Gianluca Signorini
Encyclopedia
Gianluca Signorini was an Italian
football (soccer)
player, mostly known for his time spent at Genoa C.F.C.
.
, Signorini started his career playing for his home team, Pisa S.C.
of Serie C1
, and successively for Pietrasanta, Prato
, Livorno
, Ternana
and Cavese
before joining A.C. Parma
, with Arrigo Sacchi
as coach. He quickly became a key player for Parma, and was successively signed by Nils Liedholm
's A.S. Roma
, and then Genoa in 1988, after personal requests by coach Francesco Scoglio. He played seven seasons for Genoa, all seven years as team captain, a hard defender and definitely a fan favourite, remembered as one of the last (and best) Italian sweepers in recent years; he was a vital member of the genoese "dream team" which managed to reach the semi-finals of the 1991–92 UEFA Cup
and became the first Italian team to beat Liverpool F.C.
on their Anfield Road home turf. He left Genoa in 1995, aged 35, to join his hometown club Pisa, then in Serie D
, and retired two years later. He played 210 Serie A
matches with 6 goals.
After having ended his playing career, Signorini started a managing career working for Pisa, and serving as joint caretaker manager during their 1997–98 Serie C2
campaign, but soon after he discovered he was suffering from amyotrophic lateral sclerosis
, also known as Lou Gehrig's disease, an illness that slowly forced immobility, paralyzing all his muscles. He died on November 6, 2002, in his Pisa home. In his honour, the #6 Genoa CFC jersey, worn by Signorini during his time for the rossoblu, has been retired.
On May 17, 2009 Signorini's son Andrea
, a footballer himself, made his Serie A debut with Genoa, thus continuing the legacy of the former rossoblu captain.
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
football (soccer)
Football (soccer)
Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a sport played between two teams of eleven players with a spherical ball...
player, mostly known for his time spent at Genoa C.F.C.
Genoa C.F.C.
Genoa Cricket and Football Club, commonly referred to simply as Genoa , is a professional Italian football club based in the city of Genoa, Liguria...
.
Career
Born in PisaPisa
Pisa is a city in Tuscany, Central Italy, on the right bank of the mouth of the River Arno on the Tyrrhenian Sea. It is the capital city of the Province of Pisa...
, Signorini started his career playing for his home team, Pisa S.C.
Pisa Calcio
Associazione Calcio Pisa 1909 is an Italian association football club, based in Pisa, Tuscany. The club was founded in 1909 as Pisa Sporting Club and refounded in 1994 as A.C. Pisa , after the cancellation of the old one because of economical troubles...
of Serie C1
Serie C
The Lega Italiana Calcio Professionistico , commonly known as Lega Pro , is the governing body that runs the third and fourth highest football divisions in Italy, the Prima Divisione and Seconda Divisione respectively. It also includes the sole professional club of San Marino...
, and successively for Pietrasanta, Prato
A.C. Prato
Associazione Calcio Prato is an Italian association football club, based in Prato, Tuscany.Prato currently plays in Lega Pro Prima Divisione group B, having last been in Serie B in 1964.The team's colors are blue and white.- History :...
, Livorno
A.S. Livorno Calcio
Associazione Sportiva Livorno Calcio is an Italian football club based in Livorno, Tuscany. The club was formed in 1915 and currently plays in Italian Serie B. The team's colors are dark red or maroon...
, Ternana
Ternana Calcio
Ternana Calcio is an Italian football club based in the city of Terni, Umbria.The team's colours are red and green.The club was founded in 1925 and refounded in 1993. In its history, Ternana have twice played in Serie A...
and Cavese
S.S. Cavese 1919
Società Sportiva Cavese 1919, commonly known as Cavese, is an Italian football club, based in Cava de' Tirreni, Campania. Currently it plays only in the youth championship of Juniores Regionale Campania....
before joining A.C. Parma
Parma F.C.
