The club was formed in 1927 upon an idea of 1908 and has spent a large part of their recent history bouncing between Serie B and Serie A, where the team debuted in the 1985–86 season. Its best Serie A finish is the ninth place obtained in the 1988–89 season. The club is 27th in the Serie A all-time table and is the second club from Apulia with appearances in the first two tiers of Italian football, with 16 Serie A seasons and 29 Serie B seasons.
Lecce players and fans are nicknamed salentini or simply giallorossi or lupi.
History
The performance of Lecce in the Italian football league structure since the first season of a unified Serie A (1929/30)
Lecce was founded as Sporting Club Lecce on 15 March 1908, initially including football, track-and-field and cycling sports.[citation needed] The first club president was Francesco Marangi.[citation needed] The first colours worn by Lecce during this time were black and white stripes, known in Italy as bianconeri.[citation needed]
In its formative years, Lecce played in mostly regional leagues and competitions. During the 1923–24 season, the club dissolved before returning on 16 September 1927 as Unione Sportiva Lecce.[citation needed] The club was still wearing black and white stripes (similar to Juventus's kit) at this point, and the first president under the name Unione Sportiva Lecce was Luigi López y Rojo.
League: Early years 1930s, 40s and 50s
Taranto Sport played Lecce in a game for promotion to Serie B from the local Southern Italian league; Lecce were victorious[tone] winning 3–2 after extra time.[citation needed] They were entered into Serie B for the 1929–30 season.[citation needed] The first game match played in the league was against Novara on 6 October 1929, a 2–1 victory.[citation needed] Lecce would eventually finish 13th.[citation needed] However, for the second time in the club's history, it ceased activity at the end of the 1931–32 season.[citation needed]
Four years later, Lecce returned and competed Serie C, finishing 11th in their return season.[citation needed] Around this time,[when?][vague] the club was in turmoil:[tone] the following season they withdrew from Serie C after four days, and then during the 1938–39 season, they finished in third place but were moved down to 12th after it was revealed[by whom?] the club had violated[how?] the league's federal regulations.[citation needed]
The club finished in first place during the 1943–44 season,[citation needed] but club football was then suspended due to World War II. Nonetheless,[tone] when club football resumed, Lecce finished as champions of Serie C, gaining promotion back into Serie B.[citation needed] Two decent[according to whom?] seasons followed (finishing fourth and third in respective seasons), with star[tone] player Silvestri scoring 20 goals in one season, before the club was relegated.[citation needed]
Lecce stayed down in Serie C for six seasons during this period, though this was not a particularly[clarification needed] successful time for the club. Striker Anselmo Bislenghi scored 83 goals for the club during this period, thus becoming a hero.[tone][citation needed] The club slipped[tone] even lower to Serie IV, where they spent three years.[citation needed]
Seventeen seasons of Serie C: 1960s, 70s and 80s
From 1959 to 1975, Lecce played 17 seasons in Serie C.[citation needed] They came extremely close to promotion several times during that period, finishing in second place three seasons in a row (1971–72, 1972–73, 1973–74) before gaining promotion in the 1975–76 season.[citation needed]
In 1980, a scandal occurred which rocked[tone]Italian football, including Lecce under president Franco Jurlano.[citation needed] However, Jurlano was able to demonstrate his innocence[how?] and the scandal only lead[clarification needed] to disqualification of player Claudius Merlo.[citation needed] Later, the club was struck[tone] by a tragedy in 1983: players Michele Lo Russo and Ciro Pezzella died in an automotive accident.[citation needed] To this day, Lo Russo remains the club record holder for most number of appearances, with 415.[citation needed]
Promotion to Serie A: mid-1980s and 90s
Under the management of Eugenio Fascetti, Lecce would achieve promotion to Serie A for the first time in 1985.[citation needed] They finished bottom and were relegated after only one season, but defeated Roma 3–2 away in the penultimate game to deal a fatal blow[tone] to Roma's title hopes.[citation needed] Losing a promotion play-off 2–1 to Cesena the following season, they would return to Serie A in 1988.[citation needed]
Under Carlo Mazzone, Lecce finished a respectable[according to whom?] ninth place in 1989. Stars[tone] of the side included striker Pedro Pasculli and midfielders Antonio Conte and Paolo Benedetti.[citation needed] They lasted three seasons before relegation, and returned two years later.[citation needed] The 1993–94 season saw Lecce finish in last place with a pitiful[tone] 11 points, the lowest ever of any Serie A team, and a second relegation came the following year.[citation needed]
