 Antognoni in 2011 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Giancarlo Antognoni | ||
| Date of birth | (1954-04-01)1 April 1954 (age 71) | ||
| Place of birth | Marsciano, Italy | ||
| Height | 1.79 m (5 ft 10 in)[1] | ||
| Position(s) | Attacking midfielder | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1970–1972 | Asti | 27 | (4) |
| 1972–1987 | Fiorentina | 341 | (61) |
| 1987–1989 | Lausanne-Sport | 51 | (7) |
| Total | 419 | (72) | |
| International career | |||
| 1974–1983 | Italy | 73 | (7) |
Medal record | |||
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Giancarlo Antognoni (Italian pronunciation:[dʒaŋˈkarloantoɲˈɲoːni]; born 1 April 1954) is an Italian former professionalfootballer who played as amidfielder. A skillful and creative offensiveplaymaker, regarded as one of the best Italian players of all time in his position,[2] he played most of his club career withFiorentina, with whom they won theCoppa Italia and theAnglo-Italian League Cup in 1975.[3] At international level, he won the1982 FIFA World Cup with theItaly national team, and he also represented his country at the1978 FIFA World Cup, and at the1980 UEFA European Championship, finishing in fourth place on both occasions. On 11 October 2010, he was awarded the "Legends of football"Golden Foot award.[4]
Antognoni was born inMarsciano. His career started in theSerie D withAsti Ma.Co.Bi., when he was only sixteen. In 1972,Nils Liedholm convinced him to joinFiorentina.
He made his debut inSerie A in October 1972 with Fiorentina, whom he latercaptained, also eventually inheriting thenumber 10 shirt. He won theCoppa Italia (Italian Cup) during the1974–75 season, as well as the 1975Anglo-Italian League Cup that season, overWest Ham.[3] He narrowly missed out on the Serie A title with Fiorentina during the1981–82 season, losing out to rivalsJuventus by a single point on the final match-day. Antognoni played 412 games withFiorentina and scored 61 goals. Antognoni is regarded as a Fiorentina legend, and as one of the club's best ever players, as he played for the club throughout his entire Italian professional career between the 70s and 80s. He holds the record for the most appearances in Serie A for Fiorentina, with 341 appearances.[2][5][6]
In November 1981, Antognoni fractured his skull in two places and went into a coma for two days following an accidental collision withGenoa's goalkeeperSilvano Martina, which saw the latter's knee come into heavy contact with Antognoni's head; according toFIFA.com, the playmaker went into cardiac arrest for 30 seconds, which led Genoa's captain, Claudio Onofri, to exclaim "he’s dead, he’s dead!" However, Genoa's team doctor – Pierluigi Gatto – was able to act quickly and revive Antognoni's pulse by untwisting his tongue and giving himCPR through chest compressions and mouth-to-mouth resuscitation.[7][8][9]
In 1987, Antognoni joinedLausanne Sports. He made 51 appearances and scored seven goals. He retired in 1989 while at Lausanne.
