, joined Coppa Italia final
1936 Coppa Italia Final
The 1935–36 Coppa Italia Final was a single match played on June 11, 1936, between Torino A.C. and Alessandria U.S. at the Stadio Luigi Ferraris in Genoa....
, played in Genoa
Genoa
Genoa |Ligurian]] Zena ; Latin and, archaically, English Genua) is a city and an important seaport in northern Italy, the capital of the Province of Genoa and of the region of Liguria....
on 11 June and lost to Torino (1–5). In the summer of 1936 S.S. Lazio, that was trying to set up a team which could win the championship, offered the team the considerable amount of 400,000 Italian lire for the three promising midfielders Busani
Umberto Busani
Umberto Busani was an Italian footballer who played for a number of Italian clubs in the 1930s and 1940s, most notably S.S. Lazio and S.S.C. Napoli.-Playing career:...
, Riccardi and Milano: grey managers agreed, but the team was no longer up to expectations and fell for the first time 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...
at the end of 1936–37 season.
1937–1956: return in Serie A and first Serie C championships
The first Serie B championship ended with a new disappointment for Alessandria which, after leading the classification for much of the tournament, went on an inexplicable crisis in the final games, being thus achieved and defeated from Modena and Novara. In sequent years, Alessandria was unable to fight concretly for the promotion; in 1943 the championships were suspended because of war. Just in 1945–46 season Alessandria, led by coaches Renato CattaneoRenato Cattaneo (footballer born 1903)
Renato Cattaneo was an Italian professional football player and coach.He played for 8 seasons in the Serie A for U.S. Alessandria Calcio 1912 and A.S. Roma....
and Mario Sperone
Mario Sperone
Mario Sperone was an Italian footballer and manager from Priocca in the region of Piedmont. He is most noted for his career at Torino where he spent nine seasons in total. Sperone went on to manage some of the top clubs in Italy, including AC Milan, Lazio and Torino.-Player:*1927–28 Italian...
obtained the return in Serie A. The permanence in that category was not particularly rewarding and lasted just two years; on 2 May 1948 the club got the heaviest defeat ever suffered by a team in the Italian Serie A history, losing 0–10 against Torino F.C. At the end of that championship, the greys returned in Serie B.
In the Forties, Alexandria was the protagonist of a curious episode when, before a game against Venezia
F.B.C. Unione Venezia
Football Club Unione Venezia , commonly referred to as simply Venezia, is an Italian football club from Venice, Veneto....
, the referee ordered a change of the two teams split, because in his view, the gray shirt was indistinguishable from the black one of the opponents. After the match, F.I.G.C. asked the arbitrator to undergo an eye examination, which shows color-blind: a visit then became mandatory for all referees. Also in those years, the club launched the young talent Gino Armano
Gino Armano
Gino Armano is a former Italian footballer. He played for Internazionale 255 times, scoring 73 times, from 1948 to 1956. He won two National Championships, and was one of the strong attack line of Inter in the 50's, with Lennart Skoglund, Stefano Nyers, and Benito Lorenzi. He played also for...
.
In the late Forties and during the early Fifties Alessandria alternated years of Serie B to the first championships in Serie C
Serie C
The Lega Italiana Calcio Professionistico , commonly known as Lega Pro , is the governing body that runs the third and fourth highest football divisions in Italy, the Prima Divisione and Seconda Divisione respectively. It also includes the sole professional club of San Marino...
, following the unfortunate relegation of 1950.
Last seasons in Serie A and decline
A few months after the beginning of the presidency of the Sacco family, Alessandria returned to Serie A. It happened at the end of the 1956–57 season, after having successfully completed the comeback on CataniaCalcio Catania
Calcio Catania is an Italian football club founded in 1908 and based in Catania, Sicily. The club has spent much of its history in Serie B, gaining promotion to Italy's top league Serie A five times...
and later defeating after extra time Brescia in a qualification match. If in the first decades of its existence the club found its force in the oestrus of its brilliant forwards, in this period proved to be an excellent interpreter of the so-called catenaccio
Catenaccio
Catenaccio is a tactical system in football with an emphasis on defence. In Italian, catenaccio means "door-bolt", implying a highly organized and effective backline defense which is intended to prevent goals.-History:...
