John Salvatore Ruggiero (born 26 November 1954) is an English former

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 in

the Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional association football, football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, the league is the oldest such competition in Association football around the wor ...

for

Brighton & Hove Albion Brighton & Hove Albion Football Club (), commonly referred to simply as Brighton, is an English professional football club based in the city of Brighton and Hove. They compete in the Premier League, the top tier of the English football league ...

, Chester,

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port and city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. The city of Portsmouth has been a unitary authority since 1 April 1997 and is administered by Portsmouth City Council. Portsmouth is the most dens ...

and Stoke City.

Career

Ruggiero was born in Stoke-on-Trent to Italian parents and joined Stoke City when he was 16 in 1974, he went out on loan to

Workington Workington is a coastal town and civil parish at the mouth of the River Derwent on the west coast in the Allerdale borough of Cumbria, England. The town was historically in Cumberland. At the 2011 census it had a population of 25,207. Locat ...

and

Cape Town City A cape is a clothing accessory or a sleeveless outer garment which drapes the wearer's back, arms, and chest, and connects at the neck. History Capes were common in medieval Europe, especially when combined with a hood in the chaperon. Th ...

. He was given a run in the first team towards the end of the 1976–77 season with the team struggling at the bottom of the First Division having had to sell their star players due to the Butler Street stand having to be rebuilt. Ruggiero scored twice against

Coventry City Coventry City Football Club is a professional association football club based in Coventry, West Midlands, England. The team currently compete in the Championship, the second tier of the English football league system. The club is nicknamed t ...

but Stoke failed to avoid relegation and Ruggiero joined

. He then spent time with

, Chester and Telford United.

Career statistics

Source:

References

External links

John Ruggiero interview
at svenskafans.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Ruggiero, John 1954 births Living people Footballers from Stoke-on-Trent English people of Italian descent Men's association football forwards English men's footballers Stoke City F.C. players Workington A.F.C. players Cape Town City F.C. (NFL) players Brighton & Hove Albion F.C. players Portsmouth F.C. players Chester City F.C. players Telford United F.C. players English Football League players National Football League (South Africa) players