Ignazio Arcoleo (born 15 February 1948 in
Palermo
Palermo ( , ; scn, Palermu , locally also or ) is a city in southern Italy, the capital (political), capital of both the autonomous area, autonomous region of Sicily and the Metropolitan City of Palermo, the city's surrounding metropolitan ...
) is an
Italian football
Football ( it, calcio ) is the most popular sport in Italy. The Italy national football team is considered to be one of the best national teams in the world. They have won the FIFA World Cup four times (1934, 1938, 1982, 2006), trailing only Bra ...
er and manager.
Playing career
Arcoleo, born in
Mondello
Mondello is a small borough of the city of Palermo in the autonomous region of Sicily in Southern Italy.
Its beach lies between two cliffs called Mount Gallo and Mount Pellegrino. The town was originally a small fishing village situated on marsh ...
, a
Palermo
Palermo ( , ; scn, Palermu , locally also or ) is a city in southern Italy, the capital (political), capital of both the autonomous area, autonomous region of Sicily and the Metropolitan City of Palermo, the city's surrounding metropolitan ...
maritime ''
frazione
A ''frazione'' (plural: ) is a type of subdivision of a ''comune'' (municipality) in Italy, often a small village or hamlet outside the main town. Most ''frazioni'' were created during the Fascist era (1922–1943) as a way to consolidate territ ...
'', to a fishermans' family, started his professional career in 1966/1967 for
his home city team. He returned to play for Palermo in 1970, becoming one of the most representative players for the ''rosanero'' in the period. He also played a
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 ...
final in 1974, being the author of the foul to
Giacomo Bulgarelli
Giacomo Bulgarelli (; 24 October 1940 – 12 February 2009) was an Italian international footballer who played as a midfielder. Regarded as one of Italy's greatest ever midfielders, Bulgarelli spent his entire club career with Italian side Bologna ...
which allowed
Bologna
Bologna (, , ; egl, label= Emilian, Bulåggna ; lat, Bononia) is the capital and largest city of the Emilia-Romagna region in Northern Italy. It is the seventh most populous city in Italy with about 400,000 inhabitants and 150 different nat ...
to kick and score the equaliser penalty in injury time, and then win the tournament on penalty shootouts. From 1974/1975 to 1977/1978, Arcoleo played for
Genoa
Genoa ( ; it, Genova ; lij, Zêna ). is the capital of the Italian region of Liguria and the List of cities in Italy, sixth-largest city in Italy. In 2015, 594,733 people lived within the city's administrative limits. As of the 2011 Italian ce ...
, being remembered as the author of the first football goal ever shown on colour TV, during 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 ...
home match against
Torino
Turin ( , Piedmontese: ; it, Torino ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in Northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital from 1861 to 1865. T ...
ended in a 1–1 tie and played on 6 February 1977.
Arcoleo returned to Palermo, then in
Serie B
The Serie B (), currently named Serie Balkrishna Industries, BKT for sponsorship reasons, is the second-highest division in the Italian football league system after the Serie A. It has been operating for over ninety years since the 1929–30 ...
, on 1978, and again played another unsuccessful Coppa Italia final, lost to top division giants
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 ...
. He left Palermo in 1980 and retired in 1983.
Managing career
In 1983/1984, Arcoleo started his managing career, becoming head coach of
Serie D
The Serie D () is the top level of semi-professional football in the country. The fourth tier of the Italian league system, the competition sits beneath the third professional league, Serie C. It is administered by the Lega Nazionale Dilettant ...
team
Mazara
Mazara del Vallo (; ) is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Trapani, southwestern Sicily, Italy. It lies mainly on the left bank at the mouth of the Mazaro river.
It is an agricultural and fishing centre and its port gives shelter to the ...
. He coached Mazara for two seasons, winning the Serie D league in 1985: however the promotion was then cancelled by the federation because of alleged matchfixing. In 1985/1986, Arcoleo unsuccessfully coached
Akragas
Agrigento (; scn, Girgenti or ; grc, Ἀκράγας, translit=Akrágas; la, Agrigentum or ; ar, كركنت, Kirkant, or ''Jirjant'') is a city on the southern coast of Sicily, Italy and capital of the province of Agrigento. It was one of ...
, as the then-
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 ...
team relegated at the end of the season despite very strong performances in the second half of the season.
