Pietro Paolo Virdis
Encyclopedia
Antonio Pietro Paolo Virdis (born 26 June 1957 in Sassari
) is a former Italian
footballer
who played for Cagliari Calcio
, Juventus F.C.
, Udinese Calcio
, AC Milan and was part of their European Cup
victory in 1989
.
with amateur Serie D
side Nuorese in 1973, scoring 11 goals in his first senior season at the young age of 16. He later joined Cagliari
, making his Serie A
debut on 6 October 1974 in a league game versus Udinese
.
In 1977 he joined Juventus
, where he played until 1982, except for a one-year stint back at Cagliari in 1980–81. After failing to find a first team place, in 1982 he left Juventus for Udinese
. In 1984 he then moved at AC Milan
, where he enjoyed his best period at club level, playing five seasons with the rossoneri and winning a Serie A topscorer title in 1987. In 1989, aged 32, he left AC Milan to join Lecce
, where he spent his final two seasons as a professional footballer before retiring in 1991.
. In the tournament, he went on to score 3 goals in 6 matches as Italy lost 2-0 to West Germany
in the bronze final. Before this he competed in the 1982 UEFA U21 Championship
.
club Atletico Catania, being however fired later in April 1999.
He then returned into management in March 2001, accepting an offer from Viterbese
of Serie C1. However, his stint lasted a mere two months, as he was fired in May of that year. In April 2002 he then accepted a managerial role at Nocerina
, leading the team for the final few weeks of the season.
He later abandoned football and opened a restaurant and wine bar in Milan. However, in July 2008 he stated his interest in getting back into management.
Milan
Sassari
Sassari is an Italian city. It is the second-largest city of Sardinia in terms of population with about 130,000 inhabitants, or about 300,000 including the greater metropolitan area...
) is a former Italian
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...
footballer
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...
who played for Cagliari Calcio
Cagliari Calcio
Cagliari Calcio is an Italian football club based in Cagliari, Sardinia. The club was formed in 1920 and currently plays in Italian Serie A, having spent a large part of recent years mainly in Serie A and Serie B....
, Juventus F.C.
Juventus F.C.
Juventus Football Club S.p.A. , commonly referred to as Juventus and colloquially as Juve , are a professional Italian association football club based in Turin, Piedmont...
, Udinese Calcio
Udinese Calcio
Udinese Calcio is an Italian football club based in Udine, Friuli-Venezia Giulia, and currently plays in the Serie A. Founded in 1896, Udinese is the second oldest club in the Serie A, after Genoa....
, AC Milan and was part of their European Cup
UEFA Champions League
The UEFA Champions League, known simply the Champions League and originally known as the European Champion Clubs' Cup or European Cup, is an annual international club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations since 1955 for the top football clubs in Europe. It...
victory in 1989
European Cup 1988-89
The season 1988–89 of the European Cup football club tournament was won for the first time since 1969, and third time overall, by AC Milan comfortably in the final against former winners Steaua Bucureşti...
.
Club
He started his career in his native SardiniaSardinia
Sardinia is the second-largest island in the Mediterranean Sea . It is an autonomous region of Italy, and the nearest land masses are the French island of Corsica, the Italian Peninsula, Sicily, Tunisia and the Spanish Balearic Islands.The name Sardinia is from the pre-Roman noun *sard[],...
with amateur 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...
side Nuorese in 1973, scoring 11 goals in his first senior season at the young age of 16. He later joined Cagliari
Cagliari Calcio
Cagliari Calcio is an Italian football club based in Cagliari, Sardinia. The club was formed in 1920 and currently plays in Italian Serie A, having spent a large part of recent years mainly in Serie A and Serie B....
, making his 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...
debut on 6 October 1974 in a league game versus Udinese
Udinese Calcio
Udinese Calcio is an Italian football club based in Udine, Friuli-Venezia Giulia, and currently plays in the Serie A. Founded in 1896, Udinese is the second oldest club in the Serie A, after Genoa....
.
In 1977 he joined Juventus
Juventus F.C.
Juventus Football Club S.p.A. , commonly referred to as Juventus and colloquially as Juve , are a professional Italian association football club based in Turin, Piedmont...
, where he played until 1982, except for a one-year stint back at Cagliari in 1980–81. After failing to find a first team place, in 1982 he left Juventus for Udinese
Udinese Calcio
Udinese Calcio is an Italian football club based in Udine, Friuli-Venezia Giulia, and currently plays in the Serie A. Founded in 1896, Udinese is the second oldest club in the Serie A, after Genoa....
. In 1984 he then moved at AC Milan
A.C. Milan
Associazione Calcio Milan, commonly referred to as A.C. Milan or simply Milan , is a professional Italian football club based in Milan, Lombardy, that plays in the Serie A. Milan was founded in 1899 by English lace-maker Herbert Kilpin and businessman Alfred Edwards among others...
, where he enjoyed his best period at club level, playing five seasons with the rossoneri and winning a Serie A topscorer title in 1987. In 1989, aged 32, he left AC Milan to join Lecce
U.S. Lecce
Unione Sportiva Lecce or simply U.S. Lecce is an Italian football club based in Lecce, Apulia who play in the Italian Serie A. After being crowned Serie B champions in 2009–10, the team successfully managed to avoid relegation in 2010-11....
, where he spent his final two seasons as a professional footballer before retiring in 1991.
National team
Although he never gained a cap for the senior squad, he helped the Italian olympic team qualify for Seoul 1988Football at the 1988 Summer Olympics
Final results for the football competition at the 1988 Summer Olympics. The tournament was held from September 17, 1988 to October 1, 1988.-Medal summary:...
