 Simoni with Torino in the mid-1960s | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | (1939-01-22)22 January 1939 | ||
| Place of birth | Crevalcore,Italy | ||
| Date of death | 22 May 2020(2020-05-22) (aged 81) | ||
| Place of death | Pisa, Italy | ||
| Height | 1.73 m (5 ft 8 in) | ||
| Position | Attacking midfielder | ||
| Youth career | |||
| Fiorentina | |||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1959–1961 | Mantova | 47 | (10) |
| 1961–1962 | Napoli | 11 | (1) |
| 1962–1964 | Mantova | 48 | (8) |
| 1964–1967 | Torino | 81 | (18) |
| 1967–1968 | Juventus | 11 | (0) |
| 1968–1971 | Brescia | 100 | (12) |
| 1971–1974 | Genoa | 88 | (13) |
| Total | 386 | (62) | |
| Managerial career | |||
| 1974–1978 | Genoa | ||
| 1978–1980 | Brescia | ||
| 1980–1984 | Genoa | ||
| 1984–1985 | Pisa | ||
| 1985–1986 | Lazio | ||
| 1986–1987 | Pisa | ||
| 1987–1988 | Genoa | ||
| 1988–1989 | Empoli | ||
| 1989–1990 | Cosenza | ||
| 1990–1992 | Carrarese | ||
| 1992–1996 | Cremonese | ||
| 1996–1997 | Napoli | ||
| 1997–1998 | Inter Milan | ||
| 1999–2000 | Piacenza | ||
| 2000–2001 | Torino | ||
| 2001–2002 | CSKA Sofia | ||
| 2002–2003 | Ancona | ||
| 2003–2004 | Napoli | ||
| 2004–2005 | Siena | ||
| 2005–2006 | Lucchese | ||
| 2011–2012 | Gubbio (caretaker) | ||
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Luigi "Gigi" Simoni (22 January 1939 – 22 May 2020) was an Italianfootball official,player andmanager. A skilled tactician, as a coach Simoni enjoyed notable success in earning promotion fromSerie B toSerie A with the teams he managed, a feat he achieved seven times with five different clubs.
He is best-known, however, for his brief but important stint as manager ofInter Milan (1997–98), where he won theUEFA Cup in1998 and came close to conquering thescudetto, losing out toJuventus; this was the only time whereRonaldo was fully fit during his Inter spell, with Simoni making full use of the Brazilian's abilities.
Luigi Simoni was born inCrevalcore,Emilia-Romagna, in Italy.
Simoni played as anattacking midfielder forMantova,Napoli,Torino,Juventus,Brescia andGenoa. He won theCoppa Italia in1961–62 with Napoli.
He started his managerial career with Genoa, in the 1974–75 season. The next year, he was able to bring therossoblu back toSerie A.
After a long series of promotions, withPisa,Brescia andCremonese among them, and good results with outsider teams (Cremonese again, and Napoli), Simoni was called byMassimo Moratti to coachInter Milan in 1997. With an in-formRonaldo on his side, Simoni won theUEFA Cup overLazio in1998, and managed a second-place finish inSerie A, behindJuventus.[1][2]
Thefollowing season, Simoni was fired by Inter Milan on 30 November 1998, although he was still appreciated and well-remembered by the team's fans.[1]
After a few other experiences, includingPiacenza,Torino, and a brief disappointing spell inBulgaria withCSKA Sofia,[1] Gigi Simoni ledAncona Calcio to Serie A in 2003, but was surprisingly fired before the start of the new season. His Serie A comeback, in 2004, withSiena, was not a particularly good one, however, as he was fired once again during the course of the season. In late 2005, Simoni took the head coaching role ofSerie C1 teamLucchese, but with little success.
In February 2009, at the age of 70, Simoni accepted a job atLega Pro Seconda Divisione'sGubbio, where he would serve as technical director until the end of the season.[3] He was later confirmed to his role also for the 2009–10 season, with former Genoa defenderVincenzo Torrente acting as "on-pitch" head coach. Under the guidance of Simoni and Torrente, Gubbio ensured a historic promotion to Serie B that year; after Torrente decided to accept an offer fromBari, Simoni and Gubbio agreed to appointFabio Pecchia as new head coach.
Pecchia's term as Gubbio boss turned out however unsuccessful, and on 18 October 2011 Simoni agreed to serve as caretaker head coach for a Serie B game against his former club, league toppersTorino.[4] The game ended in a surprising 1–0 win for his side, and led the club to keep Simoni in charge as long as a valid replacement coach would be found. The following two games led Gubbio to win four more points, a draw and a win. He guided the team until 20 March 2012, when he handed over his first team duties to assistant coach Marco Alessandrini, and moving back to his previous role of technical director at Gubbio.[5]
On 22 June 2019, Simoni suffered a stroke at his home,[6] being in critical condition[7] until his death on 22 May 2020, at the age of 81.[8]
Napoli
Cremonese
Inter[1]