Fabrizio Ravanelli (; born 11 December 1968) is an Italian
football manager and former international player.
A former
striker, Ravanelli started and ended his playing career at hometown club
Perugia Calcio
Associazione Calcistica Perugia Calcio, or simply Perugia, is a professional football club based in Perugia, Umbria, Italy, that competes in the .
Founded in 1905 as Associazione Calcistica Perugia, the club folded in 2005 and were re-founded t ...
, and also played for
Middlesbrough
Middlesbrough ( ) is a town on the southern bank of the River Tees in North Yorkshire, England. It is near the North York Moors national park. It is the namesake and main town of its local borough council area.
Until the early 1800s, the a ...
,
Juventus and
Marseille
Marseille ( , , ; also spelled in English as Marseilles; oc, Marselha ) is the prefecture of the French department of Bouches-du-Rhône and capital of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region. Situated in the camargue region of southern Fra ...
. He won five titles with Juventus, including a
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 Cop ...
championship in 1995 and a
Champions League title in 1996 where he scored in
the final. In all, during his career he played with twelve clubs from four countries; his native Italy, England, France and Scotland. Nicknamed 'The White Feather', he earned 22 caps for the
Italian national team, scoring 8 goals, and was a member of the Italian squad that took part at
UEFA Euro 1996
The 1996 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as Euro 96, was the 10th UEFA European Championship, a quadrennial football tournament contested by European nations and organised by UEFA. It took place in England from 8 to 30 ...
.
Club career
Early career in Italy
Ravanelli began his club career with his hometown club
Perugia Calcio
Associazione Calcistica Perugia Calcio, or simply Perugia, is a professional football club based in Perugia, Umbria, Italy, that competes in the .
Founded in 1905 as Associazione Calcistica Perugia, the club folded in 2005 and were re-founded t ...
in 1986, where he remained until 1989. He had a spell with
Avellino later that year, and subsequently played with
Casertana
Casertana Football Club is an Italian association football club based in Caserta, Campania. The club currently plays in Serie D.
History
The club was founded in 1908 as Robur Caserta and became known as Unione Sportiva Casertana from 1928 unt ...
for a season. In 1990, he moved to
Reggiana, where he remained for two seasons.
[
]
Juventus
After joining Juventus in 1992, he formed a formidable offensive line alongside players such as Roberto Baggio, Gianluca Vialli, Paolo Di Canio
Paolo Di Canio (born 9 July 1968) is an Italian former professional footballer and manager. During his playing career he made over 500 league appearances and scored over one hundred goals as a forward. He primarily played as a deep-lying forward ...
, Pierluigi Casiraghi
Pierluigi Casiraghi (; born 4 March 1969) is an Italian professional football coach and former player who played as a striker.
Casiraghi began his playing career in Italy in 1985, with Monza. He later played for Juventus, and Lazio, before endi ...
, Andreas Möller
Andreas Möller (born 2 September 1967) is a German former professional footballer who played as an attacking midfielder. He is the head of the youth department at Eintracht Frankfurt.
Club career
At club level, Möller played for Eintrach ...
, and Alessandro Del Piero
Alessandro Del Piero (; born 9 November 1974) is an Italian former professional footballer who mainly played as a deep-lying forward, although he was capable of playing in several offensive positions. Since 2015, he has worked as a pundit ...
.[ Affectionately known as the "White Feather" (in Italian: ''Penna Bianca'') in recognition of his prematurely white hair (a nickname which had also previously belonged to former Juventus legend ]Roberto Bettega
Roberto Bettega (; born 27 December 1950) is an Italian former footballer who played as a forward.
A prolific and athletic player, Bettega is mostly remembered for his successful time at his hometown club Juventus, where he won several titles ...
), he was one of Europe's top goalscorers in the mid-1990s. After initially struggling to obtain a starting spot under Giovanni Trapattoni
Giovanni Trapattoni (; born 17 March 1939), sometimes popularly known as "Trap" or "Il Trap", is an Italian football manager and former player, considered the most successful club coach of Italian football. A former defensive midfielder, as a p ...
