US Alessandria Calcio 1912

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Alessandria
Full nameUnione Sportiva Alessandria Calcio 1912 S.r.l.
Nickname(s)I Grigi (The Greys)
L'Orso (The Bear)
Founded1912
2003 (refounded)
GroundStadio Giuseppe Moccagatta,
Alessandria, Italy
Capacity6,000
ChairmanEnea Benedetto
ManagerMarco Banchini
LeagueSerie C Group A
2022–23Serie C Group B, 17th of 20
WebsiteClub website
Current season

Unione Sportiva Alessandria Calcio 1912, commonly referred to as Alessandria, is an Italian football club based in Alessandria, Piedmont. It currently plays in Serie C, the third tier of Italian football.

History

Brief history

Founded in 1912, Alessandria spent 13 seasons in

Casale, part of the so-called Quadrilatero Piemontese ("Piedmont Quadrilateral"), which forged great players and won important trophies.[1]

The greatest player to have worn the club's characteristic and unique grey shirt is the 2 time FIFA World Cup & 1 time Central European International Cup winner Giovanni Ferrari, other notabilities include FIFA World Cup & Central European International Cup winners Felice Borel & Luigi Bertolini, FIFA World Cup & 1936 Summer Olympics winner Pietro Rava, Central European International Cup winner & 1928 Summer Olympics Bronze medalist Adolfo Baloncieri & UEFA European Championship winner & FIFA World Cup runner-up Gianni Rivera. Other players making it the national team like Carlo Carcano also appeared for Alessandria. With the promotion in 2009 in Lega Pro Prima Divisione, the team finally left behind a long period of financial troubles and internal problems that had led the club to bankruptcy in 2003.

From 1912 to today

First football teams in Alessandria and birth of Football Club

An early photo of FBC Alessandria

Football arrived in Alessandria in the end of 19th century; there are reports regarding a match played in which a team of Alessandria played against one from

Genoa CFC,[6] it preferred to leave and keep on participating in tournaments organized by FGNI.[2]

In 1908 Forza and Coraggio members decided to set up a team which could finally dispute the Italian Championship.[clarification needed] It happened on 18 February 1912[7] with the foundation of Alessandria Foot Ball Club by Enrico Badò, Amilcare Savojardo and Alfredo Ratti, who was elected first director (chairman).[8] The first shirts, bought from Vigor Torino, were azure, with a large vertical white stripe in the center. The team was admitted to the Promozione (second division) for the 1912–13 season, immediately gaining a promotion after a decisive match played against Vigor Torino in Novara, of which the score was 3–0. In the same year, businessman Giovanni Maino offered eleven grey shirts, similar to those worn by his famous cycling team, to Alessandria FBC.[9]

The first national championships and post-war

In 1913 the team recruited the English player-coach

George Arthur Smith, coming from the ranks of Genoa; he proved to be a great football teacher and, thanks to him, talented players like Adolfo Baloncieri and Carlo Carcano—who, in the 1930s, coached Juventus FC in the "Quinquennio d'Oro" period and who became on 31 January 1915 the first Alessandria footballer wearing the national football team's jersey—soon exploded in the 1920s.[10] Already in the 1914–15 season, the grey team in Piedmont was very good, missing for only two points the admission to the final round.[clarification needed
]

After

Modena F.C. On 10 July 1921, Alessandria US lost the chance to qualify for the Northern Italy final, losing to U.S. Pro Vercelli in a violent match bitterly contested by Alessandria: they chose to withdraw in protest after just an hour of play (0–4), after a serious head injury occurred in Carcano.[12][clarification needed
]

In subsequent years Alessandria U.S. continued to show excellent performances, but never succeeded in winning a championship, as the tournament was dominated by Pro Vercelli and Genoa, from Bologna CFC 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

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 came close to winning the championship; after qualifying for the eight-team final round, they started to fight for the title against Baloncieri's Torino. It was a heavy, unexpected defeat at Casale that erased the dreams of Carcano's team, for it wasn't enough to defeat Torino in the direct match to win the championship. Alessandria's Goalkeeper Curti, suspected by most of illicit activities, was soon expelled. Furthermore, authorities, already heavily discredited after the "Allemandi Case", deemed it unnecessary to investigate further into the match.[14]

At the end of the 1928–29 season Alessandria was admitted to the first edition of Serie A tournament (1929–30, 6th place) and finally inaugurated the new stadium.[15] In the early 1930s, several players left the club, still tied to amateurism, to migrate to large centers; Carcano, Ferrari and Bertolini signed for Juventus and Allesandria greatly lost its potential, not gaining anything but middle-ranking positions.

In 1936, the team, after beating

Coppa Italia final, played in Genoa on 11 June and lost to Torino (1–5). In the summer of 1936 S.S. Lazio, who 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:[16] Alessandria 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
.

