Leonardo Costagliola (; 27 October 1921 – 7 March 2008) was 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 ...

player and manager who played as a

goalkeeper In many team sports which involve scoring goals, the goalkeeper (sometimes termed goaltender, netminder, GK, goalie or keeper) is a designated player charged with directly preventing the opposing team from scoring by blocking or intercepting o ...

. Throughout his career, he played for several Italian clubs and represented the

Italy national football 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 ...

at the

1954 FIFA World Cup The 1954 FIFA World Cup was the fifth edition of the FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international football tournament for senior men's national teams of the nations affiliated to FIFA. It was held in Switzerland from 16 June to 4 July. Switzerla ...

Club career

Born in

Taranto Taranto (, also ; ; nap, label= Tarantino, Tarde; Latin: Tarentum; Old Italian: ''Tarento''; Ancient Greek: Τάρᾱς) is a coastal city in Apulia, Southern Italy. It is the capital of the Province of Taranto, serving as an important com ...

, throughout his career (1938–1963) Costagliola played a total of 623 matches, playing for Italian clubs Pro Italia Taranto (1938–1940),

A.S. Bari Società Sportiva Calcio Bari, commonly referred to as Bari, is an Football in Italy, Italian football club based in Bari, Apulia. Bari currently plays in the . The team finished the 2021–22 season in first place in Serie C and earned promot ...

(1940–1943; 1945–1948), U.S. Conversano (1943–1944), and

AC Fiorentina ACF Fiorentina, commonly referred to as Fiorentina (), is an Italian professional football club based in Florence, Tuscany, Italy. The original team was founded by a merger in August 1926, while the actual club was refounded in August 2002 fo ...

(1948–1955). He made his

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 ...

debut with Bari, on 27 October 1940, in a 4–2 away win over

Triestina Unione Sportiva Triestina Calcio 1918, commonly referred to as Triestina, is an Italian football club based in Trieste, Friuli-Venezia Giulia. Originally founded in 1918, the club has been re-established several times in its history. As of the ...

International career

Regarded as one of the best and most consistent Italian shot-stoppers of his generation, with the Italy national team, Costagliola played 3 games between 1953 and 1954 and participated at the

, although he did not feature in the competition. He made his Italy senior debut in a 2–1 away win over

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediter ...

, on 13 November 1953, in a

World Cup qualifier The FIFA World Cup qualification is a competitive match that a national association football team takes in order to qualify for one of the available berths at the final tournament of the (men's) FIFA World Cup. Qualifying tournaments are hel ...

After retirement

After retiring, Costagliola started a career as a trainer, managing several Italian clubs.

References

External links

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Profile
at Enciclopediadelcalcio.it
Profile
at FIGC.it 1921 births 2008 deaths Italian men's footballers Italy men's international footballers Men's association football goalkeepers SSC Bari players Taranto FC 1927 players ACF Fiorentina players 1954 FIFA World Cup players Sportspeople from Taranto Serie A players Footballers from Apulia {{italy-footy-goalkeeper-stub