, due to competition from several other strikers, he eventually managed to break into the starting line-up. During the 1994–95 season, under Marcello Lippi, he played a key role as the club claimed a domestic double, playing in an attacking trident, alongside Vialli, and either Baggio or Del Piero. With the Turin club, Ravanelli won one 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 Cop ...
title ( 1994–95), one Coppa Italia
The ("Italy Cup") is an annual knockout cup competition in Italian football organized by the FIGC until the 2009–10 season and the Lega Serie A ever since.
History
The beginning of the tournament was turbulent, due to the complexity of ...
( 1994–95), one Supercoppa Italiana (1995
File:1995 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: O.J. Simpson is acquitted of the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman from the year prior in "The Trial of the Century" in the United States; The Great Hanshin earthquake str ...
), one Champions League ( 1995–96), where he scored in the final against Ajax
Ajax may refer to:
Greek mythology and tragedy
* Ajax the Great, a Greek mythological hero, son of King Telamon and Periboea
* Ajax the Lesser, a Greek mythological hero, son of Oileus, the king of Locris
* ''Ajax'' (play), by the ancient Gree ...
, and one UEFA Cup
A cup is an open-top used to hold hot or cold liquids for pouring or drinking; while mainly used for drinking, it also can be used to store solids for pouring (e.g., sugar, flour, grains, salt). Cups may be made of glass, metal, china, clay ...
(1992–93
Year 199 ( CXCIX) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was sometimes known as year 952 '' Ab urbe condita''. The denomination 199 for this year has been used since t ...
).[ On 27 September 1994, he memorably scored all five goals for Juventus against ]CSKA Sofia
CSKA Sofia ( bg, ЦСКА София) is a Bulgarian professional association football club based in Sofia and currently competing in the country's premier football competition, the First League. ''CSKA'' is an abbreviation for ''Central Sport ...
in a 5–1 win. In the 1996 UEFA Champions League Final, he put Juventus 1–0 up at the Stadio Olimpico in Rome. Ajax subsequently equalised, but Juventus still won the game through a penalty shootout.
Middlesbrough
Ravanelli made an immediate positive impact on moving to the Premier League
The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Fo ...
with Bryan Robson
Bryan Robson OBE (born 11 January 1957) is an English football manager and former player. He began his career with West Bromwich Albion in 1972, where he amassed over 200 appearances and was club captain before moving to Manchester United in ...
's Middlesbrough
Middlesbrough ( ) is a town on the southern bank of the River Tees in North Yorkshire, England. It is near the North York Moors national park. It is the namesake and main town of its local borough council area.
Until the early 1800s, the a ...
on a £7 million transfer in 1996, where his success was sustained. He scored a hat-trick on his league debut against Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a populat ...
on the opening day of the 1996–97 season. Despite being one of the league's top scorers, Middlesbrough were relegated in the year that he joined. He did, however, help them to the final of both domestic cup competitions that season. He started both finals, as Middlesbrough lost 2–0 against Chelsea
Chelsea or Chelsey may refer to:
Places Australia
* Chelsea, Victoria
Canada
* Chelsea, Nova Scotia
* Chelsea, Quebec
United Kingdom
* Chelsea, London, an area of London, bounded to the south by the River Thames
** Chelsea (UK Parliament consti ...
in the FA Cup Final, and Leicester City
Leicester ( ) is a city, unitary authority and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest settlement in the East Midlands.
The city lies on the River Soar and close to the eastern end of the National ...
1–0 in the replay of the League Cup Final. Against Leicester, he scored the first goal in the final of the first meeting, only for Emile Heskey
Emile William Ivanhoe Heskey (born 11 January 1978) is an English former professional footballer who currently serves as head of football development of Leicester City Women. Playing as a striker, he made more than 500 appearances in the Foo ...
to equalise and send the game to a replay, which Leicester subsequently won. He alienated himself from teammates and fans, with his constant complaints and criticisms of the club's training regime and facilities, as well as the town itself, despite being the highest paid footballer in the Premiership at the time. Whilst at the club, he resided in the local small North Yorkshire village of Hutton Rudby, where Middlesbrough football associates, such as Paul Merson
Paul Charles Merson (born 20 March 1968) is an English former professional footballer, manager, commentator and sports television pundit for Sky Sports.
