Antonio di Gennaro (; born 5 October 1958) is an
Italian
Italian(s) may refer to:
* Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries
** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom
** Italian language, a Romance language
*** Regional Ita ...
former
footballer
A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby le ...
who played as a
midfielder
A midfielder is an outfield position in association football.
Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundarie ...
.
Club career
During his club career, Di Gennaro played for
Fiorentina
ACF Fiorentina, commonly referred to as Fiorentina (), is an Italian professional football club based in Florence, Tuscany, Italy. The original team was founded by a merger in August 1926, while the actual club was refounded in August 2002 fo ...
(1976–80),
Perugia
Perugia (, , ; lat, Perusia) is the capital city of Umbria in central Italy, crossed by the River Tiber, and of the province of Perugia.
The city is located about north of Rome and southeast of Florence. It covers a high hilltop and part o ...
(1980–81),
Hellas Verona
Hellas Verona Football Club, commonly referred to as Hellas Verona or simply Verona, is a professional Italian football club based in Verona, Italy, that currently plays in Serie A. The team won the Serie A Championship in 1984–85.
His ...
(1981–88) and
Bari
Bari ( , ; nap, label= Barese, Bare ; lat, Barium) is the capital city of the Metropolitan City of Bari and of the Apulia region, on the Adriatic Sea, southern Italy. It is the second most important economic centre of mainland Southern Italy a ...
(1988–91).
[ He made his professional debut with his hometown club Fiorentina at the age of 18, although, despite his talent, he struggled to find space in the club due to the presence of the team's star playmaker ]Giancarlo Antognoni
Giancarlo Antognoni (; born 1 April 1954) is an Italian former professional footballer who played as a midfielder. A skillful and creative offensive playmaker, regarded as one of the best Italian players of all time in his position, he played mos ...
, with whom Di Gennaro faced competition for a starting spot as the two did not play well alongside each other. As a result, he moved to Perugia during the 1980–81 season, in order to gain more playing time, although it proved to be a negative season, as Perugia were ultimately relegated to Serie B at the end of the campaign. Di Gennaro switched clubs once again the following season, joining Verona; whilst at the club, he became a key player, serving as the team's main playmaker
In association football, a playmaker is a player who controls the flow of the team's play, and is often involved in offensively and defensively playing passing moves which lead to goals, through their vision, technique, ball control, creativit ...
in midfield. He helped lead the club from Serie B to Serie A in his first season, and was also a member of the side that won the club's first ever Serie A
The Serie A (), also called Serie A TIM for national sponsorship with TIM, is a professional league competition for football clubs located at the top of the Italian football league system and the winner is awarded the Scudetto and the Coppa ...
title during the 1984–85 season, under manager Osvaldo Bagnoli
Osvaldo Bagnoli (born 3 July 1935) is an Italian former football coach and player who played as a midfielder.
Playing career
Born in the Bovisa district of Milan, Bagnoli began his professional career as a midfielder with his hometown club A.C. ...
; in total, Di Gennaro made 182 appearances for Verona, scoring 18 goals. He later joined Bari in 1988, where he served as the team's captain
Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...
, helping the team to obtain promotion to Serie A and winning the Mitropa Cup
The Mitropa Cup, officially called the La Coupe de l'Europe Centrale or Central European Cup, was one of the first international major European football cups for club sides. It was conducted among the successor states of the former Austria-Hungar ...
in 1990, before retiring in 1991, after helping the club avoid relegation.
International career
At international level, Di Gennaro earned 15 caps and scored 4 goals for the Italy national football team
The Italy national football team ( it, Nazionale di calcio dell'Italia) has represented Italy in international football since its first match in 1910. The national team is controlled by the Italian Football Federation (FIGC), the governing bo ...
between 1984 and 1986, including playing in all four Italian matches at the 1986 FIFA World Cup
The 1986 FIFA World Cup was the 13th FIFA World Cup, a quadrennial football tournament for men's senior national teams. It was played in Mexico from 31 May to 29 June 1986. The tournament was the second to feature a 24-team format. Colombia ha ...
, where Italy were eliminated by France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
in the round of 16. He made his international debut on 3 November 1984, in a 1–1 draw against Switzerland
). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...
, and all 15 of his caps were won whilst he was playing his club football with Verona.
Style of play
Described as a "modern" footballer, Di Gennaro was a quick, agile, versatile and well-rounded player, with good dribbling
In sports, dribbling is maneuvering a ball by one player while moving in a given direction, avoiding defenders' attempts to intercept the ball. A successful dribble will bring the ball past defenders legally and create opportunities to score.
A ...
skills, who was known for his ability to adapt to different playing situations on the pitch, and was therefore capable of playing in several midfield positions. He stood out throughout his career for his pace work-rate, stamina, defensive skills, and ball winning abilities, as well as his creativity and offensive capabilities in midfield; due to his wide range of skills, he was capable of playing both as a defensive midfielder
A midfielder is an outfield position in association football.
Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundarie ...
, or in the centre
Center or centre may refer to:
Mathematics
*Center (geometry), the middle of an object
* Center (algebra), used in various contexts
** Center (group theory)
** Center (ring theory)
* Graph center, the set of all vertices of minimum eccentricity ...
as a deep-lying playmaker
A midfielder is an outfield position in association football.
Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundarie ...
, courtesy of his vision, technique, range of passing and strong mentality, which enabled him to start attacking plays or distribute the ball quickly to his teammates after winning back possession. Although he was mainly a team-player, he also had an ability to get forward, and was a powerful and accurate striker of the ball, and could also function as an advanced playmaker
In association football, a playmaker is a player who controls the flow of the team's play, and is often involved in offensively and defensively playing passing moves which lead to goals, through their vision, technique, ball control, creativit ...
. In addition to his footballing ability, he was known for his leadership and humorous personality.
After retirement
Following his retirement, Di Gennaro worked for a time as one of the directors of his former club, Fiorentina.
Honours
;Verona
*Serie B
The Serie B (), currently named Serie Balkrishna Industries, BKT for sponsorship reasons, is the second-highest division in the Italian football league system after the Serie A. It has been operating for over ninety years since the 1929–30 ...
: 1981–82
*Serie A
The Serie A (), also called Serie A TIM for national sponsorship with TIM, is a professional league competition for football clubs located at the top of the Italian football league system and the winner is awarded the Scudetto and the Coppa ...
: 1984–85
;Bari
*Mitropa Cup
The Mitropa Cup, officially called the La Coupe de l'Europe Centrale or Central European Cup, was one of the first international major European football cups for club sides. It was conducted among the successor states of the former Austria-Hungar ...
: 1990
References
External links
Profile at FIGC
{{DEFAULTSORT:Di Gennaro, Antonio
1958 births
Living people
Footballers from Florence
Italian footballers
Italy youth international footballers
Italy international footballers
1986 FIFA World Cup players
ACF Fiorentina players
A.C. Perugia Calcio players
Hellas Verona F.C. players
S.S.C. Bari players
A.S.D. Barletta 1922 players
Serie A players
Serie B players
Serie C players
Association football midfielders