Francesco Romano (born 25 April 1960, in

Saviano Saviano is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Metropolitan City of Naples in the Italian region Campania, located about 25 km northeast of Naples. As of 31 December 2004, it had a population of 15,114 and an area of 13.8 km2.All demogra ...

) is a retired Italian

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. Romano was a creative deep-lying

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 ...

with notable technical ability, vision, passing, and tactical intelligence, who excelled at dictating the tempo of his team's play in midfield, and at providing assists for teammates. He is a former Italian international, and also a former Italy U-21 international. He currently works as a football agent.

Club career

During his club career Romano played for Reggiana (1977–79), Milan (1979–83),

Triestina Unione Sportiva Triestina Calcio 1918, commonly referred to as Triestina, is an Italian football club based in Trieste, Friuli-Venezia Giulia. Originally founded in 1918, the club has been re-established several times in its history. As of the ...

(1983–86), Napoli (1986–1989), Torino (1989–91), Venezia (1991–93),

(1993–94), and Palazzolo (1994–95). During his time with Milan he won two Serie B titles in 1981 and 1983, as well as 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 1982. After joining Napoli from Triestina in October 1986, he won a Serie A- Coppa Italia double during his first season, the club's first ever league title, starring in a team which featured Diego Maradona; Romano later also added the

1988–89 UEFA Cup The 1988–89 UEFA Cup was won by Napoli over Stuttgart. It was the fourth season that English clubs were banned from European competitions. The English league clubs who otherwise would have qualified were Manchester United and Luton Town. Rom ...

to his trophy cabinet during his time with the club. With Torino, he won another Serie B title in 1990, as well as his second Mitropa Cup in 1991.

International career

In 1981 Romano was capped by Italy U-21. In total he made 2 appearances for the Under-21 side between 1981 and 1982. Despite being named by manager Azeglio Vicini in the Italian Squad for the

1988 UEFA European Football Championship The 1988 UEFA European Football Championship final tournament was held in West Germany from 10 to 25 June 1988. It was the eighth UEFA European Championship, which is held every four years and supported by UEFA. The tournament crowned the Nethe ...

's, where the team reached the semi-finals, he never earned an official cap for Italy at the senior level after being an unused substitute in the tournament.

Honours

; Napoli * Serie A champion: 1986–87. * Coppa Italia winner: 1986–87. * UEFA Cup winner: 1988–89. ; Milan *

winner: 1981–82. * Serie B winner: 1980–81, 1982–83. ; Torino *

winner: 1991. * Serie B winner: 1989–90

References

External links

1960 births Living people Italian men's footballers Italy men's under-21 international footballers Serie A players Serie B players Serie C players UEFA Euro 1988 players AC Reggiana 1919 players AC Milan players US Triestina Calcio 1918 players SSC Napoli players Torino FC players Venezia FC players Men's association football midfielders UEFA Cup winning players People from Saviano Footballers from Campania {{Italy-footy-midfielder-1960s-stub