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.

Milano Seamen
Team logo
Established1981
Based inMilan
Home stadiumVelodromo Vigorelli
Head coachJim Ward
General managerMarco Mutti
LeagueEuropean League of Football
ColorsNavy blue, Action green, White
     
League titles5 (2014, 2015, 2017, 2018, 2019)
Websitemilanoseamen.it
Current sports event2023 Milano Seamen season

History

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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

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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

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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

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Reference[11]

Milano Seamen roster
Quarterbacks
  • 12 Nicholas Dalmasso
 
  •  7 Luke Zahradka
   

Running backs

  • 20 Luca Assemian Balotelli
 
  •  2 Ali Khalife
 
  • 32 Cristiano Mancini
 
  •  4 Modeste Pooda
 

Wide receivers

  • 13 Lorenzo Bassi
 
  • 81 Juan Flores Calderón
 
  • 89 Marion Cebotaru
 
  •  5 Jéan Constant
 
  • 10 Andrea Fiammenghi
 
  • -- Flippo Fiammenghi
 
  • 11 Ismail Lamamra
 
  • 15 Andrea Serra
 
  • 17 Tamsir Seck
 

Tight ends

  • 88 Leonardo Franchi
 
  • 87 Daniel Marshall
 
  • 19 Gianluca Santagostino
 
Offensive linemen
  • 78 Domenico Carroli
 
  • 55 Lorenzo Cesana
 
  • 62 Marco Colombo
 
  • 71 Thomas Fileccia
 
  • 66 Francesco Runco
 
  • 70 Edoardo Sandonati
 
  • 57 Harry Sayer
 
  • 63 Lewis Thomas
 
  • 53 Francesco Virlinzi
 

Defensive linemen

  • 93 Samuele Cavallini
 
  • 91 Giaocomo Insom
 
  • 75 Xhelian Molla
 
  • 99 Claudio Nicola
 
  • 90 Simone Perego
 
  • 92 Francesco Rivelli
 
  • 97 Marco Taddia
 
  • 69 Igor Timotijevic
 
Linebackers
  • 44 Tiberio Calbucci
 
  •  9 Nicolò Fonti
 
  • 31 Ivan Fonti
 
  • 45 Edoardo Gallo
 
  • -- Antonio Gianera
 
  •  6 Kevin Khay
 
  • 33 Diego Rinaldi
 
  • 47 Andrea Zini
 

Defensive backs

  •  1 Saad Ali
 
  • 14 Tommaso Calegari
 
  •  8 Dejvion Edwards-Steward
 
  • 21 Lorenzo Gioco
 
  • 29 Federicco Maffi
 
  • 22 Marquise Manning
 
  • 28 Lorenzo Paglicci
 
  • 36 Flavio Piccinni LB
 
  • 23 Christian Sottura
 
  • 26 Bismark Yeboah
 

Special teams

  •  3 Matteo Felli
 
 


Rookies in italics
Roster updated November 22, 2023
4 A-import, 8 E-import, 43 homegrown
55 active

Current staff

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Milano Seamen staff

Front office

  • Owner – Milano Seamen S.r.l.
  • General Manager – Marco Mutti
  • President – Paolo Mutti

Head coach

  • Head coach – Stefan Pokorny

Offensive coaches

  • Offensive coordinator – Dan Dodd
  • Quarterbacks – n/a
  • Running backs – n/a
  • Assistant running backs – Marco Polizzi
  • Wide receivers – Ruben Fioriti
  • Tight ends/fullbacks – n/a
  • Offensive line – Mauro "Pepè" Salvemini
 

Defensive coaches

  • Defensive coordinator – Stefan Pokorny
  • Linebacker – Riccardo Matani
  • Defensive line – Luca Bellora
  • Defensive backs – Paolo Guerini

Special teams coaches

  • Special teams coordinator – Stefano Busnaghi


Strength and conditioning

  • Corporate partner – Ultra Strength S&C


updated 28 January 2022

Season-by-season

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Season Head coach Regular season Postseason
Won Lost Ties Win % Finish Won Lost Win % Result
2023 Stefan Pokorny (Central)

Stadium

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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

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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

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Notable player and coaches

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References

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  1. ^ "Il padre dei Seamen". Seamen.it (in Italian). Retrieved 29 January 2023.
  2. ^ "EFL BOWL: MILANO SEAMEN MIT WEISSER WESTE GEGEN DIE POTSDAM ROYALS". GFL.info (in German). Retrieved 29 January 2023.
  3. ^ "Panthers Parma Campioni d'Italia!". FIDAF.org (in Italian). 18 July 2021. Retrieved 29 January 2023.
  4. ^ "Guelfi Firenze pull off upset win over Milano Seamen to win first ever Italian Bowl". AmericanFootballInternational.com. Retrieved 29 January 2023.
  5. ^ "ELF adds Milano Seamen, Fehérvár Enthroners, and Zurich for 2023". American Football International. 2022-05-13. Retrieved 2022-06-11.
  6. ^ "A Milano arrivano i dirigenti della ELF". Seamen.it (in Italian). 12 April 2022.
  7. ^ "Italian Federation of American Football and European League of Football nearing agreement". AmericanFootballInternational.com. Retrieved 29 January 2023.
  8. ^ Elias Hoffmann (7 August 2022). "Seamen Ziehen Sich Aus Der IFL Zurück". footbowl.de (in German). Retrieved 29 January 2023.
  9. ^ "2023 OUTLOOK - MILANO SEAMEN HAVE GREAT STARTING POSITION". EuropeanLeague.Football. Retrieved 29 January 2023.
  10. ^ "Season 2023 - Head coach". Instagram. Retrieved 29 January 2023.
  11. ^ "ELF: 2023 Milano Seamen – A Complete Roster Breakdown". American Football International.
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