Over the last 20 years, we have seen numerous Italian football clubs suffering bankruptcy and returning as Calcio sides much further down the Italian Football pyramid with some folding completely. From the more illustrious sides such as Fiorentina in 2002, Napoli in 2004, and Parma in 2015, to the “smaller” sides such as Siena, Cesena, and Navaro.
According to football-italia.net, on average 8 clubs in Italy file for bankruptcy every season, and in light of recent events with Inter Milan suffering financial hardship, the signs are there to say this won’t be slowing down any time soon.
The focus of my save will be one of the smaller clubs who have fallen down the divisions, and find themselves plying their trade in the Eccellenza (Italian Fifth Division) this season following their relegation to Seria D and subsequent exclusion then re-admittance to the lower tiers.
AS Livorno have had a bit of a rollercoaster ride over the last 20 years or so, with numerous promotions and relegations throughout the Italian football pyramid. There have been undoubted highs, finishing in 6th place in Seria A in the 2005/2006 season and reaching the last 32 of the UEFA Cup the following season and then finding themselves finish dead last in Seria A the season after ending their 4-year stint in the top flight.
Becoming a bit of a yoyo club over the next few seasons, with relegation in 2013/14 the last time the club was in the top flight. Since then it’s been a horror show for the left-wing fans of the club. Two seasons spent in Seria-C/A, winning the league in 2017/2018 was the last time they had something to cheer for.
Back-to-back relegations in 2019/20 and 2020/21 from Seria B then Seria-C/A should have seen the club playing in Seria D this season however with the club unable to prove they had the finances to do so they were wound up and reformed as Unione Sportiva Livorno 1915. and granted entry to this season’s Eccellenza.
Squad Overview
We have a total of 24 players, including the youth and B team, at our disposal to kick off our first campaign, with some undoubtedly quality players for this level but also a real lack of depth where one or two injuries could seriously hamper our chances of meeting the expectations of both the board and the media in winning the league.
There is a choice of three keepers ahead of the first game of the season. Both Guido Pulidori and Luca Mazzoni are in the frame to take the No1 spot as first-choice keeper with not much to choose between them. I will be leaning more towards Pulidori though, sitting 13 years younger than his counterpart with plenty of room for growth. Andrea Fontanelli is there as a very weak third choice but desperate times call for desperate measures.
Our backline is in definite need of strengthening, we have no left-backs in the squad, at all, which will be the first priority during the transfer window. On the opposite side, we have two teenagers, one of whom, Guiseppe Palmiero will start as first choice and has decent potential to develop into a really good player. His backup will be 18 year old Luca Franzoni but further down the line, we will need to strengthen.
Slightly more strength in depth at centre-back with 5 players vying for the two starting berths. Matteo Gentili is the standout of those available and will lead the backline alongside Tommaso Ghinassi. At 31 and 34 years old respectively they bring experience and should hopefully help Federico Fontana and Elia Giampa reach their potential while Dario Milianti will be allowed to leave as soon as we can bring in another centre-back.
As we will be playing a 4-2-3-1 we move onto our midfield duo, we do have a few options at our disposal and Jacapo Giuliani will be given the chance to shine alongside Federico Appolini in games where a slightly more defensive manner is needed or Ludovico Gargiulo when a more offensive/creative player is needed.
Backed up will be provided by the talented youngsters Cesare Pulina and Lorenzo Pecchia, who will both get their chance to impress as the season progresses. Elsewhere, we will likely send out Lorenzo Marinai and Gian Lorenzo Nuni on loan if nobody comes in for them permanently. Both have the potential to become half decent players at this level but “half-decent” is not what we are looking for.
Onto the front 4, we have two exceptionally talented and very well-paid veterans who should be firing us towards promotion. Both are versatile across the final third and will chop and change positions depending on the opposition and fitness of the rest of the squad but mainly play on either flank. The evergreen duo will, hopefully, fire us to glory in the immediate future.Daniele Vantaggiato and Giuseppe Torromino are key.
Playing in between those two is Tommaso Bellazzini, while perhaps not as talented as his fellow veterans playing alongside him he is still head and shoulders above the vast majority of opposition Attacking Midfielders at this level and will be our outlet through the centre with backup provided by Alessandro Gelsi.
We have a choice of three strikers, none of whom stand out as being able to lead the line or get the goals we require. Andrea Ferretti will be given the chance as our primary striker with backup provided by Matteo Frati and Mattia Durante.
Finances
Financially, things look alright for the immediate time starting off with a relatively healthy bank balance of £125k however the club is projected to lose around £1m per season. We have a transfer budget of £68k, and the wage budget is a whopping £12480 of which we currently spend £12362 per week so not much wiggle room there.
We do have two exceptionally well-paid players as mentioned in the squad overview, one of the first ports of call will be to try and reduce their contracts as between them they take up a whopping 31% of our current weekly wage spend freeing up space to hopefully bring in a couple of additional players.
Conclusion
Both the board and the media have us down as title favourites and expect us to make the step up into the Seria D at the first attempt and with a couple of additions to the first team, mainly a left-back and somebody who can play as either a winger or striker to allow some rotation and fluidity to our attack, I don’t see why can’t meet those expectations.
I am still undecided on doing either half-season or annual updates but either way thanks for taking the time to read and hopefully see you back here in the not too distant future!
FMBurt 
Love the lower reaches of Italy! Can’t wait to follow your journey!
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