Associazione Sportiva Dilettantistica Olimpia Colligiana is an Italian association football club based in Colle di Val d'Elsa, Tuscany that competes in Eccellenza Tuscany.
History
The origins of U.S. Colligiana The U.S. Colligiana club was founded 21 April 1922 with Remo Bocci as its first chairman. Initially the club was also involved in other sports, such as gymnastics and cycling.
The club quickly rose through the Italian leagues, making the Third Division (fourth level of Italian football) in the 1926–27 season (finishing in second place under coach Frigerio) and 1927–28 season. In the 1928–29 season U.S. Colligiana made it to the championship tournament in the Second Division (third level of Italian football), finishing fifth place in group G. U.S. Colligiana continued to play in the Second Division until the birth of the National Division Serie B, but was then downgraded to level IV and played only moderately well.
Valdelsa Football Colligiana
In 1946 the club was renamed Valdelsa Football Colligiana.
With the exception of the Serie C 1947-48, V.F. Colligiana only played in the amateur leagues, playing in over twenty Serie D championships (known by different names over the years, including Second Division, Third Division Interregional, IV series, National Amateur Championship and League Inter ) until the 2008–09 season when it advanced to Lega Pro Seconda Divisione B.
The European record The 1957–58 season was one of the most important for Colligiana. Under the chairmanship of Englishman Justin Gallant and coach Gino Manni, Colligiana set an Italian and European record of 17 consecutive wins, becoming Tuscan first division champion and making national television and newspapers. The record for consecutive wins had previously been held by Siena, the so-called "miracle" team, with 14 wins in the 1955–56 season (before Siena, Juventus held the record with 11 wins).
The streak record San Miniato-Colligiana (0–2) Colligiana-A.C. Pistoia (3–0) Montelupo-Colligiana (0–1) Colligiana-Sesto (3–1) Cerreto-Colligiana (1–4) Colligiana-Lastrese (7–1) A. Pistoia-Colligiana (0–2) Colligiana-Castelfiorentino (5–0) Peretola-Colligiana (0–2) Colligiana-Scandicci (1–0) Colligiana-Galcianese (1–0) Lanciotto-Colligiana (0–2) Colligiana-Rifredi (4–0) Colligiana-Jolli C. (1–0) Brozzi-Colligiana (0–8) Colligiana-San Miniato (3–0) A.C. Pistoia-Colligiana (0–1)
1957–58 Championship Results Date Result Calendar Return Result 0–2 SAN MINIATO-COLLIGIANA 3–0 3–0 COLLIGIANA- A.C. PISTOIA 0–1 0–1 MONTELUPO-COLLIGIANA 0–4 3–1 COLLIGIANA-SESTO 2–1 1–4 CERRETO-COLLIGIANA 05/02/1958 5–0 7–1 COLLIGIANA-LASTRESE 3–3 0–2 A. PISTOIA-COLLIGIANA 0–2 09/12/1957 5–0 COLLIGIANA – CASTELFIORENTINO 0–0 0–2 PERETOLA-COLLIGIANA 0–1 26 December 1957 1–0 COLLIGIANA-SCANDICCI 1–1 1–0 COLLIGIANA-GALCIANESE 2–0 0–2 LANCIOTTO-COLLIGIANA 0–1 4–0 COLLIGIANA-RIFREDI 1–1 1–0 COLLIGIANA-JOLLI C. 2–1 0–8 BROZZI-COLLIGIANA 0–5
Player statistics Player ChampionshipAttendanceGoal Leopoldo Bruchi 34 = Silvano Panti 34 = Eliano Biotti 4 = Franco Lotti 30 1 Antonio della Malva 2 = Luciano Manni 2 1 Francesco Carmignani 34 3 Danilo Nencetti 22 = Giovanni Vergani 30 1 Elio Dell’Aiuto 1 = Mario Vinciguerra 2 = Fausto Pacchierotti 26 4 Italo Polese 21 7 Claudio Gnoato 32 19 Franco Malandrini 31 21 Pier Giorgio Soldi 21 7 Franco Morelli 28 2 Vito Agnorelli 15 9 Piaceri 5 2
Tuscan Cup Finals for the First Division 1957–58 semifinals: Colligiana-Torrita 3–0 and 1–2 1957–58 finals: Collesalvetti-Colligiana 3–1 and 1–4
1960–1980 In the 1968–69 season Colligiana hoped to be included in the new First Class championship by the Association for Promotion, but the club was accused of fraud and demoted to the Second Class. Colligiana won the championship against Castellina and came first in the series. The championship club included Uliano Vettori, Paul Fratiglioni, Sergio Ciampoli, Charles Swan, Vito Galgani, Simoni, Nevio Vannuccini, Gasparri, Pietro Fratiglioni, Angelo Tonani, Ciardi, Mario Tozzi, Fleano Pineschi and Palazzini.