Originally a forward, Merson found success as an attacking midfielder and playmaker later ...
, Gordon McQueen
Gordon McQueen (born 26 June 1952) is a Scottish former professional footballer who played as a centre-back for St Mirren, Leeds United and Manchester United. McQueen also represented Scotland.
Playing career Club
McQueen was a goalkeeper as a ...
and several other notable individuals have had residences.
Marseille
After Middlesbrough's relegation, Ravanelli moved to Olympique de Marseille. In the 1998–99 season, Marseille finished in second place in the French Division 1, one point behind Girondins de Bordeaux. The following season l'OM competed in the 1999–2000 UEFA Champions League
The 1999–2000 UEFA Champions League was the 45th season of the UEFA Champions League, UEFA's premier European club football tournament, and the eighth season since its rebranding from the "European Champion Clubs' Cup" or "European Cup". The com ...
, with Ravanelli scoring once against Sturm Graz
Sportklub Sturm Graz is an Austrian association football club, based in Graz, Styria, playing in the Austrian Football Bundesliga. The club was founded in 1909. Its colours are black and white.
In its history, Sturm Graz has won the Austrian f ...
at the Stade Vélodrome.
Lazio
In January 2000, Ravanelli returned to Italy to sign for Lazio
it, Laziale
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. Ravanelli won his second Scudetto as Lazio ended the 1999–2000 season as champions, also winning the Coppa Italia
The ("Italy Cup") is an annual knockout cup competition in Italian football organized by the FIGC until the 2009–10 season and the Lega Serie A ever since.
History
The beginning of the tournament was turbulent, due to the complexity of ...
, and the Supercoppa Italiana.
Derby County
In July 2001, Ravanelli joined Derby County
Derby County Football Club () is a professional association football club based in Derby, Derbyshire, England. In 2022, it was announced that DCFC was acquired by Clowes Developments (UK) Ltd, a Derbyshire-based property group.
Founded in 188 ...
on a free transfer, signing a two-year deal, but could not save the club from relegation in 2002. Due to Derby's financial problems, they had to defer his wage payments which they paid for several years.
Dundee
He then joined Dundee, following the end of his Derby contract, but was sacked after the club released all of their top earners. The only game in which Ravanelli scored for Dundee was against Clyde Clyde may refer to:
People
* Clyde (given name)
* Clyde (surname)
Places
For townships see also Clyde Township
Australia
* Clyde, New South Wales
* Clyde, Victoria
* Clyde River, New South Wales
Canada
* Clyde, Alberta
* Clyde, Ontario, a tow ...
in a League Cup match, when he scored a hat-trick.
Perugia
After the experience in Scotland, he returned to Italy to finish his career with his hometown club Perugia, with whom he had also started his professional career, with the aim of trying to save the club from relegation.
International career
Ravanelli earned 22 caps for the Italian national team between 1995 and 1999, under managers Arrigo Sacchi
Arrigo Sacchi (born 1 April 1946) is an Italian former professional football coach. He has twice managed AC Milan (1987–1991, 1996–1997), with great success. He won the Serie A title in his 1987–88 debut season and then dominated European ...
, Cesare Maldini, and Dino Zoff
Dino Zoff (; born 28 February 1942) is an Italian former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper. He is the oldest ever winner of the World Cup, which he earned as captain of the Italian national team in the 1982 tournament, at th ...
, scoring eight goals. He made his international debut under Sacchi on 25 March 1995, in a 4–1 home victory over Estonia
Estonia, formally the Republic of Estonia, is a country by the Baltic Sea in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, a ...
, in an UEFA Euro 1996 qualifying
Qualifying for UEFA Euro 1996 took place throughout 1994 and 1995. Forty-seven teams were divided into eight groups, with each team playing the others in their group both home and away. The winners of each group and the six best runners-up qualif ...
fixture in Salerno, also scoring his first international goal during the match.[ He was a member of the Italian squad that took part at ]UEFA Euro 1996
The 1996 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as Euro 96, was the 10th UEFA European Championship, a quadrennial football tournament contested by European nations and organised by UEFA. It took place in England from 8 to 30 ...
