Brescia Calcio

Italian association football club

Football club
Brescia
Full nameBrescia Calcio S.p.A.
Nickname(s)Le Rondinelle (The Little Swallows)
I Biancazzurri (The White and Blues)
La Leonessa (The Lioness)
Founded1911; 113 years ago (1911)
GroundStadio Mario Rigamonti,
Brescia, Italy
Capacity19,500
OwnerMassimo Cellino
PresidentMassimo Cellino[1]
Head coachRolando Maran
LeagueSerie B
2022–23Serie B, 16th of 20
WebsiteClub website
Home colours
Away colours
Current season
The performance of Brescia in the Italian football league structure since the first season of a unified Serie A (1929/30).

Brescia Calcio, commonly referred to as Brescia (Italian pronunciation: [ˈbreʃʃa ˈkaltʃo]), is an Italian football club based in Brescia, Lombardy, that currently plays in Serie B, the second tier of Italian football.

The club holds the record for total number of seasons (64) and consecutive seasons (18, from 1947–48 to 1964–65) in Serie B, which they have won four times. Their best finish in Serie A came in the 2000–01 season when they placed eighth. At the beginning of the 21st century, led by the 1993 Ballon d'Or winner Roberto Baggio, the club also qualified for the Intertoto Cup twice, reaching the final in 2001 but being defeated on away goals by Paris Saint-Germain. During this era, Pep Guardiola, former Barcelona captain and later a highly decorated manager, also played for the club.

The team's colours are blue and white. Its stadium is the 19,550-seater[2] Stadio Mario Rigamonti. They have a long-standing rivalry with Atalanta from nearby Bergamo.[3][4]

History

The team was founded in 1911 as Brescia Football Club, joining the Terza Categoria division the same year.[citation needed] In 1913, Brescia was promoted to First Division for the first time, and from 1929 they played in Serie A for six of the seven following seasons.[citation needed] Successively, the club played among the two top divisions until 1982, when Brescia was relegated to Serie C.[citation needed] The club then returned to Serie B in 1985.[citation needed] Brescia played outside the two divisions of Lega Calcio (Serie A and B) only four years; under this aspect, only 11 clubs in all Italy marked a better performance.[citation needed]

1940–41 Brescia team

Brescia won the Anglo-Italian Cup in 1994, the biggest achievement in their history to date.[citation needed] Brescia actually[tone] came to the footballing forefront only in 2000, when the previously unfancied club signed former FIFA World Player of the Year Roberto Baggio, who led Brescia to a seventh-place finish in the 2000–01 season, thus qualifying for the UEFA Intertoto Cup.[citation needed] Successively, Brescia reached the Intertoto Cup finals, then lost to Paris Saint-Germain via the away goals rule after achieving a 0–0[5] away draw in the first leg and a 1–1[6] home draw in the second leg. Baggio spent four years at Brescia before retiring in 2004 and during those historic four years, Brescia became widely known as "Baggio's Brescia".[citation needed] During Baggio's four-year spell with Brescia, the club recorded its best-ever run of staying in Serie A.[citation needed] In the very next season that followed Baggio's retirement (2004–05), however, Brescia were relegated from Serie A on the last day, finishing a lowly 19th.[citation needed] Brescia struggled for returning to top flight after the relegation and finally returned to Serie A after beating Torino with a 2–1 aggregate in the 2009–10 season.[citation needed] In the 2010–11 season, however, they were relegated back to Serie B.[citation needed] In the 2014–15 season, they were relegated to Lega Pro after finishing second from last.[citation needed] However, after Parma's declaration of bankruptcy and demotion to Serie D, Brescia was among the teams selected to replace them in Serie B.[7] A new promotion to Serie A was secured in the 2018–19 season, with two games to spare.[8]

One of the most decorated managers of all time, Mircea Lucescu, the Romanian Gheorghe Hagi, striker Luca Toni, Barcelona icon Pep Guardiola, Brescian striker Mario Balotelli, defender Mario Rigamonti and playmaker Andrea Pirlo–– which were born in the province of Brescia–– have also spent time playing for the club.[citation needed]

Colours and badge

The traditional home kit

Colours and kit

The first Brescia kit in 1911 was blue (the national colour) with a thick white vertical stripe down the middle, a design which has returned for the centenary season in 2011.[citation needed] The first appearance of a white "V" was in 1927; added so that the team could use Stadium, the newly built home of another team, Virtus.[citation needed] This style remained until 1940 when the "V" was removed and a plain blue shirt was used.[citation needed]

