Overview
Unione Sportiva Livorno 1915 (formerly A.S. Livorno Calcio, commonly known as Livorno), is a semi-professional Italian football club based in Livorno, Tuscany. They compete in Serie D, the top tier of semi-professional Italian football after their promotion from the regional Eccellenza Tuscany league. The team's colours are dark red ( in Italian, from which the team nickname derives). Livorno were one of the original sides of Serie A, the top flight of Italian football, but have been relegated seven times from the top flight and have undergone two club refoundings in 1991 and 2021, necessitating a rise from the regional Eccellenza leagues. Their longest spells in the top division were from 1940 to 1949 (accounting for seven seasons) and from 2004 to 2008. The amaranto have won Serie B on two occasions, the Lega Pro Prima Divisione and Lega Pro Seconda Divisione once each, and the Supercoppa di Serie C once as well. Livorno play their home matches at the Stadio Armando Picchi.
History
Founded on 15 February 1915, the club ended the Italian Football Championship 1919–20 in second place, losing the final to Internazionale. One year later, they were defeated in the semi-final by arch-rivals Pisa. In 1933, the club moved to the current stadium, originally named after Edda Ciano Mussolini, daughter of fascist dictator Benito Mussolini. Livorno was one of the original Serie A teams. They played at top level during periods of 1929–31, 1933–35 and 1937–39. Successively, Livorno ended as Serie A runners-up in the 1942–43 season. Livorno left Serie A in 1949 after seven consecutive seasons. They were relegated to Serie C soon after (1951–52 season), making a return to Serie B in 1955 for a single season and again from 1964 to 1972. They were relegated to Serie C2 in 1982–83 and played again in the third level between 1984 and 1989. The club was then canceled in 1991, being forced to start from Eccellenza; two consecutive promotions led the team back to Serie C2. The club was promoted to Serie C1 in 1997 and was acquired by Aldo Spinelli two years later. Under the new property, Livorno returned to Serie B in 2001.
Livorno was promoted to Serie A after finishing third in the Serie B 2003–04, one of six clubs to be promoted that season. It had been 55 years since Livorno's last season in the top flight, and as a result of this, most were predicting an instant return to Serie B for the club.
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