Foundation and early years 14 December 1907 in Venice by about 20 enthusiasts through the merger of the football sections of two Venetian sports clubs: the
Martial Gymnastics Society and
Costantino Reyer. The place chosen by the founders to give life to the new football club was the restaurant "Da Nane in Corte dell'Orso" near Campo San Bortolomio. Among the founders were Davide Fano, the first president; Walter Aemissegger, from Swiss club
FC Winterthur, the first coach and captain; Guido Battisti; Antonio Borella; Gerardo Bortoletti; Aldo Federici, known as "Baciccia"; Pietro Golzio, known as "Pioppa"; Silvio Lorenzetti, Pietro Piccoli; Primo Pitteri; Alessandro Santi; Marcello Santi; Luigi Vianello; Pietro Visintin; and Mario Vivante. In its early years, the club's matches were played in the pine forest of
Sant'Elena. Venezia's first matches were played against the
Veneto teams of
Padova,
Verona, and
Vicenza, as well as against the crews of the ships arriving at the port of Venice. Venezia's first match was played on 22 December 1907, against Vicenza, ending 1–1. Venezia participated in Italy's top division for the first time in the
1909 Italian Football Championship. As the only Veneto club, Venezia were directly admitted to the semifinals against the winners of the
Lombardia group,
US Milanese, and lost the first leg 7–1 and the return leg 11–2. Venezia participated in the Prima Categoria, Italy's top division, from the
1910–11 season through the
1914–15 season, which would be the last season played before Italy entered
World War I. In the
1911–12 season, Venezia won the Veneto-Emilian group and reached the national final against
Pro Vercelli, losing 7–0 in the first leg and 6–0 in the second leg. On 7 September 1913,
Campo Sportivo Comunale di Sant’Elena, the Venetian stadium on the island of Sant'Elena, later to be named
Stadio Pier Luigi Penzo, was opened, complete with a covered grandstand for more than 500 spectators. Venezia lost the inaugural match to
Genoa, 0–7. In the
1914–15 season, Venezia qualified for the semifinals, and finished fourth in Group A, before the season was suspended due to the war.
1919 to 1939 AC Venezia In April 1919, at Palazzo Gritti-Faccanon, in the then headquarters of
Il Gazzettino, the members of Venezia F.B.C. and the Aurora F.B.C., a minor lagoon club, decided to join forces and rename the club as
Associazione Calcio Venezia. On the occasion, the government contributed to the relaunch of the lagoon club with an extraordinary contribution of 40,000 lire, as compensation for having used the sports field as a military base. In May 1931, on the occasion of the International Women's Gymnastic Competition, the Venetian stadium of Sant'Elena was named after World War I pilot Pier Luigi Penzo. After five consecutive seasons in Serie B since 1929–30, S.S. Serenissima finished last in Group B in the
1933–34 Serie B season and were set for relegation, but they would keep their place in the league as a result of an expansion from 26 to 32 teams for the following season.
AC Venezia and promotion to Serie A On 1 August 1934, the club returned to its former name
Associazione Calcio Venezia (albeit with the addition, inevitable at the time, of the adjective
Fascista) and its traditional
neroverde (black and green) colors. In the
1934–35 Serie B season, Venezia finished tied for 11th and were relegated to the nascent
Serie C. But Venezia's stay in Serie C would be short, as they finished top of the table in the
1935–36 season and earned direct promotion back to Serie B. Venezia also reached the Round of 32 of the
1935–36 Coppa Italia, defeating Padova,
Fiumana (now Rijeka), and
Pistoiese, before being eliminated by S.S. Lazio, 2–0. The strong point of that team was the
mediana di ferro (iron median) of Armando Varini, Aldo Biffi, and Attilo Kossovel. The following season, Venezia reached the Round of 16 of the
1936–37 Coppa Italia, losing to
A.C. Milan, 2–0, and survived a relegation tie-breaker with Pro Vercelli,
Messina, and
Catania in the
1936-37 Serie B season to keep their place in the league. In 1937, with the emergence of Arnaldo Bennati as club president, Venezia began a period of ascent. In the
1937–38 Serie B season, Venezia finished 8th in the table, and Bennati would bring in some important players including Víctor Tortora and Giovanni Alberti. In the
1938–39 Serie B season, Venezia finished second and earned promotion to
Serie A, which was achieved in dramatic fashion by defeating
Atalanta in Bergamo, 0–1, on the last day of the season and overtaking them for second place despite being tied on points due to a better goal ratio. The winning goal, coming in front of 5,000 Venezia fans, was scored by
Francesco Pernigo, who is still Venezia's all-time leading scorer (45) in Serie A. Venezia's manager was Giuseppe Girani. Venezia's rise to Serie A prompted a new renovation of
Stadio Pier Luigi Penzo, with capacity increased from 10,000 to 22,000 after expansion of the existing stands.
