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| Full name | Unione Sportiva LecceS.p.A. (Sports Union Lecce S.p.A.) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nicknames |
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| Founded |
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| Ground | Stadio Via del mare | |||
| Capacity | 31,533[1] | |||
| Owner(s) | Saverio Sticchi Damiani (majority) Alvin Sariaatmadja (minority)[2] | |||
| President | Saverio Sticchi Damiani | |||
| Manager | Eusebio Di Francesco | |||
| League | Serie A | |||
| 2024–25 | Serie A, 17th of 20 | |||
| Website | uslecce.it | |||
 Current season | ||||
Unione Sportiva Lecce (Italian pronunciation:[ˈlettʃe]) is aprofessional Italian football club based inLecce,Apulia. The club play inSerie A for the2025–26 season, the top level of theItalian football pyramid. Lecce plays its home games atStadio Via del Mare, which has a capacity of 31,533 spectators.
The club was formed in 1927 upon an idea of 1908 and has spent a large part of their recent history bouncing between Italy's second division and Serie A, where the team debuted in the1985–86 season. Its best Serie A finish is the ninth place obtained in the1988–89 season. The club is 25th in the Serie A all-time table and is the second club fromApulia with appearances in the first two tiers of Italian football, with 19 Serie A seasons and 29 Serie B seasons.
Lecce won Serie B titles in2022 and2010, aCoppa Italia Serie C in 1975 and anAnglo-Italian Cup Semiprofessionals in 1976.
Lecce players and fans are nicknamedsalentini or simplygiallorossi orlupi.
Lecce was founded asSporting Club Lecce on 15 March 1908, initially includingfootball,track-and-field and cycling sports. The first club president was Francesco Marangi. The first colours worn by Lecce during this time were black and white stripes, known in Italy asbianconeri.
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 asUnione Sportiva Lecce. The club was still wearing black and white stripes (similar toJuventus' kit) at this point, and the first president under the name Unione Sportiva Lecce was Luigi López y Rojo.
Taranto Sport played Lecce in a game for promotion toSerie B from the local Southern Italian league; Lecce were victorious winning 3–2 afterextra time. They were entered intoSerie B for the 1929–30 season. The first game match played in the league was againstNovara on 6 October 1929, a 2–1 victory. Lecce would eventually finish 13th. However, for the second time in the club's history, it ceased activity at the end of the 1931–32 season.
Four years later, Lecce returned and competedSerie C, finishing 11th in their return season. Around this time, the club was in turmoil: 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 the club had violated the league's federal regulations.
The club finished in first place during the 1943–44 season, but club football was then suspended due toWorld War II. Nonetheless, when club football resumed, Lecce finished as champions of Serie C, gaining promotion back into Serie B. Two decent seasons followed (finishing fourth and third in respective seasons), with star player Silvestri scoring 20 goals in one season, before the club was relegated.
Lecce stayed down in Serie C for six seasons during this period, though this was not a particularly successful time for the club. Striker Anselmo Bislenghi scored 83 goals for the club during this period, thus becoming a hero. The club slipped even lower toSerie IV, where they spent three years.
From 1959 to 1975, Lecce played 17 seasons in Serie C. They came extremely close to promotion several times during that period, finishing in second place three consecutive seasons (1971–72 to 1973–74) before gaining promotion in the 1975–76 season.
The same year as their promotion, Lecce tasted cup success, winning theCoppa Italia Serie C. In 1976, Lecce took part in theAnglo-Italian Cup, notching up a 4–0 victory againstScarborough.[3]
In 1980, a scandal occurred which rockedItalian football, including Lecce under president Franco Jurlano. However, Jurlano was able to demonstrate his innocence and the scandal only lead to disqualification of player Claudius Merlo. Later, the club was struck by a tragedy in 1983: playersMichele Lo Russo and Ciro Pezzella died in anautomotive accident. To this day, Lo Russo remains the club record holder for most number of appearances, with 415.
Under the management ofEugenio Fascetti, Lecce would achieve promotion toSerie A for the first time in 1985. They finished bottom and were relegated after only one season, but defeatedRoma 3–2 away in the penultimate game to deal a fatal blow to Roma's title hopes. Losing a promotion play-off 2–1 toCesena the following season, they would return to Serie A in 1988.
