Associazione Calcio Monza S.p.A.

THE BEGINNINGS

Founded on September 1st 1912 AC Monza first ever recorded win in a match dates back to September 20th 1912 against Juve Italia. At that time Monza’s official colours were white and blue, and only in 1928 the Club adopted its current colours: red and white.

Associazione Calcio Monza S.p.A.

FIRST TIME IN SERIE B

In 1949 President Giuseppe Borghi decides to lay the foundations for a successful growth of the Club that will eventually lead to promotion. It will take 2 years, but on June 3th 1951 the Club gets promoted to the Serie B for the first time in its history.

Associazione Calcio Monza S.p.A.

SIMMENTHAL-MONZA

At the end of a difficult 1954/55 season, Dr. Claudio Sada, owner of the Food Company Simmenthal, becomes the new President. AC Monza finishes the league third in cohabitation with Como. In 1962 Monza celebrates the 50th anniversary of its foundation, while two years later, on May 28, the presidency of Simmenthal Monza issues a press release announcing the abandonment of the group as sponsor. On  July 8th Mayor Giovanni Centemero tries to get Sada back on his feet and the President agrees to run the club for another year until June the 30th 1965.

Associazione Calcio Monza S.p.A.

THE FALL AND THE IMMEDIATE REBIRTH

At the end of the 1965/1966 season the Club gets relegated to the 3rd Division after having stayed in Serie B for 19 consecutive years. The following season the Club manages to beat historical rivals Como in the playoffs and gets into the Serie B after just one season in the 3rd Division.

Associazione Calcio Monza S.p.A.

ONE STEP AWAY FROM THE SERIE A

In the 1969/1970 season the Club almost reached the Serie A. Despite some fantastic results (15 wins in total) the Club loses the crucial match against Varese in the penultimate game of the season and fails to get promoted. In the 70's the name of the Club finally changed into Associazione Calcio Monza.

Associazione Calcio Monza S.p.A.

THE UNFORGETTABLE CAPPELLETTI

In 1972 one of the most beloved presidents, Giovanni Cappelletti, former footballer and affirmed industrialist, arrives at the head of the club. A collaboration was born with Italo Allodi, considered the mentor of the new generation of managers. The squad is formed by top level players, but the Club lacks in good results. The trip to Bari and the 3-1 defeat on the last day sentenced Monza to relegation to the Third Division. Cappelletti does not throw in the towel and puts the bases for a prompt return among the cadets.

Associazione Calcio Monza S.p.A.

THE BIG DELUSION

After a very positive season, a home loss against Lecce prevents the Club from achieving a direct promotion to the Serie A. Monza must therefore face Pescara in the playoffs, but the ending is not happy: Monza loses the game and misses promotion once again.

Associazione Calcio Monza S.p.A.

THE FIRST TROPHIES

On June 29th 1974 Monza beats Lecce 1-0 and wins its first 3rd Division National Cup. Exactly one year later the Club wins the trophy again, beating Sorrento in the final. In the following season Monza gains promotion to the Serie B with five games to spare and wins its first Anglo-Italian Cup as well, beating Wimbledon in the final.

Associazione Calcio Monza S.p.A.

THE ARRIVAL OF PRESIDENT GIAMBELLI

In 1980 Valentino Giambelli becomes the new President of the Club. His new adventure however does not start well and at the end of the season Monza gets relegated to the Serie C. In the subsequent years the Club fluctuates between Serie B and Serie C; in the season 1987/1988, with a team formed by future legends such as Alessandro Costacurta and Pierluigi Casiraghi, Monza gets promoted to the 2ns Division once again and wins its 3rd Serie C National Cup as well. 

Associazione Calcio Monza S.p.A.

MONZA'S NEW HOME: STADIO BRIANTEO

On August 28th 1988 Monza plays its first game in the new Stadio Brianteo. The opening match is something that the fans will never forget, as the Biancorossi, managed to beat Serie A side Roma in the first round of the National Cup. On June 7th 1990, however, after a disappointing season Monza loses in the playouts against Messina and goes back to the Serie C.

Associazione Calcio Monza S.p.A.

THE 4TH SERIE C NATIONAL CUP

On June 13th 1991 Monza wins its 4th Serie C National Cup, beating Palermo in the final. The following year, on May 31st 1992 the Club beats Chievo Verona in the playoffs final and gains its umpteenth promotion to the Serie B.

Associazione Calcio Monza S.p.A.

THE AGREEMENT WITH AC MILAN

In 1997 Giambelli signed the famous collaboration agreement with AC Milan. The Biancorossi meanwhile conquer the playoffs again and this time in the semifinal they face Brescello; Pietranera opens the doors to the final. On June 15th 1997 on the neutral pitch of Ferrara, Monza lives its glory day. The throbbing match against Carpi ends 3-2 and the goals of Pietranera, Cancellato and Asta project the Biancorossi again into Serie B. In the following season the squad is enriched with foreigners arrived though AC Milan. The team, however, does not shine and it takes Piero Frosio's return on the bench to avoid relegation. 

Associazione Calcio Monza S.p.A.

PRESIDENT GIAMBELLI'S FAREWELL

After 19 years at the helm of the Club, Valentino Giambelli leaves Monza and Piero Fazzolari becomes the new President. The subsequent years however are very difficult for Monza, and the Club always manages to avoid relegation by the skin of its teeth.

Associazione Calcio Monza S.p.A.

THE DECLINE

Fazzolari’s adventure at Monza lasts only one year, and in 2001 Massimo Belcolle becomes the new President. The situation however gets even worse, as the Club gets relegated from Serie B to Serie C2 in just two years. On March 18th Monza touched one of the lowest points in its history, as the Club had to declare bankruptcy. 

