Francesco Graziani facts for kids
Graziani at Torino in 1976–77
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| Personal information | ||||||||||||||||
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| Date of birth | 16 December 1952 | |||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Subiaco, Italy | |||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.80 m (5 ft 11 in) | |||||||||||||||
| Position(s) | Forward | |||||||||||||||
| Youth career | ||||||||||||||||
| 1967–1970 | Bettini Quadraro | |||||||||||||||
| Senior career* | ||||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) | |||||||||||||
| 1970–1973 | Arezzo | 48 | (11) | |||||||||||||
| 1973–1981 | Torino | 221 | (97) | |||||||||||||
| 1981–1983 | Fiorentina | 52 | (14) | |||||||||||||
| 1983–1986 | Roma | 57 | (12) | |||||||||||||
| 1986–1988 | Udinese | 33 | (8) | |||||||||||||
| 1988 | APIA Leichhardt | 2 | (0) | |||||||||||||
| Total | 413 | (142) | ||||||||||||||
| International career | ||||||||||||||||
| 1973 | Italy U21 | 1 | (0) | |||||||||||||
| 1975–1983 | Italy | 64 | (23) | |||||||||||||
| Managerial career | ||||||||||||||||
| 1989–1990 | Fiorentina | |||||||||||||||
| 1990–1991 | Reggina | |||||||||||||||
| 1991–1992 | Avellino | |||||||||||||||
| 2001–2002 | Catania | |||||||||||||||
| 2003–2004 | Montevarchi | |||||||||||||||
| 2004–2006 | Cervia | |||||||||||||||
| 2013 | Vigevano Calcio (Allievi) | |||||||||||||||
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Medal record
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| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | ||||||||||||||||
Francesco "Ciccio" Graziani (born 16 December 1952) is a famous Italian football player and manager. He played as a forward, which means he was a main goal scorer for his teams.
Graziani started his professional career with Arezzo in 1970. He then moved to Torino in 1973, where he became a legend. With Torino, he won the Serie A title in 1976, which is Italy's top football league. He was also the top goalscorer in Serie A in 1977. He scored 122 goals for Torino, making him one of their best scorers ever.
After Torino, he played for Fiorentina and Roma. With Roma, he won the Coppa Italia (Italy's main cup competition) twice. He also played in the 1984 European Cup Final, which is a huge European club competition. He finished his playing career in 1988 with APIA Leichhardt in Australia.
Francesco Graziani also played for the Italian national team, known as the Azzurri. He was part of the team that won the 1982 FIFA World Cup! He also helped Italy finish fourth in the 1978 FIFA World Cup and UEFA Euro 1980. With 23 goals, he is one of Italy's top goalscorers of all time.
He is the father of Gabriele Graziani, who also became a professional footballer.
Contents
Playing Career Highlights
Early Days and Torino Success
Francesco Graziani was born in Subiaco, Italy. He began his football journey at a youth club called Bettini Quadraro. Later, he joined Arezzo before moving to Torino in 1973. He played for Torino for eight seasons, which is a long time for a player to stay with one club!
His first game in Serie A was on 18 November 1973. He scored his first goal in the top league on 16 December of the same year. Overall, Graziani scored 122 goals in 289 games for Torino. He helped Torino win the Scudetto (the Serie A championship) in the 1975–76 season. This was a huge achievement for the club.
Top Scorer and "Goal Twins"
In the season after winning the league, Graziani was the top goalscorer in Serie A. He scored 21 goals that season. During his time at Torino, he formed a famous partnership with his teammate Paolo Pulici. They were nicknamed Gemelli del gol, which means "Goal Twins," because they scored so many goals together!
In 1980, he helped Torino reach the Coppa Italia final. However, they lost the match in a penalty shootout against Roma.
Moving to Fiorentina and Roma
In 1981, Graziani left Torino and joined Fiorentina. He played there for two seasons. In his first season with Fiorentina, they almost won the Serie A title, missing it by just one point.
In 1983, he moved to Roma. With Roma, he had more success, winning the Coppa Italia twice in 1984 and 1986. He also played in the final of the 1984 European Cup final, which is now called the Champions League. Roma lost that final to Liverpool in a penalty shootout.
End of Playing Career
After playing for Roma, Graziani spent two seasons with Udinese. He then had a short time playing in Australia for APIA Leichhardt. He stopped playing professional football in 1988. In total, he played 353 games in the Italian Serie A, scoring 130 goals.
International Career with Italy
Graziani was a very important player for the Italian national team, also known as the Azzurri. He played in the 1978 FIFA World Cup, where Italy finished fourth. He also played in the 1980 European Championship, where Italy again finished fourth. He made his first international appearance in 1975 and scored his first goal for Italy in 1976.
1982 FIFA World Cup Victory
Graziani played a key role in Italy's amazing victory at the 1982 FIFA World Cup. He scored one goal in the tournament, which was against Cameroon. This goal was very important because it helped Italy move on to the next stage of the competition.
He played in all of Italy's matches during the tournament. In the final against West Germany, he had to leave the game early because of a shoulder injury. Even without him, Italy won the match 3-1, winning the World Cup for the third time in their history!
His last official game for Italy was in May 1983. He scored 23 goals in 64 games for Italy between 1975 and 1983, making him one of the top goalscorers for his country.
Playing Style
Francesco Graziani was nicknamed "Ciccio." He was a very good and flexible forward. He was known for being calm when trying to score goals. He could play as a main striker, a creative midfielder, or even on the wing. This meant he could play well with his teammates and help them score too.
Even though he wasn't known for being super skillful when he was young, he worked hard and got much better at his technique. He was also determined, worked hard, was good at heading the ball, and was physically strong. All these qualities helped him become an excellent centre-forward.
Managerial Career
After he stopped playing, Graziani became a football manager. He coached several teams, though he didn't always have a lot of luck.
He managed his old club, Fiorentina, in the 1989–90 season. They managed to avoid being moved down to a lower league and even reached the 1990 UEFA Cup Final. He also coached Reggina and Avellino.
In the 2001–02 season, Graziani was the managing director for Catania. He then became their manager and led the team to get promoted to Serie B, which was a big achievement for them.
From 2004 to 2006, he coached Cervia, an amateur team. This team was part of an Italian reality TV show called Campioni – Il Sogno. He helped Cervia get promoted to a higher league right away. He was popular on the show because of his passionate reactions during matches. After coaching, he also worked as a football expert for a TV company called Mediaset.
Honours and Achievements
As a Player
Torino
- Serie A: 1975–76 (Champions)
- Coppa Italia: Runner-up in 1979–80
Roma
- Coppa Italia: 1983–84, 1985–86 (Winners)
- European Cup: Runner-up in 1983–84
Italy National Team
- FIFA World Cup: 1982 (Winners)
Individual Awards
- Serie A Top scorer: 1976–77 (21 goals)
- Coppa Italia Top scorer: 1980–81 (5 goals)
- Torino FC Hall of Fame: 2017
- ACF Fiorentina Hall of Fame: 2019
As a Manager
Cervia
- Eccellenza: 2004–05 (Group B) (Champions)
See also
In Spanish: Francesco Graziani para niños
