Pietro Paolo Bevilacqua ( en, Peter Paul Bevilacqua; born 29 June 1933 in

San Marco in Lamis San Marco in Lamis ( �sændə ˈmærkə is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Foggia in the Apulia region of southeast Italy. It is located in the Gargano massif area within the Parco Nazionale del Gargano and it belongs to the Comunità Mont ...

, Italy) is a former

Australian rules football Australian football, also called Australian rules football or Aussie rules, or more simply football or footy, is a contact sport played between two teams of 18 players on an oval field, often a modified cricket ground. Points are scored by k ...

er and

soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...

player. Bevilacqua's Australian rules career was short and uneventful at the highest level but is significant for the fact he is the only known

VFL/AFL The Victorian Football League (VFL) is an Australian rules football league in Australia serving as one of the second-tier regional semi-professional competitions which sit underneath the fully professional Australian Football League (AFL). It ...

footballer to have been born in Italy. His one and only game at VFL level was for

Carlton Carlton may refer to: People * Carlton (name), a list of those with the given name or surname * Carlton (singer), English soul singer Carlton McCarthy * Carlton, a pen name used by Joseph Caldwell (1773–1835), American educator, Presbyterian ...

against

North Melbourne North Melbourne is an inner-city suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, north-west of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the City of Melbourne local government area. North Melbourne recorded a population of 14,953 at the ...

in Round 18 1953. Bevilacqua played two senior games for Victorian first division

football (soccer) Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...

club

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 ...

(now

Bulleen Zebras Brunswick Juventus FC is an Australian association football, soccer club based in the Melbourne municipality of Merri-bek. The club currently competes in the National Premier Leagues Victoria 2 and is based at CB Smith Reserve in the suburb of ...

). In 2012, Bevilacqua was named in a celebratory Carlton international team as a follower.

References

1933 births Living people VFL/AFL players born outside Australia Sportspeople from the Province of Foggia Carlton Football Club players Coburg Football Club players University Blues Football Club players Australian men's soccer players Australian rules footballers from Victoria (state) Australian schoolteachers Italian emigrants to Australia Men's association football players not categorized by position {{AFL-bio-1930s-stub