Gianluca Signorini
 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | March 17, 1960 | ||
| Place of birth | Pisa, Italy | ||
| Date of death | November 6, 2002 (aged 42) | ||
| Place of death | Pisa, Italy | ||
| Height | 1.86 m (6 ft 1 in) | ||
| Playing position | Centre back, libero | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps† | (Gls)† |
| 1978–1979 | Pisa | 2 | (0) |
| 1979–1980 | Pietrasanta | 29 | (1) |
| 1980–1981 | Prato | 26 | (0) |
| 1981–1983 | Livorno | 65 | (3) |
| 1983–1984 | Ternana | 29 | (0) |
| 1984–1985 | Cavese | 29 | (0) |
| 1985–1987 | Parma | 70 | (6) |
| 1987–1988 | Roma | 29 | (0) |
| 1988–1995 | Genoa | 207 | (5) |
| 1995–1997 | Pisa | ? | (?) |
| Teams managed | |||
| 1998 | Pisa (caretaker) | ||
| * Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. † Appearances (Goals). | |||
Gianluca Signorini (17 March 1960 – 6 November 2002) was an Italian football (soccer) player, mostly known for his time spent at Genoa C.F.C..
Career
Born in Pisa, Signorini started his career playing for his home team, Pisa S.C. of Serie C1, and successively for Pietrasanta, Prato, Livorno, Ternana and Cavese before joining A.C. Parma, with Arrigo Sacchi as coach. He quickly became a key player for Parma, and was successively signed by Nils Liedholm's A.S. Roma, and then to Genoa in 1988, after personal requests by coach Francesco Scoglio. He played seven seasons for Genoa, all seven years as team captain, a hard defender and definitely a fan favourite. He is remembered as one of the last (and best) Italian sweepers. In recent years; he was a vital member of the Genoese "dream team" which managed to reach the semi-finals of the 1991–92 UEFA Cup and became the first Italian team to beat Liverpool F.C. on their Anfield Road home turf.
He left Genoa in 1995, aged 35, to join his hometown club Pisa, then in Serie D, and retired two years later.[1] He played 210 Serie A matches with 6 goals.
After having ended his playing career, Signorini started a managing career working for Pisa, and serving as joint caretaker manager during their 1997–98 Serie C2 campaign,[1] However, he soon discovered he was suffering from amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, also known as Lou Gehrig's disease, an illness that slowly forced immobility, paralyzing all his muscles. He died on November 6, 2002, in his Pisa home. In his honour, the #6 Genoa CFC jersey, worn by Signorini during his time for the rossoblu, has been retired.
On May 17, 2009 Signorini's son Andrea, a footballer himself, made his Serie A debut with Genoa, thus continuing the legacy of the former rossoblu captain.[2]
See also
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 "Il Pisa Calcio dal 1994 ad oggi" (in Italian). Pisa Calcio. Archived from the original on 2008-02-09. Retrieved 2008-02-19.
- ↑ "Gasperini: "Resto al Genoa"" (in Italian). Pianeta Genoa. 2009-05-17. Retrieved 2009-05-17.