Unione Sportiva Cremonese, commonly referred to as Cremonese, is an Italian professional football club based in Cremona, Lombardy, which plays in Serie B, following their relegation from Serie A in the 2025–26 season.

History

thumb|upright=1.40|The performance of Cremonese in the Italian football league structure since the first season of a unified Serie A (1929–30)

Founded on March 24, 1903, at l'osteria Varesina, the club's constitution defined its purpose as promoting physical education, sportsmanship, discipline, and unity for the benefit of both individuals and the nation. The club was named Unione Sportiva Cremonese.

In 1913, the club marked its tenth anniversary with a significant year in its history. U.S. Cremonese officially affiliated with the Italian Football Federation (FIGC), having introduced football to Cremona. It also launched its inaugural "Città di Cremona" Tournament, featuring both the first team and reserves, as well as teams from Crema, Lodi, Brescia, Palazzolo, and Fanfulla. The tournament was the club's first major football competition, and in the following year, Cremonese won the Lombardy Championship, earning promotion to the First Division in 1914. The team's original home ground was located on Via San Rocco, and the club's first colors were white and lilac. On December 7, Guido Costa scored the club's first-ever goal in an official match against Varese.

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. Despite achieving promotion, coach Fabio Pecchia resigned from his post.

In 2025, Cremonese was once again promoted to the top flight after two seasons in Serie B. This happened via victory in the playoff final round against Spezia 3–2 on aggregate.

The season started extraordinarily well for the Grigiorossi as they beat AC Milan in a historic 2–1 victory at the San Siro, with Federico Bonazzoli scoring a splendid bicycle kick. This combined with a 3–2 victory against Sassuolo the following week saw Cremonese temporarily reach pole position in Serie A. The club gained further international recognition when Leicester City legend Jamie Vardy penned a 1-year contract with the Grigiorossi.

Players

Current squad

<!----------------------------- READ THIS NOTICE FIRST BEFORE EDITING ----------------------------------

– Do NOT add new players before their signing is officially announced by the club through their website, including medical and signing the contract. A transfer fee agreed doesn't mean the player will sign.

– Do NOT remove players before their exit is officially announced by the club.

– Do NOT add or change squad numbers until it is official on the U.S. Cremonese website

– Only add numberless players that are likely to become part of the first team

– Pre-season numbers can be added temporarily with A REFERENCE

– This is Wikipedia, not a football newspaper. Anything unconfirmed and unsourced will be removed on sight

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------>

Out on loan

<!-- ORDERING RULES ARE NOT OPTIONAL. Please order as 1) role, 2) family name of the player (surname) 3) first name -->

Former players

Some of the famous players who played for Cremonese include:

  • Antonio Cabrini
  • Enrico Chiesa
  • Giovanni Dall'Igna
  • Giuseppe Favalli
  • Riccardo Maspero
  • Michelangelo Rampulla
  • Corrado Verdelli
  • Gianluca Vialli
  • Pasquale Vivolo
  • Gustavo Dezotti
  • John Aloisi
  • Juary
  • Władysław Żmuda
  • Matjaž Florijančič
  • Anders Limpar

Coaching staff

{| class="wikitable"

|-

!Position

!Name

|-

| Head coach

| Marco Giampaolo

|-

| Assistant coach

| Francesco Conti

|-

| Technical coach

| Samuele Melotto

|-

| Fitness coach

| Fabio Micarelli <br/> Giovanni Saffioti

|-

| Goalkeeper coach

| Daniele Battara

|-

| Rehab coach

| Cristian Freghieri

|-

| Match analyst

| Alcide Di Salvatore <br/> Vittorio Vona

|-

| Head of medical staff

| Dott. Diego Giuliani

|-

| Club doctor

| Dott. Alberto Gheza <br/> Dott. Francesco Toscani

|-

| Physiotherapist

| Luca Perazzoli <br/> Lorenzo Franchi <br/> Davide Mazzoleni <br/> Gian Paolo Fagni

|-

| Nutritionist

| Enrico Macciantelli

|-

| Team manager

| Federico Dall'Asta

|}

Honours

{| class="wikitable" width=64% style="text-align: center;font-size:100%;"

|+U.S. Cremonese honours

!scope=col|Type

!scope=col|Competition

!scope=col|Titles

!scope=col|Seasons/Years

|-

| rowspan="3" |Domestic

! scope=col|Serie C

|align="center"|3

|1935–36 (Girone B), 1941–42 (Girone B), 1976–77 (Girone A)

|-

! scope=col|Serie C1

| rowspan="3" style="text-align:center;" |1

|2004–05 (Girone A)

|-

! scope=col|Serie D

|1953–54 (Girone C), 1970–71 (Girone B), 1967–68 (Girone B)

|-

| rowspan="1" |Worldwide

! scope=col|Anglo-Italian Cup

|1992–93

|}

Divisional movements

{| class="wikitable sortable" style="font-size:90%; text-align: center;"

|-

!Series!!Years!!Last!!Promotions!!Relegations

|-

|align=center|A

|9||2025–26|| – || 6 (1930, 1985, 1990, 1992, 1996, 2023)

|-

|align=center|B

|33||2024–25|| 5 (1984, 1989, 1991, 1993, 2022, 2025)|| 7 (1935, 1938, 1951, 1978, 1997, 1999, 2006)

|-

|align=center|C<br>+C2

|43<br>+4||2016–17|| 7 (1936, 1942, 1977, 1981, 1998, 2005, 2017)<br> 1 (2004 C2)|| 1 (2000 C1)<br> 3 (1952, 1967, 1969)

|-

!colspan=5|89 out of 94 years of professional football in Italy since 1929

|-

|align=center|D

|5||1970–71|| 3 (1954, 1968, 1971)||Never

|}

References

  • US Cremonese at Serie A
  • US Cremonese at UEFA