Brescia Calcio facts for kids
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| Full name | Brescia Calcio S.p.A. | |||
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| Nickname(s) | Le Rondinelle (The Little Swallows) I Biancazzurri (The White and Blues) La Leonessa (The Lioness) |
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| Founded | 1911 | |||
| Ground | Stadio Mario Rigamonti, Brescia, Italy |
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| Capacity | 19,500 | |||
| Owner | Massimo Cellino | |||
| President | Massimo Cellino | |||
| Head coach | Rolando Maran | |||
| League | Serie A | |||
| 2018–19 | Serie B, 1st of 19 (promoted) | |||
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Brescia Calcio, often called Brescia, is an Italian football club. It is based in the city of Brescia, in the Lombardy region of Italy. The team currently plays in Serie B, which is the second-highest football league in Italy.
Brescia holds a special record in Serie B. They have played there for 64 seasons in total. They also played for 18 seasons in a row, from 1947 to 1965. The team has won the Serie B title four times. Their best finish in Serie A (the top league) was eighth place in the 2000–01 season.
Around the year 2000, a famous player named Roberto Baggio joined the club. He had won the 1993 Ballon d'Or, a big award in football. With Baggio, Brescia played in the UEFA Intertoto Cup twice. They even reached the final in 2001 but lost to Paris Saint-Germain. Another well-known player, Pep Guardiola, who later became a famous coach, also played for Brescia during this time.
The team's official colours are blue and white. Their home stadium is called Stadio Mario Rigamonti. It can hold 19,500 fans. Brescia has a strong rivalry with Atalanta, a team from a nearby city.
Contents
Club History
Early Years and Promotions
Brescia Football Club started in 1911. They joined the Terza Categoria league that same year. By 1913, Brescia moved up to the First Division for the first time. From 1929, they played in Serie A for six out of the next seven seasons.
The club usually played in Italy's top two divisions. This continued until 1982, when Brescia was moved down to Serie C. They returned to Serie B in 1985. Brescia has spent only four years outside the top two Italian leagues. This is a very good record for an Italian club.
Major Achievements and Famous Players
In 1994, Brescia won the Anglo-Italian Cup. This was a big moment for the club. In 2000, things really changed when Roberto Baggio joined. He was a former FIFA World Player of the Year. Baggio helped Brescia finish seventh in the 2000–01 season. This allowed them to play in the UEFA Intertoto Cup.
Brescia reached the Intertoto Cup final. They tied 0–0 away and 1–1 at home against Paris Saint-Germain. But they lost because of the away goals rule. Roberto Baggio played for Brescia for four years, until 2004. During this time, the team became known as "Baggio's Brescia." They also stayed in Serie A for their longest period ever.
Recent Seasons and Notable Names
After Baggio retired, Brescia was relegated from Serie A in 2005. They struggled to get back to the top league. They finally returned to Serie A in 2010 after beating Torino. However, they were relegated again in 2011. In 2015, they were moved down to Lega Pro. But they were brought back to Serie B after another team went bankrupt.
Brescia earned another promotion to Serie A in 2019. They won the Serie B title with two games left. But they were relegated back to Serie B in 2020.
Many famous football people have been part of Brescia. These include manager Mircea Lucescu, and players like Gheorghe Hagi, Luca Toni, Pep Guardiola, Mario Balotelli, and Andrea Pirlo. Pirlo was even born in the province of Brescia.
Team Colours and Badge
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| The traditional home kit |
Team Colours and Kit
When Brescia started in 1911, their first kit was blue. It had a wide white stripe down the middle. This design was brought back for their 100th anniversary in 2011. The white "V" shape first appeared on the shirt in 1927. This was so the team could use the stadium of another team, Virtus.
The "V" design stayed until 1940, when a plain blue shirt was used. After World War II, the kit changed to a plain white shirt with blue shorts. But this didn't last long. In 1954, the plain blue shirt returned. The white "V" came back in 1961.
The "V" disappeared again in 1969 and was replaced by a diagonal white stripe. It returned in 1974, but much smaller. This "V" was placed over the heart and included a lioness, which is a symbol of the city of Brescia. The shirt stayed plain blue until 1991. Since then, the "V" has been a regular part of the kit.
Team Badge
The first badge appeared on Brescia's kits in the 1980s. It was a blue shield with a gold outline and a lion. The city of Brescia is known as Leonessa d'Italia, meaning "the Lioness of Italy." This name came from a popular uprising in 1849 against Austrian rule.
The badge was updated for the club's 100th birthday in 2011. The new design had a bolder gold shield and laurel branches. The letters used a style from when the team was founded. The lion on the badge was also redesigned. It now looks stronger and more fierce, like a symbol for a football team.
Stadium Information
Stadio Mario Rigamonti
Brescia's first football field was Campo Fiera. In 1911, a new fenced field was built on Via Milano. In 1920, the team moved to a new ground on Via Cesare Lombroso. From 1923 to 1959, they played at a larger stadium called "Stadium."