Associazione Calcio Monza S.p.A.

THE BEGNINI'S ERA

On June 3rd 2004 Italian entrepreneur Gianbattista Begnini acquires the Club at auction, which takes the denomination of AC Monza Brianza 1912. The new adventure has a positive start and AC Monza Brianza gets promoted to the Serie C in the 2004/2005 season. The following years are turbulent for the Club; Monza fails to return to Serie B and in 2015 the Club has to declare bankruptcy for the second time in its history.

Associazione Calcio Monza S.p.A.

ONE STEP AWAY FROM SERIE B

Begnini's management starts in the best way. In the 2004/05 season AC Monza Brianza finished the C2 championship in third position and gained access to the playoffs. In the semifinal the Biancorossi lose to Valenzana, but, thanks to an impeccable financial management that is worth the ISO 9001 certification, the company was promoted in Serie C1.

During the summer coach Antonio Sala, tempted by the interest from various Serie B clubs, leaves Monza and Giuliano Sonzogni is called to replace him. The start of the season is above expectations and is enhanced by the victory in the first phase of the Italian Cup against Lecce. The enthusiasm of the freshman with the desire to amaze pushes the Biancorossi to gain access to the playoffs, a result that not even the most optimistic of the fans would have allowed themselves to imagine. After beating Pavia in the semifinals, the last obstacle is Genoa. In a fully crowded Brianteo, the "Rossoblu" win the first leg  0-2. Sonzogni's team does not give up and in the second leg Monza shows once again its character: the goal of Egbedi half an hour from the end puts the chills to the 30 thousand fans present at the Ferraris, but it is not enough to overturn the result of the first leg.

The 2006/07 season sees one again AC Monza Brianza among the great protagonists of the league. Sonzogni is still the manager, who in this season chooses Francesco Farina as his assistant, even on this occasion, however, the cadet series is only touched: in a fiery second leg of the playoffs final, Pisa beat the Biancorossi (winners in the first leg by only a goal) who leave the field with their heads held high.

Associazione Calcio Monza S.p.A.

THE 2007/2008 SEASON

Monza shows up at the beginning of the 2007/08 championship with a deeply renewed team, with Mr. Sonzogni still at the helm. The league run, however, does not start well. Biancorossi struggle and obtain only five points in the first five games; the defeat at Lecco decreed the "consensual" separation between Monza and Sonzogni. In his place, President Begnini calls former Red and White striker Giovanni Pagliari. The new coach gives fresh motivations to the players, but the team does not do well enough to reach the playoffs. In the end, AC Monza finishes the league in eighth position.

Associazione Calcio Monza S.p.A.

FROM THE BEGNINI GROUP TO THE HOLDING PASPORT

The 2008/2009 season begins with the arrival of Dario Marcolin, who replaces Giovanni Pagliari as the new coach. The first part of the season is characterized by a large number of draws and the 3 points only arrive in the eighth match where the Biancorossi obtain a 0-3 win at Legnano. Until mid-season, Monza's league journey is chatracterized by many ups and downs. In January President Begnini decides to call Giuliano Sonzogni as the new manager. For Marcolin, the adventure on the Biancorossi's bench ends with 4 wins, 7 draws and 6 defeats. The team, however, struggles in the second part of the season as well, and Monza manages to avoid the playouts only in the last league match with a 3-3 draw at Lumezzane. 2 months later, on July 13, the big turnaround: after a long negotiation, the handover from the Begnini Group to the holding PaSport srl was made official in a press conference. At the head of the property is Stefano Salaroli, with Pierangelo Mainini as vice president and Massimiliano Rossi as CEO. The new coach is Roberto Cevoli, Leandro Vessella is his assistant and Vincenzo Tridico is the new Sporting Director. The new Technical Committee also includes important former Serie A players such as Clarence Seedorf, Giuseppe Bergomi and Marco Ferrante. A new course for the Biancorossi begins after 5 years, characterized by ups and downs, managed by the Begnini Group.

Associazione Calcio Monza S.p.A.

THE COLOMBO FAMILY

On July 2nd 2015 Nicola Colombo acquires AC Monza Brianza, which changes once again its denomination (firstly to S.S.D. Monza 1912 and then to SS Monza 1912). On April 23rd 2017, only 2 years after the Club went bankrupt, Monza wins the Serie D and gets back into professional football.

Associazione Calcio Monza S.p.A.

THE ADVENT OF FININVEST

On September 28th 2018 Fininvest S.p.A., the holding of Silvio Berlusconi, finalized the acquisition of Monza football club; an extraordinary event for the city, with the arrival of Silvio Berlusconi and Adriano Galliani, who reunited once again after their glorious past experience at AC Milan. The new ownership’s main goal is clear: to take Monza where it has never been in its history: the Serie A. After losing in the playoffs in the 2018/2019 season, in the summer of 2019 President Berlusconi completely renovates the squad in order to get promoted to the Serie B. The Club, which in the meantime changed its denomination back to AC Monza, dominates the 2019/2020 season and, after 19 years, gets back into the Second Division. 

Associazione Calcio Monza S.p.A.

THE RETURN TO SERIE B

On 8 June 2020, Monza officially returns to Serie B. After a championship dominated but interrupted due to covid-19, Monza wins its Lega Pro group with a 16-point advantage over the rivals.

Monza returns to Serie B after 19 years with great enthusiasm, ambition and with very clear goals in mind, summarized in this sentence stated by the Presidentissimo Silvio Berlusconi: "Who believes fights, who believes overcomes all obstacles, who believes wins".

Associazione Calcio Monza S.p.A.

MONZA IN SERIE A

 

On 29 May 2022, AC Monza is promoted to Serie A for the first time in its history!!