Unione Sportiva Cremonese, commonly referred to as Cremonese, is an Italian football club based in Cremona, Lombardy, which plays in the Serie B following their relegation from the top flight in the 2022–23 season.

Cremonese
Full nameUnione Sportiva Cremonese S.p.A.
Nickname(s)La Cremo
I Grigiorossi (The Gray and Reds)
Le Tigri (The Tigers)
I Violini (The Violins)
Founded24 March 1903; 121 years ago (1903-03-24)
GroundStadio Giovanni Zini
Capacity20,641
OwnerGiovanni Arvedi
PresidentPaolo Rossi
Head coachGiovanni Stroppa
LeagueSerie B
2023–24Serie B, 4th of 20
WebsiteClub website
Current season

History

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The performance of Cremonese in the Italian football league structure since the first season of a unified Serie A (1929–30)

Cremonese was in the Serie A in its first season, 1929–30, but entered a long period of decline, languishing in the lower leagues before the late 1970s. By 1984, they had achieved promotion to Serie A, with one-year spells in 1984–85, 1989–90 and 1991–92.

Cremonese had a successful run in the 1992–93 Anglo-Italian Cup, beating Bari 4–1 in the semi-final, and Derby County 3–1 in the final at the old Wembley Stadium, Cremonese's scorers were Corrado Verdelli, Riccardo Maspero and Andrea Tentoni, with Derby's goal scored by Marco Gabbiadini.[1]

Under Luigi Simoni, Cremonese returned to Serie A in the 1993–94 season. With a side containing quality in the form of defenders Luigi Gualco and Corrado Verdelli, midfield playmaker Riccardo Maspero and forwards Andrea Tentoni and Matjaž Florijančič, Cremonese held their own in Serie A with a 10th-place finish in 1993–94, but would be relegated in the 1995–96 season.

Relegation resulted in the decline of the club, plummeting to Serie C2 by 2000, before achieving successive promotions back to Serie B by 2005. Giovanni Dall'Igna, another defender from the Serie A years, returned to the club. However, Cremonese were relegated to Serie C1 in the 2005–06 season. Cremonese have tried to return to Serie B since: they had a good attempt in the 2009–10 season, when they were beaten by Varese in the promotion play-off final (2–1 on aggregate). Eventually they succeeded in 2017. In the 2021–22 Serie B, Cremonese finished second to earn promotion to the 2022–23 Serie A.[2] Despite achieving promotion, coach Fabio Pecchia resigned from his post.[3]

Players

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Current squad

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As of 30 August 2024[4]

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player
1 GK   ITA Andrea Fulignati (on loan from Catanzaro)
3 DF   ITA Giacomo Quagliata
4 DF   ITA Tommaso Barbieri
5 DF   ITA Luca Ravanelli
6 MF   COD Charles Pickel
9 FW   ITA Manuel De Luca
10 FW   ITA Cristian Buonaiuto
11 FW   NOR Dennis Johnsen
15 DF   ITA Matteo Bianchetti (captain)
17 DF   ITA Leonardo Sernicola
18 MF   ITA Michele Collocolo
19 MF   ITA Michele Castagnetti
20 FW   ARG Franco Vázquez
No. Pos. Nation Player
21 GK   ITA Gianluca Saro
22 GK   DEN Andreas Jungdal
23 DF   ITA Federico Ceccherini
26 DF   BUL Valentin Antov (on loan from Monza)
27 MF   BEL Jari Vandeputte (on loan from Catanzaro)
37 MF   SVN Žan Majer
42 DF   ITA Lorenzo Moretti
44 DF   GEO Luka Lochoshvili
62 MF   ITA Tommaso Milanese
90 FW   ITA Federico Bonazzoli
98 MF   ITA Luca Zanimacchia
99 FW   ITA Marco Nasti

Other players under contract

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Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player
MF   ITA Andrea Bertolacci
MF   ITA Fausto Perseu
No. Pos. Nation Player
FW   NGA David Okereke

