Sebastiano Nela

Sebastiano Nela
Personal information
Date of birth13 March 1961
Place of birthRapallo, Italy
Height1.77 m (5 ft 10 in)
Playing positionFull back
Senior career*
YearsTeamApps(Gls)
1978–1981Genoa70(6)
1981–1992Roma281(16)
1992–1994Napoli34(0)
National team
1981–1982Italy U-215(0)
1984–1987Italy5(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 left-footed defender, 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.[2] He made 28 appearances for the Roma team that won the Scudetto in 1983.[1][2] 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.[3]

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.[3] He also made three appearances at the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles, helping Italy to fourth place.[4]

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.[5]

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.[6]

References

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 "Nela, Sebastiano". National Football Teams. Retrieved 8 January 2009.
  2. 2.0 2.1 "Il Campionato 1982-'83" (in Italian). Geocities. 22 July 1999. Archived from the original on 25 October 2009. Retrieved 8 January 2009.
  3. 3.0 3.1 "Italy - International Matches 1980-1989". Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation. 6 June 2002. Retrieved 8 January 2009.
  4. "Sebastiano Nela". FIFA. 8 January 2009. Retrieved 8 January 2009.
  5. ""Lacrime di...gioia" per sensi?" (in Italian). Splinder.com. 3 August 2006. Retrieved 8 January 2009.
  6. "Eurosport to host Sebastiano Nela on Malta visit". The Malta Independent. 27 July 2007. Retrieved 8 January 2009.