Milano Seamen
 | |
| Established | 1981 |
|---|---|
| Based in | Milan |
| Home stadium | Velodromo Vigorelli |
| Head coach | Jim Ward |
| General manager | Marco Mutti |
| League | European League of Football |
| Colors | Navy blue, Action green, White |
| League titles | 5 (2014, 2015, 2017, 2018, 2019) |
| Website | milanoseamen |
The Seamen Milano are an American football team based in Milan, Italy that competes in the European League of Football. Prior to that, they competed in the Italian Football League.
History
80s
The Seamen Milano were founded by Sergio Galeotti, a shareholder of the "Giorgio Armani SpA" on October 27, 1981.[1] In the 1980s they were one of the most successful Italian teams collecting two Italian Super Bowl appearances in 1987 and 1989, with an overall record of 68 wins, 4 draws and 39 defeats in 111 games played. After finishing the 1987 regular season with a record of 11–1, the Milano Seamen defeated the Giaguari Torino 49–3 in the eight-finals. Their winning streak continued after defeating the Rhinos 29-6 and the Doves 20–14 in the quarter- and semi-finals respectively. Under coach Dave Ritchie they lost the 1989 Super Bowl against the Frogs Legnano 24–27 after suffering a TD pass with a few seconds remaining on the game clock. They won the Under 20 National Championship in 1989. The team folded in 1990.
Re-foundation
After 19 years, in 2009, the team was reestablished by a group of former players, winning the Under 19 championship a year later in 2010 with a lot of athletes from the Falcons Milano, a team disbanded in 2009, the Seamen took part at the II Division championship.[2]
In 2010, the Seamen Milano were admitted to the Italian Football League Championship. In 2012 Joe Avezzano became the Head Coach of the Milano Seamen. In 2014 the Seamen won the Italian Super Bowl for the first time in their history, beating the Parma Panthers 33–3. After the 2020 season was cancelled because of the covid pandemic, the Seamen were playing in the Italian Bowl four times in a row. They lost against the Parma Panthers with 34–40.[3] In the 2021 CEFL season, they lost their quarter-finals too.
In the Italian Bowl 2022 they lost to the Guelfi Firenze with 17–21.[4]
European League of Football
The team announced in April 2022, that they will join the for the 2023 season after negotiation talks with the national association were successful.[5][6][7]
The organization will no longer participate in the IFL, but will have a cooperation with the local team Legnano Frogs for developing young players.[8] After that, the stadium, headcoach and general manager of the previous club were confirmed.[9][10]
Current roster
Reference[11]
Quarterbacks
Running backs
Wide receivers
Tight ends
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Offensive linemen
Defensive linemen
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Linebackers
Defensive backs
Special teams
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Rookies in italics | ||||||
Current staff
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Front office
Head coach
Offensive coaches
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Defensive coaches
Special teams coaches
Strength and conditioning
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Season-by-season
| Season | Head coach | Regular season | Postseason | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Won | Lost | Ties | Win % | Finish | Won | Lost | Win % | Result | ||
| 2023 | Stefan Pokorny | (Central) | ||||||||
Stadium
After the renovation of the historical stadium Velodromo Vigorelli ended up in 2018, the Milano Seamen were able to play again their home games there, after the brief experience at the Stadio Breda in Sesto San Giovanni, Milan. The Stadium features an artificial turf and endzones in the color of the franchise
Youth team
Seamen's Youth Sector, is one of the best of the country; in fact during the 2019–2020 season the Under 19 team reached the national final, in which they beat the Giaguari Torino 8–6. That game was played in Velodromo Vigorelli one of the best frames for American Football in Italy.
Honours
- Italian Bowl
- Champions: (5) 2014, 2015, 2017–2019
Notable player and coaches
- Dave Ritchie - Defensive coordinator 1989
- Joe Avezzano - Head coach 2011–2012
- Jonathan Dally - Quarterback 2014–2015
- Luke Zahradka - Quarterback 2017–2023
- Giorgio Tavecchio - Kicker 2019
- Jordan Bouah - Wide receiver 2020–2021
References
- ^ "Il padre dei Seamen". Seamen.it (in Italian). Retrieved 29 January 2023.
- ^ "EFL BOWL: MILANO SEAMEN MIT WEISSER WESTE GEGEN DIE POTSDAM ROYALS". GFL.info (in German). Retrieved 29 January 2023.
- ^ "Panthers Parma Campioni d'Italia!". FIDAF.org (in Italian). 18 July 2021. Retrieved 29 January 2023.
- ^ "Guelfi Firenze pull off upset win over Milano Seamen to win first ever Italian Bowl". AmericanFootballInternational.com. Retrieved 29 January 2023.
- ^ "ELF adds Milano Seamen, Fehérvár Enthroners, and Zurich for 2023". American Football International. 2022-05-13. Retrieved 2022-06-11.
- ^ "A Milano arrivano i dirigenti della ELF". Seamen.it (in Italian). 12 April 2022.
- ^ "Italian Federation of American Football and European League of Football nearing agreement". AmericanFootballInternational.com. Retrieved 29 January 2023.
- ^ Elias Hoffmann (7 August 2022). "Seamen Ziehen Sich Aus Der IFL Zurück". footbowl.de (in German). Retrieved 29 January 2023.
- ^ "2023 OUTLOOK - MILANO SEAMEN HAVE GREAT STARTING POSITION". EuropeanLeague.Football. Retrieved 29 January 2023.
- ^ "Season 2023 - Head coach". Instagram. Retrieved 29 January 2023.
- ^ "ELF: 2023 Milano Seamen – A Complete Roster Breakdown". American Football International.