A.C. Pisa 1909
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Pisa Sporting Club, commonly referred to as Pisa, is an Italian professional
football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...
club based in
Pisa Pisa ( ; ) is a city and ''comune'' (municipality) in Tuscany, Central Italy, straddling the Arno just before it empties into the Ligurian Sea. It is the capital city of the Province of Pisa. Although Pisa is known worldwide for the Leaning Tow ...
,
Tuscany Tuscany ( ; ) is a Regions of Italy, region in central Italy with an area of about and a population of 3,660,834 inhabitants as of 2025. The capital city is Florence. Tuscany is known for its landscapes, history, artistic legacy, and its in ...
. The club will compete in
Serie A The Serie A (), officially known as Serie A Enilive in Italy and Serie A Made in Italy abroad for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Italy and the highest tier of the Italian football league system. Establish ...
in the 2025–26 season. The club was founded in 1909 as Pisa Sporting Club and refounded in 1994 as Pisa Calcio (and registered in ''Eccellenza'', the regional football division in Italy), after the partial liquidation of the former because of economical troubles. Pisa was excluded again from Italian football in 2009, after failing to collect enough money to service the club's debts. In summer 2009 it was re-founded as A.C. Pisa 1909. Pisa won two
Mitropa Cup The Mitropa Cup, officially called Coupe de l'Europe Centrale, Mitteleuropäischer Pokal or Central European Cup, was one of the first international major European association football, football cups for club sides. It was conducted among the suc ...
s, in 1986 and 1988. They play their home matches at
Arena Garibaldi – Stadio Romeo Anconetani Arena Garibaldi – Stadio Romeo Anconetani (usually referred to just as Arena Garibaldi or for sponsorship Cetilar® Arena) is a multi-use stadium in Pisa, Italy. It is currently used mostly for football Football is a family of team sport ...
, named after Romeo Anconetani, the chairman who brought and led the club in Serie A during the 1980s. In 2016, Giuseppe Corrado bought the club and planned the new Pisa stadium. In January 2021, billionaire
Alexander Knaster Alexander Knaster (born 19 February 1959) is an American billionaire businessman who is the founder of Pamplona Capital Management. He is documented to giving large donations to the Conservative Party (UK), Conservative Party in The United Kingd ...
acquired a 75% stake in the available shares of the club.


History


Pisa S.C.

After promotion to
Serie B The Serie B (), officially known as Serie BKT for sponsorship reasons, is the second-highest division in the Italian football league system after the Serie A. It has been operating for over ninety years since the 1929–30 season. It had b ...
in 1965, Pisa took three years to reach
Serie A The Serie A (), officially known as Serie A Enilive in Italy and Serie A Made in Italy abroad for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Italy and the highest tier of the Italian football league system. Establish ...
for the first time. Pisa was relegated on the final day of the 1968–69 season. Spending much of the 1970s in Serie C, Pisa returned to Serie B in 1979 (by which time the club had come under the presidency of the much-loved Romeo Anconetani) and were promoted to Serie A in 1982, embarking on a period of six out of nine seasons in Serie A. With Danish international Klaus Berggreen among their stars, Pisa managed a credible 11th place in the 1982–83 Serie A with 27 points and 27 goals scored and conceded in 30 games. The following season brought relegation (during which they recorded just 3 wins and 16 draws) with 15,000 fans travelling to
Milan Milan ( , , ; ) is a city in northern Italy, regional capital of Lombardy, the largest city in Italy by urban area and the List of cities in Italy, second-most-populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of nea ...
for the fateful penultimate game. Promotion followed in 1985, and the team seemed capable of staying up until losing their last three games. The cycle was repeated in 1987, only for a side containing players like Dunga and Paul Elliott to stay up. The last promotion to Serie A was achieved in 1990, and with the talents of players like Maurizio Neri, Michele Padovano, and Lamberto Piovanelli up front and Diego Simeone,
Henrik Larsen Henrik Larsen (born 17 May 1966), nicknamed ''Store Larsen'' (''Big Larsen''), is a Danish Association football, football manager and former professional player who played as a midfielder. He was last the manager of Lyngby Boldklub. He was the ...
, and
Aldo Dolcetti Aldo Dolcetti (born 23 October 1966) is an Italian Association football, football manager and former player, who played as a midfielder. Career Playing career Dolcetti began as a youngster at Juventus FC, Juventus but spent a season at No ...
in midfield, the side started well and was briefly atop the standings, only to suffer another relegation. Relegation brought considerable financial strains to the club, and by 1994 they had lost a relegation play-off and were condemned to
Serie C1 Serie C1 was the third highest football league in Italy. It consisted of 36 teams, divided geographically into two divisions. History Before the 1978–79 season, there were only three professional football leagues in Italy, the third being Se ...
.


