These days, Vercelli is known more as a type of pasta, and contemporarily, Pro Vercelli is a minnow of Italian football, spending the better part of 64 years fluttering between Serie C and the amateur leagues before finally winning the 2012 Liga Pro Prima playoff to qualify for the lofty heights of the Serie B. Little is it known that this club from the Piedmont region of Italy is not only one of the nation’s most highly decorated clubs, it is also considered one of the most successful teams from the early period of football in Italy.

 

Back in the early 20th century, the hometown hero of the side was Guido Ara, a ‘one club man’ born and raised in Vercelli who made 163 appearances for the team and won 6 titles with them, before going on to manage the likes of Roma, AC Milan and Fiorentina. Ara is considered the first genuine star of Italian football, an elegant dribbler full of invention – excelling at feints, passing and headers. Ara was so dedicated to fitness that he purposely lived in upper floor apartments so that he would have to jog on the stairs. He also chased the tram to training or rode his bike there. Pro Vercelli was also the launching pad for the career of Silvio Piola, who scored two goals in the 1938 World Cup final. In 1907, the club won the Subs Division, an early precursor of the Serie B. Subsequently, they were admitted to the Italian National league for the first time in 1908, and success quickly followed.

 

Pro Vercelli claimed 7 Italian top flight titles in the next 15 years, more than Lazio, Roma and Napoli in their entire combined histories. Their success came about as a result of their modern training methods, unparalleled fitness and aggressive playing style which earned the m the nickname “Leoni” (Lions), in addition to their famous “Midfield Line of Wonders” which featured Ara, Pietro Leone and Guiseppe Milano. They were, at the time, one of the best teams the world had seen. Their training methods were cutting edge for the day. They were one of the first clubs to practice corners and free kicks as well as controlling possession rather than just booting the ball long.

 

The club was strictly amateur, and not a single player gained a wage but played for the love of the game instead. In 1910, a series of unfortunate events occurred which resulted in Vercelli having to field their 4th team, consisting of children and young teenagers aged 11 to 13, against Inter Milan in a playoff for the championship. Inter won 10-3 as Vercelli where committed to play in a military tournament in Rome. The FIGC banned the club from football, but this was overturned when Ara and his brother cycled all the way to Geona, Florence, Rome, Bologna and Milan gathering signatures for a petition against the decision, which was then overturned. However, the clubs players were still banned from representing the national team. Out of respect, Italy wore white Vercelli shirts and continue wear white as their away kit today.

 

After the ban, Vercelli players dominated the Italian squad, and on one occasion against Belgium, 9 out of 11 Italy players on the field were Pro Vercelli players. They won 1-0 and a telegram was sent back to the club reading “Pro Vercelli defeated Belgium!” They were the first Italian team to tour South America, playing the likes of Botafogo, Palmeiras and Fluminense in Brazil. The team was impacted by World War 1, but their success continued afterwards with back to back titles in 1921 and 1922 and a draw in a marquee match against Liverpool, possibly the greatest club in the world at the time.

Achievements: Italian Football Championship – Champions x7

Star player – Guido Ara, DOB 28 August 1888,Vercelli, Italy 

Born and raised in Vercelli, Piedmont, Ara intially trained as a gymnast before turning to football and playing at Pro Vercelli for his whole career. He helped the club to six of the seven titles that Vercelli have won throughout their entire history. Widely considered to be the first superstar of Italian football, Ara played for Italy on 13 occasions, forming one third of the Midfield Line of Wonders along with Leone and Milano for both club and country. He was a member of the Italy squad in the 1920 Olympic Games, and was nicknamed “Elegant Guido” for his stylish play. Ara was fast, agile and possessed great physical strength. In 1919, Ara became the manager of Pro Vercelli and he guided them to two consecutive titles in 1921 and 1922. Then from 1926 he went on to coach other big names in Italian football such as Fiorentina, Roma and AC Milan. He died in Florence in 1975 at the age of 86.