Sebastiano Nela (; born 13 March 1961) is an Italian former footballer who played as a defender, usually as an offensive-minded full-back due to his crossing ability with his left foot, as well as his speed, stamina, tenacity, physical strength, and work-rate, which enabled him to make attacking runs down the wing and track back to defend his opponents. A versatile and hard-tackling player, he was capable of playing anywhere across the back-line, both on the left or right flanks, and even in the centre, and was even deployed as a central midfielder on occasion, a position which he had often occupied in his youth. He began his club career with Genoa, and later moved to

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 ...

, where he spent most of his career, winning a Serie A title and three Coppa Italia titles; he retired in 1994, after two seasons Napoli. At international level, he represented the Italy national football team on five occasions between 1984 and 1987, and participated at the

1986 FIFA World Cup The 1986 FIFA World Cup was the 13th FIFA World Cup, a quadrennial football tournament for men's senior national teams. It was played in Mexico from 31 May to 29 June 1986. The tournament was the second to feature a 24-team format. Colombia ha ...

and the 1984 Olympics. He is a member of the

A.S. Roma Hall of Fame This is a list of List of A.S. Roma players, A.S. Roma players who have been inducted into the club's Hall of Fame. A.S. Roma's Hall of Fame has been launched in 2012 as part of the initiatives for the club's 85th anniversary. Exceptionally for t ...

Club career

A surly and hard-working left-footed defender, Nela began his career with Genoa. He was bought by Serie A side

, making his debut in a 0–0 draw with

Avellino Avellino () is a town and ''comune'', capital of the province of Avellino in the Campania region of southern Italy. It is situated in a plain surrounded by mountains east of Naples and is an important hub on the road from Salerno to Benevento. ...

on 13 September 1981. He made 28 appearances for the Roma team that won the

Scudetto The ''scudetto'' (Italian language, Italian for: "little shield") is a decoration having the colors of the flag of Italy which is sewn onto the jersey of the Italian sports clubs that won the highest level championship of their respective sport in ...

in 1983. Nela was badly injured to his knee in an accident in 1987 and was forced to miss almost a year of football. The singer Antonello Venditti dedicated his song "Correndo correndo", which appears on his 1988 album ''

In questo mondo di ladri ''In questo mondo di ladri'' (English: In this world of thieves) is an album by Italian musician Antonello Venditti. It was released in 1988 by Heinz Music to commercial success, reaching no.1 on the Italian charts and selling more than 1.5 milli ...

'', to Nela. Nela left Roma in 1992 to join Napoli having won the Scudetto and three Italian cups. He retired after the 1993–94 season having made a total of 315 appearances in Serie A.

International career

Nela's performances for Roma earned him a call-up to the

Italian national 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 ...

, making his debut against West Germany on 22 May 1984. Nela made a total of five appearances for the Italian national team between 1984 and 1987. Nela was a member of the Italian squad for the

, although he did not play; Italy went out in the round of 16. He also made three appearances at the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles, helping Italy to a fourth-place finish in the tournament.

After retirement

Following his retirement, Nela has worked as a commentator for various national and satellite channels; he currently works for Mediaset Premium.

Honours

Club

Roma * Serie A: 1982–83 * Coppa Italia: 1983–84, 1985–86, 1990–91

Individual

: 2013

References

External links

*
Profile at FIGC.it
{{DEFAULTSORT:Nela, Sebastiano 1961 births People from Rapallo Association football fullbacks Association football central defenders Italian footballers Italy international footballers Living people 1986 FIFA World Cup players A.S. Roma players Genoa C.F.C. players S.S.C. Napoli players Serie A players Serie B players Italy under-21 international footballers Footballers at the 1984 Summer Olympics Olympic footballers of Italy Sportspeople from the Province of Genoa Footballers from Liguria