Massimiliano Capuzzoni (

Milan Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city h ...

, 17 April 1969 -

Taormina Taormina ( , , also , ; scn, Taurmina) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Metropolitan City of Messina, on the east coast of the island of Sicily, Italy. Taormina has been a tourist destination since the 19th century. Its beaches on ...

, 5 August 1995) was an Italian rugby union player. He played as a flanker. Capuzzoni played for A. S. Rugby Milano, where he started his career in 1981/82, at 12 years old, in the first categories. He joined the first team in 1987/88, aged 18 years old, and would remain in Rugby Milano until 1990/91. He moved to

Rugby Lyons Piacenza Rugby Lyons Piacenza is an Italian rugby union club currently competing in Top12. It is based in Piacenza in Emilia Romagna egl, Emigliàn (man) egl, Emiglièna (woman) rgn, Rumagnòl (man) rgn, Rumagnòla (woman) it, Emiliano (man) it, Emil ...

for the two following seasons, 1991/92 to 1992/93. Capuzzoni returned to Milan, this time to play for

Amatori Rugby Milano Amatori Rugby Milano were an Italian rugby union team based in Milan founded in 1927 and disbanded in 2011. Founded in 1927 as part of the football team Ambrosiana-Inter of Milan, the club won the first ever Italian championship in 1929 and e ...

, from 1993/94 to 1994/95. He won the Italian Championship and the Cup of Italy in 1994/95, in what would be the last season of his career. He had 2 caps for

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

, from 1993 to 1995, without scoring. He was called for the

1995 Rugby World Cup The 1995 Rugby World Cup was the third Rugby World Cup. It was hosted and won by South Africa, and was the first Rugby World Cup in which every match was held in one country. The World Cup was the first major sporting event to take place in Sou ...

but never left the bench.Massimiliano Capuzzoni International Statistics
/ref> Capuzzoni was still a promising player when he died in the sequence of a diving accident in Taormina,

Sicily (man) it, Siciliana (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = Ethnicity , demographics1_footnotes = , demographi ...

, on 5 August 1995, aged only 26 years old. He was paid tribute five days later at the Mario Giuriati Stadium, of Rugby Milano, his first team, in a ceremony attended by fans of his three teams. In a tribute to Capuzzoni, the Capuzzoni Memorial takes place every year since 1996, as a tournament held in Milan or Piacenza, between the three teams where he played.

References

External links

* 1969 births 1995 deaths Italian rugby union players Italy international rugby union players Amatori Rugby Milano players Rugby union flankers Sportspeople from Milan {{italy-rugbyunion-bio-stub