Giancarlo Antognoni facts for kids
Antognoni in 2011
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| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Giancarlo Antognoni | ||
| Date of birth | 1 April 1954 | ||
| Place of birth | Marsciano, Italy | ||
| Height | 1.79 m | ||
| Playing position | 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) | |
| National team | |||
| 1974–1983 | Italy | 73 | (7) |
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Honours
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Giancarlo Antognoni (born April 1, 1954) is a famous Italian former football player. He was known as a very skilled and creative midfielder. Many people think he is one of the best Italian players ever in his position. He spent most of his club career playing for Fiorentina. With Fiorentina, he helped them win the Coppa Italia (Italian Cup) and the Anglo-Italian League Cup in 1975.
On the international stage, he was part of the Italian national team that won the 1982 FIFA World Cup. He also played for Italy in the 1978 FIFA World Cup and the 1980 UEFA European Championship, where his team finished fourth both times. In 2010, he received the "Legends of football" Golden Foot award, which is a special award for football greats.
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Club Career: Playing for Fiorentina
Giancarlo Antognoni was born in Marsciano, Italy. He started his football journey at just 16 years old with a team called Asti Ma.Co.Bi. in a league called Serie D.
In 1972, a famous coach named Nils Liedholm convinced him to join Fiorentina, a much bigger club. He played his first game in Italy's top league, Serie A, in October 1972. Later, he became the team's captain and wore the special number 10 jersey.
He helped Fiorentina win the Coppa Italia (Italian Cup) during the 1974–75 season. They also won the 1975 Anglo-Italian League Cup by beating West Ham. In the 1981–82 season, Fiorentina almost won the Serie A title, but they lost to their rivals Juventus by just one point on the very last day.
Antognoni played a huge 412 games for Fiorentina and scored 61 goals. He is seen as a true legend of the club and one of their best players ever. He played for Fiorentina throughout his entire professional career in Italy during the 1970s and 1980s. He holds the record for the most games played in Serie A for Fiorentina, with 341 appearances.
In November 1981, Antognoni had a serious accident during a game. He accidentally collided with Genoa's goalkeeper, Silvano Martina, and got a bad head injury. For a short time, he stopped breathing. But thanks to Genoa's team doctor, Pierluigi Gatto, who quickly gave him first aid, Antognoni was revived and recovered.
In 1987, Antognoni moved to Switzerland to play for Lausanne Sports. He played 51 games there and scored seven goals. He retired from football in 1989 while playing for Lausanne.
International Career: Playing for Italy
Giancarlo Antognoni started playing for the Italian national team on November 20, 1974. He was only 20 years old.
He played in the 1978 FIFA World Cup, where Italy finished in fourth place. He also helped Italy reach fourth place in the 1980 UEFA European Championship, which was held in Italy.
His biggest success with the national team came when Italy won the 1982 FIFA World Cup. This was amazing because he had just recovered from his serious head injury the year before. Antognoni played in six games during the tournament. He was a very important player, helping the team keep the ball and create chances with his excellent passes. He even provided the second-highest number of assists in the tournament. He scored a goal against Brazil that was wrongly disallowed, but Italy still won that game and moved on. He played in the semi-final match against Poland, which Italy won 2-0. However, he got injured in that game and couldn't play in the final match, where Italy beat West Germany 3-1 to win the World Cup.
In total, Antognoni played 73 games for Italy and scored seven goals. His last game for Italy was on November 16, 1983. He was also the captain of the national team four times. He holds the record for the most appearances for Italy while wearing the number 10 jersey.
Style of Play: A Creative Midfielder
Giancarlo Antognoni was known as a very skilled, fast, and creative attacking midfielder. Many people consider him one of Italy's greatest players ever. He was known for his amazing vision, great control of the ball, and excellent technical skills. He was also very intelligent on the field, making accurate passes and having a good eye for scoring goals from midfield.
He was great at keeping the ball moving and controlling the game in the middle of the field. He could make quick short passes and also switch the play with long, accurate passes across the field. Antognoni was also an excellent dribbler. He was fast and elegant with the ball, always keeping his head up as he moved forward.
While he usually played as a traditional number 10, right behind the forwards, he could also play deeper as a central midfielder. He was very good at taking free kicks and had powerful shots from outside the penalty area. Even though he was naturally right-footed, he could pass or shoot accurately with both feet. Besides his football skills, he was also known for his leadership and hard work on the field.
Honours
Fiorentina
- Coppa Italia: 1974–75
- Anglo-Italian League Cup: 1975
Italy
Individual
- Sport Ideal European XI: 1980
- Golden Foot "Football Legends": 2010
- ACF Fiorentina Hall of Fame: 2012
- Fiorentina All-time XI
- Premio internazionale Giacinto Facchetti: 2016
- Italian Football Hall of Fame: 2018
See also
In Spanish: Giancarlo Antognoni para niños
