A brief history of Livorno
Unione Sportiva Livorno were founded in 1915 with a merger between Virtus Juventusque and SPES Livorno. It was originally not a popular decision as the two local clubs had a strong rivalry.
Early days
Due to WW1 they only started official games in 1919-20 in the Tuscan section of the top flight. In the 1920's they competed in the regional top tier and in 1929-30 qualified for the first ever single national Serie A.
In the 1930s Livorno went up and down between Serie A and B (winning Serie B in 1932-33 and 1936-37). Their best position in A was 8th in 1933-34.
In the early 1940s they were in A until the war interrupted national sporting activities. In 1942-43 they obtained their highest ever finish with a 2nd place, under manager Ivo Fiorentini. They were only one point behind champions Torino.
Later history
After the war they stayed in A for four seasons before a decline. In the next 15 years (1949-64) they spent 11 seasons in Serie C and 4 in B.
From 1964 to 1971 they found some stability in Serie B but never fighting for promotion.
In 1971-72 they were relegated to C again and in 1982-83 to C2. They came straight back up again and were in C1 until 1989. In 1987 they won the Serie C Coppa Italia (Campania Puteolana 3-1 on aggregate).
In 1988-89 they went down to C2 again. In 1990 they became Unione Calcio Livorno.
In 1991 they were excluded from professional football due to financial problems and started from Eccellenza (5th tier) as Associazione Sportiva Livorno Calcio.
By 1997 they were back in C1 and by 2002 in Serie B (in 2001-02 they won Serie C).
In 2003-04 they finished 3rd in B under Walter Mazzarri and won promotion to Serie A. They stayed four seasons (8th, 6th, 11th and 20th). In 2006-07 they took part in the UEFA Cup and reached the round of 32 (Espanyol 1-4 on aggregate), their best results were a 1-0 away win at Auxerre and a 1-1 away draw at Partizan Belgrade (with 87th minute equaliser by goalkeeper Marco Amelia).
The Amaranto won promotion again in 2012 -13 under Davide Nicola but only stayed up one season.
There followed a decade which saw them between B and C until in 2021 when they fell to Serie D.
Livorno again had financial problems and were renamed Unione Sportiva Livorno 1915 and started from Eccellenza. By 2025 they were back in Serie C (winning Serie D Scudetto in 2024-25). They are currently in Serie C.
Round up
A patchy history. Livorno had good years until WW2 with many seasons in Serie A and a 2nd place in 1943. There followed 60 years of Serie B, C, C2 and even amateur football. The Tuscans had another good period in the mid to late 2000s. In total they have played 18 seasons in A (+11 pre-1929), 27 in B (twice winners), 32 in C (three times winners), 7 in C2 and 6 in semi-professional or amateur leagues. They played one campaign in Europe in 2006-07
Players
Livorno have had many great players in their history. These include Mario Magnozzi, Mario Stua, Costanzo Balleri, Mauro Lessi, Armando Picchi, Renato Bellinelli, Miguel Vitulano, Igor Protti, Cristiano Lucarelli, David Balleri, Marco Amelia, Andrea Luci, Giorgio Chiellini, Alessandro Diamanti.
The top 10 for appearances are: 421 Andrea Luci, 369 Mauro Lessi, 280 Mauro Magnozzi, 278 Igor Protti, 259 Paolo Silvestri, 242 Mario Stua, 238 Renato Bellinelli, 229 Ostilio Capaccioli, 218 Alessandro Lambrughi, 215 Paolo Lami
The top 10 goalscorers are: 130 Igor Protti, 128 Mario Magnozzi, 111 Cristiano Lucarelli, 68 Federico Dionisi, 56 Paulinho, 55 Daniele Vantaggiato, 54 Francesco Tavano, 46 Bruno Graziani, 45 Enio Bonaldi, 44 Teresio Piana
A possible top X1 could be: 1) Bellinelli 2) Balleri 3) Chiellini 4) Lessi 5) Picchi 6) Luci 7) Vitulano 8) Mario Stua 9) Lucarelli 10) Protti 11) Magnozzi
Managers
The first managers were Attilio Fresia and Pietro Piselli.
