Delio Onnis (born 24 March 1948) is a former professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

player who played as striker. Born in Italy, his family emigrated to Argentina in his youth and he was nicknamed ''"El Tano"'' (the Italian) in Argentina. With 299 goals, he is the all-time top highest goalscorer in the history of

Ligue 1 Ligue 1, officially known as Ligue 1 Uber Eats for sponsorship reasons, is a French professional league for men's association football clubs. At the top of the French football league system, it is the country's primary football competition. A ...

in France, and was the league's top scorer on five different occasions. He played the majority of his career for

Stade de Reims Stade de Reims () is a French professional association football, football club based in Reims. The club was formed in 1910 and plays in Ligue 1, the top level of Football in France, having been promoted from Ligue 2 in 2017–18 Ligue 2, 2018. ...

AS Monaco Association Sportive de Monaco Football Club SA, commonly referred to as AS Monaco () or Monaco, is a professional football club based in Monaco that is member of French Football Federation (FFF) and competes in Ligue 1, the top tier of Fre ...

Tours FC Tours Football Club, commonly referred to as simply Tours (), is a French association football club based in Tours, the capital city of the Indre-et-Loire department. The club was formed in 1919 and currently play at the fifth level of French ...

and

Sporting Toulon Var Sporting Club Toulon is a football club from Toulon, France, that plays in the Championnat National 2, the fourth tier of the French football league system. The club was founded in 1944 and played under that name until the 1999–2000 season w ...

. With Monaco he won one league title and one

Coupe de France The Coupe de France, formerly known as the Coupe Charles Simon, is the premier knockout cup competition in French football organized by the French Football Federation (FFF). It was first held in 1917 and is open to all amateur and profession ...

Career

Onnis was born in Giuliano di Roma in Italy, but moved to Argentina before he was 3 and subsequently gained Argentinian citizenship. Beginning his football career as a youth player for

Club Almagro Club Almagro is an Argentine sports club from José Ingenieros, Buenos Aires, although its headquarters are in the Almagro district. The football team currently plays in the Primera Nacional, the second division of the Argentine football league ...

, he made a successful transition to the senior team and subsequently earned a move to

Gimnasia La Plata Club de Gimnasia y Esgrima La Plata (; ''La Plata Gymnastics and Fencing Club''), also known simply as Gimnasia, is an Argentine professional sports club based in the city of La Plata, Buenos Aires Province. Founded in 1887 as "Club de Gimnasia ...

where he played alongside players like

Roberto Zywica Roberto Zywica (born 21 January 1947 in Buenos Aires) is an Argentine former football midfielder and manager. Playing career Zywica started his professional playing career in 1966 with CA River Plate. He joined Gimnasia La Plata where he was ...

. He was the star striker for the team that finished third in 1970 which brought him to the attention of scouts from Europe. In 1971 he joined

at the same time as his compatriot Zywica, finishing his first season with 22 goals and his second season with 17. In 1974 the newly promoted

signed him and over the next 7 seasons he was their top scorer every year, eventually scoring 223 goals, with 157 in the league. In 1976 the club were relegated, but Onnis stayed with them and helped them regain their top flight status for the 1977-78 season that saw them finish as league champions, and the following season win the Coupe de France. In 1980, despite playing in one of the best teams in Division 1, he signed for newly promoted and inexperienced team

FC Tours Tours Football Club, commonly referred to as simply Tours (), is a French association football club based in Tours, the capital city of the Indre-et-Loire department. The club was formed in 1919 and currently play at the fifth level of French ...

, where he was twice again Division 1 leading goalscorer. In 1983 Tours were relegated, and as a result he joined

SC Toulon Sporting Club Toulon is a football club from Toulon, France, that plays in the Championnat National 2, the fourth tier of the French football league system. The club was founded in 1944 and played under that name until the 1999–2000 season ...

, where he finished his career in 1986.

International career

Onnis was never called up for Argentina which had a policy of favouring players who remained in the domestic league, and throughout the 70s and 80s he, like

Carlos Bianchi Carlos Arcesio Bianchi (born 26 April 1949), nicknamed ''El Virrey'' (''The Viceroy''), is an Argentine former football player and manager. A prolific goalscorer, although he had a bright career as a forward in Argentina and France, Bianchi is b ...

, was behind compatriots such as

Mario Kempes Mario Alberto Kempes Chiodi (; born 15 July 1954) is an Argentine former professional footballer who played as a striker or attacking midfielder. A prolific goalscorer, he finished as La Liga's top goalscorer twice with Valencia and amassed 11 ...

and

Leopoldo Luque Leopoldo Jacinto Luque (; (3 May 1949 – 15 February 2021) was an Argentine footballer who played as a striker. Club career In a career spanning from 1972 to 1984 he played for Unión de Santa Fe, Rosario Central, River Plate, Racing Club de ...

in the Argentinian pecking order.

Scoring titles

Carlos Bianchi had been signed as his replacement at Reims in 1973–74. Bianchi went on to win five scoring titles over the next six seasons, including four back-to-back between 1975 and 1979, Onnis breaking Bianchi's run in 1974–75. Following Bianchi's return to Argentina in 1980, Onnis went on to win four back-to-back scoring titles of his own, leaving them with five apiece and meaning that in 11 seasons between 1973–74 and 1983–84 they won five scoring titles each with only

Vahid Halilhodžić Vahid Halilhodžić (; born 15 October 1952) is a Bosnian professional football manager and former player. He is regarded as one of the most controversially successful Bosnian football managers, due to his successful tenure in coaching various na ...

's win in 1982 for

FC Nantes Football Club de Nantes (; Gallo: ''Naunnt''), commonly referred to as FC Nantes or simply Nantes (), is a French professional football club based in Nantes in Pays de la Loire. The club was founded on 21 April 1943, during World War II, a ...

breaking their dominance.

Career statistics

Club

Honours

;Monaco * Division 1: 1977–78 * Division 2: 1976–77 *

: 1979–80 ;Individual * French Division 1 top scorer: 1974–75, 1979–80, 1980–81, 1981–82, 1983–84 *French Division 2 top scorer: 1976–77 ;Records *

all-time highest goalscorer: 299 goals

References

* *
BDFA profile

Monaco profile

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Onnis, Delio 1948 births Living people Italian emigrants to Argentina Association football forwards Argentine footballers Argentine expatriate footballers Club Almagro players Club de Gimnasia y Esgrima La Plata footballers Ligue 1 players Ligue 2 players Stade de Reims players AS Monaco FC players Expatriate footballers in France Expatriate footballers in Monaco Argentine expatriate sportspeople in France Argentine expatriate sportspeople in Monaco Tours FC players SC Toulon players Argentine football managers SC Toulon managers Paris FC managers Expatriate football managers in France Naturalized citizens of Argentina