1939 to 1968 Golden era Upon returning to Serie A after a 12-year absence, the Venezia squad was strengthened, with the arrival of players including
Luigi Busidoni, Silvio Di Gennaro, Sergio Stefanini, and, most importantly,
Valentino Mazzola. Mazzola was in Venice for military service, and after having showcased himself playing with military representatives in Campo dei Bacini, Venezia took him on trial and then bought him from Serie C club Alfa Romeo Milano. In the
1939–40 Serie A season, Venezia finished 10th in the table — highlighted by a win over eventual champions
Ambrosiana Inter in Venice — and took a step towards the two most successful seasons in the club's history. In 1940, Venezia hired Giovanni Battista Rebuffo as manager and further strengthened the squad with the arrival of
Ezio Loik from A.C. Milan, who would form a famous partnership with Valentino Mazzola in Venice. Although they would finish a modest 12th in the
1940–41 Serie A season, Venezia would go on to win the
1940–41 Coppa Italia — the club's first major trophy. Venezia defeated
MU Borzacchini in the Round of 32,
Udinese in the Round of 16,
Bologna in the quarterfinals, and S.S. Lazio in the semifinals, meeting
A.S. Roma in the final. After a 3–3 draw in Rome, Venezia won the return leg at Stadio Penzo, 1–0, on a goal from Loik. The following year, Venezia would make a run for the Scudetto. In the
1941–42 Serie A season, the Loik-Mazzola duo was outstanding, while
Francesco Pernigo would score 12 league goals. A few rounds from the end of the season, Venezia faced Roma in a critical match at Stadio Penzo, but Venezia would lose after missing a penalty, and Roma would go on to win the championship on 42 points, with
Torino second on 39 points and Venezia third on 38 points. The third-place finish remains Venezia's best-ever result in Serie A. In the
1941–42 Coppa Italia, Venezia defeated Torino in the Round of 32,
Pisa in the Round of 16, and Bologna in the quarterfinals, but would lose to A.C. Milan in the semifinals, 2–1. In the summer of 1942, Venezia sold Loik and Mazzola to Torino, for the then exorbitant figure of 1,200,000
lira. Venezia would struggle in the
1942–43 Serie A season, finishing 14th in the table and needing to defeat
Bari in a relegation tie-breaker to remain in Serie A. But in the
1942–43 Coppa Italia, Venezia would reach their second final in three years. In the final, Venezia would lose to Torino, 4–0, with Mazzola scoring against his former club. After the 1942–43 season, football competitions in Italy were suspended due to
World War II.
