Narciso Soldan
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NARCISO SOLDAN
Born :- Nervesa della Battaglia ~ TREVISO, ITALY > 11/12/1927
Died :- Conegliano Veneto ~ TREVISO, ITALY > 30/07/1987
CAREER
Narciso Soldan was a Professional Goalkeeper who played in the Italian Football League FIGC.
He began his playing career at the very late age of 19 having never previously kicked a ball !!!. One day, while assisting a local club match at Vittorio Veneto, he became fascinated by the Goalkeeper's role on the playing field and thought to himself...,"I can do that !!!". At the end of the match he entered the pitch, along with some friends, and had them strike some shots at him. Well, as it turned out, he began to save all of them looking like a 'seasoned veteran' of the game. In the meantime, while displaying this 'undiscovered talent', the Coach of Vittorio Veneto (none other than the great ex-Serie A midfielder & Italian National team player - Enrico Colombari) was observing the scene and couldn't believe what he was seeing.
He approached the young 'phenomenon' and after a short discussion an agreement was made where Narciso signed his first Professional Football Contract with Vittorio Veneto. For the remainder of that season (1946/47), he was loaned out to his local team, F.C. Nervesa, to gain some experience and match practice.
The following year (1947/48), Narciso Soldan was playing in Italy's third division - Serie C > North League : Group H. During that period, Italy's Serie C was overcrowded with teams and the Italian Football Federation (FIGC) decided that the top two teams of each group in the various Leagues would all combine at the end of the season to form a "New" Serie C, thus reducing numbers and increasing the quality of the competition. The relegated teams were then placed into a "New" 4th Division which was a regional-based competition. As it turned out, after a fantastic season, Vittorio Veneto arrived in 3rd place and just missed promotion to the "New" Serie C.
Season (1948/49) didn't go as well for Vittorio Veneto as the previous one had. The club was now playing in the new, recently named - Promozione Interregionale > 4th Division : Group E. The team struggled for long periods throughout the season but managed to finish in a respectable 10th position. On the one hand while the team wasn't performing so well, for Narciso Soldan, it became the turning point in his career. After having a great season defending his goal, coach Enrico Colombari decided to try his luck by taking young Soldan for trials in Milan under the watchful eyes of Giulio Cappelli, then Manager of F.C. Internazionale Milano.
| Season | Club | Division | Games Played | Table Position | Awards / Comments |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1946/47 | Nervesa | Youth Team | ? | ? | On loan from Vittorio Veneto |
| 1947/48 | Vittorio Veneto | Serie C ~ Lega Nord : Girone H | ? | 3rd | Relegated to the "new" 4th Division ~ Campionato Interregionale |
| 1948/49 | Vittorio Veneto | Promozione Interregionale ~ IV : Girone E | ? | 10th | Taken to Milano, by Coach Enrico Colombari, for trials with Inter |
| 1949/50 | Internazionale | Serie A | 21 | 3rd | Bronze Award for third place |
| 1950/51 | Internazionale | Serie A | 21 | 2nd | Silver Award for second place |
| 1951/52 | Catania | Serie B | 34 | 4th | - |
| 1952/53 | Catania | Serie B | 34 | 3rd | Lost Serie A Promotion Play-off in Florence : Legnano 4-1 Catania |
| 1953/54 | Torino | Serie A | 27 | 9th | - |
| 1954/55 | Triestina | Serie A | 27 | 12th | - |
| 1955/56 | Triestina | Serie A | 27 | 16th | - |
| 1956/57 | Milan | Serie A | 17 | 1st | Champions of Italy ~ 6th Scudetto |
| 1957/58 | Milan | Serie A | 11 | 9th | European Champion Clubs' Cup Finalist : Real Madrid 3-2 Milan (aet) |
| 1958/59 | Milan | Serie A | 8 | 1st | Champions of Italy ~ 7th Scudetto |
| 1959/60 | Torino | Serie B | 32 | 1st | Serie B Champions ~ Promotion to Serie A |
| 1960/61 | Torino | Serie A | 9 | 12th | - |
| 1961/62 | Treviso | Serie C | 22 | 10th | Girone A |
