Luigi Apolloni

Luigi Apolloni
Personal information
Full nameLuigi Apolloni
Date of birth2 May 1967
Place of birthFrascati, Italy
Height1.85 m (6 ft 1 in)
Playing positionDefender
Youth career
Lodigiani
Senior career*
YearsTeamApps†(Gls)†
1983–1984Lodigiani0(0)
1984–1986Pistoiese35(0)
1986–1987Reggiana32(0)
1987–2000Parma304(8)
1999–2000→ Verona (loan)28(2)
2000–2001Verona23(0)
Total422(10)
National team
1994–1996Italy15(0)
Teams managed
2009–2010Modena
2010Grosseto
2012Gubbio
2013–Gorica
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only.
† Appearances (Goals).

Luigi Apolloni (born 2 May 1967 in Frascati) is a retired Italian football player, who played as a centreback. He is the current head coach of Gorica in the Slovenian PrvaLiga.

Career

Club

He started his career with Lodigiani in 1983–84 in Serie C2, without ever get off the field in the first team to advance to Pistoiese within two years, where he debuted in professional football.

After another year in Serie C1 to Reggiana, he join Parma in 1987, became a key member of the squad and a defense line mainstay along with Lorenzo Minotti, forming a pair of central defenders who later guided the club from the Serie B to the top levels of European football, including triumphs in the 1991–92 Coppa Italia, a runners-up Cup Winners' Cup campaign in 1993–94, and two UEFA Cups in 1995 and 1999.

In 1996 a serious injury forced him out, and Apolloni did not manage to win back a place in the starting lineup, ultimately leaving Parma in 1999 to join Hellas Verona, and later ending his career in 2001 with a total of 255 appearances and 7 goals in the Italian top flight.

International

Following his successes with Parma, Apolloni gained a spot in the Italian squad under head coach Arrigo Sacchi, making his international debut on 27 May 1994 against Finland. Overall, he made 15 appearances for Italy between 1994-96, and he participated in the 1994 FIFA World Cup with the azzurri, where they reached the final, only to lose to Brazil on penalties. He was also a part of their less successful Euro 1996 campaign.[1]

Manager

In 2006 Apolloni accepted to follow former Parma teammate Daniele Zoratto, serving as his aide at Modena. He was later sacked together with head coach Zoratto on February 2007, only to return at Modena on April 2008.[2]

On January 2009, Apolloni was appointed as caretaker manager of the canarini after Zoratto left the club by mutual consent.[3] He was then permanently appointed to the role after he managed to guide Modena to escape relegation at the final day of the season. In his first full season in charge of the club, Apolloni guided Modena to a mid-table place in the league despite severe financial issues within the club. On July 2010 he left Modena to join ambitious Serie B club Grosseto.[4] He was however removed by the end of September due to poor results, and replaced by Francesco Moriero.

On 2 April 2012 he was appointed as new head coach of Gubbio in the Italian Serie B league until the end of the season, thus becoming the fourth manager of the season for the small relegation-threatened Umbrian club (after Fabio Pecchia, Luigi Simoni and Marco Alessandrini).[5]

Honours

As a player

Parma

References

  1. ↑ "Convocazioni e presenze in campo: Luigi Apolloni". Retrieved 23 January 2015.
  2. ↑ "Modena: via Mutti, torna Zoratto" (in Italian). RAI Sport. 20 April 2008. Archived from the original on 24 April 2008. Retrieved 26 April 2008.
  3. ↑ "Cambia la guida tecnica al Modena F.C." (in Italian). Modena FC. 26 January 2009. Retrieved 26 January 2009.
  4. ↑ "Apolloni incontra la stampa". US Grosseto FC. 6 July 2010. Retrieved 12 July 2010.
  5. ↑ "Ufficializzato l'ingaggio del tecnico Luigi Apolloni" (in Italian). A.S. Gubbio 1910. 2 April 2012. Retrieved 2 April 2012.

External links