Postwar period After
World War II, Venezia reestablished its name as
Associazione Calcio Venezia. In Italy, national football resumed with the
1945–46 Italian Football Championship, and Venezia struggled, finishing 13th in the table. Serie A was restored in the
1946–47 season, and despite the 13 goals by Valeriano Ottino (the most goals in a Serie A season by a Venezia player) Venezia were relegated to
Serie B. At the same time, Arnaldo Bennati would leave the presidency. Following the highest point in the club's history, a period of uncertainty began. After finishing in fourth in Serie B in the
1947–48 season, sporting director Giuseppe Girani and manager Mario Villini led Venezia to promotion back to Serie A in the
1948–49 season, finishing second, just one point ahead of Vicenza. But Venezia faced serious financial uncertainty, to the point that in the
1949–50 Serie A season the club was chaired by a local council. Venezia were forced to sell goalscorer
Adriano Zecca to Roma, and did not have the quality to compete in the top flight, finishing last with only 16 points. In the summer of 1950,
Mario Renosto was sold to A.C. Milan, and he immediately won the Scudetto with the
rossoneri the following season. Upon falling back to Serie B, Venezia would finish a modest sixth in the table in the
1950–51 season despite 20 goals from
Pietro Broccini, who would leave for Inter Milan in the summer. In the
1951–52 season, Venezia would be relegated to Serie C, and they would spend four seasons in the third tier, before earning promotion back to Serie B in the
1956–57 season under manager
Carlo Alberto Quario. Despite still playing in Serie B, Venezia would make an impressive run in the
1958–59 Coppa Italia, eliminating Roma and Torino on their way to the semifinals, where they would lose to Inter, and then lose a third place match with Genoa. At the end of the season, manager Carlo Alberto Quario would leave the bench, and Venezia would narrowly avoid another relegation to Serie C in the
1959-60 season, surviving a relegation tie-breaker with
Monza and
Taranto. In the
1960–61 Serie B season, entrepreneur Anacleto Ligabue took over as extraordinary commissioner of the club, and he immediately recalled Carlo Alberto Quario to the bench. It would be a winning move, as Venezia finished top of the table, and returned to Serie A after an 11-year absence. The promotion-winning team featured the young Venetian
Gianni Rossi plus new arrivals
Virginio De Paoli,
Sergio Frascoli, Gianni Grossi, and striker
Luigi Raffin, who scored 17 goals during the year. The triumph was celebrated with a procession of gondolas escorting the
bissona Serenissima, the traditional Venetian ship, carrying the players from Stadio Penzo to
Piazza San Marco. On Venezia's return to Serie A in the
1961–62 season,
Count Giovanni Volpi di Misurata became club president, with Ligabue and Enrico Linetti as his deputies. Although the team got off to a slow start, Venezia would ultimately put together a respectable campaign, earning wins over
Juventus and A.C. Milan, and finishing 12th in the table. The team featured midfielder
Juan Santisteban who had arrived from
Real Madrid, while Raffin would score 11 goals during the season. But in the
1962–63 Serie A season, Venezia finished 17th in the table and were again relegated to Serie B. At the end of the season, there would be several departures, including Carlo Alberto Quario and Gino Raffin, who had scored 39 goals in total in the previous three seasons. After three seasons in Serie B, Venezia earned promotion to Serie A once again, finishing first in the
1965–66 Serie B season. But in the
1966–67 Serie A season, Venezia were directly relegated back to Serie B, and they would not see the top flight again for more than 30 years. In the following
1967–68 Serie B season, Venezia would be relegated to Serie C.
1968 to 1986 Following the relegation from Serie B in 1968, Venezia would languish in
Serie C,
Serie C1,
Serie C2, and
Serie D through the 1980s.
1987 to 2005 Maurizio Zamparini arrival and merger with Mestre Ahead of the 1986–87 season, Venezia was acquired by businessman
Maurizio Zamparini, who would lead the club for the next 16 seasons. After his first season in charge, Zamparini would merge Venezia with mainland club
A.C. Mestre, who were also playing in Serie C2. The merger was executed on 26 June 1987. Zamparini temporarily changed the name of the club to
Calcio VeneziaMestre, though the club would be renamed
Associazione Calcio Venezia in November 1989. With the merger, the club's colors changed from
neroverde (green-black) to
arancioneroverde (orange-black-green). Further, the team's home matches were moved from Stadio Penzo in Venice to Stadio Francesco Baracca in
Mestre. In the 1987–88 season, Venezia achieved promotion from
Serie C2 to
Serie C1, returning to the third tier for the first time since the 1976–77 season. Over the next two seasons, the team — featuring players including Andrea Poggi,
Giancarlo Filippini, and a young
Paolo Poggi — steadily improved, and built towards a return to Serie B.
Return to Serie B In the 1990–91 season, Venezia, under manager
Alberto Zaccheroni, earned promotion back to Serie B after a 23-year absence. In a playoff for second place, Venezia defeated Como, 2–1, with 7,000 fans from Venice and Mestre attending the match in Cesena. Due to the insufficient capacity at Stadio Baracca in Mestre for Serie B, Venezia would move back to Stadio Penzo in Venice, renovating and expanding the stadium, with the elimination of the
athletics track. Venezia would spend the next seven seasons in Serie B, before finally achieving promotion.