. In 1959 a young Gianni Rivera
Gianni Rivera
Giovanni Rivera is an Italian former football midfielder, mostly as an offensive playmaker, who was awarded the Ballon d'Or, one of the most prestigious individual awards in football, in 1969. He played the majority of his career with Serie A side A.C. Milan...
debuted in Serie A. Also in the same year Alessandria played its first match in an international competition, facing the Velež Mostar
FK Velež Mostar
FK Velež , successor of RŠD Velež, is a football club from Bosnia and Herzegovina, from the city of Mostar, founded on June 22, 1922....
in Mitropa Cup
Mitropa Cup
The Mitropa Cup, officially called the La Coupe de l'Europe Centrale was one of the first really international major European football cups for club sides...
.
This happy period for the Alexandrian club ended after 1959–60 relegation. In the Sixties the greys declined in Serie C and in the first Seventies failed several times the promotion in B. In 1973 the club won the first edition 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....
, defeating 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...
in the final match. At the end of 1973–74 championship the club was promoted in Serie B; that season ended up in a frantic way, with coach Dino Ballacci
Dino Ballacci
Dino Ballacci is an Italian football and manager.-Footballer:During his footballer career he became one of the most representative players of Bologna F.C. in the Fifties...
sacking and the subsequent resignation of chairman Sacco, disputed by supporters.
Serie C Years and 2003 Bankruptcy
In 1975, after losing a relegation playoff against ReggianaA.C. Reggiana 1919
Associazione Calcio Reggiana 1919 is an Italian association football club, based in Reggio Emilia, Emilia-Romagna. The club was founded in 1919 as A.C. Reggiana and refounded in July 2005 as Reggio Emilia F.C., but it was renamed A.C. Reggiana 1919 soon after the start of the 2005–06 season. The...
, Alessandria returned in Serie C. Since that moment the gray team became a fixture in that category for almost thirty years. In the 1986–87 season the club, suffering by serious economical matters after the abandonment of the Calleri family, was sustained for a period by Massese chairman Bertoneri, who was planning to extend its interests in more than a club (he had tried to baste negotiations with the leaders of Prato
A.C. Prato
Associazione Calcio Prato is an Italian association football club, based in Prato, Tuscany.Prato currently plays in Lega Pro Prima Divisione group B, having last been in Serie B in 1964.The team's colors are blue and white.- History :...
and Carrarese
Carrarese Calcio
Carrarese Calcio is an Italian association football club, based in Carrara, Tuscany. Carrarese currently plays in Lega Pro Prima Divisione, having last been in Serie B in 1948. The team's colors are light blue and white.-History:...
): in that dramatic situation Alessandria relegated for the first time in regional categories, except to be later rescued summer of 1987, subsequently to Montebelluna
Calcio Montebelluna
Calcio Montebelluna is an Italian association football club located in Montebelluna, Veneto. It currently plays in Serie D. Its colors are white and blue.-External links:*...
failure.
In that same year came to head of Alessandria the founder of AGV Gino Amisano, which joined his name to the club for almost fifteen years; in this period the team gained two promotions in 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....
(in 1988–89 and 1990–91) and obtained economical support by Kappa
Kappa (company)
Kappa is an Italian company specialized at the manufacture of sporting clothes and accessories, that started as a sock and underwear manufacturer in 1916 in Turin.-Logo:...
clothing company. In Serie C1 the club obtained good results, but never ran for promotion; in 1998, after a hard championship, Alessandria fell again in Serie C2, overwhelmed in the relegation playout by Pistoiese
A.C. Pistoiese
Unione Sportiva Pistoiese 1921 is an Italian association football club, based in Pistoia, Tuscany.At the end of the 2010-11 Eccellenza season, Pistoiese was promoted to Serie D....
.
After the 1999–00 season, hopes of promotion subsided the following year, due to declining performances. The next several years were especially turbulent for the club as the Spinelli family struggled with their finances. Alessandria was dropped to the amateur leagues and the club was declared bankrupt in 2003..
