A.C. Mantova
Encyclopedia
Mantova Football Club is an Italian football
club, based in Mantua
, Lombardy
. Mantova had played consecutively in the Italian Serie B
from the 2005–06 season to 2009–10 as Associazione Calcio Mantova, when they were relegated after ending the season in 20th place.
During the summer 2010, the club went bankrupt and was refounded with the current denomination being immediately promoted, already in the following season, from Serie D
group B to Lega Pro Seconda Divisione.
for 7 seasons (1961/62
, 1964/65
, 1966/67
, 1967/68
, 1971/72
), being nicknamed in its initial period as Little Brazil
(Piccolo Brasile). The third team shirt, green and yellow, actually remembers that period, by far the best one in the team history.
Mantova also played for 8 seasons in Serie B
, and won it in 1970/71.
Mantova was cancelled two times from the Italian football panorama, in 1983 and 1994, both times because of insolvency.
Former famous players include Dino Zoff
, Angelo Sormani
, Anton Alleman and Karl-Heinz Schnellinger
.
Mantova was promoted from Serie C2
to Serie B
in two consecutive seasons, in 2003–2004 season as league champions and in 2004–2005 as runners-up and playoff winners. Mantova begun the 2005/06 Serie B football campaign introducing itself as a strong potential candidate for promotion to Serie A, despite its lack of players experienced with these levels (almost the same squad which promoted to Serie B the previous season) and a coach, Domenico Di Carlo
, on just his second year as first team football trainer. The team led the Serie B table for a long part of the season, gaining an unexpected interest by the media. However, Mantova was not able to maintain the head of the league in the end, and the team concluded its season in fourth place, gaining a spot in the promotion playoffs. Successively, AC Mantova won its playoff semifinal against Modena F.C.
after two ties (0–0, 1–1), being qualified thanks to its best placement in the regular season. The first playoff final, against Torino
, saw Mantova winning at home 4–2. However, Mantova was not able to maintain this advantage in the return match, lost 3–1 in Turin after extra time, which allowed Torino FC to be promoted in Serie A because of a better placement in the regular season.
During the 2006–07 season
, they became the first team to beat Juventus F.C.
, La Vecchia Signora, in a Serie B match. They ended the season in eighth place, confirming themselves in the top side of the league table. Following Di Carlo's resignations, Mantova appointed Attilio Tesser
as new head coach for their 2007–08 Serie B campaign. As part of an ambitious summer transfer market, Mantova signed on 23 August 2007 the former Italian international Stefano Fiore
. However their campaign proved to be disappointing as the team failed to break into the promotion playoff zone, resulting in the sacking of Tesser in the mid-season. He was replaced by Giuseppe Brucato, a young manager with no previous experience in the league, who guided the club to a mid-table finish in the season.
Brucato was confirmed as head coach of Mantova for the 2008–09 season. As Fiore parted company with the club following an unimpressive season with the virgiliani, he was replaced by Tomas Locatelli
. However, Mantova failed to assure themselves a place in the higher ranks of the league, causing the sacking of Brucato following a 1–3 home defeat to Parma
. The club successively appointed former AC Milan
defender Alessandro Costacurta
as new head coach. Costacurta later resigned and was replaced by Mario Somma
, who led the club to a final 13th place, only two points ahead the relegation play-off zone.
For the 2009–10 season, Mantova will be guided by former Italian international Michele Serena
.
For the 2010–11 season, Mantova went bankrupt and was admitted to Serie D
.
Mantova came first in Girone B and gained promotion to 2011–12 Lega Pro Seconda Divisione
.
Ottavio Bianchi
Roberto Boninsegna
Mario Corso
Edmondo Fabbri
Nándor Hidegkuti
Football in Italy
Football is the most popular sport in Italy. The Italian national football team has won the FIFA World Cup 4 times , trailing only Brazil . Italy's club sides have won 27 major European trophies, making them the most successful European nation in the subject of football...
club, based in Mantua
Mantua
Mantua is a city and comune in Lombardy, Italy and capital of the province of the same name. Mantua's historic power and influence under the Gonzaga family, made it one of the main artistic, cultural and notably musical hubs of Northern Italy and the country as a whole...
, Lombardy
Lombardy
Lombardy is one of the 20 regions of Italy. The capital is Milan. One-sixth of Italy's population lives in Lombardy and about one fifth of Italy's GDP is produced in this region, making it the most populous and richest region in the country and one of the richest in the whole of Europe...