Pisa Calcio

Administration saw Pisa reformed in
Eccellenza The Eccellenza (, "excellence") is the fifth level (since 2014–15) of Italian football.Official ...
, only to return to
Serie C2 Serie C2 was the fourth highest football league in Italy, the lowest with a professional status. History Before the 1978–79 season, there were only three professional football leagues in Italy, the third being Serie C. The league menaging t ...
in 1996 and C1 in 1999. Pisa have since worked towards attaining Serie B status, which was achieved in 2007. Their crowds have been among the better in Italy's lower divisions owing to the dedication of their fans. In May 2002 Maurizio Mian's "Gunther Reform Trust" became the owner of Pisa, installing wealthy celebrity
German Shepherd The German Shepherd, also known in Britain as an Alsatian, is a German Dog breed, breed of working dog of medium to large size. The breed was developed by Max von Stephanitz using various Old German herding dogs, traditional German herding dog ...
dog Gunther IV as honorary president. In the 2002–03 Serie C1 season, Pisa reached the play-off final but were defeated in extra-time by UC AlbinoLeffe. President Gunther would attend matches at Arena Garibaldi and
bark Bark may refer to: Common meanings * Bark (botany), an outer layer of a woody plant such as a tree or stick * Bark (sound), a vocalization of some animals (which is commonly the dog) Arts and entertainment * ''Bark'' (Jefferson Airplane album), ...
in support of the team. On one occasion
Rival A rivalry is the state of two people or Social group, groups engaging in a lasting competitive relationship. Rivalry is the "against each other" spirit between two competing sides. The relationship itself may also be called "a rivalry", and each ...
Livorno Livorno () is a port city on the Ligurian Sea on the western coast of the Tuscany region of Italy. It is the capital of the Province of Livorno, having a population of 152,916 residents as of 2025. It is traditionally known in English as Leghorn ...
ultras Ultras are a type of association football fans who are known for their fanatical support. The term originated in Italy, but is used worldwide to describe predominantly organised fans of association football teams. The behavioural tendency ...
unfurled a
banner A banner can be a flag or another piece of cloth bearing a symbol, logo, slogan or another message. A flag whose design is the same as the shield in a coat of arms (but usually in a square or rectangular shape) is called a banner of arms. Also, ...
bearing the legend: "Poisoned meatballs for Gunther". After two further seasons ended in mid-table finishes, Mian sold Pisa in 2005. In 2005–06, the team, initially thought to be a protagonist for the promotion, were in continuous struggles, and avoided relegation after playoffs in two dramatic regional derbies against Massese. The 2006–07 season, with new boss Piero Braglia, brought Pisa back to fight for a promotion spot: the ''nerazzurri'' ended the regular season in third place, and eventually won the promotion playoffs by defeating
Venezia Venice ( ; ; , formerly ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 islands that are separated by expanses of open water and by canals; portions of the city are li ...
in the semi-finals and
Monza Monza (, ; ; , locally ; ) is a city and ''comune'' (municipality) on the Lambro, River Lambro, a tributary of the Po (river), River Po, in the Lombardy region of Italy, about north-northeast of Milan. It is the capital of the province of Mo ...
in the finals. For the
2007–08 Serie B The 2007–08 Serie B regular season is the seventy-sixth since its establishment. It started on August 25, 2007, and ended with the promotion playoff final on June 15, 2008. At the end of the year, three teams were promoted to Serie A, the fir ...
campaign, the first in 13 years, Gian Piero Ventura was named to replace Braglia at the helm of the ''nerazzurri''. Despite initial predictions of a mid-low table place, Pisa's impressive performances brought the team to fight for a direct promotion spot, also thanks to a forward line composed by
Alessio Cerci Alessio Cerci (; born 23 July 1987) is an Italian former professional Association football, footballer who played as a Midfielder#Winger, winger. Cerci started his professional football career at AS Roma, Roma, playing four times for the first t ...
, José Ignacio Castillo and Vitali Kutuzov which proved to be among the finest in the league. The club ended the regular season in sixth place, therefore achieving a spot to the promotion playoffs, where Pisa was later defeated by
Lecce Lecce (; ) is a city in southern Italy and capital of the province of Lecce. It is on the Salentine Peninsula, at the heel of the Italian Peninsula, and is over two thousand years old. Because of its rich Baroque architecture, Lecce is n ...
. In 2008–09, the club was acquired by Rome entrepreneur Luca Pomponi, who initially failed into appointing Alessandro Costacurta as new head coach, thus confirming Ventura as ''nerazzurri'' boss. The club, which was weakened by the departures of Cerci, Castillo, Kutuzov and several other players, did not manage to repeat its performances, with Ventura being ultimately sacked in March 2009, with the club in mid-table place. The appointment of Bruno Giordano, which was made to improve the team results, however proved to be disappointing in terms of results, as Pisa slowly lost positions in the table, and shockingly got directly relegated in the final game of the season due to an injury-time home defeat to
Brescia Brescia (, ; ; or ; ) is a city and (municipality) in the region of Lombardy, in Italy. It is situated at the foot of the Alps, a few kilometers from the lakes Lake Garda, Garda and Lake Iseo, Iseo. With a population of 199,949, it is the se ...
which left the Tuscans in 18th place. The unexpected relegation also unveiled a number of massive financial issues which prevented the club from registering in the
Lega Pro Prima Divisione Serie C1 was the third highest football league in Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into ...
, and in July 2009 the club was excluded by the Italian Football Federation for the second time in its history.