The comeback in Lega Pro
Despite the strong opposition of Alessandria supporters, a new club called Nuova Alessandria was founded; it took part in the EccellenzaEccellenza
Eccellenza is the sixth level of Italian football. It is a regional league, composed of 28 divisions divided geographically. All 20 regions are represented by at least one division except for Piedmont and Aosta Valley which share 2 divisions...
championship. In 2004 a consortium of local businessmen purchased the original brand.
It since the 2009-10 season, the club as taken part in the Lega Pro Prima Divisione championship. In the summer of 2011 it was relegated by the Corte di Giustizia Federale of FIGC (the Italian Football Association's Court of Justice) to Lega Pro Seconda Divisione when former president Giogio Veltroni was found guilty of a betting scandal.
Stadium
Alessandria
-Monuments:* The Citadel * The church of Santa Maria di Castello * The church of Santa Maria del Carmine * Palazzo Ghilini * Università del Piemonte Orientale-Museums:* The Marengo Battle Museum...
. It has a grass pitch whose dimensions are 105 by 68.4 meters.
Players
Notable Former Managers
Federico AllasioFederico Allasio
Federico Allasio was an Italian footballer who was midfielder and manager from Turin. He started his footballing career with hometown side Torino, before going on to play for Genoa and Suzzara.-References:...
Giulio Cappelli
Giulio Cappelli
Giulio Cappelli was an Italian football player who competed in the 1936 Summer Olympics.He was a member of the Italian team, which won the gold medal in the football tournament.-External links:**...
Carlo Carcano
Carlo Carcano
Carlo Carcano born in Masnago, Province of Varese was an Italian footballer and manager. As a player Carcano was a one club man, playing for Alessandria as well as representing Italy....
Bert Flatley
Bert Flatley
Albert Austin Flatley was an English footballer and football manager.-Football career:Flatley was on the books of Wolverhampton Wanderers before joining York City where he made his debut in the 1938–39 season. He joined Port Vale in June 1939, playing twice before World War II stopped all...
Luciano Foschi
Luciano Foschi
Luciano Foschi is a retired Italian football player, now a coach.As a player, Foschi made his debut in the 1985-1986 football season as a defender for S.S. Lazio. He played then for the most of his career in Serie C2, winning two championships with A.C...
Lajos Kovács
Lajos Kovács
Lajos Nems Kovács was a Hungarian footballer and manager from Budapest. He is most noted for his career as a footballing manager in Italy at clubs such as Roma, Bologna and Alessandria.-References:...
Ferenc Molnár
Ferenc Molnár
LanguageFerenc Molnár was a Hungarian dramatist and novelist. His Americanized name was Franz Molnar...
Corrado Orrico
Corrado Orrico
Corrado Orrico is an Italian football coach, best known for coaching Inter Milan in 1991–92.-Career:Orrico started his coaching career by serving as head in a number of minor division clubs in his native Tuscany, and he gained popularity after guiding Lucchese to impressive results in the Italian...
Roberto Pruzzo
Roberto Pruzzo
Roberto Pruzzo is an Italian former football striker, now a coach.-Biography and career:Born at Crocefieschi, in the province of Genoa, Pruzzo made his debut in professional football for Genoa in 1973. There he remained for six seasons, scoring 57 goals in 143 matches.Pruzzo passed to Roma in...
Pietro Rava
Pietro Rava
Pietro Rava was an Italian football defender and coach. He won the 1936 Summer Olympics and the 1938 FIFA World Cup with the Italian national team....
Giuseppe Sabadini
Giuseppe Sabadini
Giuseppe Sabadini is an Italian football coach and a former player.He played 18 seasons in the Serie A for U.C. Sampdoria, A.C. Milan, F.C...
External links
- Official Site
- Unione Sportiva Alessandria 1912 – Short Historical Overview 1896–1961 prepared by Enrico Acerbi for RSSSF
- Associazione Orgoglio Grigio ‘Grey Pride Association’: a supporters site