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 for much of the tournament, fell in the final games, suffering defeats from Modena and Novara. In subsequent years, Alessandria was unable to fight effectively for the promotion; in 1943 the championships were suspended due to the outbreak of

Renato Cattaneo and Mario Sperone obtained the return in Serie A. The team remained in Serie A for two seasons and on 2 May 1948 the club suffered the heaviest defeat ever by a team in Italian Serie A history, losing 0–10 against Torino F.C.[17]
At the end of that championship, they returned to Serie B.

In the 1940s, Alessandria was the subject of a curious incident when, before a game against

color-blind: a test then became mandatory for all referees.[18] Also in those years, the club launched the young talent Gino Armano
.

In the late 1940s and during the early 1950s, Alessandria alternated years of Serie B to the first championships in Serie C, 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

Catania and later defeating Brescia in extra time in a qualification match. If in the first decades of its existence the club found its force in its brilliant forwards, this period proved to be an excellent interpreter of the so-called catenaccio. In 1959 a young Gianni Rivera debuted in Serie A.[19] 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 Alessandria club ended after

Avellino in the final match. At the end of the 1973–74 championships, the club were promoted to Serie B; that season ended up in a frantic way, with coach Dino Ballacci
being sacked and the subsequent resignation of chairman Sacco, disputed by supporters.

Serie C years and 2003 bankruptcy

In 1975, after losing a relegation playoff against

Carrarese): in that dramatic situation Alessandria relegated for the first time in regional categories, though they improved in the summer of 1987, before losing to Montebelluna
.

In that same year the head of Alessandria became the founder of AGV Gino Amisano, who was head of the club for almost fifteen years; in this period the team gained two promotions in

Pistoiese
.

After the 1999–2000 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.[21] Alessandria dropped to the amateur leagues and the club was declared formally bankrupt in 2003.[22]

The Comeback in Lega Pro

Despite the strong opposition of Alessandria supporters,[23] a new club called Nuova Alessandria was founded; it took part in the Eccellenza championship. In 2004 a consortium of local businessmen purchased the original brand.

Ever since the 2009–10 season, the club took 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 club president Giogio Veltroni was found guilty of a betting scandal.[24] Alessandria finally finished Seconda Divisione in 3rd place and qualified to Divisione Unica for 2014–15 season.

Alessandria defeated

Bari had achieved this in 1983–84.[25] They then defeated Spezia 2–1 to reach a semi-final against AC Milan
, which they lost 6–0 on aggregate.

Return to Serie B

During the play-offs of the 2020–21 season for the final promotion to Serie B, Alessandria eliminated

AlbinoLeffe respectively in the quarter-finals and in the semi-finals, meeting Padova
in the final. The first leg at the Euganeo in Padua ended 0–0. In the return match, at Moccagatta in Alessandria, during the 90 minutes of regulation and the following 30 extra minutes the result remained 0–0. The final promotion was therefore decided by penalties, with Alessandria winning 5–4, thus returning, for the first time since 1975, to Serie B. Unfortunately, Alessandria went straight back down from Serie B. They will compete in Serie C for the upcoming 2022–2023 season.

Stadium

Stadium "Giuseppe Moccagatta" today.

Alessandria is based at the Stadio Giuseppe Moccagatta which was built in 1929 and it can hold 6000 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. In the past the stadium has contained over 25,000 spectators.

Players

Current squad

As of 5 February 2024[26]

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 Italy ITA Alessandro Farroni (on loan from Vis Pesaro)
2 DF Italy ITA Stefano Crivellaro
3 DF Italy ITA Enrico Rossi
4 MF Italy ITA Marco Nichetti
5 MF Italy ITA Federico Gentile
6 DF Spain ESP Ian Soler
7 FW Morocco MAR Marwen Gazoul
8 DF Greece GRE Arensi Rota
9 FW Equatorial Guinea EQG Óscar Siafá
11 FW Italy ITA Gennaro Anatriello (on loan from Bologna)
12 GK Italy ITA Leonardo Rossi
13 DF Italy ITA Lorenzo Giubilato
14 MF Italy ITA Alessandro Pellitteri
15 FW Italy ITA Antonio Ronci
17 DF Albania ALB Ertijon Gega (on loan from Sampdoria)
18 MF Italy ITA Lorenzo Pellegrini
No. Pos. Nation Player
20 MF Argentina ARG Nicolás Femia
21 DF Italy ITA Leonardo Nunzella
22 GK Italy ITA Rosario Rizzitano
23 DF Italy ITA Simone Ciancio
24 MF Italy ITA Alessandro Mastalli
26 DF Senegal SEN Ndir Mame Ass (on loan from Ternana)
28 MF Italy ITA Giovanni Foresta
29 FW Lithuania LTU
Karolis Laukzemis
30 DF Italy ITA Diego Gueli
31 FW Italy ITA Tommaso Busatto
32 DF Italy ITA Filippo Fiumanò (on loan from Pro Vercelli)
33 GK Italy ITA Andrea Spurio
53 MF Italy ITA Simone Molinaro
66 MF Italy ITA Alfonso Sepe (on loan from Sampdoria)
79 FW Italy ITA Doudou Mangni (on loan from Lecco)
99 FW Italy ITA Luigi Samele (on loan from Sassuolo)