Out on loan

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Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player
GK   SEN Fallou Sarr (at Spezia until 30 June 2025)
DF   ITA Eddy Cabianca (at Feralpisalò until 30 June 2025)
DF   ITA Luca Munaretti (at Virtus Verona until 30 June 2025)
DF   SEN Maissa Ndiaye (at Turris until 30 June 2025)
DF   ITA Samuele Regazzetti (at Lumezzane until 30 June 2025)
DF   ITA Yuri Rocchetti (at Juve Stabia until 30 June 2025)
DF   ITA Mattia Scaringi (at Giana Erminio until 30 June 2025)
MF   ITA Christian Acella (at Giugliano until 30 June 2025)
MF   ITA Alessio Brambilla (at Feralpisalò until 30 June 2025)
No. Pos. Nation Player
MF   URU César Falletti (at Bari until 30 June 2025)
MF   ITA Joshua Tenkorang (at Lumezzane until 30 June 2025)
FW   GHA Felix Afena-Gyan (at Juventus Next Gen until 30 June 2025)
FW   ITA Alberto Basso Ricci (at Legnago until 30 June 2025)
FW   ITA Michele Bigonzoni (at Campobasso until 30 June 2025)
FW   ITA Blue Mamona (at Messina until 30 June 2025)
FW   DEN David Stückler (at Giana Erminio until 30 June 2025)
FW   ITA Frank Tsadjout (at Frosinone until 30 June 2025)
FW   ITA Marco Zunno (at Foggia until 30 June 2025)

Former players

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Some of the famous players who played for Cremonese include:

Coaching staff

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Position Name
Head coach   Giovanni Stroppa
Assistant coach   Andrea Guerra
Fitness coach   Fabio Allevi
Fitness coach   Andrea Primitivi
Fitness coach   Giovanni Saffioti
Goalkeeper coach   Nicola Dibitonto
Goalkeeper coach   Andrea Sardini
Technical coach   Giuseppe Brescia
Rehab coach   Cristian Freghieri
Match analyst   Vittorio Vona
Head of medical staff   Dott. Diego Giuliani
Club doctor   Dott. Alberto Gheza
Physiotherapist   Carlo Bentivoglio
  Augusto Bagnoli
  Lorenzo Franchi
  Davide Mazzoleni
  Gian Paolo Fagni
Team Manager   Federico Dall’Asta
Sporting director   Simone Giacchetta
Secretary   Francesca Cremaschi

Honours

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U.S. Cremonese honours
Type Competition Titles Seasons/Years
Domestic Serie C 3 1935–36 (Girone B), 1941–42 (Girone B), 1976–77 (Girone A)
Serie C1 1 2004–05 (Girone A)
Serie D 1953–54 (Girone C), 1970-71 (Girone B)
Prima Categoria 1967–68 (Girone B)
Worldwide Anglo-Italian Cup 1992–93

Divisional movements

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Series Years Last Promotions Relegations
A 8 2022–23   5 (1930, 1985, 1990, 1992, 1996, 2023)
B 31 2021–22   5 (1984, 1989, 1991, 1993, 2022)   7 (1935, 1938, 1951, 1978, 1997, 1999, 2006)
C
C2
43
4
2016–17   7 (1936, 1942, 1977, 1981, 1998, 2005, 2017)
  1 (2004 C2)
  1 (1999 C1)
  3 (1952, 1967, 1969)
86 out of 91 years of professional football in Italy since 1929
D 5 1970–71   3 (1954, 1968, 1971) Never

References

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  1. ^ "Anglo-Italian Cup 1992/93". Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation. Retrieved 29 August 2009.
  2. ^ "Lecce And Cremonese Reach Serie A Promotion in Dramatic Season Finale". Forbes. 7 May 2022.
  3. ^ "La Serie A non basta, Pecchia lascia la Cremonese: "Ho ascoltato me stesso"" (in Italian). La Gazzetta dello Sport. 21 May 2022. Retrieved 23 May 2022.
  4. ^ "Prima Squadra". US Cremonese. Retrieved 24 April 2022.
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