Luciano Spinosi (; born 9 May 1950) is an
Italian former
football
Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...
coach and a former player who played as a
defender.
Club career
The clubs for which Spinosi played include
A.S. Roma and
Juventus F.C. He also played for
Hellas Verona F.C.
Hellas Verona Football Club, commonly referred to as Hellas Verona or simply Verona, is a professional Italian football club based in Verona, Italy, that currently plays in Serie A. The team won the Serie A Championship in 1984–85.
Hist ...
,
A.C. Milan and
A.C. Cesena.
International career
For the
Italy national football team Spinosi totalled 22 caps: 19 at senior level, between 1971 and 1974, and 3 at youth level, between 1969 and 1971. His
Italy under-21 debut came on 19 November 1969 in a 2–0 loss to the
Netherlands. He made his senior international debut on 9 June 1971, in a 0–0 draw against
Sweden
Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...
; his only international goal came on 17 June 1972, in a 3–3 draw against
Romania. Spinosi was also a member of the Italian national team that later took part at the
1974 FIFA World Cup
The 1974 FIFA World Cup was the tenth FIFA World Cup, a quadrennial football tournament for men's senior national teams, and was played in West Germany (and West Berlin) between 13 June and 7 July. The tournament marked the first time that the ...
, under manager
Ferruccio Valcareggi.
Style of play
A tenacious, hard-tackling, and reliable defender, Spinosi usually played as a
right-back early on in his career, but was later deployed as a man-marking
centre-back
In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield position whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring.
Centre-backs are usually positioned in pairs, with one full-back on either s ...
, or "stopper". He was known for his temperament, concentration, tight marking of opponents, and professionalism, and was capable of playing both in a zonal marking and man-marking system. He also possessed solid technique, which enabled him to contribute to his teams attacking plays with runs up the flank, and he was even deployed as a
wide midfielder on occasion during his time with Roma. Due to his height, he excelled in the air, and was known for his ability to utilise his aerial prowess by making attacking runs into the penalty area.
Personal life
His older brother
Enrico Spinosi also played football professionally. To distinguish them, Enrico was referred to as Spinosi I and Luciano as Spinosi II.
Honours
; AS Roma
*
Coppa Italia:
1968-69,
1979-80,
1980-81
; Juventus FC
*
Serie A:
1971–72,
1972–73,
1974–75,
1976–77,
1977–78
*
UEFA Cup:
1976–77
References
1950 births
Living people
Footballers from Rome
Italian footballers
A.S. Roma players
Juventus F.C. players
Hellas Verona F.C. players
A.C. Milan players
A.C. Cesena players
Serie A players
Serie B players
Italy international footballers
1974 FIFA World Cup players
Italian football managers
A.S. Roma managers
Serie A managers
U.S. Lecce managers
Ternana Calcio managers
UEFA Cup winning players
Association football defenders
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