Some of their more important managers have been Ivo Fiorentini (2nd place in A in 1943), Renzo Milani (undefeated C2 winners in 1984), Osvaldo Jaconi (promotion to B in 2002), Walter Mazzarri (promotion to A in 2004) and Davide Nicola (promotion to A in 2013 ).
Others include: Gyula Lelovics, Karl Stürmer, József Viola, Mario Magnozzi, Guido Mazzetti, Carlo Parola, Roberto Donadoni, Carlo Mazzone, Walter Novellino.
Colours and names
Livorno's colour is "amaranto" (maroon or amaranth red) which is the colour of the town banner and flag. The classic shirt is maroon with some black and gold with maroon shorts and socks. The club logo is USL or ASL in a circle, nicknamed "dollaro" locally.
The clubs nicknames are "Labronici" (natives of Livorno), "Triglie" (Red mullet fish) or simply "Amaranto".
Playing fields and stadiums
Livorno first played on the Villa Chayes pitch. It was used from 1915 to 1933 and held about 6,000 fans.
In 1933 the new stadium in the Ardenza area was inaugurated although it was only completed in 1935. It held 20,000 and was originally called the Edda Ciano Mussolini (1933-45). It then became known as the Stadio Comunale (1945-89) and in 1990 Stadio Armando Picchi (the former Livorno player and manager who was also part of the great Inter 1960s team). It is often however still referred to as L'Ardenza. It now has a capacity of 14, 267.
Fans
The first organised groups were Ultras Livorno in 1976 and Ultras Fossa in 1977. In 1999 they merged and formed the Brigate Autonome Livornesi (BAL).
Today the main groups are: Prima Linea 1915, Brigata Seleuco Trionieri and Frenetici 1915
Livorno organised fan base are traditionally radical left-wing. Their main friendships are with Pescara, Ternana, Atalanta, Virtus Verona and Empoli. Abroad they have ties with Olympique Marseille, AEK Athens, Celtic Glasgow and Adana Demirspor.
Their arch rivals are nearby Pisa. They are also enemies with other Tuscans: Siena, Arezzo, Lucchese and Fiorentina (although the latter were once friends). The various groups also have bad blood with Lazio, Roma, Brescia, Bologna, Ascoli, Verona, Catania, Palermo, Massese and Carrarese.
Modern day
Livorno are currently in Serie C. The manager is former player and legend Cristiano Lucarelli. The club is Brazilian owned with the president being Joel Esciua.
Head to Head with Lazio
The Amaranto and Biancocelesti have played 46 times, 36 in Serie A, 6 in Serie B, twice in First Category and twice in the Coppa Coni.
First game: Lazio Livorno 1-2 on Sunday, May 22, 1921 for the First Category Interregional Semifinal Group
First Lazio Home win: Lazio Livorno 2-1 in in Coppa CONI on Sunday, July 8, 1928
First Lazio Away Win: Livorno Lazio 0-2 in Serie A on Sunday, February 10, 1935
Latest Lazio Home Win: Lazio Livorno 2-0 in Serie A on Sunday, December 15, 2013
Latest Lazio Away Win and last match played: Livorno Lazio 0-2 in Serie A on Sunday, April 27, 2014
Total Lazio Wins: 26 (20 home, 6 away)
Total Draws: 5 (all in Livorno)
Total Livorno Wins: 15 (3 in Rome, 12 in Livorno)
Best Lazio Win and Match with greater number of goals: Lazio Livorno 6-1 in Serie A on Sunday September 30, 1934
Worst defeat: Livorno Lazio 4-0 on Sunday, June 15, 1930, in Serie A
Lazio played three times against SPES Livorno: in the 1908 Interregional Pisa Tournament and twice in the Southern League Semifinal in 1914. They won all three games. The Biancocelesti also played with Virtus Juventusque, again in Pisa in 1908 and in the Southern League Semifinal in 1913, winning all three. SPES and Virtus later formed US Livorno.
Lazio have played twice with Pro Livorno, founded in 1919, in the 1945-46 season losing both games.
Sources
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