Gallipoli Calcio
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| Full name | Società Sportiva Dilettantistica Gallipoli Football 1909 |
|---|---|
| Nickname(s) | Galletti (Roosters) |
| Founded | 1946 2010 (refounded) |
| Ground |
Antonio Bianco, Gallipoli, Italy |
| Capacity | 5000 |
| Chairman | Sandro Quintana Davide Calvi |
| Manager | Christian Cimarelli |
| League | Eccellenza Apulia |
| 2015–16 | Serie D, 18th |
S.S.D. Gallipoli Football 1909 is an Italian association football club, based in Gallipoli, Apulia.
The club was founded in 1999 as Associazione Calcio Gallipoli to represent the town of Gallipoli from the province of Lecce. The club quickly rose up the Italian football system, being one of the two who were promoted from Eccellenza Apulia in 2003–04.
After gaining a promotion during their first ever season in Serie D, the club changed its name to Gallipoli Calcio in 2005. Gallipoli then completed it by winning a third consecutive promotion to Serie C1, and making their absolute debut in the Italian third-highest level in the 2006–07 season, which ended in a mid-table place. Former Serie A star Dario Bonetti was then chosen as new boss for the 2007–08 season; he was however sacked later following disagreements with the board, in spite of impressive performances which gave the team a third place in the table. The club ultimately ended the season in ninth place, well below their initial expectations. Former AS Roma playing hero Giuseppe Giannini was successively appointed as new head coach for Gallipoli's 2008–09 campaign, which ended in triumph, as the giallorossi won a historic first promotion to Serie B as league winners in the final week.
In July 2009, the club's future was put in doubt when President of the club, oil businessman and Senator Vincenzo Barba, announced that the club was up for sale at no cost. In addition, their home stadium (Stadio Antonio Bianco) was declared unfit as Serie B venue, so the club will be forced to play home games at the Via del Mare in Lecce. The situation seriously hampered their preparations for their first season in Serie B and the club was forced to play with its under-19 squad for their Coppa Italia second round match versus Lumezzane in which they were soundly beaten in a 6–0 defeat. With only two weeks before the start of the league, only four first team players were still under contract and no pre-season training camp was organized and no head coach was appointed yet.
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