Association football club in Vicenza, Italy
Football club
L.R. Vicenza
, commonly referred to as
Vicenza
, is an
Italian football
club based in
Vicenza
,
Veneto
. Founded in 1902 as
Associazione del Calcio in Vicenza
, they became
Lanerossi Vicenza
in 1953, then
Vicenza Calcio
from 1990 to 2018, a year which saw the club going bankrupt and being put under controlled administration to preserve the Serie C spot at the end of the 2017?18 season.
Renzo Rosso
, owner of fashion brand
Diesel
, merged its
Bassano Virtus
and some of the assets of Vicenza Calcio into one team,
L.R. Vicenza Virtus
, which will play in Vicenza, while the two sides will preserve their distinct youth teams. Vicenza is the oldest team in
Veneto
; officially founded on 9 March 1902 by the then dean of Liceo Lioy, Tito Buy, and the physical education teacher of the same school, Libero Antonio Scarpa.
The club currently plays in Italy's
Serie C
, having spent the entire 1960s, most of the 1970s and a large part of the 1990s in
Serie A
. They won the
1996-97 Coppa Italia
and reached the semi-finals of the
Cup Winners' Cup the following season
, losing to eventual winners
Chelsea
. Their best finish in Serie A is as runner-up in the
1977-78
season, led by top scorer
Paolo Rossi
with 24 goals.
History
[
edit
]
Vicenza competed in the Italian Championship for the first time in 1911; reaching the finals for the title before being defeated by
Pro Vercelli
, one of the top Italian clubs at the time. During the 1920s and the 1930s, the team played in the lower divisions, reaching
the first division
for the first time in 1942. In the last round of
the season
, a 6?2 win versus
Juventus
in
Turin
, meant a final relegation escape.
In 1947, Vicenza finished fifth in Serie A but was relegated at the end of the following season.
Lanerossi Vicenza
[
edit
]
The early 1950s were quite troublesome due to economic problems, but in 1953 the club was bought by Lanerossi, a woollen firm from
Schio
, with the side being renamed
Lanerossi Vicenza
.
[
citation needed
]
Between 1955 and 1975 Vicenza never left the top level, always putting a hard fight against more established clubs. In this period the side was also known as
Nobile Provinciale
(
Noble Provincial
).
[
citation needed
]
In 1964 and 1966 it finished 6th, with the
Brazilian
Luis Vinicio
finishing league's top-scorer
in the former
with 25 goals.
[
citation needed
]
In 1975 the club was relegated, however, after winning the 1976?77 second division, they would eventually finish runners-up in
the following season
with a young
Paolo Rossi
led the scoring charts with 24 goals. In that year the side was nicknamed
Real Vicenza
. Club chairman
Giuseppe Farina
had just bought the striker from Juventus for a then-record fee of 2.6 billion
lire
, but the team would eventually drop two divisions in just three seasons.
[
citation needed
]
In the mid-1980s,
Roberto Baggio
started his career at the club, leading it in
1984-85
to the
Serie B
. In 1986 Vicenza achieved a top-flight promotion that was subsequently denied due to its involvement in the
second Totonero
match-fixing scandal. The club was soon relegated back to
Serie C1
.
Vicenza Calcio
[
edit
]
In 1990 Vicenza took back its current name and was promoted to Serie B in 1993, thanks to coach
Renzo Ulivieri
. His successor,
Francesco Guidolin
took the team back to Serie A in 1995 and led it through successive successful seasons. After finishing ninth in the
league
, the club won the
1996?97 Italian Cup
with a 3?1 aggregate win over
Napoli
eventually reaching
next year's Cup Winners' Cup semi-finals
, being defeated by
Chelsea
after winning the first leg in Vicenza for 1?0.
In 1999 the team was relegated to Serie B and after a return to the
top flight in 2000?01
, was relegated to
Lega Pro Prima Divisione
in 2005, after losing a relegation
playout
against
Triestina
. However, the club was readmitted to Serie B as
F.I.G.C.
had determined that
Genoa C.F.C.
had fixed the final match of the season.
In the season 2011?12, the club was relegated to
Lega Pro Prima Divisione
after losing the relegation
play-off
against
Empoli
. Vicenza, however, was reinstated in Serie B at the eve of the 2012?13 season in place of
Lecce
for its role in the
2011?12 Italian football scandal
.
[3]
However, the club finished the 2012?13 in 19th place; missing out on the play-out and were finally relegated after reprieves in the previous two seasons.
Vicenza ended the 2013?14 season in fifth place, being successively defeated by
Savona
in the promotion play-offs, and were due to play the 2014?15 season in the unified
Lega Pro
division, that would have featured an unprecedented crosstown derby against
Real Vicenza
. However, the dissolution of Siena meant Vicenza were promoted to become the 22nd team in Serie B. Vicenza were relegated again at the conclusion of the
2016?17 Serie B
after finishing 20th.
