Fabrizio Ravanelli

Fabrizio Ravanelli

Ravanelli in May 2012.
Personal information
Full nameFabrizio Ravanelli
Date of birth11 December 1968
Place of birthPerugia, Italy
Height1.88 m (6 ft 2 in)
Playing positionStriker
Senior career*
YearsTeamApps†(Gls)†
1986–1989Perugia90(41)
1989Avellino7(0)
1989–1990Casertana27(12)
1990–1992Reggiana66(24)
1992–1996Juventus111(41)
1996–1997Middlesbrough35(17)
1998–2000Marseille64(28)
2000–2001Lazio27(4)
2001–2003Derby County49(14)
2003–2004Dundee5(0)
2004–2005Perugia41(9)
Total522(190)
National team
1995–1999Italy22(8)
Teams managed
2011–2013Juventus (youth)
2013AC Ajaccio
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only.
† Appearances (Goals).

Fabrizio Ravanelli (Italian pronunciation: [faˈbrittsjo ravaˈnɛlli]; born 11 December 1968) is an Italian football manager and former international footballer, who was until November 2, 2013 the manager of French Ligue 1 club AC Ajaccio.

Ravanelli started and ended his playing career at hometown club Perugia Calcio. Other notable career stops were Middlesbrough, Juventus and Marseille. He won five titles with Juventus, including a Serie A championship in 1995 and a Champions League title in 1996. In all, during his career he played with twelve clubs from four countries; his native Italy, England, France and Scotland. He earned 22 caps for the Italian national team, scoring 8 goals, and was a member of the Italian squad that took part at UEFA Euro 1996. A prolific goalscorer, Ravanelli was a strong, complete, energetic, and hardworking striker, who was good in the air, and who possessed an accurate shot.[1]

Club career

Italy

Affectionately known the "White Feather" (Italian: Penna Bianca) in recognition of his prematurely whitened hair,[2][3] he was one of Europe's top goalscorers in the mid-1990s. Playing for Juventus, he formed a formidable offensive line alongside players such as Roberto Baggio, Gianluca Vialli, Paolo Di Canio, Andreas Möller, and Alessandro Del Piero. With the Turin club, Ravanelli won one Serie A title (1994–95), one Coppa Italia (1994–95), one Supercoppa Italiana (1995), one Champions League (1995–96), where he scored in the final against Ajax, and one UEFA Cup (1992–93). On 27 September 1994, he memorably scored all five goals for Juventus against CSKA Sofia in a 5–1 win.[4] In the 1996 UEFA Champions League Final, he put Juventus 1–0 up.[5] Ajax subsequently equalised, but Juventus still won the game through penalty shootout.[5]

Middlesbrough

He made an immediate positive impact on moving to the Premier League with Bryan Robson's Middlesbrough on a £7 million transfer,[6] his success was sustained. He scored a hat-trick on his league debut against Liverpool on the opening day of the 1996–97 season.[7] Despite being one of the league's top scorers, Middlesbrough were relegated in the year that he joined.[8] He did, however, help them to the final of both domestic cup competitions that season. He started both finals, as Middlesbrough lost 2–0 against Chelsea in the FA Cup Final,[9] and Leicester City 1–0 in the replay of the League Cup Final, he scored the first goal in the final of the first meeting,[10] only for Emile Heskey to equalise and send the game to a replay, which Leicester subsequently won.[10] He alienated himself from teammates and fans, with his constant complaints and criticisms of the club's training regime and facilities, as well as the town itself, despite being the highest paid footballer in the Premiership at the time.[11] Whilst at the club, he resided in the local small North Yorkshire village of Hutton Rudby,[12] where Middlesbrough football associates, such as Paul Merson, Gordon McQueen and several other notable individuals have had residences.

Olympique de Marseille

After Middlesbrough's relegation, Ravanelli moved to Olympique de Marseille. In the 1998–99 season, Marseille finished in second place in the French Division 1, one point behind Girondins de Bordeaux. The following season l'OM competed in the 1999–2000 UEFA Champions League, with Ravanelli scoring once against Sturm Graz at the Stade Vélodrome.

Lazio

In January 2000, Ravanelli returned to Italy to sign for Lazio. Though he was only a peripheral player, Ravanelli won his second Scudetto as Lazio ended the 1999–2000 season as champions.

Derby County

In July 2001, Ravanelli joined Derby County on a free transfer,[13] signing a two-year deal,[14] but could not save the club from relegation in 2002.[15] Due to Derby's financial problems, they had to defer his wage payments which they paid for several years.[13]

Dundee

He then joined Dundee,[16] following the end of his Derby contract, but was sacked after the club released all of their top earners.[17] The only game in which Ravanelli scored for Dundee was against Clyde in a League Cup match, where he ended up scoring a hat-trick.[18]

Perugia

After the experience in Scotland, he returned to Italy to finish his career with Perugia,[19] where he tried to help the club out of relegation trouble.