In the summer of 1998, Pantaleo Corvino was appointed new sports director, gaining a reputation[by whom?] for scouting new talents in the years to come.[citation needed] The team was good enough to return to Serie A in 1999 and begin another three-year stint in the top-flight, with yet another return to Serie A in 2003.[citation needed]
In 2004, under Delio Rossi, who had been managing the club since 2002, Lecce achieved an impressive[tone] result, reaching a high-point of tenth despite a poor first half of the season. Famous[tone] performances include two sensational[tone] victories in a row, first against Italian giants[tone] Juventus 3–4 in Turin (the first ever win at the Stadio Delle Alpi for Lecce) and then against Internazionale 2–1 at the Stadio Via del Mare.[citation needed]
In 2004–05, coach Zdeněk Zeman oversaw a highly[clarification needed] attack-minded team that scored plenty[quantify] of goals. Lecce ended the year again finishing tenth, putting in the spotlight talents[tone] like Valeri Bojinov and Mirko Vučinić.[citation needed] The team had the second-best attack with 66 goals (Juventus came first with 67) and the worst defence, with 73 goals conceded.[citation needed] This is a record, as for the first time the team with the worst defence managed to[tone] survive in the history of Serie A.[citation needed]
The 2005–06 season was a continual struggle for Lecce.[according to whom?] The club changed its manager two times (Silvio Baldini for Angelo Adamo Gregucci and in January 2006 youth team coach Roberto Rizzo, supported by goalkeeper coach Franco Paleari, for Baldini).[citation needed] The numerous managerial moves could not turn Lecce's fortune[tone] as they were relegated with a few[quantify] games to spare and ended the season in 19th place.[citation needed] In June 2006, Giovanni Semeraro returned at the helm of the club after nine months.[citation needed] The club re-appointed Zdeněk Zeman as manager, just one year after he left the club.
The club had a mixed start[according to whom?] to the 2006–07 season in Serie B, winning three home matches (including a win against early league leaders Genoa), though they suffered[tone] poor away form.[citation needed] After a large drop in form, recording 10 losses in 18 matches, Zeman was sacked as manager and replaced by Giuseppe Papadopulo.[citation needed] On 10 March 2007, Lecce clinched[tone] a historical victory[tone] over Frosinone, beaten 5–0 at Stadio Via del Mare.[citation needed] Having gained 36 points in the second half of the season, Lecce ended the season in the middle of the table, in ninth place.[citation needed] In 2007, Lecce gained more points than any other team in Serie B.[citation needed]
The 2007–08 season saw Lecce fight for a place in Serie A for the next season. Despite earning 83 points (12 more than sixth-placed Pisa) and boasting[tone] the best defence in the tournament, the giallorossi were forced[by whom?] to face play-offs for promotion in the top flight.[citation needed] In the semi-final, they beat Pisa in both legs (1–0 away and 2–1 at home) to secure a place in the final against AlbinoLeffe.[citation needed] Then they won the first leg 1–0 away, before securing a 1–1 draw in the second leg at the Studio Via del Mare to gain promotion.[citation needed]
Between Serie A and Serie B
Fans celebrating the club's eighth promotion to Serie A in May 2010
After persistent rumours, Papadopulo quit due to a difference of opinion with the general manager of the club and was replaced by Mario Beretta, who had a quite satisfactory start in the 2008–09 Serie A season.[how?] He remained in charge for twenty-seven games, but, due to four defeats in the last five matches, with the team one point below the survival zone, he was sacked and Luigi De Canio was appointed new manager.[citation needed] Seven points earned in ten matches were not enough to secure Lecce a spot in the next Serie A season.[citation needed] Relegation was official with one match to spare, after a 1–1 home draw against Fiorentina.[citation needed]
Lecce had a mixed start[according to whom?][clarification needed] in the 2009–10 Serie B campaign, but clinched[tone] first place in November 2009 and kept it for the rest of the season.[citation needed] In May, the team was on the verge of promotion, but wasted opportunities in their last two matches meant they had to wait until the last match to celebrate their eighth elevation to the top flight in the last 25 years.[citation needed] A goalless home draw with Sassuolo proved enough to clinch[tone] the Serie B title with 75 points and win the Coppa Ali della Vittoria.
Lecce ended a satisfactory[according to whom?]2010–11 Serie A season successfully avoiding relegation with one match to spare after beating arch-rival and already relegated Bari 2–0 away on 15 May 2011. In the last few matches, the team managed to[tone] win a tough battle against other underdogs and some glorious[tone] teams such as Sampdoria that ended the season in despair.[clarification needed][relevant?][citation needed] Manager Luigi De Canio left the team in June.[why?]