Parma Football Club , commonly referred to as just Parma, is an Italian professional football club based in Parma, Emilia–Romagna that will compete in Serie A for the 2011–12 season, having finished in twelfth position last season. Founded as Verdi Foot Ball Club in July 1913, the club changed its...
, with Arrigo Sacchi
Arrigo Sacchi
Arrigo Sacchi is an Italian football coach. He is best known for his success coaching Italian teams, particularly with Milan where he won back to back European Cups as coach in the late eighties where he was head coach of the Italy national football team . He was twice manager of A.C...
as coach. He quickly became a key player for Parma, and was successively signed by Nils Liedholm
Nils Liedholm
Nils Liedholm was a Swedish football midfielder and coach. Il Barone , as he is affectionately known in Italy, was renowned for being part of Sweden's "Gre-No-Li" trio of strikers along with Gunnar Gren and Gunnar Nordahl at A.C. Milan and the Swedish national team...
's A.S. Roma
A.S. Roma
Associazione Sportiva Roma, commonly referred to as simply Roma, is a professional Italian football club based in Rome. Founded by a merger in 1927, Roma have participated in the top-tier of Italian football for all of their existence but one season in the early 50s...
, and then Genoa in 1988, after personal requests by coach Francesco Scoglio. He played seven seasons for Genoa, all seven years as team captain, a hard defender and definitely a fan favourite, remembered as one of the last (and best) Italian sweepers in recent years; he was a vital member of the genoese "dream team" which managed to reach the semi-finals of the 1991–92 UEFA Cup
UEFA Cup
The UEFA Europa League is an annual association football cup competition organised by UEFA since 1971 for eligible European football clubs. It is the second most prestigious European club football contest after the UEFA Champions League...
and became the first Italian team to beat Liverpool F.C.
Liverpool F.C.
Liverpool Football Club is an English Premier League football club based in Liverpool, Merseyside. Liverpool has won eighteen League titles, second most in English football, seven FA Cups and a record seven League Cups...
on their Anfield Road home turf. He left Genoa in 1995, aged 35, to join his hometown club Pisa, then in Serie D
Serie D
Serie D is the top level of the Italian non-professional football association called Lega Nazionale Dilettanti. The association represents over a million football players and thousands of football teams across Italy. Serie D ranks just below Lega Pro Seconda Divisione , and is thus considered the...
, and retired two years later. He played 210 Serie A
Serie A
Serie A , now called Serie A TIM due to sponsorship by Telecom Italia, is a professional league competition for football clubs located at the top of the Italian football league system and has been operating for over eighty years since 1929. It had been organized by Lega Calcio until 2010, but a new...
matches with 6 goals.
After having ended his playing career, Signorini started a managing career working for Pisa, and serving as joint caretaker manager during their 1997–98 Serie C2
Serie C2
Lega Pro Seconda Divisione is the name of the fourth highest football league in Italy, the lowest with a professional status. Usually it consists of 54 teams, but in the season 2010–11 the teams are only 49 divided geographically into three divisions of 17, 16 and 16 teams each...
campaign, but soon after he discovered he was suffering from amyotrophic lateral sclerosis
Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis
Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis , also referred to as Lou Gehrig's disease, is a form of motor neuron disease caused by the degeneration of upper and lower neurons, located in the ventral horn of the spinal cord and the cortical neurons that provide their efferent input...
, also known as Lou Gehrig's disease, an illness that slowly forced immobility, paralyzing all his muscles. He died on November 6, 2002, in his Pisa home. In his honour, the #6 Genoa CFC jersey, worn by Signorini during his time for the rossoblu, has been retired.
On May 17, 2009 Signorini's son Andrea
Andrea Signorini
Andrea Signorini is an Italian footballer who plays as a defender for Benevento.-Career:The third of four children of late Genoa captain and fan favourite Gianluca Signorini, who died in 2002 after a long battle against amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, he moved his first footsteps with his father's...
, a footballer himself, made his Serie A debut with Genoa, thus continuing the legacy of the former rossoblu captain.