Luigi Radice

Luigi Radice
Personal information
Date of birth15 January 1935
Place of birthCesano Maderno, Italy
Height1.73 m (5 ft 8 in)
Playing positionLeft-Back
Youth career
1953–1954Milan
1954–1955Ceriano Laghetto
Senior career*
YearsTeamApps†(Gls)†
1955–1965Milan75(1)
1959–1960→ Triestina (loan)31(0)
1960–1961→ Padova (loan)24(0)
National team
1962Italy5(0)
Teams managed
1969–1970Monza
Treviso
1972–1973Cesena
1973–1974Fiorentina
1975Cagliari
1975–1980Torino
1980–1981Bologna
1981–1982A.C. Milan
1982–1983Bari
1983–1984Inter Milan
1984–1989Torino
1989–1990A.S. Roma
1990–1991Bologna
1991–1993Fiorentina
1993Cagliari
1995–1996Genoa
1996–1998Monza
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only.
† Appearances (Goals).

Luigi "Gigi" Radice (born January 15, 1935, in Cesano Maderno) is an Italian football coach and former player. A strong, tenacious, and consistent defender, he was usually deployed as a left-back. As a manager, he was known for his use of "zona mista" tactics, and his attempt to implement "pressing" tactics into his teams.[1][2]

Career

Player

Radice played in Serie A for teams such as Milan, Triestina and Padova. Initially a member of the Milan Youth squad, he initially struggled to find space in the first team; he made his Serie A debut with Milan on 25 March 1956, in a 0-0 away draw against SPAL, but he made only 19 appearances in total during his first three seasons at the club, as Milan won the 1956-57 and the 1958-59 Serie A titles. He subsequently moved to Triestina and Padova to gain more playing time, where he impressed before being recalled to Milan. During his second stint with the club, he played a pivotal role in helping Milan to win the 1961-62 Serie A title and the 1962-63 European Cup.[3] However, serious injuries to his knee cut his playing career short, and he retired in 1965. In total he made 95 appearances for Milan, 75 of which came in Serie A, scoring 1 goal throughout his Milan career, which came in Serie A.[1][2]

Radice was also a member of the Italian squad for the World Cup in 1962, making 2 appearances at the tournament as Italy were eliminated in the first round; he made 5 appearances for Italy in total between 1961-63.[4]

Manager

As a coach, Radice began his career with Monza, winning the 1966-67 Serie C Girone A; he remained at the club from 1966-71, apart from a year-long spell with Treviso between 1968-69. Radice notably earned the distinction of being the first and so far only coach to lead Torino to the Scudetto since the Superga tragedy in 1949, when they won the title during the 1975-76 season, and Radice was awarded the Seminatore d'Oro as the best coach in Serie A. He coached the club for two different stints; the first from 1975-1980, and the second from 1984-89.[2]

Radice has also coached a number of other Serie A teams, including Inter (1983-84), Milan (1981-82), Roma (1989-90), and Fiorentina (1973-74; 1991-93), as well as Cesena for a season, when the team was in the lower division, helping the club to its first ever Serie A promotion during the 1972-73 Serie B season.[2]

In the 1992-93 season Fiorentina was entrusted to Radice. The team started well, and at the turn of the year was sitting in second place, having scored 15 points in the first 13 matches. However, a mid-season feud with the club's chairman Vittorio Cecchi Gori led to the departure of Radice, and Fiorentina nose-dived in the standings. They scored only 15 more points in the remaining 21 matches, and finished only 16th. The result was relegation to Serie B.[2]

Honours

Player

Milan[1]

Manager

Torino [2]
Monza[2]

Individual

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 "A.C. Milan Hall of Fame: Luigi Radice". http://www.acmilan.com''. Retrieved 1 April 2015.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 2.7 "Luigi Radice (II)". http://www.magliarossonera.it'' (in Italian). Retrieved 24 April 2015.
  3. ↑ http://www.enciclopediadelcalcio.com/RadiceLuigi.html
  4. ↑ "Nazionale in cifre: Radice, Luigi". http://www.figc.it'' (in Italian). FIGC. Retrieved 24 April 2015.