Some substantial changes after World War II saw the shirt become plain white with blue shorts.[citation needed] This was short-lived and, in 1954, the plain blue shirt returned.[citation needed] The white "V" also returned eventually in 1961 as a show of goodwill by the new chairman at the time.[citation needed]

The "V" disappeared again in 1969; replaced by a diagonal white sash, and returned, but much smaller, in 1974 for two years. The "V" was situated over the heart with the inclusion of the lioness, the symbol of the city of Brescia. The shirt remained plain blue until 1991, when the "V" returned and has been used ever since.[9]

Badge

The first badge appeared on Brescia kits in the 1980s; a blue crest with a golden outline featuring a lion.[citation needed] The city of Brescia is known as Leonessa d'Italia (the Lioness of Italy) after ten days of popular uprising that took place in the city in the spring of 1849 against Austrian rule.[citation needed]

The crest was changed for the centenary of Brescia Calcio in 2011, featuring higher visibility, leaves, and a substantial redesign of the old logo.[citation needed]

The thick profile of the gold shield and laurel branches surrounding the badge are in pure celebration of achieving 100 years of age.[citation needed] The lettering has changed in favour of a font in the style of the period when the team was founded.[citation needed]

The Lion that, due to a misunderstanding of history,[clarification needed] many[who?] believe to be a lioness (the definition of Leonessa d'Italia was assigned to Brescia following the uprisings, but the lion as a symbol of Brescia dates back to the Republic of Venice), has undergone a total redesign which aims to fix some errors in heraldic iconography (the absence of nails, muscle weakness and weak curvature of the tail) and to restore a more toned and ferocious looking lion, the symbol a football team should[why?] have.[10]

