Mantova

Mantova date from 1911, when two clubs, Vis et Virtus and Gruppo del Calcio, merged as the Associazione Mantovana del Calcio; their leaders had founded the short-lived Mantua Football Club in 1906. The team wore sky blue and white until oil company OZO became sponsor in 1956 and the white shirt with a red sash arrived. Known as the Virgiliani, they play at the Stadio Danilo Martelli, named in 1949 after a local footballer killed in the Superga air disaster; Pata Stadium was added to the name in June 2025.

Between 1955 and 1961 coach Edmondo Fabbri and Italo Allodi took Mantova from Serie D to Serie A, a rise remembered as the Piccolo Brasile, or Little Brazil, for its Brazilian-style football. The club spent seven seasons in Serie A, finishing ninth in 1961-62, and won Serie B in 1970-71. On 1 June 1967 they beat Inter on the final day, costing Inter the title. Collapses led to refoundations in 1994, 2010 and 2017; the club counts its history since 1911 as its own.