In 1956, the city decided to build a better stadium for the club. They renovated and built new stands at the existing ground on Via Giovanni Novagani. This work finished in 1959. Brescia then started playing their home games at the new Stadio Mario Rigamonti. The stadium is named after Mario Rigamonti, a Torino player who died in a plane crash. The stadium has been updated several times over the years.
Team Players
Current Squad
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Technical Staff
| Position | Staff |
|---|---|
| Head coach |  Rolando Maran |
| Assistant coach | Christian Maraner |
| Goalkeeper coach | Massimo Lotti |
| Athletic coach | Andrea Tonelli Luigi Posenato |
| Match analyst | Davide Farina |
| Head of medical | Ermes Rosa |
| Physiotherapist | Gabriele Crescini Mario Alex Maggi Riccardo Raccagni |
Retired Numbers
Some jersey numbers are retired at Brescia to honour special players.
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Notable Players
- For a full list of important players, see Category:Brescia Calcio players.
Notable Managers
- For a full list of important managers, see Category:Brescia Calcio managers.
Club Honours
Brescia Calcio has won several titles throughout its history:
- Serie B:
- Winners (4): 1964–65, 1991–92, 1996–97, 2018–19
- Serie C/C1:
- Winners (2): 1938–39, 1984–85
Other Titles
- Coppa dell'Amicizia:
- Winners (1): 1967
- Anglo-Italian Cup:
- Winners (1): 1993–94
- Nova Supersports Cup
- Winners (1): 2000
League History
This table shows how Brescia has moved between different Italian football leagues.
| Series | Years | Last | Promotions | Relegations |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| A | 23 | 2019–20 | - |  13 (1932, 1936, 1947, 1968, 1970, 1981, 1987, 1993, 1995, 1998, 2005, 2011, 2020) |
| B | 66 | 2024–25 |  12 (1933, 1943, 1965, 1969, 1980, 1986, 1992, 1994, 1997, 2000, 2010, 2019) |
2 (1938, 1982) |
| C | 4 | 1984–85 | 2 (1939, 1985) |
never |
| 93 years of professional football in Italy since 1929 | ||||
| Founding member of the Football League’s First Division in 1921 | ||||
Shirt Sponsors and Manufacturers
This table shows the companies that made Brescia's kits and the sponsors whose names appeared on their shirts over the years.
| Period | Kit manufacturer | Shirt sponsor |
|---|---|---|
| 1978–79 | Umbro | None |
| 1979–1981 | Prince of Wales | |
| 1981–82 | Umbro | Inoxriv |
| 1982–83 | Watergate | |
| 1983–1986 | Gazelle | Fin-Eco |
| 1986–1988 | Wuhrer | |
| 1988–89 | Watergate | |
| 1989–90 | UNICEF | |
| 1990–91 | Bontempi Sport | None |
| 1991–1994 | Uhlsport | CAB |
| 1994–95 | ABM | |
| 1995–96 | Polenghi | |
| 1996–97 | Brescialat | |
| 1997–98 | Erreà | Ristora |
| 1998–2001 | Garman | |
| 2001–2002 | Banca Lombarda | |
| 2002–2004 | Umbro | |
| 2004–2005 | Kappa | |
| 2005–2006 | Banca Lombarda (Banco di Brescia) | |
| 2006–2007 | ASICS | |
| 2007–2009 | UBI Banca (Banco di Brescia) – Bregoli | |
| 2009–2010 | Mass | UBI Banca (Banco di Brescia) – Bresciani |
| 2010–2011 | UBI Banca (Banco di Brescia) – Technologic (T-Logic) – Falar – Tescoma | |
| 2011–2012 | UBI Banca (Banco di Brescia) – Sama | |
| 2012–2013 | Givova | |
| 2013–2014 | Adidas | UBI Banca (Banco di Brescia) – Tescoma |
| 2014–2015 | Joma | UBI Banca (Banco di Brescia) – Falar |
| 2015–2017 | Acerbis | UBI Banca (Banco di Brescia) |
| 2017–2018 | UBI Banca | |
| 2019–2025 | Kappa |
Brescia in Europe
UEFA Intertoto Cup
Brescia has competed in the UEFA Intertoto Cup, a European club football competition.
| Season | Round | Club | Home | Away | Aggregate | Reference |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | Third Round |  Tatabánya |
2–1 | 1–1 | 3–2 | |
| Semi-final |  Chmel Blšany |
2–2 | 2–1 | 4–3 | ||
| Final |  Paris Saint-Germain |
1–1 | 0–0 | 1–1 (a) | ||
| 2003 | Second Round |  Gloria Bistrița |
2–1 | 1–1 | 3–2 | |
| Third Round |  Villarreal |
1–1 | 0–2 | 1–3 |
See also
In Spanish: Brescia Calcio para niños
