Francesco "Franco" Scoglio (; 2 May 1941 – 3 October 2005
) was an Italian
football manager who coached at both national and international level.
Playing career
Francesco Scoglio was born in
Lipari
Lipari (; scn, Lìpari) is the largest of the Aeolian Islands in the Tyrrhenian Sea off the northern coast of Sicily, southern Italy; it is also the name of the island's main town and ''comune'', which is administratively part of the Metropo ...
, in the
province of Messina
Messina (, ) was a province in the autonomous island region of Sicily in Italy. Its capital was the city of Messina. It was replaced by the Metropolitan City of Messina.
Geography Territory
It had an area of , which amounts to 12.6 percent ...
, Italy. He played as a
defender or
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 ...
.
Managerial career
Nicknamed ''il Professore'' (the Professor) because of his past teaching activity (he was a
pedagogy
Pedagogy (), most commonly understood as the approach to teaching, is the theory and practice of learning, and how this process influences, and is influenced by, the social, political and psychological development of learners. Pedagogy, taken ...
graduate), Scoglio never actually had a playing career. He started a managing career in 1972 in one of the
Reggina
Reggina 1914 S.r.l., commonly referred to as Reggina, is an Italian football club based in Reggio Calabria. Founded in 1914, they currently play in Serie B, and play their home matches at the 27,763 seater Stadio Oreste Granillo.
They are n ...
youth teams. He then went on coaching at amateur and Serie C levels in
Sicily
(man) it, Siciliana (woman)
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and
Calabria (Gioiese,
Messina,
Acireale
Acireale (; scn, Jaciriali, locally shortened to ''Jaci'' or ''Aci'') is a coastal city and ''comune'' in the north-east of the Metropolitan City of Catania, Sicily, southern Italy, at the foot of Mount Etna, on the coast facing the Ionian Sea. ...
, Akragas). It was Scoglio who discovered the great potential of
Salvatore Schillaci
Salvatore Schillaci (; born 1 December 1964), commonly referred to by his nickname Totò, is an Italian former professional footballer, who played as a striker. During his club career, he played for Messina (1982–1989), Juventus (1989–1992 ...
, one of his players during Scoglio's second stint in Messina.
However, Scoglio is most remembered for his time in
Genoa CFC, which was also the team for which he first coached. He achieved great success with his next clubs, being often fired before the end of the season. He is also known for having coached the national teams of
Tunisia
)
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, map_caption = Location of Tunisia in northern Africa
, image_map2 =
, capital = Tunis
, largest_city = capital
, ...
and
Libya
Libya (; ar, ليبيا, Lībiyā), officially the State of Libya ( ar, دولة ليبيا, Dawlat Lībiyā), is a country in the Maghreb region in North Africa. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to the east, Suda ...
. Under his management,
Tunisia
)
, image_map = Tunisia location (orthographic projection).svg
, map_caption = Location of Tunisia in northern Africa
, image_map2 =
, capital = Tunis
, largest_city = capital
, ...
reached the semi-finals of the
2000 African Cup of Nations
The 2000 African Cup of Nations was the 22nd edition of the Africa Cup of Nations, the association football championship of Africa (Confederation of African Football, CAF). It was co-hosted by Ghana and Nigeria, who jointly replaced Zimbabwe as ho ...
. His last coaching (and unsuccessful) experience was on 2002–2003 for
SSC Napoli.
After retirement
Scoglio then became a very popular TV commentator on football shows in Italy, and even worked for
Al Jazeera
Al Jazeera ( ar, الجزيرة, translit-std=DIN, translit=al-jazīrah, , "The Island") is a state-owned Arabic-language international radio and TV broadcaster of Qatar. It is based in Doha and operated by the media conglomerate Al Jazeera ...
as the technical expert reporting on the Italian league.
Death
On 3 October 2005, Scoglio was appearing on a regional television station in
Genoa
Genoa ( ; it, Genova ; lij, Zêna ). is the capital of the Italian region of Liguria and the sixth-largest city in Italy. In 2015, 594,733 people lived within the city's administrative limits. As of the 2011 Italian census, the Province of ...
,
having a rather heated and passionate, yet civil, discussion with Genoa president
Enrico Preziosi. While Preziosi was answering one of Scoglio's charges, Scoglio lost consciousness and slumped in his chair. He died of an apparent heart attack shortly thereafter. This dramatic event fulfilled his own prophecy "I'll die talking about Genoa CFC" (''Morirò parlando del Genoa'').
Legacy
Following his death, in 2016 the city of
Messina, the provincial capital of his birthplace as well as the home of
ACR Messina
Associazioni Calcio Riunite Messina S.r.l. is a football club based in Messina, Sicily, Italy, that competes in the Serie C, the third tier of the Italian football league system.
History
Football in Messina
The origins of the team go ...
, a club he coached for many years, honoured his memory by renaming
the local stadium after him.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Scoglio, Francesco
1941 births
2005 deaths
People from Lipari
Italian footballers
Footballers from Sicily
Association football defenders
Association football midfielders
Serie C players
Italian football managers
Italian expatriate football managers
Reggina 1914 managers
A.C.R. Messina managers
A.S. Acireale managers
Spezia Calcio managers
Genoa C.F.C. managers
Bologna F.C. 1909 managers
Udinese Calcio managers
S.S.D. Lucchese 1905 managers
Delfino Pescara 1936 managers
Torino F.C. managers
Cosenza Calcio managers
A.C. Ancona managers
S.S.C. Napoli managers
Serie A managers
Tunisia national football team managers
Libya national football team managers
Filmed deaths from natural causes
Deaths onstage
Sportspeople from the Province of Messina
2000 African Cup of Nations managers