Mauro Bellugi (; 7 February 1950 – 20 February 2021) 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
defender.
[
]
Club career
Bellugi started his career with Inter Milan
Football Club Internazionale Milano, commonly referred to as Internazionale () or simply Inter, and colloquially known as Inter Milan in English-speaking countries, is an Italian professional football club based in Milan, Lombardy. Inter is ...
, making his debut for them on 31 August 1969 in a Coppa Italia
The ("Italy Cup") is an annual knockout cup competition in Italian football organized by the FIGC until the 2009–10 season and the Lega Serie A ever since.
History
The beginning of the tournament was turbulent, due to the complexity of ...
match. In five seasons with Inter he played 90 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 ...
matches, and 137 times in all senior competitions.
Bellugi later also played for Bologna F.C. (1974–79), S.S.C. Napoli
Società Sportiva Calcio Napoli, commonly referred to as Napoli (), is an Football in Italy, Italian professional Association football, football List of football clubs in Italy, club based in the city of Naples ( it, Napoli, nap, Napule), Camp ...
(1979–80) and A.C. Pistoiese
Unione Sportiva Pistoiese 1921 is an Italian association football club, based in Pistoia, Tuscany. Currently, Pistoiese plays in Serie D. Originally founded on 21 April 1921 and later restored after bankruptcy, the team plays their home games ...
(1980–81).[
]
International career
Bellugi played 31 matches for the Italy national football 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 ...
from 1972 to 1979.Udine
Udine ( , ; fur, Udin; la, Utinum) is a city and ''comune'' in north-eastern Italy, in the middle of the Friuli Venezia Giulia region, between the Adriatic Sea and the Alps (''Alpi Carniche''). Its population was 100,514 in 2012, 176,000 with t ...
on 17 November 1979. He was an unused member of the Italian squad that managed a fourth-place finish at UEFA Euro 1980
The 1980 UEFA European Football Championship finals tournament was held in Italy. This was the sixth UEFA European Championship, which is held every four years and endorsed by UEFA. It was the first European Championship to feature eight teams i ...
on home soil.
Death
Bellugi died from complications of COVID-19
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was identified in Wuhan, China, in December 2019. The disease quickly ...
during the COVID-19 pandemic in Italy
The COVID-19 pandemic in Italy is part of the ongoing pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 () caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 ().
The virus was first confirmed to have spread to Italy on 31 January 2020, when ...
, thirteen days after his 71st birthday.Il calcio piange Mauro Bellugi: se ne va a 71 anni l’ex difensore dell’Inter
References
1950 births
2021 deaths
Sportspeople from the Province of Siena
Italian footballers
Association football defenders
Italy international footballers
1974 FIFA World Cup players
1978 FIFA World Cup players
UEFA Euro 1980 players
Inter Milan players
Bologna F.C. 1909 players
S.S.C. Napoli players
U.S. Pistoiese 1921 players
Serie A players
Deaths from the COVID-19 pandemic in Lombardy
Footballers from Tuscany
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