Fabrizio Ravanelli (; born 11 December 1968) is an Italian

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 ...

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 Juventus Football Club (from la, iuventūs, 'youth'; ), colloquially known as Juve (), is a professional Association football, football club based in Turin, Piedmont, Italy, that competes in the Serie A, the top tier of the Italian football leagu ...

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 Franc ...

. 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 Coppa ...

championship in 1995 and a Champions League title in 1996 where he scored in

the final Final, Finals or The Final may refer to: *Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which decides a winner for an event ** Another term for playoffs, describing a sequence of cont ...

. 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 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 ...

, 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

in 1986, where he remained until 1989. He had a spell with

Avellino Avellino () is a town and ''comune'', capital of the province of Avellino in the Campania region of southern Italy. It is situated in a plain surrounded by mountains east of Naples and is an important hub on the road from Salerno to Benevento. ...

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

in 1992, he formed a formidable offensive line alongside players such as

Roberto Baggio Roberto Baggio (; born 18 February 1967) is an Italian former professional footballer who mainly played as a second striker, or as an attacking midfielder, although he was capable of playing in several offensive positions. He is the former pre ...

, 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 end ...

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 fo ...

. 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 a ...

), 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

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 The Supercoppa Italiana ( en, Italian Super Cup) is an annual football match contested by the winners of the Serie A and the Coppa Italia in the previous season. If the same team wins both the Serie A and Coppa Italia titles in the previous seaso ...

(

1995 File:1995 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: O.J. Simpson is O. J. Simpson murder case, acquitted of the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman from the 1994, year prior in "The Trial of the Century" in the United States; The ...

), 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 Greek ...

, 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 Solid, solids for pouring (e.g., sugar, flour, grains, salt). Cups may be made of glass, metal, porcela ...

( 1992–93). 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 The 1996 UEFA Champions League Final was a football match played on 22 May 1996 between Ajax of the Netherlands and Juventus of Italy. The match ended in a 1–1 draw after extra time, forcing a penalty shoot-out, which Juventus won 4–2. It was ...

, 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 Foo ...

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 ...

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 popul ...

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 Hutton Rudby is a village and civil parish situated west of the market town of Stokesley in the Hambleton District, North Yorkshire, England. At the 2011 census, village's parish and built-up area subdivision had population of 1,572 while its ...

, 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 Olympique de Marseille (, ; oc, Olimpic de Marselha, ), also known simply as Marseille or by the abbreviation OM (, ), is a French professional men's football club based in Marseille, Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur. Founded in 1899, the club pl ...

. In the 1998–99 season, Marseille finished in second place in the

French Division 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 ...

, one point behind

Girondins de Bordeaux Football Club des Girondins de Bordeaux (), commonly referred to as Girondins de Bordeaux ( oc, Girondins de Bordèu) or simply Bordeaux, is a French professional football club based in the city of Bordeaux in Gironde, Nouvelle-Aquitaine. The ...

. 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 The Stade Vélodrome (; oc, Estadi Velodròm, ), known as the Orange Vélodrome for sponsorship reasons, is a multi-purpose stadium in Marseille, France. It is home to the Olympique de Marseille football club of Ligue 1 since it opened in 1937, ...

Lazio

In January 2000, Ravanelli returned to Italy to sign for

Lazio it, Laziale , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = , demographics1_title2 ...

. Ravanelli won his second

Scudetto The ''scudetto'' (Italian language, Italian for: "little shield") is a decoration having the colors of the flag of Italy which is sewn onto the jersey of the Italian sports clubs that won the highest level championship of their respective sport in ...

as Lazio ended the 1999–2000 season as champions, also winning the

, and the

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 1884 ...

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 Dundee (; sco, Dundee; gd, Dùn Dè or ) is Scotland's fourth-largest city and the 51st-most-populous built-up area in the United Kingdom. The mid-year population estimate for 2016 was , giving Dundee a population density of 2,478/km2 or ...

, 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

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 Cesare Maldini (; 5 February 1932 – 3 April 2016) was an Italian professional football manager and player who played as a defender. Father to Paolo Maldini and grandfather to Daniel Maldini, Cesare began his career with Italian side Triestin ...

, 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 the ...

, 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

, 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 List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...

, 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 The 1998 FIFA World Cup was the 16th FIFA World Cup, the football world championship for men's national teams. The finals tournament was held in France from 10 June to 12 July 1998. The country was chosen as the host nation by FIFA for the ...

, however, as striker

Enrico Chiesa Enrico Chiesa (; born 29 December 1970) is an Italian football coach and former striker. A prolific goalscorer, Chiesa played for several Italian clubs throughout his career, and performed regularly in Serie A for over a decade, winning titles ...

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 FIFA (; stands for ''Fédération Internationale de Football Association'' ( French), meaning International Association Football Federation ) is the international governing body of association football, beach football and futsal. It was found ...

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

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 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 ...

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 play ...

) 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 Football Club Arsenal Kyiv () is a Ukrainian football club based in Kyiv. In 2019, the club's professional team was dissolved, but its junior teams continue to compete in city competitions. The club claims to be a successor of Kyiv Arsenal fa ...

. 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 agree ...

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 Fo ...

, and

Mediaset Mediaset Italia S.p.A., also known as Mediaset, is an Italian-based mass media company which is the largest commercial broadcaster in the country. The company is controlled by the holding company MFE - MediaForEurope. Founded in 1987 by former ...

Personal life

It has been mistakenly reported in some sources that

Luca Ravanelli Luca Ravanelli (born 6 January 1997) is an Italian professional Association football, footballer who plays as a Defender (association football), defender for club Frosinone Calcio, Frosinone, on loan from U.S. Cremonese, Cremonese. Club career ...

, 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 *

: 1994–95 *

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 competit ...

: 1995–96 *

: 1992–93 *

: Runner-up: 1994–95 Lazio *

: 1999–2000 *

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 ...

Individual *

top scorer: 1994–95 (six goals) *

Serie C2 Lega Pro Seconda Divisione was the fourth highest football league in Italy, the lowest with a professional status. Usually it consisted of 36 teams, but in the 2011–12 season, there were 41 teams divided geographically into two divisions of 2 ...

top scorer: 1987–88 (23 goals)

References

External links

*
Ravanelli's Official Website – Home PageProfile 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