Michelangelo Rampulla facts for kids
Rampulla with Varese in 1983
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| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Michelangelo Rampulla | ||
| Date of birth | 10 August 1962 | ||
| Place of birth | Patti, Sicily, Italy | ||
| Height | 1.87 m (6 ft 2 in) | ||
| Position(s) | 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) | |
| International career | |||
| 1982–1984 | Italy U21 | 10 | (0) |
| Managerial career | |||
| 2011 | Derthona | ||
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Michelangelo Rampulla (born 10 August 1962) is an Italian football manager and a former player. He was a goalkeeper during his playing career.
Contents
Playing Career: A Goalkeeper's Journey
Michelangelo Rampulla was born in Patti, Italy. He started his football journey with local amateur teams in Sicily. Later, he played for clubs like Cesena and Varese.
Rising with Cremonese
In 1985, Rampulla joined Cremonese. He became a very important player as the club worked its way up to the top Italian league, Serie A.
The Goalkeeper Who Scored!
On 23 February 1992, something amazing happened. Rampulla became the first goalkeeper ever to score a goal from open play in Serie A history! He scored with a header in the very last minute of a game against Atalanta. This goal tied the score at 1–1. Even though his goal was incredible, Cremonese was still relegated (moved down to a lower league) at the end of that season. Nine years later, another Italian goalkeeper, Massimo Taibi, also scored a goal in Serie A.
Success at Juventus
After Cremonese was relegated, 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 Stefano Tacconi. Later, he became a backup goalkeeper for stars like Angelo Peruzzi and Gianluigi Buffon.
Even as a backup, Rampulla played in many important matches for Juventus. He helped the team win many trophies.
Trophies with Juventus
During his time at Juventus, Rampulla won:
- One UEFA Cup in 1993 (he was a starter in this competition).
- One Coppa Italia in 1995 (he was also a starter).
- Four Serie A titles.
- Two Italian Super Cups.
- One UEFA Champions League title.
- One UEFA Super Cup.
- One Intercontinental Cup.
- One UEFA Intertoto Cup.
He retired from playing football in 2002 after Juventus won the Serie A title.
International Appearances
While playing for Varese, Rampulla was chosen to play for the Italy U21 national team. He played his first game for the "Azzurrini" (little blues) on 20 April 1983. In total, he played ten matches for the Italy under-21 team.
Playing Style: "Big Ben"
Michelangelo Rampulla was nicknamed Big Ben. He was a tall, strong, and very reliable goalkeeper. He was known for his professional attitude and how long he played the game. Rampulla was also good with the ball at his feet. When he was young, he actually wanted to be a forward (a player who scores goals), but his father wanted him to be a goalkeeper. Because he was so good with the ball and had a forward's instinct, he 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 at Juventus as a goalkeeping coach. He left Juventus in October 2010.
In July 2011, he became the head coach for a team called Derthona. He left that role in December 2011.
In May 2012, Rampulla joined his former Juventus manager, Marcello Lippi, at a Chinese team called Guangzhou Evergrande. He became their goalkeeping coach.
In June 2016, Rampulla became the president of Cremonese, his old club. He resigned from this position in October 2016. Soon after, in October 2016, he was announced as the goalkeeping coach for the China national football team, again working with Marcello Lippi.
In October 2021, he became an assistant coach for Siena, a team in Serie C. However, he and the head coach were let go in December 2021 due to poor results.
Awards
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
