Paolo Pulici facts for kids
Pulici captaining Torino in 1976
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| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Paolino Pulici | ||
| Date of birth | 27 April 1950 | ||
| Place of birth | Roncello, Italy | ||
| Height | 1.77 m | ||
| Playing position | Striker | ||
| Club information | |||
| Current club | Tritium (youth) | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 19??–1967 | Legnano | ||
| 1967–1968 | Torino | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps† | (Gls)† |
| 1966–1967 | Legnano | 1 | (0) |
| 1967–1982 | Torino | 335 | (134) |
| 1982–1983 | Udinese | 26 | (5) |
| 1983–1985 | Fiorentina | 40 | (3) |
| Total | 412 | (142) | |
| National team | |||
| 1969–1972 | Italy U21 | 9 | (5) |
| 1973–1978 | Italy | 19 | (5) |
| Teams managed | |||
| 1986–1989 | Piacenza (Assistant) | ||
| 1990– | Tritium (Youth) | ||
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Paolo Pulici (born 27 April 1950) is an Italian football manager and former footballer. He played as a striker, meaning he was a forward player who focused on scoring goals. With 172 goals in all competitions, he is the top goal scorer ever for Torino, a famous Italian football club.
Paolo Pulici had several cool nicknames. One was Pupi. Another was Puliciclone, which was a fun mix of his last name, Pulici, and the Italian word for "cyclone" (Ciclone). This nickname showed how fast and powerful he was on the field. He also shared a special nickname with his teammate Francesco Graziani: I gemelli del gol, which means "The Twins of Goal".
He played for the Italian national team in two FIFA World Cup tournaments, in 1974 and 1978. In 1978, he helped Italy finish in fourth place. Since 1990, he has been teaching football at Sportiva Tritium 1908 in Trezzo sull'Adda, at a football school named after him. In 2014, he was the first player ever to be added to the Torino FC Hall of Fame.
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Playing for Clubs
Paolo Pulici was born in a small town called Roncello in Italy. When he was young, a big club called Internazionale was interested in him. However, they decided not to sign him because they thought he only shot well with his left foot.
In 1967, Torino bought him from Legnano. His first coach at Torino, Edmondo Fabbri, gave him his first start in the 1968–69 season. In his first four seasons, he played in 79 league games but only scored nine goals. This was because he needed to improve his skills and stay calm when trying to score.
Becoming a Top Scorer
In 1972, his coach, Gustavo Giagnoni, took Pulici out of the main team for two months. During this time, he worked with youth coaches to improve his technique. This training helped him a lot!
In the 1972–73 season, he became the top scorer in Serie A (Italy's top football league) with 17 goals. He shared this award with two other great players, Gianni Rivera and Giuseppe Savoldi. He was the top scorer again in 1974–75 with 18 goals.
The Goal Twins
His best season was 1975–76, when he scored 21 goals. That year, Torino won the Scudetto, which is the Italian league championship. He played alongside his strike partner, Francesco Graziani. They were so good together that they were nicknamed "i gemelli del gol" ("the goal twins"). Pulici's goal in the last game of that season against A.C. Cesena was very important for Torino to win the title.
He played for Torino for 14 seasons. During this time, he played 437 official games and scored 172 goals in total. Besides winning the Scudetto in 1975–76, Torino also finished second in the league in 1976–77. He also helped Torino win the Coppa Italia (Italian Cup) in 1971.
Later in his career, his goal count went down. In 1982, he left Torino and played for Udinese for one season. After that, he moved to Fiorentina, where he finished his playing career.
Playing for Italy
Paolo Pulici played his first game for the Italy national football team on March 30, 1973. It was a World Cup qualifying match against Luxembourg, which Italy won 5–0. He scored his first two goals for Italy on December 30, 1975, in a friendly game against Greece.
In total, he played 19 matches and scored 5 goals for Italy. He was part of the Italian squad for two World Cups, in 1974 and 1978. However, he did not play in any games during those tournaments. When he played for Italy, he was often paired with Graziani, just like at Torino. But he didn't always play as well for the national team and was sometimes replaced by Roberto Bettega.
Coaching Career
After he stopped playing football, Pulici became an assistant coach for Piacenza. He worked there from 1986 to 1989, helping the main coach. Since 1990, he has been teaching young players at the football school named after him.
How He Played
Paolo Pulici was a very good forward player. He was known for scoring many goals. He was strong and fast, and he could use both his right and left feet well. He was especially good at heading the ball and scoring amazing acrobatic goals. He was also a skilled penalty kick taker.
Awards and Achievements
Torino
- Serie A: 1975–76
- Coppa Italia: 1970–71
Individual
- Capocannoniere (Top Scorer in Serie A): 1972–73 (17 goals), 1974–75 (18 goals), 1975–76 (21 goals)
- Torino FC Hall of Fame: 2014
See also
In Spanish: Paolino Pulici para niños