. Mantova had played consecutively in the Italian Serie B
Serie B
Serie B, currently named Serie bwin due to sponsorship reasons, is the second-highest division in the Italian football league system after the Serie A. It is contested by 22 teams and organized by the Lega Serie B since July 2010, after the split of Lega Calcio that previously took care of both the...
from the 2005–06 season to 2009–10 as Associazione Calcio Mantova, when they were relegated after ending the season in 20th place.
During the summer 2010, the club went bankrupt and was refounded with the current denomination being immediately promoted, already in the following season, from Serie D
Serie D
Serie D is the top level of the Italian non-professional football association called Lega Nazionale Dilettanti. The association represents over a million football players and thousands of football teams across Italy. Serie D ranks just below Lega Pro Seconda Divisione , and is thus considered the...
group B to Lega Pro Seconda Divisione.
History
Mantova was founded in 1911. They played in Serie ASerie A
Serie A , now called Serie A TIM due to sponsorship by Telecom Italia, is a professional league competition for football clubs located at the top of the Italian football league system and has been operating for over eighty years since 1929. It had been organized by Lega Calcio until 2010, but a new...
for 7 seasons (1961/62
Serie A 1961-62
-Final classification:-Results:...
, 1964/65
Serie A 1964-65
-Final classification:-Results:-References and sources:*Almanacco Illustrato del Calcio - La Storia 1898-2004, Panini Edizioni, Modena, September 2005-External links:...
, 1966/67
Serie A 1966-67
Serie A 1966-67 season was won by Juventus, it was their second scudetto of the 1960s. The season was closely contested and went down to the final day of the season; Inter were left needing just a draw or having Juventus not beat Lazio to win the title. However, Inter lost 1-0 on the final day to...
, 1967/68
Serie A 1967-68
Serie A 1967-68 season was won by A.C. Milan.-Final classification:-Results:-References and sources:*Almanacco Illustrato del Calcio - La Storia 1898-2004, Panini Edizioni, Modena, September 2005-External links:...
, 1971/72
Serie A 1971-72
The 1971/1972 Serie A season was won by Juventus F.C..-Final classification:-Results:-References and sources:*Almanacco Illustrato del Calcio - La Storia 1898-2004, Panini Edizioni, Modena, September 2005-External links:...
), being nicknamed in its initial period as Little Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
(Piccolo Brasile). The third team shirt, green and yellow, actually remembers that period, by far the best one in the team history.
Mantova also played for 8 seasons in Serie B
Serie B
Serie B, currently named Serie bwin due to sponsorship reasons, is the second-highest division in the Italian football league system after the Serie A. It is contested by 22 teams and organized by the Lega Serie B since July 2010, after the split of Lega Calcio that previously took care of both the...
, and won it in 1970/71.
Mantova was cancelled two times from the Italian football panorama, in 1983 and 1994, both times because of insolvency.
Former famous players include Dino Zoff
Dino Zoff
Dino Zoff is an Italian former football goalkeeper and is the oldest winner ever of the World Cup, which he earned as captain of the Italian team in the 1982 tournament in Spain, at the age of 40 years, 4 months and 13 days.Zoff was a goalkeeper of outstanding ability and has a place in the...
, Angelo Sormani
Angelo Sormani
Ángelo Benedicto Miguel Sormani is a former Italian Brazilian footballer.During his club career, he played for Santos Futebol Clube of Brazil, and A.C. Mantova, A.S. Roma, U.C. Sampdoria, A.C. Milan, S.S.C...
, Anton Alleman and Karl-Heinz Schnellinger
Karl-Heinz Schnellinger
Karl-Heinz Schnellinger is a former German footballer. He was one of the world's best defenders for a decade in the 1960s. He was nicknamed the "Volkswagen" for his continuity of performance, both in quantity and in quality...
.
Mantova was promoted from Serie C2
Serie C2
Lega Pro Seconda Divisione is the name of the fourth highest football league in Italy, the lowest with a professional status. Usually it consists of 54 teams, but in the season 2010–11 the teams are only 49 divided geographically into three divisions of 17, 16 and 16 teams each...
to Serie B
Serie B
Serie B, currently named Serie bwin due to sponsorship reasons, is the second-highest division in the Italian football league system after the Serie A. It is contested by 22 teams and organized by the Lega Serie B since July 2010, after the split of Lega Calcio that previously took care of both the...
in two consecutive seasons, in 2003–2004 season as league champions and in 2004–2005 as runners-up and playoff winners. Mantova begun the 2005/06 Serie B football campaign introducing itself as a strong potential candidate for promotion to Serie A, despite its lack of players experienced with these levels (almost the same squad which promoted to Serie B the previous season) and a coach, Domenico Di Carlo
Domenico Di Carlo
Domenico "Mimmo" Di Carlo is an Italian association football coach, and former player, currently head coach of ChievoVerona.-Career:...