Return to Serie A In the
1997–98 Serie B season, Venezia, under manager
Walter Novellino, finished second in the table and earned promotion back to Serie A after a 31-year absence. Ahead of the
1998–99 Serie A season, sporting director
Beppe Marotta would strengthen the team, including the double signing of striker
Filippo Maniero and goalkeeper
Massimo Taibi from A.C. Milan. Through the first half of the season, though, Venezia were bottom of the table, and Maniero hadn't scored a goal. But a turning point came in January with the arrival of young playmaker
Álvaro Recoba on loan from Inter Milan. Maniero and Recoba would form a prolific partnership in attack, scoring 23 goals between them in the second half of the season — Maniero with 12, Recoba with 11 — and gradually pulling Venezia out of the relegation zone. In the penultimate week of the season, Venezia needed a win against Recoba's parent club Inter to preserve their Serie A status, and Recoba contributed a goal and an assist in a 3–1 win, as Venezia completed the comeback and finished in 11th place, four points above the relegation zone. Going into the
1999–2000 Serie A season, Venezia replaced Novellino with
Luciano Spalletti. But without Recoba, Venezia would struggle. During the campaign, they would go through three coaches — Spalletti was sacked in the fall, then recalled after
Giuseppe Materazzi lasted just 27 days, until
Francesco Oddo was hired in February. Venezia would make a run in the
1999–2000 Coppa Italia, eliminating Udinese and Fiorentina among others on their way to the semifinals, where they were finally beaten by Lazio, but that form wouldn't carry over to league play. Venezia ultimately finished 16th and were relegated to Serie B. For the
2000–01 Serie B season, Venezia hired manager
Cesare Prandelli, and he would lead Venezia right back to Serie A. But it wouldn't last, as Prandelli was let go early into the
2001–02 Serie A season, and Venezia would go on to finish last and suffer its second relegation in three years.
Zamparini exit, relegation, and bankruptcy On 21 July 2002, Zamparini left Venezia and took over Palermo. The following day, in a move called the
furto di Pergine — the "theft of Pergine" — Zamparini has 12 players plus manager Ezio Glerean withdrawn by bus from Venezia's preseason camp in
Pergine Valsugana and taken to Palermo's preseason camp in
Longarone. In the mass transfer, Palermo took goalkeeper
Generoso Rossi, defenders
Fabio Bilica,
Kewullay Conteh and
Francesco Modesto, midfielders
Valentino Lai,
Antonio Marasco,
Stefano Morrone,
Frank Olivier Ongfiang,
Mario Santana and
Evans Soligo (later returned to Venice), and strikers
Arturo Di Napoli and
Filippo Maniero. A few days later, striker
Igor Budan and the sporting director Rino Foschi also moved from Venezia to Palermo. Venezia finished 15th in the
2002–03 Serie B season, then 20th in the
2003–04 Serie B season, surviving a relegation playoff by defeating Bari, 2–1 on aggregate. But the club's financial situation could not be saved. At the end of the
2004–05 Serie B season, Venezia was relegated and declared bankrupt.
2005 to 2015 Società Sportiva Calcio Venezia In the summer of 2005, the club was re-founded as
Società Sportiva Calcio Venezia and was admitted to
Serie C2 by
Lodo Petrucci. In the
2005–06 Serie C2 season, Venezia earned promotion to Serie C1, and would spend the next three seasons in the third tier, but the club would be declared bankrupt once again by the end of the
2008–09 season.
Foot Ball Club Unione Venezia In the summer of 2009, with Venice in danger of being a city without a football club, mayor
Massimo Cacciari personally supervised the foundation of a new club. On 27 July 2009, the club was re-founded as
Foot Ball Club Unione Venezia, recognized as the legitimate successor of SSC Venezia, and was admitted to Serie D. Venezia won Serie D in the
2011–12 season and earned promotion from Lega Pro Seconda Divisione to Lega Pro Prima Divisione in the
2012–13 season, but would last just two seasons in the third tier before going bankrupt for the third time in 10 years.
2015 to Present Venezia FC In September 2015, a group of American investors led by attorney
Joe Tacopina moved to acquire the club out of bankruptcy, and re-founded the club as
Venezia FC. In the
2015–16 season, Venezia earned promotion from
Serie D to
Serie C.
