U.S. Pro Vercelli Calcio
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| Pro Vercelli | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Full name | Unione Sportiva Pro Vercelli Calcio SRL |
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| Nickname(s) | Bianche Casacche (White Shirts), Leoni (Lions) |
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| Founded | 1892 (football division in 1903) |
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| Ground | Stadio Silvio Piola, Vercelli, Italy |
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| Capacity | 6,165 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Chairman | Vero Paganoni | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Manager | Giuseppe Brucato | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| League | Serie C2/A | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2005-06 | Serie C2/A, 6th | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Unione Sportiva Pro Vercelli Calcio is one of the most successful football clubs in Italy with seven National Leagues won (1908, 1909, 1911, 1912, 1913, 1921, 1922). It is based in Vercelli, Piedmont. Currently it plays in Italian Serie C2.
[edit] History
Originally, the Società Ginnastica Pro Vercelli (Pro Vercelli Gymnastics Society) was founded in 1892. Its Football Division was however created in 1903. The first official match for the S.G. Pro Vercelli - Football Division took place on 3 August 1903 against the Forza e Costanza team from Novara.
In 1907 the Pro Vercelli football team won the Subs Division and were admitted to Italian National League for the first time. In the following two years (1908 and 1909), the "White Shirts" won their first National titles.
In 1909-10, Pro Vercelli reach again the Championship final. However, in disagreement with the Italian Football Federation (F.I.F. - nowadays F.I.G.C.) over the match date (the club was also scheduled to play another game), Pro Vercelli take part only with a youth team, losing the title against Internazionale Milano.
Nevertheless, the Leoni ("Lions", so called for their notorious hard and not always clean tackles) did not take long to prove again their supremacy in Italian football. The following years they remain undefeated, winning three titles in a row (1910-11,1911-12, 1912-13).
These are the years of the famous Midfield Line of Wonders, formed by Ara, Milano I and Leone. In the same years Pro Vercelli also form, with nine players, the backbone of the first Italian national teams.
After such an incredible feat, however, Pro Vercelli have to wait the end of the Great War and 1920-21 to win another title. In the following years Pro Vercelli remained among the best Italian teams, but fell short of achieving the top prize. Other teams such as arch-rival Casale, Genoa and Internazionale Milano are more successful.
In 1921-22, after a row over the composition of Italian leagues, the Italian Football Federation (FIGC) split and all the major teams formed the independent Italian Football Confederation (C.C.I.). Pro Vercelli joined the CCI league, which had a structure with fewer matches over the year, and at last pulled out what is to-date their last great performance winning their 7th and last national title.
Pro Vercelli were invited to Rio de Janeiro to play against Flamengo and Botafogo. A few years later, Liverpool F.C., during a European tour as English Champions, played and won against all the strongest team of the continent, except one: they drew with Pro Vercelli.
This was the year that marked the beginning of the slow, but steady decline of Pro Vercelli. The Bianche Casacche will fight among the best in the Italian top division only until 1934-35. In that year, Pro Vercelli was relegated to Serie B and in 1940-41 even to Serie C for the first time.
In recent years, Pro Vercelli have been fairly stable at mid-table in the Italian fourth division (Serie C2). In July 2005 a new chairman, Vero Paganoni, has taken over at the helm of the club.
[edit] External links
- (Italian) Official site
- (English) (Italian) Information page in English and Italian. Game reports, articles, stats, polls and a guestbook.
- (Italian) A photographic site. Pictures of Pro Vercelli.
| Serie C2 | ||
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Serie C2 Girone A |
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| Bassano Virtus | Biellese | Carpenedolo | Cuneo | Lecco | Legnano | Lumezzane | Montichiari | Nuorese | Olbia Pergocrema | Portosummaga | Pro Vercelli | Sanremese | Südtirol-Alto Adige | Torres | Valenzana | Varese |
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Serie C2 Girone B |
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| Bellaria | Boca San Lazzaro | Carrarese | Castelnuovo | Cisco Roma | Cuoiocappiano | Foligno | Giugliano Gubbio | Paganese | Poggibonsi | Prato | Reggiana | Rieti | Rovigo | Sansovino | Spal | Viterbese |
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Serie C2 Girone C |
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| Andria BAT | Benevento | Cassino | Catanzaro | Celano | Gela | Igea Virtus | Melfi | Monopoli | Nocerina Potenza | Pro Vasto | Real Marcianise | Rende | Sorrento | Val di Sangro | Vibonese | Vigor Lamezia |
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