. In the tournament, he went on to score 3 goals in 6 matches as Italy lost 2-0 to West Germany
Germany national football team
The Germany national football team is the football team that has represented Germany in international competition since 1908. It is governed by the German Football Association , which was founded in 1900....
in the bronze final. Before this he competed in the 1982 UEFA U21 Championship
1982 UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship
The UEFA U-21 Championship 1982, which spanned two years , had 26 entrants. West Germany competed in the competition for the first time. England U-21s won the competition....
.
Managerial career
After retiring from active football, Virdis tried to pursue a career as a manager. In November 1998 he took his first managerial role, becoming head coach of Serie C1Serie C1
Lega Pro Prima Divisione is the name of the third highest football league in Italy. It consists of 36 teams, divided geographically into two divisions of 18 teams each. Until 2008 it was known as Serie C1....
club Atletico Catania, being however fired later in April 1999.
He then returned into management in March 2001, accepting an offer from Viterbese
A.S. Viterbese Calcio
Associazione Sportiva Viterbese Calcio is an Italian association football club, based in Viterbo, Lazio. The club was founded in 1908 and refounded in 2004 as A.S. Viterbo Calcio, but changed its name back during the 2005–06 season. Viterbese currently plays in Serie D. The team's colors are yellow...
of Serie C1. However, his stint lasted a mere two months, as he was fired in May of that year. In April 2002 he then accepted a managerial role at Nocerina
A.G. Nocerina 1910
Associazione Sportiva Giovanile Nocerina is an Italian association football club, based in Nocera Inferiore, Campania.Nocerina in the season 2011-12 plays in Serie B.- Games with Juventus :...
, leading the team for the final few weeks of the season.
He later abandoned football and opened a restaurant and wine bar in Milan. However, in July 2008 he stated his interest in getting back into management.
Club statistics
| Stagione | Club | Campionato | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Comp | Pres | Reti | ||
| 1973-74 | Nuorese | D | 25 | 11 |
| 1974-75 | Cagliari Cagliari Calcio Cagliari Calcio is an Italian football club based in Cagliari, Sardinia. The club was formed in 1920 and currently plays in Italian Serie A, having spent a large part of recent years mainly in Serie A and Serie B.... |
A | 19 | 0 |
| 1975-76 | A | 23 | 6 | |
| 1976-77 | B | 33 | 18 | |
| 1977-78 | Juventus | A | 10 | 1 |
| 1978-79 | A | 23 | 6 | |
| 1979-80 | A | 12 | 1 | |
| 1980-81 | Cagliari Cagliari Calcio Cagliari Calcio is an Italian football club based in Cagliari, Sardinia. The club was formed in 1920 and currently plays in Italian Serie A, having spent a large part of recent years mainly in Serie A and Serie B.... |
A | 22 | 5 |
| 1981-82 | Juventus | A | 30 | 9 |
| 1982-83 | Udinese Udinese Calcio Udinese Calcio is an Italian football club based in Udine, Friuli-Venezia Giulia, and currently plays in the Serie A. Founded in 1896, Udinese is the second oldest club in the Serie A, after Genoa.... |
A | 16 | 2 |
| 1983-84 | A | 29 | 10 | |
| 1984-85 | Milan A.C. Milan Associazione Calcio Milan, commonly referred to as A.C. Milan or simply Milan , is a professional Italian football club based in Milan, Lombardy, that plays in the Serie A. Milan was founded in 1899 by English lace-maker Herbert Kilpin and businessman Alfred Edwards among others... |
A | 28 | 9 |
| 1985-86 | A | 28 | 6 | |
| 1986-87 | A | 28 | 17 | |
| 1987-88 | A | 25 | 11 | |
| 1988-89 | A | 26 | 10 | |
| 1989-90 | Lecce | A | 25 | 4 |
| 1990-91 | A | 21 | 4 | |
| Totale Serie A | 365 | 101 | ||
Club
Juventus- Serie ASerie ASerie 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...
: 1977-78Serie A 1977-78The 1977/1978 Serie A season was won by Juventus F.C..-Final classification:-Results:-References and sources:*Almanacco Illustrato del Calcio - La Storia 1898-2004, Panini Edizioni, Modena, September 2005-External links:...
, 1981-82Serie A 1981-82The 1981/1982 Serie A season was won by Juventus F.C..-Final classification:Juventus FC became the first, and as of 2011, the only team in Italian football to be awarded two golden stars, to commemorate their 20th title win.-Results:... - Coppa ItaliaCoppa ItaliaThe Coppa Italia is an Italian football annual cup competition. Its first edition was held in 1922, but the second champions were not crowned until 1936. Roma and Juventus lead the way with nine wins. Roma has contested more finals, 16, while Torino and Juventus follow with 13...
: 1978-79
Milan
- Serie ASerie ASerie 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...
: 1987-88Serie A 1987-88The 1987/1988 Serie A season marked A.C. Milan's first Scudetto under the Silvio Berlusconi era and their first since the 1978/1979 season. S.S.C. Napoli, with a team including Diego Maradona, Ciro Ferrara and Careca were pre-season favourites. The championship went down to the last day of the... - Supercoppa ItalianaSupercoppa ItalianaThe Supercoppa Italiana is a pre-season football competition held the week before the season begins in Italy every year. It is contested by the winners of the Serie A and the Coppa Italia in the previous season, as a curtain raiser to the new season. It is usually played at the home of the Serie A...
: 1988 - European CupUEFA Champions LeagueThe UEFA Champions League, known simply the Champions League and originally known as the European Champion Clubs' Cup or European Cup, is an annual international club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations since 1955 for the top football clubs in Europe. It...
: 1988-89