Filippo Inzaghi tenure In June 2016, Venezia hired
Filippo Inzaghi as manager. The former
Italian national team star's previous managerial experience was with A.C. Milan in
2014–15. In Inzaghi's first season, the
2016–17 Lega Pro season, Venezia earned promotion to
Serie B and won the
Coppa Italia Serie C. The Serie C title was secured on 19 April 2017, after beating Parma to top spot. In the
2017–18 Serie B season, Venezia's first at that level for 12 years, the club was a surprise contender for promotion to
Serie A, managing to finish fifth in the table. This was their highest Serie B finish since ending the
2000–01 season in fourth place, when they were last promoted to the top-flight. In the first round of the Serie B promotion playoffs, Venezia defeated
Perugia 3–0 at the
Stadio Pier Luigi Penzo to advance to the semi-finals. However, the club then lost to
Palermo due to a 1–0 defeat in the away leg, and was knocked out by a 2–1 aggregate scoreline. In June 2018, Inzaghi decided to leave Venezia, and he would later join
Bologna.
Joe Tacopina exit After Inzaghi's departure, Venezia went through three coaches in the
2018–19 Serie B season —
Stefano Vecchi,
Walter Zenga, and
Serse Cosmi — and finished 15th in the table. After losing the Serie B relegation play-out to
Salernitana, Venezia were set for relegation to Serie C, but they were ultimately spared when
Palermo were punished with relegation due to "administrative non-compliance." Ahead of the
2019–20 Serie B season, Venezia hired
Alessio Dionisi as manager. In February 2020, with the team in another relegation battle, Venezia was recapitalized and the club's ownership removed Joe Tacopina as club president.
VFC Newco and Duncan Niederauer Upon the club's reorganization, Venezia owner
Duncan Niederauer, former CEO of the
New York Stock Exchange, took on the role of club president. A significant capital raise was announced for the club in July 2024. New investors include APEX Capital, Chiron Sports Group and PSALM Capital.
Return to Serie A In August 2020, Venezia rebuilt its technical staff, hiring former long-time Venezia players and local Venetians Mattia Collauto and
Paolo Poggi as sporting director and technical director, respectively, a young American Alex Menta as analytics director, and Vicenza-born
Paolo Zanetti as manager. In the
2020–21 Serie B season, Venezia finished fifth in the table, again qualifying for the promotion playoffs to
Serie A. In the promotion playoff first round, Venezia defeated
Chievo Verona thanks to an extra-time goal from
Dennis Johnsen, winning the tie 3–2. The first leg of Venezia's semi-final match against
Lecce was settled by a single goal from star striker
Francesco Forte, who was particularly crucial to the club's promotion push with 15 goals in the regular season, with a 1–1 tie in the away leg enabling the club to advance. In the final, Venezia met
A.S. Cittadella for a place in Serie A. A 1–0 away win at their opponents'
Stadio Pier Cesare Tombolato and the following 1–1 result at home, with a late equaliser from veteran forward
Riccardo Bocalon, secured Venezia's first season in Serie A in
19 years. On 9 August 2021, the club broke its transfer record with the signing of American midfielder
Gianluca Busio for $6.5 million (€5.7 million). However, the club's time in Serie A would be short-lived, as they would be again relegated to Serie B at the end of the season.
Serie B: 2022–24 For the
2022–23 Serie B season, the club acquired
Ivan Javorčić as the new head coach. They strengthened their roster with a former Bayer Leverkusen striker
Joel Pohjanpalo and former
Brescia goalkeeper
Jesse Joronen, in hopes of a quick return to top level. The season started slow, and eventually on 31 October 2022, Javorčić was sacked after Venezia had won only two of their 12 first league matches and were near the bottom of the table.
Paolo Vanoli, a former assistant coach of
Antonio Conte, was hired. The team progressed and finished in the 8th place at the end of the season, while Pohjanpalo scored 19 goals in Serie B, helping Venezia to qualify to promotion play-offs, where they were knocked out by
Cagliari. At the end of the next
2023–24 season, Vanoli led Venezia to finish 3rd with the captain Pohjanpalo winning the Golden Boot with 22 goals. In the
promotion play-offs, Venezia defeated
Palermo and
Cremonese and were promoted back to Serie A after two seasons spent in Serie B. ==Colours, badge and nicknames==