 | |
| 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.
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.
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]
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]
Reference [11]
Quarterbacks
Running backs
Wide receivers
Tight ends
| Offensive linemen
Defensive linemen
| Linebackers
Defensive backs
Special teams
| Rookies in italics | ||||||
Front office
Head coach
Offensive coaches
| Defensive coaches
Special teams coaches
Strength and conditioning
| |||||
| Season | Head coach | Regular season | Postseason | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Won | Lost | Ties | Win % | Finish | Won | Lost | Win % | Result | ||
| 2023 | Stefan Pokorny | (Central) | ||||||||
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
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.
Italian Football League is the top level American football league in Italy first established in 1978. The first recognized league champion was crowned in 1980.
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Joe Avezzano was an American football player and coach. He was the head football coach at Oregon State University from 1980 to 1984, compiling a record of 6–47–2. Avezzano was later an assistant coach with the Dallas Cowboys and Oakland Raiders of the National Football League (NFL). He also was head coach of the Seamen Milano in the Italian Football League (IFL).
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