A.C. Colorno

Colorno is a village on the Po plain with a palace out of all proportion to its size, the Reggia that earns it the nickname of Parma's Versailles, and a club that honours it on the crest: a ducal crown, baroque flourishes and a football at the centre. Organised football was born there in the 1930s, in the municipal Dopolavoro, but Associazione Calcio Colorno was only formalised in 1964, beginning a patient climb through the regional leagues that peaked with promotion to the Interregionale, today's Serie D, in 1984. The sweetest moment came in 1998/99, winning the Coppa Italia of the Emilia-Romagna Eccellenza, and names with a future passed through, including a local boy called Stefano Pioli, who decades later would be champion of Italy as manager of Milan. Today the club lives in the regional Eccellenza, in the friendly shadow of the local rugby side that carries Colorno's name across Europe. Green, gold and aristocratic: a village club with a courtly crest.