Franco Bergamaschi (born 9 February 1951 in Verona, Italy) is a former

football player 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 for several Italian clubs in the 1970s and early 1980s.

Club career

Bergamaschi began his football career at his home town club of Hellas Verona. He soon established himself in the first eleven and was regarded as one of the best midfielders of the time, gaining an invitation to the Under-21 national side managed by

Vicini The Vicini family is the wealthiest family in the Dominican Republic and is best known for their vast holdings in the sugar industry. The family business was started by Juan Bautista Vicini Canepa, who migrated to the Dominican Republic from Italy ...

and later the Under-23 under Bearzot. For the 1973–74 season, he transferred to A.C. Milan who had signed him after his great performance in their historic 3–5 defeat when Verona crushed Milan's scudetto hopes on the last day of the championship the season before. With Milan, however, the midfielder was not able to excel in the generally mediocre Rossoneri team who had a disappointing league season and whose positive displays in the European Cup Winners' Cup ended in a bitter final defeat against

1. FC Magdeburg 1. FC Magdeburg is a German association football club based in the city of Magdeburg. The club was founded in 1965 and spent all but one season in East Germany top flight, the DDR-Oberliga, winning three championships and seven cup titles. It ...

in Rotterdam. Bergamaschi played for Genoa the following season and returned to Milan to spend the 1975–76 season largely in the reserves, with only six appearances in Serie A. For the 1976–77 season, the midfielder was sold to

Foggia Foggia (, , ; nap, label= Foggiano, Fògge ) is a city and former ''comune'' of Apulia, in Southern Italy, capital of the province of Foggia. In 2013, its population was 153,143. Foggia is the main city of a plain called Tavoliere, also known ...

and with the club he returned to his usual form, helping the Apulian team win promotion to Serie A. His return to Verona for the 1978–79 season coincided with one of the most negative performances of the club in Serie A that resulted in relegation to the second-tier Serie B. Bergamaschi stayed with the club for another season despite the relegation, but then moved to A.C. Cesena in 1980. After securing promotion to Serie A with his new club in 1981, he played one more season for

Rimini Calcio F.C. Rimini Football Club 1912 is an Italian association football club based in Rimini, Emilia-Romagna. The original club was founded in 1912 and in the 2020–21 season will play in Serie C. Their home ground is the 9786-seat Stadio Romeo Neri. ...

and ended his playing career in 1982.

International career

Although Bergamaschi was never capped for Italy at senior level, he received three call-ups for Italy U21 under manager Azeglio Vicini, and later received two call-ups for Italy U23 under manager Enzo Bearzot.

Playing style

Both as a

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 ...

and winger, Bergamaschi displayed great tactical instinct and a feeling for the game. His best technical qualities were a clear vision of the game and a rapid execution of plays characterized by his precise long passing enabling a quick counter-attacking play.

References

*''L'Intrepido'' (1973) *''Figurine Gialloblù'' (Raffaele Tomelleri – Ed. Liederform – 2001) {{DEFAULTSORT:Bergamaschi, Franco 1951 births Italian footballers Serie A players A.C. Milan players A.C. Cesena players Genoa C.F.C. players Calcio Foggia 1920 players Hellas Verona F.C. players Rimini F.C. 1912 players Living people Footballers from Verona Men's association football midfielders