A.S. Livorno Calcio
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| Livorno | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Full name | Associazione Sportiva Livorno Calcio SrL |
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| Nickname(s) | Amaranto (dark red) Labronici (Lighbourners) |
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| Founded | 1915 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Ground | Stadio Armando Picchi, Livorno, Italy |
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| Capacity | 18,200 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Chairman |  Aldo Spinelli |
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| Manager | Fernando Orsi |
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| League | Serie A | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2005-06 | Serie A, 9th (6th) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Associazione Sportiva Livorno Calcio is a football club based in Livorno, Tuscany. The club was formed in 1915 and currently plays in Italian Serie A, having returned there in 2004 after last playing in Italy's top division in 1949. The team's colors are dark red or maroon (amaranto in Italian, from which the team nickname derives). The best placement in Italian Serie A was second place in 1942/1943 season, during which the amaranto gave life to a head-to-head competition with Torino Calcio. The team features in their home fixtures at the 18,200 seater Stadio Armando Picchi.
Livorno's supporters are known for their left-wing politics and their fierce, often violent, rivalries with several "right wing" team supporters, especially those of S.S. Lazio, Internazionale, Hellas Verona, Silvio Berlusconis A.C. Milan and with some elements of A.S. Roma's support. The notorious right-wing Lazio striker Paolo Di Canio gave a fascist salute to his own fans during a match between his side and Livorno, where tensions were running particularly high due to the political contrasts of each club's respective ultra groups.
Livorno were promoted from Serie B after finishing 3rd in the league at the end of the 2003/04 campaign, one of six clubs to be promoted that season. It had been fifty-five years since Livorno's last season in the top flight, and as a result of this, most were predicting an instant return to Serie B for the club. There were spells of struggle during the season, but there were many more good performances shown, and Livorno finished a surprise and creditable 9th place in the league for the 2004/05 Serie A season.
The club certainly seems more sure to stay clear of relegation this season, especially after Livorno managed to keep their star striker Cristiano Lucarelli at the club, who was the top scorer of Serie A during their successful season, outscoring even the likes of Shevchenko and Adriano. In fact, after the first half of the season the team was placed sixth, fighting for qualification to the next UEFA Cup. However, shortly after Roberto Donadoni announced his resignations after having been criticized by the club's chairman Aldo Spinelli. Donadoni was then replaced by veteran coach Carlo Mazzone, who was only able to save a UEFA Cup place due to the expulsion of four teams from Europe in the 2006 Serie A match fixing scandal. Mazzone then saw his team suffer a run of seven straight defeats. In May 2006 Daniele Arrigoni was appointed new coach for the next season.
In 2006/2007, following the Serie A scandal, Livorno was admitted to UEFA Cup for its first time ever. The Tuscanian side were drawn to face Austrian team SV Pasching in the first round, and beat them comfortably 3-0 on aggregate. They thus qualified for the group stages and were drawn in Group A, along with Rangers, Auxerre, Partizan Belgrade and Maccabi Haifa. After a home loss to Rangers (2-3) and two 1-1 draws against Partizan (in Serbia, where goalkeeper Marco Amelia scored in the 87th minute) and Maccabi (in Livorno), the Tuscan side gained a 1-0 victory over Auxerre in the last game played in France, thus earning a spot in the round of 32 of the competition. However, Spanish team Espanyol knocked out Livorno from the UEFA Cup by winning 4-1 on aggregate.
After day 19 of Italian Serie A Arrigoni was sacked by chairman Spinelli, but his position was kept due to the strong opposition by the team. His dismissal was however only delayed, as Arrigoni was eventually fired on March 21, 2007, and replaced by Fernando Orsi.
Contents |
[edit] Current first team squad
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For transfer deals in 2006-07 season, See List of transfers 2006-07 season.
[edit] Retired numbers
- 10 Igor Protti, striker, 1985-1988, 1999-2005
[edit] Notable former players
- See also cat:A.S. Livorno Calcio players
[edit] References
[edit] External links
- Livorno's official website (Italian)