Ravanelli's signature celebration when scoring a goal was pulling his shirt over his head and running around the field. He has been a big opposer to the new FIFA rule put in place, where a player gets a yellow card for removing his shirt during a celebration. He also works as a football pundit for Sky Italia and Mediaset.

International career

Ravanelli earned 22 caps for the Italian national team between 1995 and 1999, under managers Arrigo Sacchi, Cesare Maldini, and Dino Zoff, scoring 8 goals. He made his international debut on 25th March 1995, in a 4-1 home victory over Estonia, in an UEFA Euro 1996 qualifying fixture, also scoring his first international goal during the match. He was a member of the Italian squad that took part at UEFA Euro 1996, making two appearances throughout the tournament as Italy were eliminated in the first round; he missed out on a spot at the 1998 FIFA World Cup, as striker Enrico Chiesa was selected in his place.[20]

Managerial career

Juventus

Ravanelli started his coaching career with the Juventus youth team. He joined the club's coaching staff in July 2011 and remained there until 2013.[21][22]

AC Ajaccio

On 8 June 2013, Ravanelli signed a two-year contract as the new head coach of French Ligue 1 club AC Ajaccio. On 2 November 2013, he was sacked from his post after his club had suffered its fifth consecutive Ligue 1 defeat(this time losing 3-1 at home against Valenciennes FC) on the same day that left them in 19th (second from bottom) position (1 win, 4 draws and 7 defeats in 12 Ligue 1 matches) in the Ligue 1 standings. "It is not an easy decision (to sack Ravanelli) for a number of reasons. I really appreciated Fabrizio Ravanelli, I really wanted it to work. I do not remember seeing a staff work that much, from morning till night without stopping. You know what football is like. If things are not going well, the only solution is to change the staff," said Alain Orsoni, the president of AC Ajaccio.[23][24][25]

Career statistics

Club

Club performance League Cup Continental Total
Season Club League Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Italy League Coppa Italia Europe Total
1986–87PerugiaSerie C2265??--??
1987–883223??--??
1988–89Serie B3213??--??
1989–90US AvellinoSerie B70??--??
1989–90CasertanaSerie C12712??--??
1990–91ReggianaSerie B3416??--??
1991–92328??--??
1992–93JuventusSerie A2253183339
1993–9430920633812
1994–953315961195330
1995–96261221753617
England League FA Cup/League Cup Europe Total
1996–97MiddlesbroughPremier League33167/86/9--4831
1997–98First Division2100--21
France League Coupe de France/Coupe de la Ligue Europe Total
1997–98MarseilleLigue 12191/30/0--259
1998–9929131/11/0713815
1999–001460/00/041187
Italy League Coppa Italia Europe Total
1999–00LazioSerie A16252--214
2000–011124262216
England League FA Cup/League Cup Europe Total
2001–02Derby CountyPremier League3191/21/1--3411
2002–03First Division1950/00/0--195
Scotland League Scottish Cup/League Cup Europe Total
2003–04DundeePremier League500/10/3--63
Italy League Coppa Italia Europe Total
2003–04PerugiaSerie A1562010186
2004–05Serie B24300--243
Total Italy 369131??????
England 85318/107/10--10048
France 64282/41/01428431
Scotland 500/10/3--63
Career total 522190??????

* = Scored 3 goals in a Scottish League Cup match.

International

[26]

Italy national team
YearAppsGoals
199564
199684
199750
199830
199900
Total228

International goals

Scores and goals list Italy's goal tally first.[27]
# Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition
1. 25 March 1995 Stadio Arechi, Salerno  Estonia 4–1 4–1 Euro 1996 qualifier
2. 6 September 1995 Stadio Friuli, Udine  Slovenia 1–0 1–0 Euro 1996 qualifier
3. 11 November 1995 Stadio San Nicola, Bari  Ukraine 1–1 3–1 Euro 1996 qualifier
4. 2–1
5. 24 January 1996 Stadio Libero Liberati, Terni  Wales 2–0 3–0 Friendly
6. 5 October 1996 Stadionul Republican, Chişinău  Moldova 1–0 3–1 1998 World Cup qualifier
7. 3–1
8. 9 October 1996 Stadio Renato Curi, Perugia  Georgia 1–0 1–0 1998 World Cup qualifier

