Massimo Palanca (born 21 August 1953) is an Italian former

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 ...

striker known for his skill at scoring directly from corner-kicks, with two successful spells at

FC Catanzaro U.S. Catanzaro 1929 is an Italian football club based in Catanzaro, Calabria that competes in Serie B, the second tier of the Italian football championship, following a 17-year absence from the second tier. The club was initially formed with t ...

in the mid-seventies and the late eighties.

Career

Palanca was born in

Loreto (AN) Loreto ( , , ) is a hill town and ''comune'' of the Italian province of Ancona, in the Marche. It is most commonly known as the seat of the Basilica della Santa Casa, a popular Catholic pilgrimage site. Location Loreto is located above sea leve ...

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 ...

, and began his professional career at Camerino, transferring to

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 ...

the following year where he scored 17 goals in 28 matches. He transferred to Catanzaro, staying for seven years and scoring 70 goals in 206 matches, being the team's top scorer 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 ...

in the 1977–78 season. When Catanzaros was promoted to

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 ...

, Palanca was again the team's top scorer with 13 goals. A memorable game with

Roma Roma or ROMA may refer to: Places Australia * Roma, Queensland, a town ** Roma Airport ** Roma Courthouse ** Electoral district of Roma, defunct ** Town of Roma, defunct town, now part of the Maranoa Regional Council *Roma Street, Brisbane, a ...

in the

Stadio Olimpico The Stadio Olimpico (English: ''Olympic Stadium'') is the largest sports facility in Rome, Italy, seating over 70,000 spectators. It is located within the Foro Italico sports complex, north of the city. The structure is owned by the Italian Na ...

on 4 March 1979 ended 1–3 to Catanzaro; Palanca scored a hat-trick. Palanca transferred to

Napoli Naples (; it, Napoli ; nap, Napule ), from grc, Νεάπολις, Neápolis, lit=new city. is the regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 909,048 within the city's adminis ...

in 1981–82, scoring 1 goal in 14 games. He moved to

Como Como (, ; lmo, Còmm, label=Comasco dialect, Comasco , or ; lat, Novum Comum; rm, Com; french: Côme) is a city and ''comune'' in Lombardy, Italy. It is the administrative capital of the Province of Como. Its proximity to Lake Como and ...

in Serie B the following season where again he scored only 1 goal in 19 matches. After returning to Napoli in 1983–84, he alleged misunderstandings with coach

Rino Marchesi Rino Marchesi (; born 11 June 1937) is a former Italian football midfielder and manager from San Giuliano Milanese. Club career After beginning his career with Fanfulla for a season in 1955, over the course of his playing career, Marchesi playe ...

. The following two seasons Palanca played at

Foligno Foligno (; Southern Umbrian: ''Fuligno'') is an ancient town of Italy in the province of Perugia in east central Umbria, on the Topino river where it leaves the Apennines and enters the wide plain of the Clitunno river system. It is located so ...

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 ...

, scoring 18 goals in 47 matches, after which he returned to Catanzaro. While back at Catanzaro for the 1986–87 season, Palanca helped the team gain promotion from

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 ...

to Serie B, contributing 17 goals in 29 matches. Over the next three seasons with Catanzaro, he made 97 appearances and scored 28 goals. At the end of the 1989–90 season, Palancas' last in football, Catanzaro finished in 20th position in Serie B; the team was relegated to Serie C1.

External links

Massimo Palanca official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Palanca, Massimo U.S. Catanzaro 1929 players Living people 1953 births Italian footballers Serie A players Serie B players Serie C players Frosinone Calcio players S.S.C. Napoli players Como 1907 players A.S.D. Città di Foligno 1928 players Association football forwards