Giuseppe Casari (; 10 April 1922 − 12 November 2013)Addio “gigante buono”: è morto Bepi Casari
was an Italian

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 ...

who played as a

goalkeeper In many team sports which involve scoring goals, the goalkeeper (sometimes termed goaltender, netminder, GK, goalie or keeper) is a designated player charged with directly preventing the opposing team from scoring by blocking or intercepting o ...

Career

Born and raised in Martinengo, Bergamo, Casari debuted for his local club

Atalanta Atalanta (; grc-gre, Ἀταλάντη, Atalantē) meaning "equal in weight", is a heroine in Greek mythology. There are two versions of the huntress Atalanta: one from Arcadia (region), Arcadia, whose parents were Iasus and Clymene (mythology ...

in the

1944 Events Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix. January * January 2 – WWII: ** Free French General Jean de Lattre de Tassigny is appointed to command French Army B, part of the Sixth United States Army Group in Nor ...

regional championship and in

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 Cop ...

the following year. In 1948 he was the starting goalkeeper for the

national team A national sports team (commonly known as a national team or a national side) is a team that represents a nation, rather than a particular club or region, in an international sport. The term is most commonly associated with team sports, for exa ...

at the London Olympics but, following a clean sheet against the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

, he conceded five goals against

Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of Denmark , establish ...

. He was part of the

1950 World Cup The 1950 FIFA World Cup was the fourth edition of the FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international football championship for senior men's national teams and held in Brazil from 24 June to 16 July 1950. The planned 1942 and 1946 World Cups were ...

team as a reserve behind Sentimenti IV, but in the game against

Paraguay Paraguay (; ), officially the Republic of Paraguay ( es, República del Paraguay, links=no; gn, Tavakuairetã Paraguái, links=si), is a landlocked country in South America. It is bordered by Argentina to the south and southwest, Brazil to th ...

Giuseppe Moro Giuseppe "Bepi" Moro (; 16 January 1921 – 28 January 1974) was an Italian Association football, footballer who played as a Goalkeeper (association football), goalkeeper. An eccentric and athletic player, who was also an excellent shot-stopper, h ...

was called upon instead. After the 1950 World Cup he went 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 ...

where he earned four caps for the national team, although he never secured a permanent starting position (the national team had called up 12 goalkeepers in a matter of 15 years). He ended his career after three seasons with

Padova Padua ( ; it, Padova ; vec, Pàdova) is a city and ''comune'' in Veneto, northern Italy. Padua is on the river Bacchiglione, west of Venice. It is the capital of the province of Padua. It is also the economic and communications hub of the ...

in 1956.

Style of play

Casari was known in particular for his imposing physique and agility as a goalkeeper, which allowed him to excel in this role. He was also known for his leadership and correct behaviour throughout his career, which earned him the nickname "il gigante buono" (the good giant).

References

External links

Trenta uomini in barca. I mondiali di calcio Brasile 1950
1922 births 2013 deaths Italian men's footballers Men's association football goalkeepers SSC Napoli players Calcio Padova players Atalanta BC players Serie A players Serie B players Olympic footballers for Italy Footballers at the 1948 Summer Olympics Italy men's international footballers 1950 FIFA World Cup players Footballers from the Province of Bergamo Italy men's B international footballers {{Italy-footy-goalkeeper-stub