A.C. Pisa 1909

Pisa has been refounded with the denomination of A.C. Pisa 1909 S.S.D. (in which S.S.D. is a legal suffix required by
FIGC The Italian Football Federation (, ; FIGC ), known colloquially as (), is the governing body of football in Italy. It is based in Rome and the technical department is in Coverciano, Florence. It manages and coordinates the Italian football l ...
) to start again from
Serie D The Serie D () is the highest level of semi-professional football in Italy, and the fourth tier of the Italian national league system. It sits beneath the third and lowest fully professional league, Serie C, and feeds in to it through promotion ...
under new ownership. At the end of the season Pisa won Group D () of Serie D and was promoted to
Lega Pro Seconda Divisione Serie C2 was the fourth highest football league in Italy, the lowest with a professional status. History Before the 1978–79 season, there were only three professional football leagues in Italy, the third being Serie C. The league menaging ...
for the 2010–11 season. The team was then admitted to
Lega Pro Prima Divisione Serie C1 was the third highest football league in Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into ...
for the 2010–11 season to fill vacancies created by a row of club exclusions in second and third tier of Italian football league system. Thus the S.S.D. legal suffix was drop and replaced by S.r.l. On 12 June 2016 Pisa gained promotion to Serie B after seven years by defeating Maceratese (3–1),
Pordenone Pordenone (; Venetian language, Venetian and ) is a city and (municipality) in the Italy, Italian region of Friuli-Venezia Giulia, the capital of the Province of Pordenone, Regional decentralization entity of Pordenone. The name comes from Lati ...
(3–0 on aggregate) and
Foggia Foggia (, ; ; ) is a city and ''comune'' (municipality) of Apulia, in Southern Italy, capital of the province of Foggia. In 2013, its population was 153,143. Foggia is the main city of a plain called Tavoliere delle Puglie, Tavoliere, also know ...
in the two-legged play-off final (5–3 on aggregate), however, the club was relegated to Serie C the following season after finishing second-last.


Pisa Sporting Club

Having moved back to
Serie B The Serie B (), officially known as Serie BKT for sponsorship reasons, is the second-highest division in the Italian football league system after the Serie A. It has been operating for over ninety years since the 1929–30 season. It had b ...
in 2019, the club changed back its name to Pisa Sporting Club in the summer of 2021. Under the leadership of coach
Filippo Inzaghi Filippo "Pippo" Inzaghi (; born 9 August 1973) is an Italian professional football manager and former player who played as a striker. He was most recently the head coach of club Pisa. He was nicknamed "Superpippo" (" Super Goof") or "Alta ten ...
, Pisa secured promotion to Serie A by finishing as runners-up in the 2024–25 Serie B season, marking a significant milestone in the club's resurgence and ending a 34-year absence from the top tier of Italian football.


