Sebastiano Nela

Sebastiano Nela
Personal information
Date of birth 13 March 1961 (1961-03-13) (age 50)
Place of birth Rapallo, Italy
Playing position Full back
Senior career*
Years Team Apps† (Gls)†
1978–1981 Genoa 70 (6)
1981–1992 Roma 281 (16)
1992–1993 Napoli 34 (0)
National team‡
1981–1982 Italy U-21 5 (0)
1984–1987 Italy 5 (0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only.

† Appearances (Goals).

‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 8 January 2009[1]

Sebastiano Nela (born 13 March 1961), is an Italian ex-footballer who played as a full back.

Career

A surly player who was capable of playing at both left and right back,[2] Nela began his career with Genoa.[1] He was bought by Serie A side Roma, making his debut in a 0-0 draw with Avellino on 13 September 1981.[3] He made 28 appearances for the Roma team that won the Scudetto in 1983.[1][3] Nela's performances for Roma earned him a call-up to the Italian national team, making his debut against West Germany on 22 May 1984.[4]

Nela made a total of five appearances for the Italian national team.[1] Nela was a member of the Italian squad for the 1986 FIFA World Cup, although he did not play; Italy went out in the round of 16.[4] He also made three appearances at the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles, helping Italy to fourth place.[5]

Nela was injured in an accident in 1987 and was forced to miss almost a year of football. The singer Antonello Venditti dedicated his song "Correndo correndo", which appears on his 1988 album In questo mondo di ladri, to Nela.[6]

Nela left Roma in 1992 to join Napoli having won the Scudetto and three Italian cups. He retired after the 1993-94 season having made a total of 315 appearances in Serie A.

Following his retirement, Nela has worked as a commentator for various national and satellite channels; he currently works for Mediaset Premium.[7]

References

  1. ^ a b c d "Nela, Sebastiano". National Football Teams. 2009. http://www.national-football-teams.com/v2/player.php?id=17910. Retrieved 8 January 2009. 
  2. ^ "Roma all-time XI". Channel 4. 8 January 2009. http://www.channel4.com/sport/football_italia/alltime/romaxi.html. Retrieved 8 January 2009. 
  3. ^ a b "Il Campionato 1982-'83" (in Italian). Geocities. 22 July 1999. Archived from the original on 2009-10-25. http://www.webcitation.org/query?url=http://www.geocities.com/colosseum/field/6769/1982-83.html&date=2009-10-25+17:47:47. Retrieved 8 January 2009. 
  4. ^ a b "Italy - International Matches 1980-1989". Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation. 6 June 2002. http://www.rsssf.com/tablesi/ital-intres1980.html. Retrieved 8 January 2009. 
  5. ^ "Sebastiano Nela". FIFA. 8 January 2009. http://www.fifa.com/worldfootball/statisticsandrecords/players/player=166473/index.html. Retrieved 8 January 2009. 
  6. ^ ""Lacrime di...gioia" per sensi?" (in Italian). Splinder.com. 3 August 2006. http://vendittando.splinder.com/post/8859176. Retrieved 8 January 2009. 
  7. ^ "Eurosport to host Sebastiano Nela on Malta visit". The Malta Independent. 27 July 2007. http://www.independent.com.mt/news2.asp?artid=54931. Retrieved 8 January 2009. 
Italy squad – 1984 Summer Olympics
Italy squad – 1986 FIFA World Cup