Seasons

  • 1913/14 – North League Qualifying round Group E 5th place
  • 1914/15 – North League Qualifying round Group E 3rd place
  • 1915/19 – league suspended due to World War I
  • 1919/20 – North League-Lombardia Group A runner-up, Semifinal Round Group B 5th place
  • 1920/21 – North League-Lombardia Group E 3rd place
  • 1921/22 – North League Group B 11th place
  • 1922/23 – North League Group C 7th place
  • 1923/24 – 1st division Group A 10th place
  • 1924/25 – 1st division Group A 10th place
  • 1925/26 – 1st division Group A 8th place
  • 1926/27 – 1st division Group A 7th place
  • 1927/28 – 1st division Group A 5th place
  • 1928/29 – 1st division Group B runner-up
  • 1929/30 – Serie A 9th place
  • 1930/31 – Serie A 9th place
  • 1931/32 – Serie A 17th place, relegated to Serie B
  • 1932/33 – Serie B runner-up, promoted to Serie A
  • 1933/34 – Serie A 12th place
  • 1934/35 – Serie A 10th place
  • 1935/36 – Serie A bottom, relegated to Serie B
  • 1936/37 – Serie B 7th place
  • 1937/38 – Serie B 14th place, relegated to Serie C
  • 1938/39 – Serie C, promoted to Serie B
  • 1939/40 – Serie B 5th place
  • 1940/41 – Serie B 3rd place
  • 1941/42 – Serie B 5th place
  • 1942/43 – Serie B runner-up, promoted to Serie A
  • 1943/45 – league suspended due to World War II
  • 1945/46 – Northern Italy Serie A Championship 4th place
  • 1946/47 – Serie A 18th place, relegated to Serie B group A
  • 1947/48 – Serie B Group A runner-up
  • 1948/49 – Serie B 5th place
  • 1949/50 – Serie B 6th place
  • 1950/51 – Serie B 9th place
  • 1951/52 – Serie B runner-up
  • 1952/53 – Serie B 4th place
  • 1953/54 – Serie B 9th place
  • 1954/55 – Serie B 5th place
  • 1955/56 – Serie B 7th place
  • 1956/57 – Serie B third place
  • 1957/58 – Serie B 8th place
  • 1958/59 – Serie B 13th place
  • 1959/60 – Serie B 7th place
  • 1960/61 – Serie B 15th place
  • 1961/62 – Serie B 8th place
  • 1962/63 – Serie B 4th place
  • 1963/64 – Serie B 7th place
  • 1964/65 – Serie B Champion, promoted to Serie A
  • 1965/66 – Serie A 9th place
  • 1966/67 – Serie A 13th place
  • 1967/68 – Serie A 14th place, relegated to Serie B
  • 1968/69 – Serie B runner-up, promoted to Serie A
  • 1969/70 – Serie A 14th place, relegated to Serie B
  • 1970/71 – Serie B 5th place
  • 1971/72 – Serie B 12th place
  • 1972/73 – Serie B 17th place
  • 1973/74 – Serie B 12th place
  • 1974/75 – Serie B 9th place
  • 1975/76 – Serie B 5th place
  • 1976/77 – Serie B 16th place
  • 1977/78 – Serie B 14th place
  • 1978/79 – Serie B 8th place
  • 1979/80 – Serie B third place, promoted to Serie A
  • 1980/81 – Serie A 14th place, relegated to Serie B
  • 1981/82 – Serie B 18th place, relegated to Serie C/1A
  • 1982/83 – Serie C/1A 11th place
  • 1983/84 – Serie C/1A 5th place
  • 1984/85 – Serie C/1A Champion, promoted to Serie B
  • 1985/86 – Serie B runner-up, promoted to Serie A
  • 1986/87 – Serie A 14th place, relegated to Serie B
  • 1987/88 – Serie B 8th place
  • 1988/89 – Serie B 16th place
  • 1989/90 – Serie B 10th place
  • 1990/91 – Serie B 9th place
  • 1991/92 – Serie B Champion, promoted to Serie A
  • 1992/93 – Serie A 16th place, relegated to Serie B
  • 1993/94 – Serie B third place, promoted to Serie A
  • 1994/95 – Serie A bottom, relegated to Serie B
  • 1995/96 – Serie B 16th place
  • 1996/97 – Serie B Champion, promoted to Serie A
  • 1997/98 – Serie A 15th place, relegated to Serie B
  • 1998/99 – Serie B 7th place
  • 1999/2000 – Serie B third place, promoted to Serie A
  • 2000/01 – Serie A 8th place
  • 2001/02 – Serie A 14th place, Intertoto Cup runner-up
  • 2002/03 – Serie A 10th place
  • 2003/04 – Serie A 11th place
  • 2004/05 – Serie A 19th place, relegated to Serie B
  • 2005/06 – Serie B 10th place
  • 2006/07 – Serie B 6th place
  • 2007/08 – Serie B 5th place
  • 2008/09 – Serie B 4th place, lost promotion playoff final to Livorno
  • 2009/10 – Serie B 3rd place, won promotion play-off final against Torino, promoted to Serie A
  • 2010/11 – Serie A 19th place, relegated to Serie B
  • 2011/12 – Serie B 9th place
  • 2012/13 – Serie B 6th place, lost promotion playoff semi-final to Livorno
  • 2013/14 – Serie B 13th place
  • 2014/15 – Serie B 21st place
  • 2015/16 – Serie B 11th place
  • 2016/17 – Serie B 15th place
  • 2017/18 – Serie B 16th place
  • 2018/19 – Serie B Champion, promoted to Serie A
  • 2019/20 – Serie A 19th place, relegated to Serie B
  • 2020/21 – Serie B 7th place, lost promotion playoff preliminary round to Cittadella
  • 2021/2022 - Serie B 5th place, lost promotion playoff semifinal to Monza
  • 2022/2023 - Serie B 17th place, relegated after play-outs. Readmitted to the championship following Reggina's insolvency.
  • 2023/2023 - Serie B, tbd
  • Stadium

    The first ground at which football was played in Brescia was Campo Fiera, where the English workers at the Tempini plant played on their breaks.[citation needed]

    In 1911, in the wake of enthusiasm following the foundation of the new club, it is thought a fenced ground was built shortly after on Via Milano.[citation needed]

    In 1920, came the opening of the new ground on Via Cesare Lombroso, Brescia, which was used by the team until 1923.[citation needed] From 1923 until 1959, the team had moved into a more modern and larger facility located at Porta Venezia (then Via Naviglio), built for the town's sports club Virtus and called "Stadium".[citation needed]

    It was in 1956 that the municipality had the idea to move the club to a stadium more suited to host the matches of the new Serie B.[citation needed]

