Aurora Pro Patria 1919, commonly referred to as Pro Patria, is an

Italian football Football ( ) is the most popular sport in Italy. The Italy national football team have won the FIFA World Cup four times (1934, 1938, 1982, 2006), trailing only Brazil (with five), runners-up in two finals both against Brazil, (1970, 1994) and ...

club based in

Busto Arsizio Busto Arsizio (; ) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the south-easternmost part of the province of Varese, in the Italy, Italian region of Lombardy, north of Milan. The economy of Busto Arsizio is mainly based on industry and commerce. It is the ...

Lombardy The Lombardy Region (; ) is an administrative regions of Italy, region of Italy that covers ; it is located in northern Italy and has a population of about 10 million people, constituting more than one-sixth of Italy's population. Lombardy is ...

. It currently plays in

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 ...

, group A. In

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

, Pro Patria translates to "For the Fatherland".

History

Pro Patria et Libertate

The club was founded in 1919. The club has played 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 ...

fourteen times mostly during the first half of the 20th century, the last time being in 1955–56. In 1995 the club, then officially named ''Pro Patria et Libertate'', was disqualified 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 ...

Pro Patria Gallaratese G.B.

The

Gallaratese Gallaratese is a district ("quartiere") of Milan, Italy, part of the Zone 8 administrative division of the city. It is located about 7 km north-west of the city centre. It borders on the ''comune'' of Pero to the north and on the districts ...

Gallarate Gallarate (; Lombard language, Lombard: ''Galaraa'') is a city and ''comune'' of Alto Milanese of Lombardy and of Milan metropolitan area, northern Italy, in the Province of Varese. It has a population of some 54,000 people. It is the junction ...

was admitted 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 order to keep the historical brand alive, it changed its name to ''Pro Patria Gallaratese G.B.'' (G.B. being for Gallarate and

, respectively): the club is considered the direct heir of ''Pro Patria et Libertate''. The club played in the fourth tier until 2002, when the club won promotion 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 ...

via the playoffs. In 2008 the club was relegated to Serie C2 after losing in the playoffs to

Hellas Verona Hellas Verona Football Club, commonly referred to as simply Hellas Verona (), is an Italian professional Association football, football List of football clubs in Italy, club based in Verona, Veneto, that currently plays in Serie A. The team won ...

by 2–1 on aggregate, but was later readmitted 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 ...

to fill a vacancy. In June 2008, a club takeover was completed and ambitious plans for a return 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 ...

were unveiled. However, impressive performances in the

Lega Pro Prima Divisione 2008–09 Lega may refer to: Geography * Lega (river) in Poland * Lega, Iran, a village in Mazandaran Province * Lega, Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship, town in north Poland * Lega, an earlier name for Street, Somerset, a village in England People * Lega ( ...

were accompanied by financial troubles, which led to the club being declared insolvent by the local magistrate in April 2009 due to excessive financial debts. The club's president was later arrested and has to stand trial on charges related to the bankruptcy. The drive to Serie B came to nothing for the team in a most bitter way; badly losing the home return match of their playoff final against Padova, who played with 10 men after an early sending off.

Aurora Pro Patria 1919

On 27 June 2009 Aurora Pro Patria 1919, owned by the Tesoro family, construction businessmen from

Apulia Apulia ( ), also known by its Italian language, Italian name Puglia (), is a Regions of Italy, region of Italy, located in the Southern Italy, southern peninsular section of the country, bordering the Adriatic Sea to the east, the Strait of Ot ...

, acquired the sports title from the liquidator of the old company. In the season 2009–10 it was relegated 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 ...

. In the 2012–13 season it was promoted to Lega Pro Prima Divisione. In the 2014–15 season it was relegated to Serie D, but it was readmitted to Lega Pro to fill vacancies. However, a second consecutive relegation to Serie D brought the club down to the amateur levels of Italian football. Pro Patria is one of the most important football club in the

Varese Varese ( , ; or ; ; ; archaic ) is a city and ''comune'' in north-western Lombardy, northern Italy, north-west of Milan. The population of Varese in 2018 was 80,559. It is the capital of the Province of Varese. The hinterland or exurban part ...

area but due to the recent performances on the pitch, the team has never been able to reach the same level of fame as before.