In the 1972–73 season the record-setting coach Gino Manni returned and Colligiana was promoted to the First Class championship. Colligiana overcame a gap of seven points to finish the season in first place over rival club Cecina. The club included goalkeepers Alfredo Paolicchi (former Fiorentina season 1965–66) and Luigi Serpi; defenders Roberto Spinelli, Paolo Fredianelli, Mauro Marini, Mauro Viviani and Luciano Manni, midfielders Peter Fratiglioni, Aleandro Aiazzi, Rolando Baldi and Mauro Ciampi; and attackers Gaetano Siracusa, Mario Tozzi, Mauro Barsotti and Ottavio Rauggi.
In May 1974 Colligiana defeated Serie A club Genoa 2–1 in a friendly match, facing star players Mario Corso, Robert Rosato, Luigi Simoni, Claudio Maselli and Antonio Bordon.
The 1980s Colligiana's 1981–1982 season began with a corporate crisis. A new board was elected, led by former player Peter Fratiglioni as president. In 1982, the club made headlines when it put on a Trump-financed tournament with the participation of thousands of couples and a prize of a flat.
To return to its former glory, Colligiana hoped to rely on local players like Paolo Fratiglioni (1968–69 goalkeeper), Franco Michelucci, Paolo Buzzichelli, and Gaetano Siracusa, as well as some younger players like Luca Vettori, Carlo Pasquale Pondrelli Massimo Conforti, "Gigino" Gozzi and the promising but frequently-injured Sergio Secchi. Colligiana also moved to the new City Stadium in 1982, later named for coach Gino Manni.
In 1983–84 Colligiana won the championship with new coach Mauro Bettarini, father of the famous Stefano. Players included goalkeepers Paul Fratiglioni and Massimo Cambi; defenders Sergio Sezzatini, Alessio Guidotti, Pasquale Pondrelli, Massimo Cappelli and Paolo Buzzichelli; midfielders Luca Vettori, Massimo Conforti, Mario Boschi, Giordano Pucci and Aleandro Aiazzi; and attackers Gaetano Siracusa, Marcello Capecchi, Daniele Paoletti and Angelo Cardone.
Series D (Interregional Championship) At the end of the 1985–86 season Colligiana was promoted to the Interregional Championship under coach Bettarini. The following year Collgiani fell again into the Promozione league and Ennio Pellegrini became the club's coach. Pellegrini previously played for Fiorentina and helped the team earn promotion to the Serie A Interregional Championship. The winning group F of the National Amateur Championship (formerly Inter-League or Serie D), would be able to earn a promotion to the Serie C2 but would not automatically be admitted. For the first and only time, a series of playoff matches was held to determine promotion, and Colligiana played against opponent Avezzano for those playoffs. Colligiana was defeated 2–0 in the first match in Abruzzo, then earned a 1–1 draw in Colle di Val d'Elsa.
The chairman for this season was Luciano Ninci and the club received technical assistance from Piero Braglia. Players included goalkeepers Filippo Gambelli and Andrea Alboni; defenders Gino Balli, Alessandro Caioni, Massimo Cardelli, Riccardo Roselli, Giovanni Guerrini, Simone Settesoldi, Baldassarre Buzzichelli and Fabio Giotti; midfielders Nazzareno Baggiarini, Federico Frediani, Daniele Visani, Cristiano Signorini, Simone Baldi, Isaia Tani and Damiano Baldini; and attackers Antonio Bruno, Giovanni Giordani, Alessandro Franchi and Stefano Cipriani.
In the 1993–94 championships Colligiana played in the first class, coached by Giorgio Rosadini. Colliagiana finished behind Pro Vercelli, despite prolific striker Mastacchi's 19 goals and Filippo Gambelli on defence going 7 games without conceding. This was also the year of promising young player Tommaso Movilli.