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
— MF Italy ITA Lorenzo Podda (at
Sestri Levante
until 30 June 2024)

Notable former players

Further information: Category:US Alessandria Calcio 1912 players

Former managers

Honours

Divisional movements

Series Years Last Promotions Relegations
A 13 1959–60 – Decrease 3 (1937, 1948, 1960)
B 21 2021–22 Increase 2 (
1946, 1957
)		 Decrease 3 (1950, 1967, 1975)
+C2
 		34
+17		 2020–21 Increase 3 (1953, 1974, 2021)
Increase 6 (1981 C2, 1989 C2, 1991 C2, 2000 C2, 2009 C2, 2014 C2)		 Decrease 6 (1980 C1, 1982 C1, 1990 C1, 1998 C1, 2001 C1, 2011 C1)
Decrease 1 (2003✟)
85 out of 90 years of professional football in Italy since 1929
D 3 2007–08 Increase 1 (2008) never
E 2 2004–05 Increase 1 (2005) never

References

  1. ^ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 21 July 2011. Retrieved 19 May 2011.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) Citation by Vittorio Pozzo.
  2. ^ a b [1] U.S. Alessandria 1912 – Short Historical Overview 1896–1961, rsssf.org
  3. ^ "Archivio – LASTAMPA.it". Archived from the original on 22 July 2011. Retrieved 12 August 2010. Roberto Gelato. «Scudetto ad Alessandria», da «La Stampa» – 19 September 2003, p. 53.
  4. ^ [2] Gianluca Marchionne, 1898–2008. 110 anni dal primo campionato italiano di calcio
  5. ^ [3] Aldo Padovano (a cura di), 1898–1906, il primo grande Genoa
  6. ^ [4] Roberto Beccantini. Un secolo allo stadio, da «La Stampa» – 8 May 1998, p. 21.
  7. ^ [5] L'Alessandria Calcio in vetrina, giornal.it
  8. ^ [6] Ugo Boccassi. Riscriviamo la vecchia storia dei grigi, da «La Stampa» – 15 August 2003, p. 44.
  9. ^ "FORZAGRIGI.IT". Archived from the original on 22 July 2011. Retrieved 12 August 2010. "Perché le maglie grigie", da Alessandria U.S.: 60 anni
  10. ^ [7] Tabellino di Italia-Svizzera 3–1 del 31 gennaio 1915
  11. ^ Marino Bartoletti, Viva la gloriosa Alessandria che ha fatto... novanta
  12. ^ «Grigincampo», year I n. 4, January 2002
  13. ^ [8] Foto Alessandria-Casale, da cinghialecasale.blogspot.com
  14. ^ «Grigincampo», year I n. 3, December 2001
  15. ^ [9] La via alessandrina al... Moccagatta, da alessandriacalcio.it
  16. ^ Carlo F. Chiesa. Tempi grigi per il vecchio quadrilatero, from «Calcio 2000» – February 2002, page 68.
  17. ^ [10] Interview to Franco Ossola on comune.torino.it
  18. ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 3 July 2009. Retrieved 12 August 2010.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) Cassiano Ricardo Gobbet, Alessandria: Mais um na boca do fosso
  19. ^ [11] Corrado Sannucci. Rivera, 60 anni e molti nemici, from repubblica.it – 18 August 2003
  20. ^ "::::::: Serie D News :::::::". Archived from the original on 21 September 2009. Retrieved 12 August 2010. Mimma Caligaris. Alessandria: la storia, da seriednews.com
  21. ^ [12] Nicola Binda. Alessandria-Livorno, uno Spinelli di troppo, from «La Gazzetta dello Sport», 1 August 2000
  22. ^ [13] Dichiarato fallito il glorioso club grigio, from «La Stampa», 14 August 2003.
  23. ^ [14] Lo ribadiamo: ci pare un'operazione poco seria, from «La Stampa», 12 August 2003
  24. ^ Associazione Orgoglio Grigio
  25. ^ "Third-tier Alessandria beat Genoa to reach Italian Cup quarter-finals". BBC Sport. 16 December 2015. Retrieved 19 December 2015.
  26. ^ "Rosa | U.S. ALESSANDRIA CALCIO 1912" (in Italian). Alessandriacalcio.it. Retrieved 5 January 2016.

External links

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