US Livorno 1915 facts for kids
Unione Sportiva Livorno 1915, often called Livorno, is an Italian football club. It is based in the city of Livorno, in Tuscany. The team plays in Serie D, which is a top league for semi-professional football in Italy.
The team's main color is dark red, called amaranto in Italian. This is where their nickname, "The Dark Reds," comes from. Livorno was one of the first teams to play in Serie A, Italy's highest football league. They have been moved down from the top league seven times. The club also had to restart twice, in 1991 and 2021. This meant they had to climb back up from lower regional leagues.
Livorno's longest times in Serie A were from 1940 to 1949 and from 2004 to 2008. The team has won Serie B twice. They also won the Lega Pro Prima Divisione and Lega Pro Seconda Divisione once each. Livorno plays its home games at the Stadio Armando Picchi.
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Club History
Livorno football club started on February 15, 1915. In the 1919–20 Italian Football Championship, they finished second. They lost the final match to Internazionale. A year later, they lost to their rivals, Pisa, in the semi-final.
In 1933, the club moved to its current stadium. This stadium is now called Armando Picchi. Livorno was one of the original teams in Serie A. They played in the top league from 1929–31, 1933–35, and 1937–39. In the 1942–43 season, Livorno finished second in Serie A, right after Torino.
Livorno left Serie A in 1949 after playing there for seven years in a row. They were later moved down to Serie C in 1951–52. They returned to Serie B for one season in 1955. Then they played in Serie B again from 1964 to 1972.
The club was moved down to Serie C2 in 1982–83. They played in the third level again between 1984 and 1989. The club had to restart in 1991, beginning from the Eccellenza league. Two quick promotions brought the team back to Serie C2.
Livorno was promoted to Serie C1 in 1997. Aldo Spinelli bought the club two years later. Under his ownership, Livorno returned to Serie B in 2001.
Return to Serie A
Livorno was promoted to Serie A after finishing third in the Serie B 2003–04 season. This was 55 years after Livorno's last time in the top league. Many people thought the club would quickly return to Serie B. The first match in Serie A was attended by the Italian President, Carlo Azeglio Ciampi. He was a Livorno citizen and a fan of the team when he was a child.
The team had some tough times during the season, but also many good games. Livorno finished in a surprising ninth place in the Serie A 2004–05 season. This was partly thanks to goals from striker Cristiano Lucarelli. He was the top scorer in Serie A that season.
In the Serie A 2005–06 season, Livorno was in sixth place at the halfway point. This meant they could qualify for the UEFA Cup. Soon after, coach Roberto Donadoni resigned because the club's chairman, Aldo Spinelli, had criticized him. Carlo Mazzone took over as coach. He helped the team get a UEFA Cup spot because some other teams were removed from European competitions due to issues.
Playing in Europe
In the Serie A 2006–07 season, Livorno played in the UEFA Cup for the first time. They played against the Austrian team SV Pasching in the first round. Livorno won easily with a total score of 3–0. This meant they moved on to the group stages.
In Group A, they played against Rangers, Auxerre, FK Partizan, and Maccabi Haifa. After losing at home to Rangers (2–3) and drawing two games (1–1 against Partizan and Maccabi), Livorno won 1–0 against Auxerre in France. This win earned them a spot in the Round of 32. However, the Spanish team Espanyol knocked Livorno out of the UEFA Cup. Espanyol won with a total score of 4–1.
Recent Seasons
After the 19th game of the Serie A season, coach Daniele Arrigoni was fired by chairman Spinelli. But the team strongly disagreed, so he stayed for a short time. Arrigoni was eventually fired on March 21, 2007. Fernando Orsi took his place and helped the team avoid being moved down.
For the 2007–08 season, Orsi stayed as head coach. New players like Francesco Tavano and Diego Tristan joined the team. However, Lucarelli moved to a Ukrainian club. The team did not start well, getting only two points in their first seven games. Orsi was fired on October 9 and Giancarlo Camolese became the new coach.
Despite some good signs at first, Livorno was again at the bottom of the league table. On April 28, 2008, Camolese was fired, and Orsi was brought back. But on the second-to-last day of the season, the team was moved down to Serie B. They finished last in Serie A for the 2007–08 season.
Livorno finished third in Serie B in the 2008–09 season. They returned to Serie A after winning play-off games. They beat Grosseto and then Brescia. However, this return to Serie A was short. One season later, they were moved down to Serie B again after finishing last. Livorno was promoted again after beating Empoli 2–1 to get back to Serie A.
In the 2019–20 Serie B season, Livorno finished last and was moved down to Serie C. In the 2020–21 Serie C season, Livorno finished last again. They also lost five points because they did not pay player wages on time. This led to them being moved down to Serie D. However, the club went bankrupt and could not pay the fee for Serie D. So, the club stopped playing.
The club restarted in the Eccellenza Toscana league for the 2021-22 season. It was called Unione Sportiva Livorno 1915 again. In the 2021-22 season, Livorno finished first in their group. But they lost in the national play-offs. Later, Livorno was allowed to join Serie D. This happened because another team, Figline, had problems with how a game was played. In their first Serie D season, Livorno finished 5th out of 18 teams.
Coaching Staff
Position | Name | Nationality |
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Head coach | Paolo Indiani | ![]() |
Assistant coach | Niccolò Pascali | ![]() |
Goalkeeper coach | Riccardo Di Pisello | ![]() |
Sporting director | Egidio Bicchierai | ![]() |
Physiotherapist | Fabiano Giannini | ![]() |
Players
Current Squad
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Supporters
Livorno's fans are known for their strong beliefs. These beliefs sometimes lead to disagreements with fans of other teams.
Since 2005, some Livorno fans living in northern Europe have called themselves "Livornian partisans of Scandinavia." There is also a special "triangle of brotherhood" among the fan clubs of Marseille, Livorno, and AEK Athens. This connection is mainly because they share similar ideas. They also have links with fans of Adana Demirspor and Celtic.
Livorno in Europe
UEFA Cup Matches
Season | Round | Club | Home | Away | Aggregate | Reference |
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2006–07 | First round | ![]() |
2–0 | 1–0 | 3–0 | |
Group A | ![]() |
2–3 | N/A | 3rd | ||
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N/A | 1–1 | ||||
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1–1 | N/A | ||||
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N/A | 1–0 | ||||
Round of 32 | ![]() |
1–2 | 0–2 | 1–4 |
Club Achievements
- Serie A
- Runners-up (2): 1919–20, 1942–43
- Serie B
- Winners (2): 1932–33, 1936–37
- Other Promotions (3): 2003–04, 2008–09, 2012–13
- Serie C/Serie C1/Lega Pro
- Winners (3): 1963–64, 2001–02, 2017–18
- Serie C2/Lega Pro Seconda Divisione
- Winners (1): 1983–84
- Coppa Italia Serie C/Coppa Italia Lega Pro
- Winners (1): 1986–87
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See also
In Spanish: Unione Sportiva Livorno 1915 para niños