UnderCarlo Mazzone, Lecce finished a respectable ninth place in 1989. Stars of the side included strikerPedro Pasculli and midfieldersAntonio Conte andPaolo Benedetti. They lasted three seasons before relegation, and returned two years later. The 1993–94 season saw Lecce finish in last place with a pitiful 11 points, the lowest ever of any Serie A team, and a second relegation came the following year.
Giampiero Ventura saw Lecce achieve two successive promotions from Serie C to Serie A before leaving forCagliari. Once more, it proved a struggle in Serie A despite the best efforts of strikerFrancesco Palmieri and a famous away win againstMilan on 19 October 1997.
In the summer of 1998,Pantaleo Corvino was appointed new sports director, gaining a reputation for scouting new talents in the years to come. 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.
In 2004, underDelio Rossi, who had been managing the club since 2002, Lecce achieved an impressive result, reaching a high-point of tenth despite a poor first half of the season. Famous performances include two consecutive sensational victories, first against Italian giants Juventus 3–4 inTurin (the first ever win at theStadio Delle Alpi for Lecce) and then in theStadio Via del Mare againstInternazionale, 2–1.
In2004–05, coachZdeněk Zeman oversaw a highly attack-minded team that scored plenty of goals. Lecce ended the year again finishing tenth, putting in the spotlight talents likeValeri Bojinov andMirko Vučinić. The team had the second-best attack with 66 goals (Juventus came first with 67) and the worst defence, with 73 goals conceded. This is a record, as for the first time the team with the worst defence managed to survive in the history of Serie A.
The2005–06 season was a continual struggle for Lecce. The club changed its manager two times (Silvio Baldini forAngelo Adamo Gregucci and in January 2006 youth team coachRoberto Rizzo, supported by goalkeeper coachFranco Paleari, for Baldini). The numerous managerial moves could not turn Lecce's fortune as they were relegated with a few games to spare and ended the season in 19th place. In June 2006, Giovanni Semeraro returned at the helm of the club after nine months. The club re-appointed Zdeněk Zeman as manager, just one year after he left the club.
Lecce was unable to avoid relegation from Serie A, despite some initial hope due to theSerie A match-fixing scandal.
The club had a mixed start to the2006–07 season in Serie B, winning three home matches (including a win against early league leadersGenoa), though they suffered poor away form. After a large drop in form, recording 10 losses in 18 matches, Zeman was sacked as manager and replaced byGiuseppe Papadopulo. On 10 March 2007, Lecce clinched a historical victory overFrosinone, beaten 5–0 at Stadio Via del Mare. Having gained 36 points in the second half of the season, Lecce ended the season in the middle of the table, in ninth place. In 2007, Lecce gained more points than any other team in Serie B.
The2007–08 season saw Lecce fight for a place in Serie A for the next season. Despite earning 83 points (12 more than sixth-placedPisa) and boasting the best defence in the tournament, thegiallorossi were forced to face play-offs for promotion in the top flight. 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 againstAlbinoLeffe. 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.
After persistent rumours, Papadopulo quit due to a difference of opinion with the general manager of the club and was replaced byMario Beretta, who had a quite satisfactory start in the2008–09 Serie A season. 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 andLuigi De Canio was appointed new manager. Seven points earned in ten matches were not enough to secure Lecce a spot in the next Serie A season. Relegation was official with one match to spare, after a 1–1 home draw againstFiorentina.
Lecce had a mixed start in the2009–10 Serie B campaign, but clinched first place in November 2009 and kept it for the rest of the season. 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. A goalless home draw withSassuolo proved enough to clinch the Serie B title with 75 points and win theCoppa Ali della Vittoria.
Lecce ended a satisfactory2010–11 Serie A season successfully avoiding relegation with one match to spare after beating arch-rival and already relegatedBari 2–0 away on 15 May 2011. In the last few matches, the team managed to win a tough battle against other underdogs and some glorious teams such asSampdoria that ended the season in despair. ManagerLuigi De Canio left the team in June.
In the2011–12 Serie A season, Lecce was relegated to Serie B. The start of the season was bad and new managerEusebio Di Francesco was sacked in December, after 9 losses in 13 matches.Serse Cosmi was appointed new manager. Lecce refused to crumble as Cosmi's arrival instilled battling qualities into the relegation strugglers, who managed to gain a considerable number of points in the following months, but eventually failed to avoid relegation, due to four losses in the last five matches. Lecce managed to struggle until the final game.
