Novara FC facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Novara

Full name	Novara Football Club
Nickname(s)	Gli Azzurri (The Blues/The Light Blues) I Gaudenziani (The Gaudentians)
Founded	1908; 117 years ago (1908) 2021; 4 years ago (2021) as Novara FC
Ground	Stadio Silvio Piola, Novara, Italy
Ground Capacity	17,875
Chairman	Marco La Rosa
Manager	Giacomo Gattuso
League	Serie C Group A
2018–19	Serie C Group A, 9th of 20
Home colours Away colours

Novara Football Club, usually called Novara, is an Italian football team. It is based in the city of Novara, in the Piedmont region of Italy.

The club was started in 2021 by the City of Novara. It was created to replace the old team, Novara Calcio, which had lost its professional status.

The Story of Novara Football Club

How Novara Football Began

In December 1908, a group of eight students from Liceo Carlo Alberto created the F.A.S. (Football Association Studenti). These students were about 15 or 16 years old. There were many small football clubs in Novara at that time. The best players from these teams came together to form Novara Calcio.

Their first game in the Italian league was on November 3, 1912. They played against Torino, a team that was already well-known. Novara lost that first match 2-1.

Early Success and Challenges

Between World War I and World War II, Novara was one of the top teams in the Piedmont region. They competed with clubs like Pro Vercelli, Alessandria, and Casale. This group of strong teams was known as the "Piedmont Quadrilateral."

In 1939, Novara even played in a Coppa Italia final against Inter Milan. The team's best finish in the top league, Serie A, was in 1952. They finished in eighth place that year.

Silvio Piola, a famous Italian player, played for Novara for seven seasons.

A big reason for Novara's success in the top league was Silvio Piola. He was a legendary player who scored many goals, more than 300 in his career. After he passed away in 1996, Novara's stadium was named after him to honor his contributions.

Ups and Downs in the Leagues

In 1956, Novara was moved down to Serie B. Five years later, they went down to Serie C. This happened because of a problem with a player from another team, Sambenedettese.

Novara had some good seasons in Serie B later on. But in 1977, they were moved down to Serie C again. Then, in 1981, they went even lower to Serie C2. In the 1995–96 season, Novara managed to get back to Serie C1. However, this joy did not last long, and they were moved down again the next year.

The team spent many years in the lower divisions of Italian football. They finally started to climb back up when they won their league in the 2002–03 season.

Climbing from Serie C1 to Serie A

After winning in 2002–03, Novara stayed strong in Serie C1 (which later became Lega Pro Prima Divisione). Then, in the 2009–10 season, something amazing happened. The club returned to Serie B after 33 years!

The success continued. On June 12, 2011, Novara achieved a remarkable promotion to Serie A. This was after 55 years away from the top league! They won against Padova in the play-off final. Both of these promotions happened under coach Attilio Tesser.

On September 20, 2011, Novara played their first home game in Serie A in 55 years. They had a historic 3-1 victory over Inter. However, this great start did not last. Novara only won one more game until the end of January. They did manage to beat Inter again, this time at San Siro.

The team struggled, and coach Attilio Tesser was replaced. He was later brought back, but it was too late. Novara was moved back down to Serie B after just one season in Serie A.

Recent Years and Rebirth

In the 2012–13 season, Novara finished 5th in Serie B. They made it to the promotion play-offs but lost to Empoli. The next season was very tough. Novara finished 19th in Serie B and lost a play-out game against Varese. This meant they were moved down to Lega Pro.

But Novara bounced back quickly! They won Group A of Lega Pro in 2014–15 and returned to Serie B right away. In their first season back, they made it to the play-offs but lost in the semifinal. The next season, they finished 9th, just missing the play-offs. In the 2017–18 Serie B season, Novara was moved down to Lega Pro again.

In the summer of 2021, Novara lost its professional status. This meant they could no longer play in the top professional leagues. However, a new club was immediately started in Serie D. This is called a "phoenix club" because it rises from the ashes of the old one. The new Novara team was promoted back to Serie C in May 2022. They finished at the top of their group in the Serie D league.

Current Squad

No. Position Player 1 GK Stefano Minelli 3 DF Francesco Migliardi 4 MF David Cancola 5 DF Davide Bertoncini 6 DF Davide Riccardi 7 FW Filippo Gerardini 8 MF Alessandro Di Munno 9 FW Marko Brkić 10 FW Christian Donadio 11 MF Enej Jelenič 12 GK Edoardo Negri 13 FW Easton Ongaro 15 DF Omar Khailoti 17 FW Francesco Attanasio 19 MF Riccardo Calcagni 21 MF Roberto Ranieri

No. Position Player 23 FW Leonardo Morosini 24 DF Luca Ghiringhelli 26 DF Filippo Lorenzini 28 DF Adrian Cannavaro 31 GK Axel Desjardins 44 DF Luka Koblar 45 FW Enoch Owusu (on loan from Inter Milan) 62 DF Nicola Camolese 70 FW Kamil Manseri 72 DF Giuseppe Agyemang 78 MF Edoardo De Mori 79 DF Edoardo Lancini 90 FW Simone Ganz 96 MF Alessandro Valenti 99 MF Gianmarco Basso FW Raffaele Sibilio

Managers

Honours

League Titles

• Serie B
  • Winners: 1926–27, 1937–38, 1947–48
• Serie C
  • Winners: 1964–65, 1969–70, 2009–10, 2014–15
• Serie C2
  • Winners: 1995–96
• Serie D
  • Winners: 2021–22

Cup Wins

• Supercoppa di Serie C
  • Winners: 2010, 2015

Divisional Movements

This table shows how Novara Football Club has moved between different Italian football leagues over the years.

Series	Years	Last	Promotions	Relegations
A	13	2011–12	-	5 (1929, 1937, 1941, 1956, 2012)
B	34	2015–16	5 (1927, 1936, 1938, 1948, 2011)	5 (1962, 1968, 1977, 2014, 2018)
C +C2	21 +21	2020–21	4 (1965, 1970, 2010, 2015) 2 (1996 C2, 2003 C2)	3 (1981 C1, 1997 C1, 2021✟)
Novara has played 89 out of 90 years in professional Italian football since 1929.
D	1	2021–22	-	-

See also

In Spanish: Novara Football Club para niños