Piero Gardoni (12 February 1934 – 15 December 1994) was an Italian professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby le ...

who played as a defender. He played for various Italian clubs, most notably Atalanta, where he spent nine seasons and captained the team to its Coppa Italia victory in 1963.

Football career

Gardoni was born in Borgo Palazzo,

Bergamo Bergamo (; lmo, Bèrghem ; from the proto- Germanic elements *''berg +*heim'', the "mountain home") is a city in the alpine Lombardy region of northern Italy, approximately northeast of Milan, and about from Switzerland, the alpine lakes Como ...

, in 1934, and grew up playing in the youth sector of his hometown club Atalanta. In 1953, Gardoni joined local Serie D club

Caravaggio Michelangelo Merisi (Michele Angelo Merigi or Amerighi) da Caravaggio, known as simply Caravaggio (, , ; 29 September 1571 – 18 July 1610), was an Italian painter active in Rome for most of his artistic life. During the final four years of hi ...

on loan for one season to gain playing experience. He then spent three seasons on loan at Palazzolo, also in Serie D, and one year on loan at Reggiana in Serie C, where he helped the club earn promotion to Serie B in 1958. Gardoni then returned to Atalanta, where he would spend the next nine seasons. In his first season with the Atalanta senior team, Gardoni won the

1958–59 Serie B The Serie B 1958–59 was the twenty-seventh tournament of this competition played in Italy since its creation. Teams A.C. Reggiana 1919, Reggiana and Vigevano Calcio, Vigevano had been promoted from Serie C, while Atalanta BC, Atalanta and Hell ...

and promotion to Serie A. He was then named

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

in 1960. In the 1962–63 season, Gardoni captained Atalanta to its first (and so far only) Coppa Italia triumph, forming part of a defensive line that allowed only three shots on target in the final against Torino; Atalanta won the match 3–1. The following season, Gardoni scored his first and only goal for Atalanta, in a 2–1 Serie A victory over Vicenza. In total, he recorded 213 appearances with Atalanta (209 in national league competitions and 4 in cup competitions) and played in various defensive roles: he began his career as a full-back and evolved into a ''libero''. In 1967, Gardoni left Atalanta for Serie B club

Reggina Reggina 1914 S.r.l., commonly referred to as Reggina, is an Italian football club based in Reggio Calabria. Founded in 1914, they currently play in Serie B, and play their home matches at the 27,763 seater Stadio Oreste Granillo. They are nic ...

, where he spent one season. He retired as a player after a short spell with Serie D club Pergolettese in 1969.

Later life, death, and legacy

After retiring as a footballer, Gardoni worked in insurance. In the 1990s, he co-owned an insurance agency in Zogno with his son Marco Gardoni. Following a cancer diagnosis, Gardoni disappeared on 12 December 1994 and committed

suicide Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Mental disorders (including depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, personality disorders, anxiety disorders), physical disorders (such as chronic fatigue syndrome), and s ...

three days later; his body was found in the Oglio river. Gardoni is remembered for his grit and aerial strength as a defender and for his honest and humble demeanor as a person, as well as for his dedication to Atalanta. As the captain of the team that won the Coppa Italia in 1963, Gardoni is considered an icon by Atalanta ultras and is commemorated in their choreographic displays. Gardoni is also the subject of the fan song ''Ol Piero'', written by .

Honors

;Palazzolo *

IV Serie 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 ...

: 1955 ;Reggiana * Serie C: 1958 ;Atalanta * Serie B:

1959 Events January * January 1 - Cuba: Fulgencio Batista flees Havana when the forces of Fidel Castro advance. * January 2 - Lunar probe Luna 1 was the first man-made object to attain escape velocity from Earth. It reached the vicinity of E ...

* Coppa Italia:

1963 Events January * January 1 – Bogle–Chandler case: Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation scientist Dr. Gilbert Bogle and Mrs. Margaret Chandler are found dead (presumed poisoned), in bushland near the Lane Cov ...

References

Citations

Bibliography

External links

Gli Eroi della Dea: Piero GARDONI
at ''TuttoAtalanta'' (in Italian) {{DEFAULTSORT:Gardoni, Piero 1934 births 1994 deaths Sportspeople from Bergamo Italian footballers Serie A players Serie B players Serie C players Serie D players Atalanta B.C. players U.S.D. Caravaggio players A.C. Reggiana 1919 players Reggina 1914 players