    They began the renovation and construction of the stands to the existing ground at Via Giovanni Novagani.[citation needed] This was completed in 1959 and Brescia began to play their home games in the new Mario Rigamonti stadium (named after the Torino player, Mario Rigamonti, who died in the Superga air disaster).[citation needed]

    Over the years,[quantify] the stadium has undergone several refurbishments (construction of roofing, press room, etc.), the most significant of which was in 2007 with the installation of new security measures.[citation needed]

    Players

    Current squad

    As of 17 January 2024[11][12]

    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 Luca Lezzerini
    3 DF France FRA Matthieu Huard
    4 MF Italy ITA Fabrizio Paghera
    5 MF Netherlands NED Tom van de Looi
    6 DF Algeria ALG Mohamed Farès (on loan from Lazio)
    7 MF Iceland ISL Birkir Bjarnason
    9 FW Italy ITA Flavio Bianchi
    11 FW Italy ITA Gabriele Moncini
    12 GK Italy ITA Simone Cortese
    14 MF Italy ITA Massimiliano Mangraviti
    15 DF Italy ITA Andrea Cistana
    16 DF Italy ITA Raffaele Cartano (on loan from Carrarese)
    18 DF Sweden SWE Alexander Jallow
    20 MF Italy ITA Patrick Nuamah
    No. Pos. Nation Player
    21 MF Italy ITA Riccardo Fogliata
    22 GK Italy ITA Lorenzo Andrenacci
    23 MF Italy ITA Nicolas Galazzi
    24 DF Italy ITA Lorenzo Dickmann (on loan from SPAL)
    25 MF Italy ITA Dimitri Bisoli (Captain)
    26 MF Italy ITA Massimo Bertagnoli
    27 MF Italy ITA Giacomo Olzer
    28 DF Italy ITA Davide Adorni
    29 FW Italy ITA Gennaro Borrelli (on loan from Frosinone)
    30 MF Italy ITA Michele Avella (on loan from Frosinone)
    31 FW Italy ITA Matteo Ferro
    32 DF Italy ITA Andrea Papetti
    33 DF Albania ALB Zylyf Muça
    39 MF Italy ITA Michele Besaggio

    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
    DF Italy ITA Elia Maccherini Tonini (at Carrarese until 30 June 2024)
    No. Pos. Nation Player
    DF Italy ITA Corrado Riviera (at Corticella until 30 June 2024)

    Retired numbers

    Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

    No. Pos. Nation Player
    10 FW Italy ITA Roberto Baggio (2000–04)[citation needed]
    13 DF Italy ITA Vittorio Mero (1998–02, posthumous)[citation needed]

    Technical staff

    Head coach: Rolando Maran
    Assistant coach: Christian Maraner
    Physical coaches: Andrea Tonelli / Luigi Posenato
    Goalkeeper coach: Massimo Lotti
    Game analyst: Davide Farina

    Notable players

    See Category:Brescia Calcio players.

    Notable managers

    See Category:Brescia Calcio managers.

    Honours

    Other titles

    Divisional movements

    Series Years Last Promotions Relegations
    A 23 2019–20 - Decrease 13 (1932, 1936, 1947, 1968, 1970, 1981, 1987, 1993, 1995, 1998, 2005, 2011, 2020)
    B 63 2021–22 Increase 12 (1933, 1943, 1965, 1969, 1980, 1986, 1992, 1994, 1997, 2000, 2010, 2019) Decrease 2 (1938, 1982)
    C 4 1984–85 Increase 2 (1939, 1985) never
    90 years of professional football in Italy since 1929

