UC AlbinoLeffe

Did You Know?

• The club won the Coppa Italia Serie C in 2001–02 by defeating Livorno on away goals after a 2–1 home win and a 2–3 away loss.
• In the 2007–08 season, AlbinoLeffe led the Serie B table for several weeks and reached the promotion play-off final, but lost to Lecce.
• The club was penalized 10 points in the 2012–13 Lega Pro Prima Divisione following systematic match fixing as a club controlled by Singapore-based organized crime.

History

The club was formed in 1998 through the merger of Albinese Calcio and Società Calcio Leffe, both former Serie C2 sides from the neighboring towns of Albino and Leffe. In its debut season, AlbinoLeffe finished second in Serie C2 and won promotion by defeating A.C. Prato in the Girone A play-off final. After moving up to Serie C1, the team placed ninth in 2000 and thirteenth in 2001. In 2002, the club reached the Coppa Italia Serie C final, beating Livorno on away goals after a 2–1 home win and a 2–3 away loss, while again finishing thirteenth in the league.

Under coach Elio Gustinetti in 2003, AlbinoLeffe came second in the league and then won the promotion play-offs, overcoming Padua in the semifinals and Pisa Calcio in the final to reach Serie B. The team moved from the small Martinelli Stadium in Leffe to the Stadio Atleti Azzurri d'Italia in Bergamo. Despite being considered outsiders in Serie B, the club avoided relegation in its first two seasons. In 2005–06, after Emiliano Mondonico became head coach, AlbinoLeffe finished eighteenth and survived the playouts against Avellino (2–0, 2–3).

The 2006–07 campaign ended in tenth place, well clear of relegation. Home matches drew an average of 2,400 spectators that season.

Stadium and colors

From the 2003–04 Serie B season until 2019, AlbinoLeffe played home matches at the Atleti Azzurri d'Italia in Bergamo, having previously used the Stadio Carlo Martelli in Leffe. In 2021, a new stadium opened in Zanica with a capacity of 1,791, expandable to 5,500 if the club returns to Serie B; it was approved by the Italian National Olympic Committee in March 2019 and made AlbinoLeffe the first Serie C team to own its home stadium. The inaugural match was a Serie C game against Pro Patria on 21 December 2021. The club's official colors are dark blue and azure blue for home matches, while away kits are red and yellow.

Notable former players

The list of notable former players includes Andrea Belotti, Alessandro Diamanti, Federico Marchetti, Federico Peluso, Marco Sau, Kewullay Conteh, Karamoko Cissé, Mehmet Hetemaj, Sergejs Vorobjovs, Mirco Poloni, Ivan Del Prato, Pierre Regonesi, Ruben Garlini, Damiano Sonzogni, Roberto Bonazzi, Marco Cellini, Francesco Ruopolo, Christian Araboni, Filippo Carobbio, Roberto Previtali, Alessandro Salvi, Andrea Soncin, Fabio Gavazzi, and Mihai Gușu. These footballers earned international caps at junior or senior level or accumulated significant appearances and goals for UC AlbinoLeffe.