On 10 August 2012, Lecce was provisionally relegated by the Disciplinary Commission set up for theScommessopoli scandal investigations2012–13 Lega Pro Prima Divisione because of their involvement. Furthermore, the former president of Lecce, Semeraro, was suspended from all football activities for five years.[4] On 22 August 2012, Lecce's relegation was confirmed by the Federal Court of Justice.[5] In the first season back into the third tier, Lecce ended in second place behind outsidersTrapani and was surprisingly defeated in the promotion playoffs finals by another outsider club,Carpi. The following season ended in similar fashion, with Lecce failing to win the league once again and then losing the playoffs finals, this time toFrosinone, despite a number of high-level signings such as formerPalermo star, and well-known Lecce supporter,Fabrizio Miccoli. In 2014–15 Lecce ended the season in sixth place and did not enter the playoffs.
Following the departure of the Tesoro family, the club was taken over by a consortium of entrepreneurs led by Saverio Sticchi Damiani. The club ended the 2015–16 season in third place, two points behind the second-placed team, and qualified for the playoffs round. After defeatingBassano 3–0 at home, in the semi-finals Lecce lost toFoggia in both the home and the away match. In the following season, Lecce finished in second place. The elimination came in the play-off quarterfinals againstAlessandria onpenalties after two draws in two matches.
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.[6][7] Lecce then fought againstGenoa for survival and made it to the last day of the2019–20 season before being relegated with a home loss to Parma.[8] Thesalentini missed out promotion to Serie A in the2020–21 season, losing toVenezia in the play-off semifinals after a 4th-place finish, but then, with coachMarco Baroni, won the2021–22 Serie B championship, thus celebrating their tenth elevation to the top flight and being awarded the Coppa Nexus. Lecce strikerMassimo Coda was top scorer of the Serie B for two sonsecutive seasons (2020–21 and 2021–22). Thegiallorossi 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.
The team plays in red and yellow stripes, the heraldic colours of city. Lecce players and fans are referred to assalentini orgiallorossi. The official anthem of Lecce isGiallorossi per Sempre composed by Gioy Rielli. The symbol of Lecce is a femalewolf under aholm oak tree which is typical toApulia and is also the symbol of the city ofLecce.[9]
Lecce's home games are played in the 31,533-seater[1]Stadio Via del mare.
The main rivalry is with the other most successful football team from Apulia,Bari. The match against them is calledDerby di Puglia.[10] The firstDerby di Puglia was played on 8 December 1929 inSerie B inLecce, with the home team winning 1–0.[11] After that occasion, the derby di Puglia was played many times inSerie C andCoppa Italia, and especially inSerie A. The first derby played in Serie A was played on 27 October 1985 in Bari, and was won by the home team.[11] 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[12] (however that match was later object of an investigation for match-fixing).[13][14] Among the most important wins in the derby for Lecce there is a Serie B match ended 4–0 in Bari on 22 December 2007.
On the other end, Lecce has a famous and long-standing friendship with the fans ofPalermo.[10]
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined underFIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined underFIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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Note: Flags indicate national team as defined underFIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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Note: Flags indicate national team as defined underFIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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Juan Barbas –Argentina international,1982 FIFA World Cup,FIFA U-20 World Cup winner.
Antonio Conte –Scudetto-winning manager ofJuventus and EnglishPremier League-winning manager ofChelsea as well as former Juventus andItaly national team player; product of Lecce's youth system and Lecce native best known for his 13-year career playing for thebianconeri sideGraziano 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
Javier Chevantón –Uruguay international, all-time top-scorer for Lecce