Antognoni's senior international career with theItaly national team started on 20 November 1974, in a 3–1 away loss to theNetherlands at the age of twenty, in aEuro 1976 qualifying match. Antognoni took part in the1978 World Cup with Italy under managerEnzo Bearzot, where the team finished in fourth place after a semi-final defeat to theNetherlands. He also reached another fourth-place finish at the1980 European Championship on home soil, wearing the number 10 jersey. His greatest achievement with the national team came when he won the1982 FIFA World Cup, however, after recovering from a skull–injury sustained the year prior in time for the tournament. Antognoni made six appearances throughout the competition, and played a crucial role in the team's title run with his ability to circulate possession and create chances with his passing as the team's main playmaker; he provided the second–highest number of assists throughout the tournament (three), behind only Brazil'sZico and West Germany'sPierre Littbarski. He also had a goal in Italy's 3–2 second–round victory overBrazil incorrectly ruled out for offside; however, the result allowed Italy to advance to the semi-finals. He started in the latter match againstPoland, which Italy won 2–0, but he was not able to participate in thefinal 3–1 victory overWest Germany due to an injury he sustained in the semi-final.[6][7][8]
In total, he received 73caps for Italy, scoring seven goals. His last appearance came againstCzechoslovakia, on 16 November 1983. He captained of the national team on four occasions. Antognoni is currently the Fiorentina player with the most appearances for the national side,[10] and also holds the record for the most appearances wearing the number 10 shirt for Italy.[11] With two red cards throughout his international career, he is alsoItaly's most red carded player ever, alongsideFranco Causio andDaniele De Rossi.[12]
A skillful, quick, and creativeoffensive playmaker, Antognoni is considered to be one of Italy's greatest players ever, one of the most talented players of his generation, and one of the bestattacking midfielders of all time, due to his vision, control, technical ability, intelligence, accurate distribution, passing range, and eye for goal from midfield. which enabled him to score goals or create chances for his teammates; he was also known for his ability to circulate possession, dictate play in midfield, and orchestrate his team's attacking moves with his quick short passing on the ground, as well as his ability to switch the play with long diagonal balls. Moreover, he was an excellentdribbler, who was known for his pace and elegance on the ball, as well as quick feet, and his ability to keep his head up when carrying the ball forward while advancing in possession from midfield, which saw him likened to compatriotGianni Rivera by pundits. Although he was usually deployed as a traditional number 10 behind the forwards, he was also capable of playing as acentral midfielder, where he functioned as adeep-lying playmaker. Antognoni was also highly regarded throughout his career for his accuracy frombendingset pieces, and for his powerful shots from outside the area; although naturally right footed, he was capable of passing or striking the ball accurately with either foot.[2][7][11][13][14] In addition to his footballing skills, he also stood out for his leadership throughout his career, as well as his work-rate.[2][6] Despite his talent, his career was largely marked by injuries.[15]
| Club | Season | League | Cup | Continental | Total | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Astimacobi | 1970–71 | Serie D | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | – | 5 | 1 | |
| 1971–72 | 22 | 3 | 0 | 0 | – | 22 | 3 | |||
| Total | 27 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 27 | 4 | ||
| Fiorentina | 1972–73 | Serie A | 20 | 2 | 8 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 29 | 2 |
| 1973–74 | 25 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 31 | 2 | ||
| 1974–75 | 29 | 4 | 9 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 42 | 5 | ||
| 1975–76 | 30 | 5 | 8 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 42 | 7 | ||
| 1976–77 | 28 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 36 | 4 | ||
| 1977–78 | 26 | 6 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 32 | 7 | ||
| 1978–79 | 27 | 0 | 4 | 0 | – | 31 | 0 | |||
| 1979–80 | 30 | 8 | 4 | 1 | – | 34 | 9 | |||
| 1980–81 | 27 | 9 | 6 | 0 | – | 33 | 9 | |||
| 1981–82 | 16 | 3 | 5 | 2 | – | 21 | 5 | |||
| 1982–83 | 27 | 9 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 34 | 10 | ||
| 1983–84 | 18 | 5 | 5 | 2 | – | 23 | 7 | |||
| 1984–85 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 1985–86 | 19 | 1 | 3 | 0 | – | 22 | 1 | |||
| 1986–87 | 19 | 4 | 0 | 0 | – | 19 | 4 | |||
| Total | 341 | 61 | 69 | 10 | 19 | 1 | 429 | 72 | ||
| Lausanne-Sport | 1987–88 | Nationalliga A | 33 | 5 | 2 | 0 | – | 35 | 5 | |
| 1988–89 | 18 | 2 | 1 | 1 | – | 19 | 3 | |||
| Total | 51 | 7 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 54 | 8 | ||
| Career total | 419 | 72 | 72 | 11 | 19 | 1 | 510 | 84 | ||
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Italy | 1974 | 2 | 0 |
| 1975 | 7 | 0 | |
| 1976 | 10 | 4 | |
| 1977 | 7 | 2 | |
| 1978 | 10 | 0 | |
| 1979 | 4 | 0 | |
| 1980 | 10 | 1 | |
| 1981 | 8 | 0 | |
| 1982 | 11 | 0 | |
| 1983 | 4 | 0 | |
| Total | 73 | 7 | |
Italy[18]
Individual
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