2013 racism incident

On 3 January 2013, the club was hosting

A.C. Milan (), commonly referred to as Milan or AC Milan () mainly outside of Italy, is an Italian professional Football club (association football), football club based in Milan, Lombardy. Founded in 1899, the club competes in the Serie A, the top tie ...

in a friendly match, when a small group of people in the crowd aimed abusive chants at black A.C. Milan players, including

M'Baye Niang M'Baye Hamady Niang (born 19 December 1994) is a professional footballer who plays as a forward for Serie B club Sampdoria. Born in France, he represented Senegal at international level. He made his professional debut at the age of 16, in a lea ...

Urby Emanuelson Urby Vitorrio Diego Emanuelson (born 16 June 1986) is a Dutch former professional association football, footballer. He is the currently assistant trainer of Jong Ajax. As a product of the Ajax Youth Academy, Emanuelson spent most of his career ...

Sulley Muntari Suleyman Ali "Sulley" Muntari (born 27 August 1984) is a Ghanaian former professional Association football, footballer who played as a midfielder. He spent most of his career in Italy, playing for clubs such as Udinese Calcio, Udinese, Inter Mil ...

and

Kevin-Prince Boateng Kevin-Prince Boateng (; born 6 March 1987) is a former professional footballer who played as a midfielder or forward. Born in Germany, he played for the Ghana national team. Coming through the youth system, Boateng began his career at Hertha B ...

. Boateng reacted angrily, kicking the ball into the stands, before the entire Milan team walked off the field in protest, causing the game to be abandoned. The final verdict on the incident, however, stated that the punishment handed down was not in reference to racism allegations. Pro Patria was subsequently forced to play one game behind closed doors because of this incident.

Players

Current squad

Out on loan

Supporters

Twinning and rivalries

The Pro Patria supporters are twinned with those of

Triestina Unione Sportiva Triestina Calcio 1918, commonly referred to US Triestina or just Triestina, is an Italian football club based in Trieste, in the northern Friuli-Venezia Giulia region. Originally established in 1918, Triestina was one of the fo ...

Pro Patria supporters are divided by rivalries with

Novara Novara (; Novarese Lombard, Novarese: ) is the capital city of the province of Novara in the Piedmont (Italy), Piedmont region in northwest Italy, to the west of Milan. With 101,916 inhabitants (on 1 January 2021), it is the second most populous ...

and

Legnano Legnano (; or ''Lignàn'') is a town and ''comune'' (municipality) in the Metropolitan City of Milan, province of Milan, about from central Milan. With 60,259, it is the thirteenth-most populous township in Lombardy. Legnano is located in the ...

Notable former players

Ferdinando Piro Ferdinando Piro (born 12 June 1977) is an Italian former footballer. Career For the 1995–96 season, Piro signed for Parma Calcio 1913, Parma in the Serie A from ASG Nocerina, Nocerina in the Serie C2. However, he suffered injuries during his ...

Bruno Bolchi Bruno Bolchi (; 21 February 1940 – 27 September 2022) was an Italian football manager and player, who played as a midfielder. Throughout his playing career, he played for Internazionale, Verona, Atalanta and Torino, as well as the Italy nation ...

Norberto Hofling Norberto may refer to: *Norberto Alonso (born 1953), former Argentine football midfielder * Norberto Araujo (born 1978), Argentine football central defender *Norberto Aroldi (1932–1978), Argentine film actor and screenwriter *Norberto Barba (born ...

Federico Gatti Federico Gatti (born 24 June 1998) is an Italian professional footballer who plays as a centre-back for club Juventus and the Italy national team. In his youth career, Gatti played for the clubs Chieri, Torino and Alessandria. Gatti's senio ...

Kubala laszlo

Honours

: Winners: 1946–47 (Group A) *

: Winners: 2017–18

Divisional movements

References

External links

Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pro Patria Football clubs in Lombardy Busto Arsizio Association football clubs established in 1919 Italian football First Division clubs Serie A clubs Serie B clubs Serie C clubs 1919 establishments in Italy