Juan Cuadrado –Colombia internationalGuillermo Giacomazzi –Uruguay internationalFabrizio 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 LecceLuis Muriel –Colombia internationalMassimo Oddo – part of the squad which won the2006 FIFA World Cup, spent a season on loan at Lecce towards the end of his career
Dimitris Papadopoulos –Greece international and member of theUEFA Euro 2004-winning squadPedro Pablo Pasculli –Argentina international,1986 FIFA World Cup Winner
Nenad Tomović –Serbia international
Mirko Vučinić –Montenegro international, began his career inSerie A with Lecce
Gheorghe Popescu –Romania international
Valeri Bojinov –Bulgaria international
Sebastjan Cimirotič –Slovenia international
Kastriot Dermaku –Albania international,Ylber Ramadani –Albania international,
Samuel Umtiti –France international,2018 FIFA World Cup WinnerFranco Causio –Italy international,1982 FIFA World Cup WinnerChristian Maggio –Italy international, spent a season on loan at Lecce towards the end of his careerFrancesco Moriero –Italy international, began his career inSerie A with LeccePietro Paolo Virdis –Italy international, ended his career in LecceGiuseppe Giannini –Italy international, ended his career in Lecce| Position | Staff |
|---|---|
| Head coach | Eusebio Di Francesco |
| Assistant head coach | Fabrizio Del Rosso |
| Technical coach | Giampiero PinziNicola Caccia |
| Match analyst | Stefano Romano |
| Athletic coach | Michele Saccucci Andrea Disderi Massimo Neri |
| Goalkeeping coach | Lello Senatore Luigi Sassanelli |
| General health officer | Antonio Orgiani Giuseppe Congedo |
| Social doctor | Antonio Tondo |
| First team health manager | Francesco Nuccio |
| Physiotherapist | Mario Trifoglio Francesco Soda Marco Camassa |
| Osteopath | Stefano Carrisi |
| Podiatrist | Annachiara Schido |
| Nutritionst | Luigi Sturdà Mirco Spedicato |
| Kit manager | Giovanni Fasano |
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.[16]
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| Level | Category | Participations | Debut | Last season | Total | Moves |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| A | Serie A | 19 | 1985–86 | 2024–25 | 19 |  8 C |
| B | Serie B | 29 | 1929–30 | 2021–22 | 29 |  10 2 ✟ 1 |
| C | Southern Championship | 3 | 1927–28 | 1945–46 | 41 | 5 1 |
| Serie C | 35 | 1936–37 | 2017–18 | |||
| Serie C1 | 3 | 1995–1996 | 2013–14 | |||
| 85 out of 92 years of professional football in Italy since 1929 | ||||||
| D | IV Serie | 3 | 1955–56 | 1957–58 | 3 | 1 |
| R | Apulia | 2 | 1934–35 | 1935–36 | 2 | 1 |
Inbold players still playing for Lecce
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List of foreign football players who had at least one cap in their national team while playing for Lecce
Kastriot Dermaku[18]Ledian Memushaj[19]Ylber Ramadani[20]
Kialonda Gaspar[21]
Djamel Mesbah[22]Ahmed Touba[23]Pedro Pasculli[24]
Mazinho[25]Valeri Bojinov[26]
Jaime Valdés[27]Juan Cuadrado[28]Luis Muriel[29]
Patrick Dorgu[30]
Saša Bjelanović[31]Marin Pongračić[32]Davor Vugrinec[33]
Giannelli Imbula[34]
Alexei Eremenko[35][36]
Kwame Ayew[37]Mark Edusei[38][39]
István Vincze[40]
Lassana Coulibaly[41]Souleymane Diamouténé[42]Nikola Krstović[43]Mirko Vučinić[44]
Boban Nikolov[45]
Vitorino Antunes[46]Romario Benzar[47]Gheorghe Popescu[48]Nenad Tomović[49]
Rodney Strasser[50]
Martin Petráš[51]Sebastjan Cimirotič[52]Žan Majer[53]
Dejan Govedarica[54]
Sergei Aleinikov[55]
David Sesa[56]
Hamza Rafia[57]Karim Saidi[58]
Yevhen Shakhov[59]Javier Chevantón[60]Guillermo Giacomazzi[61]
Gabriel Cichero[62][63]
Lameck Banda[64]The following players have been selected by their country in theWorld Cup Finals, while playing for Lecce.
Pedro Pablo Pasculli (1986) (World Cup winner)
Dejan Govedarica (1998)Sebastjan Cimirotič (2002)Davor Vugrinec (2002)Karim Saidi (2006) (on loan)Djamel Mesbah (2010)The following players have been selected by their country in theEuropean Championship Finals, while playing for Lecce.
The following players have been selected by their country in theCopa América Finals, while playing for Lecce.
The following players have been selected by their country in theAfrican Cup of Nations Finals, while playing for Lecce.
As of 2024, no Lecce player has ever been selected to play in theAFC Asian Cup,CONCACAF Gold Cup or theOFC Nations Cup.
Lecce is mentioned in many famous Italian movies and TV series.[66] Among these there are the moviesAl bar dello sport,Benvenuti al Nord andReally SSSupercool: Chapter Two and the TV seriesI Cesaroni.
US Lecce is also mentioned in many songs,[67] while in the gameCaptain Tsubasa 5: Hasha no Shōgō Campione, the main characterTsubasa Oozora played for this team.
Media related toUS Lecce at Wikimedia Commons
(in Italian)