In the 2011–12 Serie A season, Lecce was relegated to Serie B. The start of the season was bad[according to whom?][clarification needed] and new manager Eusebio Di Francesco was sacked in December, after 9 losses in 13 matches.[citation needed]Serse Cosmi was appointed new manager. Lecce refused to crumble[tone] as Cosmi's arrival instilled battling qualities[tone] into the relegation strugglers,[clarification needed] who managed to[tone] gain a considerable number[quantify] of points in the following months, but eventually failed to[tone] avoid relegation, due to four losses in the last five matches.[citation needed] Lecce managed to[tone] struggle until the final game.
Third division years
On 10 August 2012, Lecce was provisionally relegated by the Disciplinary Commission set up for the Scommessopoli scandal investigations 2012–13 Lega Pro Prima Divisione because of their involvement. Furthermore, the former president of Lecce, Semeraro, was suspended from all football activities for five years.[3] On 22 August 2012, Lecce's relegation was confirmed by the Federal Court of Justice.[4] In the first season back into the third tier, Lecce ended in second place behind outsiders Trapani and was surprisingly[according to whom?] defeated in the promotion playoffs finals by another outsider club, Carpi.[citation needed] The following season ended in similar fashion, with Lecce failing to[tone] win the league once again and then losing the playoffs finals, this time to Frosinone, despite a number of high-level signings such as former Palermo star, and well-known[by whom?] Lecce supporter, Fabrizio Miccoli.[citation needed] In 2014–15 Lecce ended the season in sixth place and did not enter the playoffs.[citation needed]
Following the departure of the Tesoro family,[why?] the club was taken over by a consortium of entrepreneurs led by Saverio Sticchi Damiani.[citation needed] The club ended the 2015–16 season in third place, two points behind the second-placed team, and qualified for the playoffs round.[citation needed] After defeating Bassano 3–0 at home, in the semi-finals Lecce lost to Foggia in both the home and the away match.[citation needed] In the following season, Lecce finished in second place.[citation needed] The elimination came in the play-off quarterfinals against Alessandria on penalties after two draws in two matches.[citation needed]
Back to the top
In September 2017, Fabio Liverani was named new coach of Lecce, with whom he achieved two direct promotions from Serie C to Serie A, thus bringing the Salento club back to the Italian top-tier league after seven years.[5][6] Lecce then fought against Genoa for survival and made it[tone] to the last day of the 2019–20 season before being relegated with a home loss to Parma.[7] The salentini missed out promotion to Serie A in the 2020–21 season, losing to Venezia in the play-off semifinals after a 4th-place finish, but then, with coach Marco Baroni, won the 2021–22 Serie B championship, thus celebrating their tenth elevation to the top flight and being awarded the Coppa Nexus.[citation needed] Lecce striker Massimo Coda was top scorer of the Serie B for two seasons in a row in 2020–21 and 2021–22.[citation needed] The giallorossi side then gained survival in the next Serie A campaign with a game to spare, with Baroni and Lecce parting ways at the end of the 2022–23 season.[why?]
Colours, badge, nicknames, and symbols
The team plays in red and yellow stripes, the heraldic colours of city. Lecce players and fans are referred to[by whom?] as salentini or giallorossi. The official anthem of Lecce is Giallorossi per Sempre composed by Gioy Rielli. The symbol of Lecce is a female wolf under a holm oak tree which is typical to Apulia and is also the symbol of the city of Lecce.[8]
The main rivalry is with the other most successful football team from Apulia, SSC Bari. The match against them is called Derby di Puglia.[9] The first Derby di Puglia was played on 8 December 1929 in Serie B in Lecce, with the home team winning 1–0.[10] After that occasion, the derby di Puglia was played many times in Serie C and Coppa Italia, and especially in Serie A. The first derby played in Serie A was played on 27 October 1985 in Bari, and was won by the home team.[10] The last one was also played in Bari on 15 May 2011 and saw Lecce prevailing by 2-0 and securing their stay in Serie A[11] (however that match was later object of an investigation for match-fixing).[12][13] Among the most important wins[why?] in the derby for Lecce there is a Serie B match ended 4–0 in Bari on 22 December 2007.[citation needed]
On the other end, Lecce has a famous and long-standing friendship with the fans of Palermo.[9]
Graziano Pellè – Italy international, product of Lecce's youth system and San Cesario di Lecce native, he is from Monteroni di Lecce. He made his Serie A debut with Lecce in 2004[citation needed]
Fabrizio Miccoli – former Italy international and childhood supporter of the club. He was born in Nardò and is from San Donato di Lecce, a town close to Lecce[citation needed]
Lecce have had many head coaches throughout the history of the club, and in some seasons more than one coach was in charge. Here is a chronological list of them from 1927 onwards.[15]
