Milano Seamen

The Seamen Milano are an American football team based in Milan, Italy that competed in the European League of Football. They compete in the Italian Football League.

History

80s

The Seamen Milano were founded by Sergio Galeotti, a shareholder of the "Giorgio Armani SpA" on October 27, 1981. In the 1980s they were one of the most successful Italian teams collecting two Italian Super Bowl appearances in 1987 and 1989, with an overall record of 68 wins, 4 draws and 39 defeats in 111 games played. After finishing the 1987 regular season with a record of 11–1, the Milano Seamen defeated the Giaguari Torino 49–3 in the eight-finals. Their winning streak continued after defeating the Rhinos 29-6 and the Doves 20–14 in the quarter- and semi-finals respectively. Under coach Dave Ritchie they lost the 1989 Super Bowl against the Frogs Legnano 24–27 after suffering a TD pass with a few seconds remaining on the game clock. They won the Under 20 National Championship in 1989. The team folded in 1990.

Re-foundation

After 19 years, in 2009, the team was reestablished by a group of former players, winning the Under 19 championship a year later in 2010 with a lot of athletes from the Falcons Milano, a team disbanded in 2009, the Seamen took part at the II Division championship.

In 2010, the Seamen Milano were admitted to the Italian Football League Championship. In 2012 Joe Avezzano became the Head Coach of the Milano Seamen. In 2014 the Seamen won the Italian Super Bowl for the first time in their history, beating the Parma Panthers 33–3. After the 2020 season was cancelled because of the covid pandemic, the Seamen were playing in the Italian Bowl four times in a row. They lost against the Parma Panthers with 34–40. In the 2021 CEFL season, they lost their quarter-finals too.

In the Italian Bowl 2022 they lost to the Guelfi Firenze with 17–21.

European League of Football

The team announced in April 2022 that they will join the ELF for the 2023 season after negotiations with the national association were successful.

The organization will no longer participate in the IFL, but will have a cooperation with the local team Legnano Frogs for developing young players. After that, the stadium, headcoach and general manager of the previous club were confirmed.

Current roster

Current staff

Season-by-season

Stadium

After the renovation of the historical stadium Velodromo Vigorelli ended in 2018, the Milano Seamen were able play their home games there again, after the brief experience at Stadio Breda in Sesto San Giovanni, Milan. The Stadium features an artificial turf and endzones in the color of the franchise

Youth team

Seamen's Youth Sector, is one of the best of the country; in fact during the 2019–2020 season the Under 19 team reached the national final, in which they beat the Giaguari Torino 8–6. That game was played in Velodromo Vigorelli one of the best frames for American Football in Italy.

Honours

* Italian Bowl
** Champions: (5) 2014, 2015, 2017–2019

Notable player and coaches

* Dave Ritchie - Defensive coordinator 1989
* Joe Avezzano - Head coach 2011–2012
* Jonathan Dally - Quarterback 2014–2015
* Luke Zahradka - Quarterback 2017–2023
* Giorgio Tavecchio - Kicker 2019
* Jordan Bouah - Wide receiver 2020–2021

References

External links

Official website

{{European League of Football

Milano Seamen
1981 establishments in Italy
American football teams established in 1981
Italian Football League teams
Sport in Milan
European League of Football teams