Gabriele Oriali Facts for Kids

Quick facts for kids
Gabriele Oriali

Oriali in 2011

Personal information

Date of birth

25 November 1952 (age 72)

Place of birth

Como, Italy

Height

1.74 m (5 ft 81⁄2 in)

Playing position

Midfielder

Youth career

1966–1970

Internazionale

Senior career*

Years

Team

Apps^†

(Gls)^†

1970–1983

Internazionale

277

(33)

1983–1987

Fiorentina

107

(7)

Total

382

(40)

National team

1978–1983

Italy

(1)

Honours


Representing Italy
FIFA World Cup
Winner	1982 Spain

Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only.

† Appearances (Goals).

Gabriele "Lele" Oriali was born on November 25, 1952. He is a former Italian footballer. He mostly played as a defensive midfielder. He could also play in defence.

Oriali was known for his great energy and hard work. He was good at winning the ball from opponents. He also helped stop their attacks. He played for Inter and later for Fiorentina.

He played for the Italian national team. He was part of the team that won the 1982 FIFA World Cup. After he stopped playing, he worked as a manager and a sporting director.

Club Career Highlights
Playing for Italy
- Euro 1980 and World Cup 1982
Life After Playing
How He Played
Fun Facts
Honours
- Player
- Orders
See also

Club Career Highlights

Gabriele Oriali grew up in Como, Italy. He joined the Inter youth team. He played there for four seasons. Then he moved up to the main Inter squad.

He spent most of his playing career with Inter. He made his first professional appearance in the 1970–71 season. Inter won the league title that year. He was a very important player for Inter during the 1970s and early 1980s.

Winning with Inter

With Inter, Oriali won the scudetto (Italian league title) again. This was during the 1979–80 season. He scored 6 goals that year.

He also won the Coppa Italia (Italian Cup) twice. The first time was in the 1977–78 season. His second Coppa Italia win was in the 1981–82 season. In total, he played 70 matches and scored 8 goals for Inter in the Coppa Italia.

European Matches

Oriali played 45 matches for Inter in European club competitions. He scored 3 goals in these games. He was part of the Inter team that reached the final of the 1971–72 European Cup. They lost to Ajax in that final.

A Memorable Derby

Oriali is remembered for a special game against A.C. Milan. This was a Milan Derby played on October 25, 1981. He scored the winning goal in that match. He also got injured during the game. Inter won both of its derby games that year. This was a rare achievement.

Moving to Fiorentina

After winning the 1982 FIFA World Cup with Italy, Oriali left Inter. He moved to Fiorentina in 1983. He played for Fiorentina for four seasons. He stopped playing football in 1987. He played 384 games in Serie A and scored 40 goals.

Playing for Italy

Gabriele Oriali was first called to play for the Italy national football team in 1978. His first game was a friendly match against Spain. He quickly became a regular player for Italy.

He scored his only goal for Italy in 1979. It was in a friendly game against Sweden. Italy won that match 1–0.

Euro 1980 and World Cup 1982

Oriali played for Italy in the 1980 UEFA European Football Championship. Italy finished in fourth place in that tournament.

In 1982, he was a very important player for the Italian team. They won the 1982 FIFA World Cup in Spain. Oriali played in five games during the tournament. This included the final match against West Germany. Italy won the final 3–1. This was Italy's third World Cup title.

He also played in tough matches against Argentina and Brazil. He helped Italy beat Poland in the semi-final.

Oriali's last game for Italy was in 1983 against Sweden. In total, he played 28 games for Italy and scored 1 goal.

Life After Playing

After his playing career, Oriali started working in football management. He became a sporting director at Bologna. Then he worked at Parma.

He returned to Inter in 1999. He became their technical director. He stayed in that role until 2010. In 2019, he came back to Inter as technical director. He also became the team manager for the Italy national football team.

How He Played

Gabriele Oriali was not known for fancy tricks with the ball. But he was a very strong and hard-working player. He was also smart about tactics. He could play in many positions in midfield and even in defence. He often played as a full-back.

He was especially good as a central or defensive midfielder. He had amazing energy and stamina. He was excellent at reading the game. He could stop opposing players and mark them closely. He was also good at passing the ball to start attacks. He was known for getting and passing many balls during games.

Because of his style, Italian newspapers called him an "incontrista." This means a player whose main job is to break up opponent attacks. Then he would pass the ball to a teammate to start their own attack. He was also good at knowing where to be on the field. He could make runs forward to score goals sometimes.

Oriali once said that Daniele De Rossi played like him. But Oriali was never sent off (given a red card) in his whole career!

Fun Facts

His face appeared on a stamp from Chad in 1983. This stamp was part of a series celebrating the 1982 FIFA World Cup. He is on a 60 franc stamp with Włodi Smolarek from Poland.
Oriali is mentioned in a famous Italian song. It's called Una vita da mediano (A life as a half back). The song is by Luciano Ligabue, who is a big Inter fan.