Current squad


Other players under contract


Pisa Primavera


Out on loan


Coaching staff


Notable former players

*
Massimiliano Allegri Massimiliano "Max" Allegri (; born 11 August 1967) is an Italian professional Association football, football manager and former professional player. He is currently manager of Serie A club AC Milan. During his playing career, Allegri played in ...
* Davide Moscardelli * Eddy Baggio * Klaus Berggreen * Alessandro Birindelli * Leonardo Bonucci * Jose Ignacio Castillo *
Alessio Cerci Alessio Cerci (; born 23 July 1987) is an Italian former professional Association football, footballer who played as a Midfielder#Winger, winger. Cerci started his professional football career at AS Roma, Roma, playing four times for the first t ...
* José Chamot * Stefano Colantuono * Dunga * Paul Elliott *
Wim Kieft Willem Cornelis Nicolaas "Wim" Kieft (born 12 November 1962) is a Dutch former professional footballer who played as a centre forward. Kieft went into punditry in 2001, occasionally appearing on football talk show '' Voetbal Inside'' A prolific ...
* Vitali Kutuzov *
Henrik Larsen Henrik Larsen (born 17 May 1966), nicknamed ''Store Larsen'' (''Big Larsen''), is a Danish Association football, football manager and former professional player who played as a midfielder. He was last the manager of Lyngby Boldklub. He was the ...
* Roberto Muzzi * Michele Padovano * Gianluca Savoldi * Gianluca Signorini * Diego Pablo Simeone * Gionatha Spinesi *
Marco Tardelli Marco Tardelli (; born 24 September 1954) is an Italian former football player and manager. At club level, he played as a midfielder for several Italian clubs; he began his career with Pisa, and later played for Como, Juventus, and Internazion ...
* Francesco Tavano * Samir Ujkani *
Christian Vieri Christian Vieri (; born 12 July 1973), commonly known as Bobo Vieri, is an Italian former professional footballer who played as a centre forward. Having been born in Italy, Vieri moved with his family to Australia as a child, before returning ...
* Davide Moscardelli * Matteo Tramoni


Honours


League

*
Serie B The Serie B (), officially known as Serie BKT for sponsorship reasons, is the second-highest division in the Italian football league system after the Serie A. It has been operating for over ninety years since the 1929–30 season. It had b ...
** Winners: 1984–85, 1986–87 ** Runners-Up: 1989–90, 2024–25 ** Third Place (Promoted): 1981–82, 2006–07 *
Serie C The Serie C (), officially known as Serie C NOW for sponsorship purposes, is the third-highest division in the Italian football league system after the Serie B and Serie A. The Lega Italiana Calcio Professionistico (Lega Pro) is the governing ...
** Winners: 1933–34, 1964–65 ** Winners - C2 Group A: 1998–99 ** Runners-Up - C1 Group A: 1999-00 ** Third Place - Group A (Promoted): 2018–19 *
Serie D The Serie D () is the highest level of semi-professional football in Italy, and the fourth tier of the Italian national league system. It sits beneath the third and lowest fully professional league, Serie C, and feeds in to it through promotion ...
** Winners - Group D: 2009-10 *
Lega Pro The Lega Italiano Calcio Professionistico (Italian for Professional Football Italian League), commonly known as Lega Pro (Pro League), is the governing body that runs the third tier of professional football competitions in Italy, the Serie C. I ...
** Runners-Up (Promoted) - Group B: 2015-16


Cup

* Coppa Italia Serie C ** Winners: 1999–00 ** Runners-Up: 2011-12 *
Mitropa Cup The Mitropa Cup, officially called Coupe de l'Europe Centrale, Mitteleuropäischer Pokal or Central European Cup, was one of the first international major European association football, football cups for club sides. It was conducted among the suc ...
** Winners: 1985–86, 1987–88 ** Runners-Up: 1990-91


Divisional movements


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Pisa Football clubs in Tuscany Association football clubs established in 1909 Italian football First Division clubs Serie B clubs 1909 establishments in Italy Phoenix clubs (association football) Coppa Italia Serie C winning clubs