U.S. Pro Vercelli Calcio
Encyclopedia
Football Club Pro Vercelli 1892, commonly known as Pro Vercelli, is an Italian association football
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 Vercelli
Vercelli
Vercelli is a city and comune of about 47,000 inhabitants in the Province of Vercelli, Piedmont, northern Italy. One of the oldest urban sites in northern Italy, it was founded, according to most historians, around the year 600 BC.The city is situated on the river Sesia in the plain of the river...

, 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...

. The team currently plays in Lega Pro Prima Divisione.

The club officially formed in 2010, following the collapse of U.S. Pro Vercelli Calcio in Lega Pro Seconda Divisione. The previous incarnation of the club was founded in 1892 and was one of the most successful Italian clubs in the early decades of the twentieth century, winning seven national titles between 1908 and 1922.
Its trademark and honours were transferred from Vercelli
Vercelli
Vercelli is a city and comune of about 47,000 inhabitants in the Province of Vercelli, Piedmont, northern Italy. One of the oldest urban sites in northern Italy, it was founded, according to most historians, around the year 600 BC.The city is situated on the river Sesia in the plain of the river...

 municipality at A.S. Pro Belvedere Vercelli, the city's other team (founded in 1912), which changed its name and was therefore allowed to continue the history of Pro Vercelli.
Foundation

The Società Ginnastica Pro Vercelli (Pro Vercelli Gymnastics Society) was established in 1892, with its Football Division founded in 1903.
The first official match for the football division of S.G. Pro Vercelli took place on 3 August 1903 against the Forza e Costanza.

1907 saw Pro Vercelli's football team win the Subs Division, and subsequently the club were admitted to Italian National League
Serie 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...

 for the first time. Success followed quickly, with the following two years (1908 and 1909) producing the first national championship titles for the "White Shirts".
Phenomenal success

The team earned a place in the 1909–10 Championship final. However, a disagreement arose with the Italian Football Federation (F.I.F. – now called the F.I.G.C.) on the arranged date of the match, which clashed with another, previously scheduled match. Pro Vercelli chose to take part only with a youth team, eventually losing the title to Inter.

Nevertheless, the Leoni ("Lions", so called for their notorious hard and not always clean tackles) did not take long to once again prove their supremacy in Italian football. They remained undefeated for the next three seasons, with the unprecedented capture of three titles in a row in 1910–11, 1911–12 and 1912–13.

These years began the legends of the famous Midfield Line of Wonders, formed by Ara, Milano I and Leone. In the same years Pro Vercelli also formed, the backbone of the first Italian national teams
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...

, with nine players representing the Piedmont club.

After such an incredible beginning, Pro Vercelli then had to wait the end of the Great War
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...

 and 1920–21 to win another National title. In the following years Pro Vercelli remained among the best Italian teams, but fell short of achieving the top prize. Other teams such as arch-rivals 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....

, Genoa
Genoa C.F.C.
Genoa Cricket and Football Club, commonly referred to simply as Genoa , is a professional Italian football club based in the city of Genoa, Liguria...

 and Inter overtook the "White Shirts", breaking a dominance not experienced before or since.

In 1921–22, after a row over the structure of the Italian league competition, the Italian Football Federation split, with all the major teams forming the independent Italian Football Confederation
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...

 (C.C.I.
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...

). Pro Vercelli joined the CCI league, which had a structure with fewer matches over the year, subsequently and joyously regaining their 7th National title, their last to date.

Pro Vercelli were then invited to Rio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro , commonly referred to simply as Rio, is the capital city of the State of Rio de Janeiro, the second largest city of Brazil, and the third largest metropolitan area and agglomeration in South America, boasting approximately 6.3 million people within the city proper, making it the 6th...

 to play against Flamengo
Clube de Regatas do Flamengo
Clube de Regatas do Flamengo , also known as Flamengo and familiarly as Mengão, is a Brazilian sports club based in the Flamengo bairro, Zona Sul, Rio de Janeiro, best known for its professional football team...

 and Botafogo
Botafogo de Futebol e Regatas
Botafogo de Futebol e Regatas , also known as Botafogo and familiarly as Estrela Solitária, is a Brazilian sports club based in Botafogo, neighborhood of Rio de Janeiro, best known for its football team. They play in the Campeonato Carioca, Rio de Janeiro's state league, and the Campeonato...

. In the days before formalised European competition, Liverpool F.C.
Liverpool F.C.
Liverpool Football Club is an English Premier League football club based in Liverpool, Merseyside. Liverpool has won eighteen League titles, second most in English football, seven FA Cups and a record seven League Cups...

, during a European tour as English Champions, played all of the strongest teams of the continent, defeating all except one: they could only manage a draw with Pro Vercelli in a clash of the finest sides of Europe on the day.
Decline

1934-35 was the season that marked the beginning of the slow but steady decline of Pro Vercelli. The Bianche Casacche were eventually relegated 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 steady modernisation of the game saw the small town team drop to 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...

 for the first time in 1940–41. It returned to Serie B in 1946 and stayed for 2 years. It played 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...

 between 1948–1962 and 1971-1978.

In the 1977-78 season the team were relegated to 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 the following season to Serie D
Serie D
Serie D is the top level of the Italian non-professional football association called Lega Nazionale Dilettanti. The association represents over a million football players and thousands of football teams across Italy. Serie D ranks just below Lega Pro Seconda Divisione , and is thus considered the...