, on just his second year as first team football trainer. The team led the Serie B table for a long part of the season, gaining an unexpected interest by the media. However, Mantova was not able to maintain the head of the league in the end, and the team concluded its season in fourth place, gaining a spot in the promotion playoffs. Successively, AC Mantova won its playoff semifinal against Modena F.C.
Modena F.C.
Modena Football Club is an Italian football club based in Modena, Emilia-Romagna. The club was formed in 1912 and currently plays in Italian Serie B, after being relegated from a two year period in Serie A in the year 2004. The team's previous stay in Italy's top division ended in 1964. The team...
after two ties (0–0, 1–1), being qualified thanks to its best placement in the regular season. The first playoff final, against Torino
Torino F.C.
Torino Football Club, commonly referred to as simply Torino, is a professional Italian football club based in Turin, Piedmont, that was founded in 1906. The club has spent most of its history in the top tier in Italian football....
, saw Mantova winning at home 4–2. However, Mantova was not able to maintain this advantage in the return match, lost 3–1 in Turin after extra time, which allowed Torino FC to be promoted in Serie A because of a better placement in the regular season.
During the 2006–07 season
Serie B 2006-07
The 2006-07 Serie B season started on September 9, 2006 and ended on June 10, 2007. The 22 clubs in Serie B each played 42 matches during the regular season....
, they became the first team to beat Juventus F.C.
Juventus F.C.
Juventus Football Club S.p.A. , commonly referred to as Juventus and colloquially as Juve , are a professional Italian association football club based in Turin, Piedmont...
, La Vecchia Signora, in a Serie B match. They ended the season in eighth place, confirming themselves in the top side of the league table. Following Di Carlo's resignations, Mantova appointed Attilio Tesser
Attilio Tesser
Attilio Tesser is an Italian football manager, currently in charge of Novara.-Playing career:Tesser, a defender, started his playing career with Treviso. He moved to Napoli in 1978, where he played two seasons. He then played for Udinese from 1980 to 1985, and then for some lower league teams,...
as new head coach for their 2007–08 Serie B campaign. As part of an ambitious summer transfer market, Mantova signed on 23 August 2007 the former Italian international Stefano Fiore
Stefano Fiore
Stefano Fiore is an Italian football manager and former player, who can play as an attacking midfielder or on the wing. He is currently in charge as manager technical area of Cosenza in Serie D.-Parma and early years:...
. However their campaign proved to be disappointing as the team failed to break into the promotion playoff zone, resulting in the sacking of Tesser in the mid-season. He was replaced by Giuseppe Brucato, a young manager with no previous experience in the league, who guided the club to a mid-table finish in the season.
Brucato was confirmed as head coach of Mantova for the 2008–09 season. As Fiore parted company with the club following an unimpressive season with the virgiliani, he was replaced by Tomas Locatelli
Tomas Locatelli
Tomas Locatelli is an Italian footballer who plays for Mantova at Serie B.Locatelli played over 200 matches at Serie A.-Career:...
. However, Mantova failed to assure themselves a place in the higher ranks of the league, causing the sacking of Brucato following a 1–3 home defeat to Parma
Parma F.C.
Parma Football Club , commonly referred to as just Parma, is an Italian professional football club based in Parma, Emilia–Romagna that will compete in Serie A for the 2011–12 season, having finished in twelfth position last season. Founded as Verdi Foot Ball Club in July 1913, the club changed its...
. The club successively appointed former AC Milan
A.C. Milan
Associazione Calcio Milan, commonly referred to as A.C. Milan or simply Milan , is a professional Italian football club based in Milan, Lombardy, that plays in the Serie A. Milan was founded in 1899 by English lace-maker Herbert Kilpin and businessman Alfred Edwards among others...
defender Alessandro Costacurta
Alessandro Costacurta
Alessandro "Billy" Costacurta is an Italian former professional football defender turned manager.Costacurta spent some twenty years at Milan, with a brief period spent in AC Monza on loan. He is best known for his role alongside Franco Baresi, Paolo Maldini and Mauro Tassotti, forming one of the...
as new head coach. Costacurta later resigned and was replaced by Mario Somma
Mario Somma
Mario Somma is an Italian football manager.-Player:Somma started his career with Genoa and then spent his later years mostly at the Serie C1 and Serie C2 level, playing for several Campanian teams...
, who led the club to a final 13th place, only two points ahead the relegation play-off zone.
For the 2009–10 season, Mantova will be guided by former Italian international Michele Serena
Michele Serena
Michele Serena is an Italian former football defender and current manager of Spezia.- Player :Serena started his playing career with Mestre of Serie C2, then become Venezia following a merger. He was signed by Juventus in 1989, and made four league appearances with the bianconeri...
