Michelangelo Rampulla facts for kids
Rampulla with Varese in 1983
|
|||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Michelangelo Rampulla | ||
| Date of birth | 10 August 1962 | ||
| Place of birth | Patti, Sicily, Italy | ||
| Height | 1.87 m | ||
| Playing position | Goalkeeper | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps† | (Gls)† |
| 1979–1980 | Pattese | 19 | (0) |
| 1980–1983 | Cesena | 96 | (0) |
| 1983–1985 | Varese | 73 | (0) |
| 1985–1992 | Cremonese | 249 | (1) |
| 1992–2002 | Juventus | 49 | (0) |
| Total | 486 | (1) | |
| National team | |||
| 1982–1984 | Italy U21 | 10 | (0) |
| Teams managed | |||
| 2011 | Derthona | ||
|
|||
Michelangelo Rampulla (born August 10, 1962) is an Italian football manager and former player. He was a goalkeeper during his playing career.
Contents
Playing Career Highlights
Early Football Days
Michelangelo Rampulla was born in Patti, Sicily. He started his football journey with local amateur teams, including his hometown club, Pattese. Later, he played for Cesena. There, he competed for a starting spot with other goalkeepers who would also become famous in Serie A, Italy's top football league.
After three seasons with Varese, Rampulla joined Cremonese in 1985. He played a big part in helping the club move up to the Serie A league.
A Goalkeeper Scores a Goal!
On February 23, 1992, something amazing happened. Rampulla became the first goalkeeper ever to score a goal during a game in Serie A history! He scored with a header from a free-kick in the last minute of the match against Atalanta. This goal made the score 1–1. Even though they earned a point, Cremonese still ended up being moved down to a lower league at the end of that season.
Time with Juventus
After Cremonese was relegated in the 1991–92 season, Rampulla moved to Juventus in 1992. He stayed there for ten successful years. At first, he was the main goalkeeper, taking over from the famous Juventus keeper Stefano Tacconi. Later, he became a backup goalkeeper, supporting stars like Angelo Peruzzi, Edwin van der Sar, and Gianluigi Buffon. He retired from playing football in 2002.
Even though he was mostly a backup, Rampulla played in many games for Juventus. He helped the team win many important trophies.
Trophies and Achievements
During his time at Juventus, Rampulla won:
- A UEFA Cup in 1993 (he was a starter in this competition).
- A Coppa Italia in 1995 (he was also a starter).
- Four Serie A titles.
- Two Italian Super Cups. In the 1995 Super Cup, he came on after the main goalkeeper was sent off and made important saves to help his team win.
- A UEFA Champions League title.
- A UEFA Super Cup.
- A Intercontinental Cup.
- A UEFA Intertoto Cup.
Nine years after Rampulla's goal, another Italian goalkeeper, Massimo Taibi, also scored a goal in Serie A.
International Appearances
While playing for Varese, Rampulla was chosen to play for the Italy U20 national team. He played his first game for the Azzurrini (the nickname for Italy's youth teams) on April 20, 1983. In total, he played ten games for the Italy under-21 team.
Playing Style and Nickname
Rampulla was nicknamed Big Ben. He was known as a tall, strong, and dependable goalkeeper who was good at stopping shots. People also remembered him for his professional attitude and how long he played the game.
He was also good with the ball at his feet, which is unusual for a goalkeeper. When he was younger, he actually wanted to be a forward (a player who scores goals), but his father wanted him to play in goal. Because he was so skilled with the ball and had a knack for offense, Rampulla even took penalty kicks sometimes. This skill helped him become the first goalkeeper to score a goal in Serie A with a header from a corner kick.
Coaching Career
After he stopped playing, Rampulla stayed with Juventus as part of the club's staff. He worked as a goalkeeping coach for many years. He left Juventus in October 2010.
On July 14, 2011, he became the new head coach for Serie D club Derthona. He left that role in December 2011.
In May 2012, Rampulla joined his former Juventus manager, Marcello Lippi, at the Chinese club Guangzhou Evergrande. There, he worked as the goalkeeping coach.
In June 2016, Rampulla became the president of Cremonese. He resigned from this position in October 2016. Soon after, he was announced as the goalkeeping coach for the China national football team, again working under Marcello Lippi.
In October 2021, he became an assistant coach for Massimiliano Maddaloni at Serie C club Siena. They were both let go less than two months later due to poor results.
Honours
Juventus
- Serie A: 1994–95, 1996–97, 1997–98, 2001–02
- Coppa Italia: 1994–95
- Supercoppa Italiana: 1995, 1997
- UEFA Champions League: 1995–96
- UEFA Cup: 1992–93
- UEFA Super Cup: 1996
- Intercontinental Cup: 1996
- UEFA Intertoto Cup: 1999
Individual
- Premio Nazionale Carriera Esemplare "Gaetano Scirea": 1999
See also
In Spanish: Michelangelo Rampulla para niños