In the 2001–02 season Colligiana played in the Serie D for the 15th consecutive season, a national record, under coach Claudio Rastelli. Colliagiana ranked fourth last to place and despite appeals for irregularity in the match lost to Todi, was demoted to the Eccellenza league.
Many players from the 1980s and 1990s have returned to Colligiana in recent years, including strikers Claudio Mastacchi and Massimiliano Santoro, Filippo Gambelli, Gianni Agrumi, Simone Baldi, Franco Baldini, Mario Boschi, Alessandro Caioni, Marco Calonaci, Fabrizio Calattini, Massimo Cardelli, Alessandro Cianetti, Graziano De Luca, Claudio Di Prete, Sauro Fattori, Giancarlo Favarin, Federico Frediani, Gabriele Garfagnini, Giovanni Guerrini, Mattia Masi, Ruby Mearini, Franco Merendi, Tommaso Movilli, Massimiliano Pellegrini, Riccardo Roselli, Sergio Sezzatini, Cristiano Signorini, Giuseppe Sacchini, Marcello Sansonetti, Luca Tognozzi, Daniele Visani, Giacomo Zanelli, and Eugenio Zangrillo.
Eccellenza 2006–07 Under presidents Fabio and Mauro Biancuccio Monnecchi, V.F.D. Colligiana rallied in the 2006–07 season and won the Cup of Eccellenza Tuscany, Group B several days before the end of the tournament, earning promotion to Serie D. Rigucci and Rojas were the top two scorers of the tournament. The club was coached by Mr. Roberto Biccherai and players included goalkeepers Lapo Giusti, Marco Gioli and Francesco Bianciardi; defenders Gionata Antoni, Davide Bertolucci, Luca Bonini, Massimiliano Burchi, Marcello Labruna, Andra Pobega and Alessio Vannini; midfielders Hector Simon Acosta, Paolo Andreotti, Alessandro Bartoli, Andrea Corsi, Stefano Illiano and Matteo Lombardi; and attackers Luigi Guerrera, Manuel Nencini, Atos Rigucci, Fermin Rojas, Dario Pietro Tranchitella and Simone Vespignani.
In the same season the junior club led by Paolo Molfese won the Championship Class and the title of regional champion. The club was eliminated in the national quarterfinals by champions Tor di Quinto.
Serie D 2007–2008 In the 2007–2008 season, V.F.D. Colligiana played in the Serie D for the twenty-first time in Group E. Colligiana reached the Cup final of the Serie D Italian Cup but lost the Series D double final against Como.
Colligiana finished the season in second place behind Figline, then lost twice to Alghero in the national final play-off series. Colliagana ultimately finished third in the Second Division.
The junior club under Paul Molfese again won its round of the Junior National Championship and tied for the most points of the season with Figlinesi.
Second Division 2008–2009 In the 2008–2009 season, Colligiana's sole goal was to stay in the Lega Pro Seconda Divisione under the leadership of Roberto Bicchierai and Nario Cardini. The season started well with two wins, but the club's offence suffered in later matches. The former footballer Georgio Bresciani was appointed general manager in November 2008, following Cardini's resignation. Though the Colligiana defence played well, the club did not qualify for play-offs and finished the season 12th, tied with Sangiovannese.
Second Division 2009–2010 Again, Colligiana was forced to defend its place in the Lega Pro Seconda Divisione in the 2009–2010 season. The club was coached by Maurizio Costantini, who was a player in Serie B and C (playing for multiple years with Triestina in Serie B) and trainer for various clubs in Serie C(Giorgione, Triestina, Mestre, Acireale Calcio, Salernitana, and last season in Juve Stabia). Costantini also trained Catania in Serie B in the 2004–05 season.
The 2009–2010 season also brought a new corporate structure with multiple new faces including owner Biancucci and general director Giorgio Bresciani and a number of new players (only Collini, Billio, Savoldi, Russo and Pellegrini remained from the previous season).
Despite new management and players, this was a season of multiple shake-ups. Colliagiana suffered a defeat at home on the ninth day of the championship and Costantini was temporarily replaced by Zaccaroni. Biancucci resigned as president for personal reasons while retaining his role in Consoglio of Directors and a majority stake. He was replaced by Bresciani and Julian Sill was appointed general director.