Manager

As of 2 November 2013.
Team Nat From To Competition Record
G W D L Win % GF GA GD
Ajaccio France 8 June 2013 2 November 2013 Ligue 1 12 1 4 7 8.33 8 18 –10
Coupe de la Ligue 1 0 0 1 0.00 0 1 –1
Total 13 1 4 8 7.69 8 19 –11
Career totals League 12 1 4 7 8.33 8 18 –10
League Cup 1 0 0 1 0.00 0 1 –1
Total 13 1 4 8 7.69 8 19 –11

Honours

Club

Juventus
Lazio

References

  1. ↑ "Gli eroi in bianconero: Fabrizio RAVANELLI". Retrieved 3 December 2014.
  2. ↑ "Will the White Feather deliver?". BBC Sport (BBC Sport). 18 July 2001. Retrieved 5 March 2012.
  3. ↑ Davies, Christopher (14 January 2002). "White Feather is no grey man". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 5 March 2012.
  4. ↑ "27 September 1994, Ravanelli hits five". Juventus F.C. official website. 27 September 2011. Retrieved 5 March 2012.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 "1995/96: Juve hold their nerve". UEFA.com (Union of European Football Associations). Retrieved 5 March 2012.
  6. ↑ Duxbury, Nick (5 July 1996). "Middlesbrough spend pounds 7m on Ravanelli". The Independent (Independent Print Limited). Retrieved 5 March 2012.
  7. ↑ Turnbull, Simon (19 August 1996). "Silver hair, silverware?". The Independent (Independent Print Limited). Retrieved 5 March 2012.
  8. ↑ Brewin, John (24 April 2009). "Big-spending Boro undone by no-show". ESPN Soccernet (ESPN). Retrieved 5 March 2012.
  9. ↑ Ridley, Ian (18 May 1997). "The Chelsea Power Show". The Independent (Independent Print Limited). Retrieved 5 March 2012.
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 Moore, Glenn (7 April 1997). "Football: Heskey levels at the last to deflate Juninho". The Independent (Independent Print Limited). Retrieved 5 March 2012.
  11. ↑ "Ravanelli outbursts adds to Boro woes". 4thegame.com. 24 December 1996. Archived from the original on 14 October 2007. Retrieved 30 October 2008.
  12. ↑ Moore, Glenn (17 May 1997). "Football: FA Cup Final: Azzurri return to the twin towers". The Independent (Independent Print Limited). Retrieved 5 March 2012.
  13. ↑ 13.0 13.1 "Derby axe Ravanelli". BBC Sport (British Broadcasting Corporation). 9 May 2002. Retrieved 5 March 2012.
  14. ↑ "Ravanelli completes Rams switch". BBC Sport (British Broadcasting Corporation). 27 July 2001. Retrieved 5 March 2012.
  15. ↑ "Liverpool relegate Derby". BBC Sport (British Broadcasting Corporation). 20 April 2002. Retrieved 5 March 2012.
  16. ↑ "Ravanelli joins Dundee". BBC Sport (British Broadcasting Corporation). 20 September 2003. Retrieved 5 March 2012.
  17. ↑ "No way back for Ravanelli". BBC Sport (British Broadcasting Corporation). 26 November 2003. Retrieved 5 March 2012.
  18. ↑ "Ravanelli thumps Clyde". BBC Sport (British Broadcasting Corporation). 29 October 2003. Retrieved 6 November 2009.
  19. ↑ "Ravanelli joins Perugia". BBC Sport (British Broadcasting Corporation). 14 January 2004. Retrieved 5 March 2012.
  20. ↑ "Nazionale in cifre: Ravanelli, Fabrizio". http://www.figc.it/'' (in Italian). FIGC. Retrieved 22 April 2015.
  21. ↑ "Ravanelli: "Ritorno a casa!"" (in Italian). juventus.com. 13 July 2011.
  22. ↑ "Ravanelli, un aiuto per la Primavera" (in Italian). juventus.com. 17 August 2011.
  23. ↑ "Management tickles White Feather's fancy as former Boro star Ravanelli takes up the reins at French side AC Ajaccio". Daily Mail. 14 June 2013. Retrieved 2 July 2013.
  24. ↑ "Fabrizio Ravanelli's tenure as AC Ajaccio coach has ended after just 12 games following his side's 3-1 defeat to Valenciennes FC on Saturday.". official Ligue 1 website. 2 November 2013.
  25. ↑ "Fabrizio Ravanelli fired as Ajaccio head coach after home defeat". BBC Sport. 2 November 2013.
  26. ↑ "Ravanelli, Fabrizio". National Football Teams. Retrieved 5 March 2012.
  27. ↑ "Fabrizio Ravanelli – Goals in International Matches". Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation. Retrieved 5 March 2012.

External links