.
For the 2010–11 season, Mantova went bankrupt and was admitted to Serie D
Serie D
Serie D is the top level of the Italian non-professional football association called Lega Nazionale Dilettanti. The association represents over a million football players and thousands of football teams across Italy. Serie D ranks just below Lega Pro Seconda Divisione , and is thus considered the...
.
Mantova came first in Girone B and gained promotion to 2011–12 Lega Pro Seconda Divisione
2011–12 Lega Pro Seconda Divisione
The 2011–12 Lega Pro Seconda Divisione season will be the thirty-fourth football league season of Italian Lega Pro Seconda Divisione since its establishment in 1978, and the fourth since the renaming from Serie C to Lega Pro....
.
Notable former players
- See also .
| Anton Allemann Anton Allemann Anton "Toni" Allemann was a Swiss footballer. He began his career at BSC Young Boys in Berne in 1957 at age 21, where he spent four seasons. In 1961, he joined Italian side A.C. Mantova, and later played for PSV Eindhoven in the Netherlands, and 1... Stefano Fiore Stefano Fiore Stefano Fiore is an Italian football manager and former player, who can play as an attacking midfielder or on the wing. He is currently in charge as manager technical area of Cosenza in Serie D.-Parma and early years:... Gustavo Giagnoni Gustavo Giagnoni Gustavo Giagnoni is an Italian former footballer and manager from Olbia, Sardinia. He is most noted for his career as a footballing manager in Italy at clubs such as Roma, Bologna and AC Milan.... Gabriele Graziani Dario Hübner Dario Hübner Dario Hübner , nicknamed Bisonte , is an Italian football player, in the role of striker.Hübner started his career in 1987-88 at Pievigina, in Interregionale, scoring 10 goals... William Negri Carlo Nervo Carlo Nervo Carlo Nervo is an Italian professional footballer who played for Bologna, Monza, Mantova, Bassano Virtus and Catanzaro, as well as for the Italian national side.-External links:*... |
Paolo Poggi Paolo Poggi Paolo Poggi is a retired Italian professional football player.In the 2001/02 season, he set the record for the fastest goal scored in the Serie A, scoring 8 seconds after the starting whistle.... Ettore Recagni Karl-Heinz Schnellinger Karl-Heinz Schnellinger Karl-Heinz Schnellinger is a former German footballer. He was one of the world's best defenders for a decade in the 1960s. He was nicknamed the "Volkswagen" for his continuity of performance, both in quantity and in quality... Angelo Sormani Angelo Sormani Ángelo Benedicto Miguel Sormani is a former Italian Brazilian footballer.During his club career, he played for Santos Futebol Clube of Brazil, and A.C. Mantova, A.S. Roma, U.C. Sampdoria, A.C. Milan, S.S.C... Giorgio Veneri Dino Zoff Dino Zoff Dino Zoff is an Italian former football goalkeeper and is the oldest winner ever of the World Cup, which he earned as captain of the Italian team in the 1982 tournament in Spain, at the age of 40 years, 4 months and 13 days.Zoff was a goalkeeper of outstanding ability and has a place in the... |
Notable former coaches
- See also .
Ottavio Bianchi
Ottavio Bianchi
Ottavio Bianchi is an Italian former football player and coach.-Biography:Bianchi was born in Brescia. During his playing days, he has won two caps for Italy, and played for a number of teams, including Brescia, Napoli, Atalanta, Milan and Cagliari.He is best remembered for being the coach of...
Roberto Boninsegna
Roberto Boninsegna
Roberto Boninsegna is an Italian former football player.He started his career in Serie B with Prato in 1963-64 season. He transferred to FC Potenza, who was Serie B team in 1964-65 season. He also played for Varese in 1965-66 and Cagliari between 1966-1969...
Mario Corso
Mario Corso
Mario Corso, nicknamed Mariolino, is an Italian former football player and coach. He was a famed left winger notable for his consistency....
Edmondo Fabbri
Edmondo Fabbri
Edmondo Fabbri was an Italian football player and coach.Fabbri was born at Castel Bolognese-He was the head coach of the Italy national football team from 1962 to 1966, with a record of 18 wins, 6 draws and 5 losses, and led the team in the 1966 FIFA World Cup, where they were eliminated in the...
Nándor Hidegkuti
Nándor Hidegkuti
Nándor Hidegkuti was a Hungarian football player and manager. He played as a forward or attacking midfielder and spent the majority of his playing career at MTK Hungária FC. During the 1950s he was also a member of the Hungarian National Team team known as the Golden Team...