Giuseppe Bruscolotti

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Giuseppe Bruscolotti
Personal information
Full name Giuseppe Bruscolotti
Date of birth (1951-06-01) 1 June 1951 (age 72)
Place of birth Sassano, Campania, Italy
Height 1.81 m (5 ft 11 in)
Position(s) Right-back
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1970–1972 Sorrento[1] 60 (1)
1972–1988 Napoli[2] 387 (9)
Total 447 (10)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Giuseppe Bruscolotti (born 1 June 1951) is a former Italian footballer who played as a right-back. He is mostly remembered for his lengthy spell with S.S.C. Napoli, where he served as the club's captain and contributed to the team's first ever Serie A title in 1987. Throughout his career, he was referred to as "Pal e fierr" ("iron pole") by the fans, due to his physical strength.[3]

Career[edit]

Born in Sassano, Campania, Bruscolotti began his career with Sorrento in 1970. He immediately helped the club to Serie B promotion, winning the Serie C1 title during the 1970–71 season, and was a part of a defence which only conceded 12 goals in the league; the following season, however, the club were immediately relegated to Serie C once again, after finishing in second-last place in the league.[4]

Bruscolotti subsequently moved to S.S.C. Napoli in 1972, where he spent most of his career, making over 500 appearances for the team during his sixteen seasons in Naples; he made his Serie A debut with Napoli during the 1972–73 season, in a 1–0 win over Ternana on 24 September 1972. Bruscolotti became a symbol and a legend of the club, and played a key role in helping Napoli to their first ever Serie A title in 1987; he was also the team's captain from 1978 until 1984, when he handed over the armband to Diego Maradona.[5] He retired at the age of 37 in 1988;[3][6] he holds the record for most Serie A appearances for Napoli (387), and has made the second most appearances in all league competitions for the club.[7] He also made 96 appearances for Napoli in the Coppa Italia, and 28 in European competitions. Bruscolotti also scored 11 goals for Napoli throughout his career; one of his most notable goals came in a 1–0 home victory over Anderlecht in the return leg of the 1976–77 European Cup Winners' Cup semi-finals, although Napoli were eliminated by the eventual champions on aggregate.[6] His most important goal for the club came in the second leg of the 1976 Anglo-Italian League Cup final, which saw Napoli triumph over Southampton.[8] In addition to these titles, Bruscolotti also won two Coppa Italia titles with Napoli.[3][6][9][10]

Style of play[edit]

A tenacious, imposing, and powerful full-back, Bruscolotti was known in particular for his physical strength and balance, as well as his excellent man-marking ability, leadership, and his hard-tackling style of play.[3][6] Although he was notorious for his aggressive challenges, he was also praised throughout his career for his fair-play attitude.[11]

Honours[edit]

Club[edit]

Sorrento[4]

Napoli

Records[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ FootballPlus.com
  2. ^ Bruscolotti Archived 2008-10-03 at the Wayback Machine
  3. ^ a b c d e f "Giuseppe Bruscolotti" (in Italian). quicampania.it. Retrieved 7 April 2016.
  4. ^ a b "La prima del Sorrento sulle rive del Lario" (in Italian). Il Giorno. 11 October 2009. Retrieved 7 April 2016.
  5. ^ a b c d Nicola Sellitti (9 February 2016). "Bruscolotti, una vita in azzurro: "Napoli, ricorda quella partita dell'86"". La Repubblica (in Italian). Retrieved 7 April 2016.
  6. ^ a b c d e f Leonardo Ciccarelli (24 October 2012). "La storia siete voi: "Pal 'e fierro" Bruscolotti" (in Italian). Tutto Napoli. Retrieved 9 April 2016.
  7. ^ "Napoli Player Statistics". ClubAngloNapulitano. Retrieved 1 August 2007.
  8. ^ a b "I PRECEDENTI DEL NAPOLI CON LE INGLESI" (in Italian). Pianeta Napoli. 11 March 2012. Retrieved 9 April 2016.
  9. ^ a b "Coppa Italia 1975/76 - La Finale" (in Italian). hellastory.net. Retrieved 9 April 2016.
  10. ^ a b Mimmo Carratelli (8 February 2012). "Il Napoli e una Coppa Italia che non ha mai onorato granché" (in Italian). ilnapolista.it. Retrieved 9 April 2016.
  11. ^ Maurizio Cortese (11 March 2016). "Bruscolotti, "pal'e fierro" ma sempre leale. Gigi Riva lo paragonò a Berti Vogts" (in Italian). ilnapolista.it. Retrieved 9 April 2016.