, and made two appearances throughout the tournament, which came in Italy's opening two group matches, a 2–1 win over Russia
Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eig ...
, and a 2–1 loss against the Czech Republic
The Czech Republic, or simply Czechia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Historically known as Bohemia, it is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the southeast. The ...
, as Italy were eliminated in the first round. He missed out on a spot at the 1998 FIFA World Cup, however, as striker Enrico Chiesa was selected by Maldini in his place.
Player profile
Style of play
Ravanelli was a quick, dynamic, physically strong, and hardworking left-footed striker, with notable temperament, who was known for his eye for goal, as well as his energy and defensive contribution off the ball, which often saw him drop back into deeper positions in order to help his team win back possession. Although he was initially not the most naturally talented or skilful player, he was able to improve his technique and movement significantly during his time with Juventus, where he established himself as a top striker.
A prolific goalscorer, who was good in the air, and who possessed a powerful and accurate shot, in addition to his ability to score goals, Ravanelli was also capable of playing off his teammates, due to his link-up play, which, combined with his other skills, made him a complete forward. This also enabled him to play in a supporting role, as a second striker
Forwards (also known as attackers) are outfield positions in an association football team who play the furthest up the pitch and are therefore most responsible for scoring goals as well as assisting them. As with any attacking player, the role ...
or even as a winger, positions in which he often utilised his ability in the air to get on the end of high balls and create chances for other strikers by providing them with headed assists from knockdowns.
Goal celebrations
Ravanelli's signature goal celebration involved him pulling his shirt over his head and running around the field. He was therefore a strong opposer of the new FIFA regulation, which impeded players from removing their shirts during post goal-celebrations, and which punished any violators with a yellow card.
Managerial career
Juventus
Ravanelli started his coaching career with the Juventus youth team. He joined the club's coaching staff in July 2011 and remained there until 2013.
AC Ajaccio
On 8 June 2013, Ravanelli signed a two-year contract as the new head coach of Ligue 1 club AC Ajaccio
Athletic Club Ajaccio ( co, Athletic Club Aiacciu), commonly referred to as AC Ajaccio, ''ACA'' or simply Ajaccio, is a French association football club based in the city of Ajaccio on the island of Corsica. The club was founded in 1910 and ...
.
On 2 November 2013, he was sacked from his post after his club had suffered its fifth consecutive Ligue 1 defeat (this time losing 3–1 at home against Valenciennes FC
Valenciennes Football Club (; commonly known as Valenciennes or USVA) is a French association football club based in Valenciennes. The club was founded in 1913 and currently play in Ligue 2, the second tier of French football. Valenciennes pla ...
) on the same day that left them in 19th (second from bottom) position (1 win, 4 draws and 7 defeats in 12 Ligue 1 matches) in the Ligue 1 standings. "It is not an easy decision (to sack Ravanelli) for a number of reasons. I really appreciated Fabrizio Ravanelli, I really wanted it to work. I do not remember seeing a staff work that much, from morning till night without stopping. You know what football is like. If things are not going well, the only solution is to change the staff," said Alain Orsoni, the president of AC Ajaccio.
Arsenal Kyiv
On 22 June 2018, Ravanelli signed contract with Ukrainian Premier League
The Ukrainian Premier League ( uk, "Українська Прем'єр-ліга", ''Ukrayinska Premier Liha'') or UPL is the highest division of Ukrainian annual football championship. As the Vyshcha Liha ( uk, Вища ліга, ''Top League' ...
club Arsenal Kyiv. On 22 September 2018, Ravanelli resigned after the string of unsuccessful results.
Media career
Following his retirement, Ravanelli also worked as a football pundit for Sky Italia
Sky Italia S.r.l. is an Italian satellite television platform owned by the American media conglomerate Comcast. Sky Italia also broadcasts three national free-to-air television channels: TV8, Cielo and Sky TG24. As of 2018, following an ag ...