    Shirt sponsors and manufacturers

    Period Kit manufacturer Shirt sponsor
    1978–79 Umbro[citation needed] None[citation needed]
    1979–1981 Prince of Wales[citation needed]
    1981–82 Umbro[citation needed] Inoxriv[citation needed]
    1982–83 Watergate[citation needed]
    1983–1986 Gazelle[citation needed] Fin-Eco[citation needed]
    1986–1988 Wuhrer[citation needed]
    1988–89 Watergate[citation needed]
    1989–90 UNICEF[citation needed]
    1990–91 Bontempi Sport[citation needed] None[citation needed]
    1991–1994 Uhlsport[citation needed] CAB[citation needed]
    1994–95 ABM[citation needed]
    1995–96 Polenghi[citation needed]
    1996–97 Brescialat[citation needed]
    1997–98 Erreà[citation needed] Ristora[citation needed]
    1998–2001 Garman[citation needed]
    2001–2002 Banca Lombarda[citation needed]
    2002–2004 Umbro[citation needed]
    2004–2005 Kappa[citation needed]
    2005–2006 Banca Lombarda (Banco di Brescia)[citation needed]
    2006–2007 ASICS[citation needed]
    2007–2009 UBI Banca (Banco di Brescia) – Bregoli[citation needed]
    2009–2010 Mass[citation needed] UBI Banca (Banco di Brescia) – Bresciani[citation needed]
    2010–2011 UBI Banca (Banco di Brescia) – Technologic (T-Logic) – Falar – Tescoma[citation needed]
    2011–2012 UBI Banca (Banco di Brescia) – Sama[citation needed]
    2012–2013 Givova[citation needed]
    2013–2014 Adidas[citation needed] UBI Banca (Banco di Brescia)[13] – Tescoma[citation needed]
    2014–2015 Joma[citation needed] UBI Banca (Banco di Brescia) – Falar[citation needed]
    2015–2017 Acerbis[14] UBI Banca (Banco di Brescia)[citation needed]
    2017–2018 UBI Banca[15]
    2019–2025 Kappa[citation needed]

    In Europe

    UEFA Intertoto Cup

    Season Round Club Home Away Aggregate Reference
    2001 Third Round Hungary Tatabánya 2–1 1–1 3–2 [16]
    Semi-final Czech Republic Chmel Blšany 2–2 2–1 4–3
    Final France Paris Saint-Germain 1–1 0–0 1–1 (a)
    2003 Second Round Romania Gloria Bistrița 2–1 1–1 3–2 [17]
    Third Round Spain Villarreal 1–1 0–2 1–3

    References

    1. ^ Organigramma Brescia Calcio
    2. ^ "Stadio Rigamonti". bresciacalcio.it. Archived from the original on 18 August 2022. Retrieved 21 September 2021.
    3. ^ War, Pigs and Rabbits: Atalanta and Brescia meet 13 years later, Conor Clancy, Forza Italian Football, 29 November 2019. Retrieved 2 June 2022
    4. ^ Brescia v Atalanta: the Italian derby built on a 900-year-old feud, Martino Simcik Arese, The Guardian / Copa 90, 7 February 2020. Retrieved 2 June 2022
    5. ^ Paris Saint Germain – Brescia Calcio : 0–0 (Match Report) ScoresPro.com
    6. ^ Brescia Calcio – Paris Saint Germain : 1–1 (Match Report) ScoresPro.com
    7. ^ "Il Brescia è ripescato in Serie B: prende il posto del Parma". La Gazzetta dello Sport (in Italian). 4 August 2015.
    8. ^ "Bentornato Brescia!". Football Italia. 1 May 2019.
    9. ^ "Storia" [History]. Brescia Calcio (in Italian). Archived from the original on 14 August 2010. Retrieved 5 February 2011.
    10. ^ "Restyling logo Brescia Calcio" (PDF). Brescia Calcio (in Italian). Archived from the original (PDF) on 5 January 2011. Retrieved 5 February 2011.
    11. ^ "Giocatori" [Players]. Brescia Calcio (in Italian). Archived from the original on 7 July 2012. Retrieved 29 January 2011.
    12. ^ "Scelti i numeri di maglia per la stagione 2015/2016" (in Italian). Brescia Calcio. 5 August 2015. Archived from the original on 27 August 2017. Retrieved 21 August 2015.
    13. ^ "RINNOVATA LA PARTNERSHIP TRA UBI E BRESCIA CALCIO" (in Italian). Brescia Calcio. 21 August 2013. Retrieved 5 June 2017.
    14. ^ "ACERBIS e il Brescia Calcio insieme fino al 2019" (in Italian). Brescia Calcio. 3 July 2015. Retrieved 5 June 2017.
    15. ^ "Brescia Calcio e UBI Banca insieme nel progetto dedicato alle scuole" (Press release) (in Italian). Brescia Calcio. 27 June 2017. Retrieved 3 July 2017.
    16. ^ "UEFA Intertoto Cup 2001". RSSSF. Retrieved 27 August 2017.
    17. ^ "UEFA Intertoto Cup 2003". RSSSF. Retrieved 27 August 2017.

    External links

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