Arcoleo had his breakthrough at the coaching level during his years at the helm of
Trapani
Trapani ( , ; scn, Tràpani ; lat, Drepanum; grc, Δρέπανον) is a city and municipality (''comune'') on the west coast of Sicily, in Italy. It is the capital of the Province of Trapani. Founded by Elymians, the city is still an impor ...
, another Serie D team, which he led from the top amateur league to
Serie C1
Lega Pro Prima Divisione was the third highest football (soccer), football league in Italy. It consisted of 33 teams, divided geographically into two divisions of 16 and 17 teams for group A and B respectively. Until 2008 it was known as Serie C1 ...
and almost reaching an otherwise historical promotion to
Serie B
The Serie B (), currently named Serie Balkrishna Industries, BKT for sponsorship reasons, is the second-highest division in the Italian football league system after the Serie A. It has been operating for over ninety years since the 1929–30 ...
, being defeated on playoffs by
Gualdo. Thanks to his results on Trapani, Arcoleo was called to coach "his"
Palermo
Palermo ( , ; scn, Palermu , locally also or ) is a city in southern Italy, the capital (political), capital of both the autonomous area, autonomous region of Sicily and the Metropolitan City of Palermo, the city's surrounding metropolitan ...
the next season. The 1995/1996 Palermo, widely considered a minor
Serie B
The Serie B (), currently named Serie Balkrishna Industries, BKT for sponsorship reasons, is the second-highest division in the Italian football league system after the Serie A. It has been operating for over ninety years since the 1929–30 ...
team, was mostly composed by local players, most of them right from Arcoleo's Trapani: despite this, the ''rosanero'' managed to play one of their best seasons in the 1990s, obtaining a seventh place in the final league table and gaining several successes in the Coppa Italia, eliminating
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 ...
well-established teams such as
Parma
Parma (; egl, Pärma, ) is a city in the northern Italian region of Emilia-Romagna known for its architecture, Giuseppe Verdi, music, art, prosciutto (ham), Parmigiano-Reggiano, cheese and surrounding countryside. With a population of 198,292 ...
and
Vicenza
Vicenza ( , ; ) is a city in northeastern Italy. It is in the Veneto region at the northern base of the ''Monte Berico'', where it straddles the Bacchiglione River. Vicenza is approximately west of Venice and east of Milan.
Vicenza is a th ...
.
The following 1996/1997 season, however, was the beginning of Arcoleo career breakdowns, as he was fired and Palermo then relegated to Serie C1. Arcoleo was recalled to coach Palermo in the latest matches of the 1997/1998 Serie C campaign, with the ''rosanero'' involved in a heavy struggle to avoid relegation, ended to a shocking loss to
Battipagliese
Associazione Sportiva Dilettantistica Battipagliese is an Italian football club from Battipaglia, Campania. The club currently plays in Serie D.
History Foundation
The history of Battipagliese can be traced back to the founding of the comune ...
on playoffs which meant to be the second consecutive relegation for both Arcoleo and Palermo.
Since then, Arcoleo coached a number of
Serie C
The Serie C () is the third-highest division in the Italian football league system after the Serie B and Serie A. The Lega Italiana Calcio Professionistico (Lega Pro) is the governing body that runs the Serie C.
The unification of the Lega Pro ...
teams (
Gualdo,
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 ...
,
Frosinone
Frosinone (, local dialect: ) is a town and ''comune'' in Lazio, central Italy, the administrative seat of the province of Frosinone. It is located about south-east of Rome close to the Rome-Naples A1 Motorway. The city is the main city of the Va ...
,
Nocerina) never being able to end the season in his position. In 2006, he also made a comeback at Trapani, now in
Serie D
The Serie D () is the top level of semi-professional football in the country. The fourth tier of the Italian league system, the competition sits beneath the third professional league, Serie C. It is administered by the Lega Nazionale Dilettant ...
, as "technical director" and aide for the head coach, but did not achieve any success and instead saw his team relegated to
Eccellenza
The Eccellenza (, "excellence") is the fifth level (since 2014–15) of Italian football. It is a regional league, composed of 28 divisions divided geographically. All 20 regions are represented by at least one division except for Piedmont and Ao ...
. He is currently a football pundit for a number of regional TV channels of Sicily.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Arcoleo, Ignazio
1948 births
Association football midfielders
Genoa C.F.C. players
Italian football managers
Italian footballers
Living people
A.S.G. Nocerina players
Footballers from Palermo
Serie A players
Serie B players
Serie C players
Taranto F.C. 1927 players
Palermo F.C. managers
Palermo F.C. players