Changes in ownership
[
edit
]
The club entered a
debt restructuring
process since March 2016, which the new director stating that the club required a re-capitalization of at least €20 million.
[4]
Vi.Fin. S.p.A., a
special purpose vehicle
for a consortium of new investors, provided just €2.5 million new shares of the club in May 2016. Immediately before the recapitalization, Vi.Fin. acquired most of the shares of the club from Finalfa S.r.l., a company owned by Sergio Cassingena.
[5]
Former Vicenza chairman Tiziano Cunico and CEO Dario Cassingena were also sued by the prosecutor of
Italian Football Federation
(FIGC) in September 2016 for allegations of reporting false profits from player exchanges with Parma; where prices were inflated relative to their performances in the first team.
[6]
The players under the investigation that involving Vicenza were
Sandrini
(sold to Parma for
Malivojevi?
; both players were tagged for €1.2 million)
[6]
Eventually the club and directors were inadmissible from the charge due to expiry of the legal proceeding.
[7]
[8]
[9]
In a different matter, Dario Cassingena was sentenced 10 months (in probation) by the Court of Vicenza, after the football club failed to paid the
value-added tax
in time.
[10]
On 1 June 2017 the contract of general manager Andrea Gazzoli was resolved in a mutual consent
[11]
and on 5 June, Alfredo Pastorelli resigned as the chairman; citing the financial troubles of the club.
[12]
On 10 July 2017, Luxembourg-based Boreas Capital Sarl announced it would buy the club. The parent company of Boreas Capital was Dubai-based G.S. Holding.
[13]
However, the club faced another financial trouble during the first season of new ownership.
Football Italia
reported that the club failed to pay the wage since September 2017.
[14]
Vicenza was declared bankrupt on 18 January 2018.
[15]
The team finished as the 17th of the group B of
2017?18 Serie C
season, beating
Santarcangelo
in a relegation "play-out" matches.
[16]
The Rosso years: L.R. Vicenza Virtus/L.R. Vicenza
[
edit
]
On 24 May 2018,
Bassano Virtus
, a fellow Serie C team also from the province of Vicenza owned by
Renzo Rosso
and his family, were relocated to Vicenza for the
2018?19 Serie C
, starting using also the white-and-red Vicenza colours and being renamed L.R. Vicenza Virtus, while keeping both the youth systems of Vicenza and Bassano.
[17]
The new club was lately formalized as a merger between the original Vicenza and Bassano Virtus, following Rosso family's
OTB Group
's acquisition of some of the assets of Vicenza Calcio in order to make the merger possible.
[18]
[19]
The newly-formed L.R. Vicenza Virtus finished in eighth place in the
2018?19 Serie C
season.
[20]
They were promoted the following season as Group B champions, thus marking Vicenza's return to Serie B after just two years.
On 1 July 2021, the club dropped "Virtus" from its official name, thus being renamed
L.R. Vicenza
S.p.A.
.
[21]
Kit Manufacturer and sponsors
[
edit
]
Kit Manufacturer
[
edit
]
| This section
needs expansion
. You can help by
adding to it
.
(
December 2020
)
|
Honours
[
edit
]
Domestic
[
edit
]
League
[
edit
]
Cups
[
edit
]
International friendly
[
edit
]
Divisional movements
[
edit
]
Series
|
Years
|
Last
|
Promotions
|
Relegations
|
A
|
30
|
2000?01
|
-
|
6 (
1922
,
1948
,
1975
,
1979
,
1999
,
2001
)
|
B
|
37
|
2021?22
|
5 (
1942
,
1955
,
1977
,
1995
,
2000
)
|
8 (
1923
,
1926
,
1935
,
1981
,
1987
,
2013
,
2017
,
2022
)
|
C
|
24
|
2023?24
|
7 (
1924
,
1933
,
1940
,
1985
,
1993
,
2014
,
2020
)
|
1 (
1928
)
|
91 out of 92 years of professional football in Italy since 1929
|
Founding member of the
Football League
’s
First Division
in 1921
|
D
|
1
|
1929?30
|
1 (
1930
)
|
never
|
Players
[
edit
]
Current squad
[
edit
]
- As of 16 February 2024
[25]
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under
FIFA eligibility rules
. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
Out on loan
[
edit
]
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under
FIFA eligibility rules
. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
Retired numbers
[
edit
]
- 3
?
Giulio Savoini
[26]
- 25
?
Piermario Morosini
,
Midfielder
(2007?09, 2011) ?
posthumous honour.
[27]
Notable former players
[
edit
]
Notable former managers
[
edit
]
In Europe
[
edit
]
- source:
[28]
UEFA Cup Winners' Cup
[
edit
]
UEFA Cup
[
edit
]
References
[
edit
]
External links
[
edit
]
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Group A
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Group B
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Group C
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Former
clubs
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2024?25 clubs
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Former clubs
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Organisations
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Competition
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Statistics and awards
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Finances
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History
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Associated competitions
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