, Fox Sports
Fox Sports is the brand name for a number of sports channels, broadcast divisions, programming, and other media around the world.
The ''Fox Sports'' name has since been used for other sports media assets. These assets are held mainly by the F ...
, and Mediaset.
Personal life
It has been mistakenly reported in some sources that Luca Ravanelli, a defender, is Fabrizio's son. According to Luca, he is not.
Career statistics
Club
International
:''Scores and results list Italy's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Ravanelli goal.''
Manager
Honours
Juventus[
* ]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 Cop ...
: 1994–95
* Coppa Italia
The ("Italy Cup") is an annual knockout cup competition in Italian football organized by the FIGC until the 2009–10 season and the Lega Serie A ever since.
History
The beginning of the tournament was turbulent, due to the complexity of ...
: 1994–95
* Supercoppa Italiana: 1995
File:1995 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: O.J. Simpson is acquitted of the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman from the year prior in "The Trial of the Century" in the United States; The Great Hanshin earthquake str ...
* UEFA Champions League
The UEFA Champions League (abbreviated as UCL, or sometimes, UEFA CL) is an annual club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) and contested by top-division European clubs, deciding the competi ...
: 1995–96
* UEFA Cup
A cup is an open-top used to hold hot or cold liquids for pouring or drinking; while mainly used for drinking, it also can be used to store solids for pouring (e.g., sugar, flour, grains, salt). Cups may be made of glass, metal, china, clay ...
: 1992–93
Year 199 ( CXCIX) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was sometimes known as year 952 '' Ab urbe condita''. The denomination 199 for this year has been used since t ...
*UEFA Cup
A cup is an open-top used to hold hot or cold liquids for pouring or drinking; while mainly used for drinking, it also can be used to store solids for pouring (e.g., sugar, flour, grains, salt). Cups may be made of glass, metal, china, clay ...
: Runner-up: 1994–95
Lazio
* 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 Cop ...
: 1999–2000
* Coppa Italia
The ("Italy Cup") is an annual knockout cup competition in Italian football organized by the FIGC until the 2009–10 season and the Lega Serie A ever since.
History
The beginning of the tournament was turbulent, due to the complexity of ...
: 1999–2000
* Supercoppa Italiana: 2000
File:2000 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Protests against Bush v. Gore after the 2000 United States presidential election; Heads of state meet for the Millennium Summit; The International Space Station in its infant form as seen from S ...
Individual
*Coppa Italia
The ("Italy Cup") is an annual knockout cup competition in Italian football organized by the FIGC until the 2009–10 season and the Lega Serie A ever since.
History
The beginning of the tournament was turbulent, due to the complexity of ...
top scorer: 1994–95 (six goals)
* Serie C2 top scorer: 1987–88 (23 goals)
References
External links
*
Ravanelli's Official Website – Home Page
Profile at LegaSerieA.it
Profile at FIGC.it
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ravanelli, Fabrizio
1968 births
Living people
Sportspeople from Perugia
Association football forwards
Italian footballers
Italian football managers
Italy international footballers
A.C. Reggiana 1919 players
Juventus F.C. players
A.C. Perugia Calcio players
Casertana F.C. players
Middlesbrough F.C. players
Olympique de Marseille players
S.S. Lazio players
Derby County F.C. players
Dundee F.C. players
Serie A players
Serie B players
Serie C players
Ligue 1 players
Premier League players
Scottish Premier League players
UEFA Euro 1996 players
Italian expatriate footballers
Expatriate footballers in England
Expatriate footballers in France
Expatriate footballers in Scotland
Italian expatriate sportspeople in France
Italian expatriate sportspeople in England
Italian expatriate sportspeople in Scotland
Italian expatriate football managers
Expatriate football managers in France
Expatriate football managers in Ukraine
Italian expatriate sportspeople in Ukraine
AC Ajaccio managers
FC Arsenal Kyiv managers
Ligue 1 managers
Ukrainian Premier League managers
Footballers from Umbria
English Football League players
UEFA Champions League winning players
UEFA Cup winning players
FA Cup Final players