. They returned to 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...

 in 1984, but were relegated back to Serie D
Serie D
Serie D is the top level of the Italian non-professional football association called Lega Nazionale Dilettanti. The association represents over a million football players and thousands of football teams across Italy. Serie D ranks just below Lega Pro Seconda Divisione , and is thus considered the...

 the subsequent season.
Scudetto Dilettanti 1993-94

It returns in 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...

 on 1994 when wins group A of Serie D
Serie D
Serie D is the top level of the Italian non-professional football association called Lega Nazionale Dilettanti. The association represents over a million football players and thousands of football teams across Italy. Serie D ranks just below Lega Pro Seconda Divisione , and is thus considered the...

 and the Scudetto Dilettanti.
The radiation

In recent years, U.S. Pro Vercelli Calcio have been fairly stable at mid-table in the Italian fourth division (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...

). In July 2005 a new chairman, Vero Paganoni, took over at the helm of the club.

To the strong debt it is not allowed to the 2010-11 Lega Pro Seconda Divisione and so radiated.

In the summer of 2010 the club changes his name to U.S. Vercelli Calcio, remaining always president Vero Paganoni of a club that today it is inactive, for make become A.S. Pro Belvedere Vercelli the new Pro Vercelli.
The myth continues with the new Pro Vercelli

Honours and trademark were assigned from Vercelli
Vercelli
Vercelli is a city and comune of about 47,000 inhabitants in the Province of Vercelli, Piedmont, northern Italy. One of the oldest urban sites in northern Italy, it was founded, according to most historians, around the year 600 BC.The city is situated on the river Sesia in the plain of the river...

 municipality to A.S. Pro Belvedere Vercelli, that changed its denomination to the current one.

In season 2010–11 the team played in Lega Pro Seconda Divisione ranking 3rd and was eliminated from Pro Patria in the semifinal of the play-off, but August 4, 2011 it was later admitted to Lega Pro Prima Divisione to fill vacancies..

Current squad

Honours

  • Italian Football Championship
    Italian Football Championship
    The Italian Football Championship was the most senior football championship in Italy from the 1897/1898 season to the 1921/1922 season. In that last season, a concurrent championship, the Prima Divisione, was played by the richest clubs, which wanted to improve their income with a more elitarian...

    • Champions 7: 1908, 1909, 1910–11
      Italian Football Championship 1910-11
      The winner was Pro Vercelli.-Classification:-Results table:* Please note that the home teams are read down the left hand side while the away teams are indicated along the top.-Classification:-Results table:...

      , 1911–12, 1912–13, 1920–21, 1921–22
      Italian Football Championship 1921-22 (C.C.I.)
      Italian Football Championship 1921-22 was formed during the summer of 1921, as a result of a dispute between the Federazione Italiana Giuoco Calcio and the main teams....

    • Runners-up 1: 1909–10
  • 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...

    • Winners 1: 1907
  • Serie D
    Serie D
    Serie D is the top level of the Italian non-professional football association called Lega Nazionale Dilettanti. The association represents over a million football players and thousands of football teams across Italy. Serie D ranks just below Lega Pro Seconda Divisione , and is thus considered the...

    • Winners 4: 1956-57, 1970-71, 1983–1984, 1993–1994
  • Scudetto Dilettanti:
    • Winners 1: 1993-94

Famous players


  Italy
  • Guido Ara
    Guido Ara
    Guido Ara was an Italian association footballer and manager from Vercelli in the region of Piedmont. He is most noted for his playing career at Pro Vercelli where he was a one club man, winning six Serie A titles; during the club's entire history they only won seven...

  • Pietro Ferraris
    Pietro Ferraris
    Pietro Ferraris was an Italian football player.Ferraris was born in Vercelli, Piedmont.He was a striker for Ambrosiana-Inter and eventual world champions Italy at the 1938 FIFA World Cup, he scored a goal in their first round match against Norway. He also played for Pro Vercelli, Napoli, Torino...

  • Silvio Piola
    Silvio Piola
    Silvio Piola was an Italian footballer from Robbio Lomellina, province of Pavia. He is known as a highly prominent figure in the history of Italian football due to several records he set. Piola won the 1938 FIFA World Cup with Italy, scoring two goals in the final.Piola is third in the all-time...

  • Virginio Rosetta
    Virginio Rosetta
    Virginio "Viri" Rosetta was an Italian football player. He was also a precision passer.Rosetta was born in Vercelli, Piedmont, where he debuted for Pro Vercelli in the Italian First Division in the 1919-20 season, as a striker...

  • Giuseppe Cavanna
    Giuseppe Cavanna
    Giuseppe Cavanna was an Italian football goalkeeper. Born in Vercelli, he played in the 1920s and 1930s for Pro Vercelli and S.S.C. Napoli. He played 151 matches in Serie A...

  • Teobaldo Depetrini
    Teobaldo Depetrini
    Teobaldo Depetrini was an Italian football player and coach from Vercelli in the Province of Vercelli. He played club football for his hometown side Pro Vercelli, Juventus and Torino....


External links

Official site Information page in English and Italian. Game reports, articles, stats, polls and a guestbook. A photographic site. Pictures of Pro Vercelli.
The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
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