 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | (1966-02-10)10 February 1966 (age 59) | ||
| Place of birth | Rome,Italy | ||
| Height | 1.91 m (6 ft 3 in) | ||
| Position(s) | Centre forward | ||
| Youth career | |||
| Pescatori Ostia | |||
| Lodigiani | |||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1984–1987 | Lodigiani | 49 | (18) |
| 1987–1988 | Arezzo | 19 | (0) |
| 1988–1990 | Reggiana | 67 | (32) |
| 1990–1992 | Napoli | 39 | (6) |
| 1992–1995 | Torino | 82 | (24) |
| 1995–1997 | Nottingham Forest | 12 | (0) |
| 1996–1997 | →Venezia (loan) | 26 | (4) |
| 1997–1998 | Reggiana | 8 | (0) |
| 1998–1999 | Ravenna | 23 | (3) |
| 1999–2000 | Torino | 11 | (2) |
| 2000–2001 | Ravenna | 7 | (0) |
| Total | 343 | (87) | |
| International career | |||
| 1994 | Italy | 1 | (0) |
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Andrea Silenzi (Italian pronunciation:[anˈdrɛːasiˈlɛntsi]; born 10 February 1966) is an Italian retiredfootballer who played as acentre forward.
He was the first Italian to play in thePremier League, when he signed withNottingham Forest in 1995.[1] He amassedSerie A totals of 132 games and 32 goals over six seasons, withNapoli andTorino.
Silenzi appeared once for theItaly national team, in 1994.
Silenzi was born inRome. NicknamedPennellone (Bigbrush) due to his height,[1] he began his playing career with localA.S. Lodigiani. During his third season there he started scoring, and finished as second top scorer inSerie C2 with 18 goals. In the next season he moved toSerie B withA.C. Arezzo, but the campaign was a disaster both individually and collectively; the club finished last and was relegated toSerie C1, with the player appearing in 19 games and failing to find the net once.[2]
Silenzi was transferred to another third level side,A.C. Reggiana 1919, for 1988–89, where his fortunes changed dramatically. The team won promotion that year, finishing in first place, with him contributing nine goals in 31 appearances.The next season he fared even better, finishing as the league's top scorer in division two; he scored an astonishing 23 goals out of the squad's 33, doing it in 38 matches for the best goal-per-match ratio in the competition.[3][4]
Silenzi's prolific scoring garnered the attention ofScudetto andCoppa Italia winnersS.S.C. Napoli, which was looking to strengthen its attacking options in a team which already featuredDiego Maradona. He was ultimately acquired for 6 billionlira,[5] and1990–91 started brightly withthe capture of theSupercoppa Italiana – a 5–1 thrashing ofJuventus FC, with him contributing with two of the five goals.[6] However, the rest of that season proved unlucky for the player, who only managed twoSerie A goals (Maradona only netted six, all onpenalties); the team finished eighth but went on to rank fourththe following year, mainly thanks to the firepower ofCareca andGianfranco Zola who had taken over for the banned Maradona – he only scored four times from 20 appearances.[2]
The next season Silenzi, aged 26, was signed byTorino FC, brought in with some of the funds that the club made on the then world-record sale ofGianluigi Lentini toA.C. Milan. The team finished in ninth place, and he again grabbed only a handful of league goals (three). The only bright spot of the campaign was the conquest of the team's fifthItalian Cup, as he endeared himself to the fans with his display in the final, whereToro defeatedA.S. Roma after two legs on theaway goals rule, the aggregate score being 5–5; he scored both of the crucial goals in the second leg in Rome (5–2 loss).[7][8]
Silenzi had his best top-flight year in1993–94, as he finished the season with 17 goals (tied for third in the scorers list) and alsoreached the semi-finals of the domestic cup.[9] He spearheaded the attacking trio ofEnzo Francescoli and a youngBenito Carbone, and his impressive form garnered him a call-up to theItaly national team in early 1994;[10]the following year saw the arrival ofRuggiero Rizzitelli, and he took over the leading goal-scoring spot from Silenzi, which translated into 15 more goals (19 to four).[2][8][9]
In the summer of 1995, Silenzi was signed byNottingham Forest's managerFrank Clark for£1.8m, becoming the first ever Italian to play in thePremier League. However, he never fitted into the set-up at theCity Ground, playing only ten league games in the1995–96 season; after only two appearances inthe following campaign, he returned to his country and joinedS.S.C. Venezia on loan.[11]
In total, Silenzi made only 20 official appearances (seven starts) for Forest, scoring twice: one in theFA Cup againstOxford United[12] and one in theLeague Cup againstBradford City.[13] It is alleged that his contract was torn up by managerDave Bassett (who took over in March 1997), for allegedly refusing to return from his loan spell at Venezia.[14] In the English press, he is considered as one of the worst ever signings in the country.[15]
Silenzi continued his career with various clubs back in Italy, going on to play for Reggiana andRavenna Calcio and also returning to Torino fora sole season, his two goals being too little to saveEmiliano Mondonico's side from top-flight relegation.[8][9] He retired in 2001 at the age of 35, with another return, at Ravenna, failing to find the net during2000–01's second tier.[2][16]
Following his retirement, Silenzi worked for Torino as one of the club's directors.[8] In March 2009, he was appointed as the head of theA.S. Cisco Calcio Roma youth sector.[17]
Silenzi's onlycap forItaly came on 16 February 1994, as he played againstFrance as part of the warm-up process for theFIFA World Cup being held that summer. In the match held inNaples (0–1 loss), he came on as a second-halfsubstitute.[18]
Silenzi was a tall and "old-fashioned"centre forward, who was primarily known for his physical strength, heading, and acrobatic ability in the air, but equally for his inconsistency at the top level, as well as his lack of notable technical ability.[1][9][19]
Silenzi is aProtestant, belonging to theSeventh-day Adventist Church.[20][21]
His son,Christian, is also a footballer.[22][23]
Reggiana
Napoli
Torino
