Francesco Graziani - 278.35 Performance Pts
Born: 16/12/1952 Subiaco, Italy
Position: Forward Height: 1.80m Weight: 76kg
The 1982
World Cup should have been the highlight of Graziani's career, and in many
ways, was. He'd scored in the group stage match against Cameroon, and Italy
progressed to the final, winning 3-1 against West Germany. Graziani suffered an
injury early in this match, and his replacement, Alessandro Altobelli, scored
Italy's crucial third goal. Having started out with Arezzo, Graziani joined
Torino in 1973 and enjoyed great success there, winning the Scudetto in 1976
and finishing in 2nd place the following year. He moved to Fiorentina in 1981,
and also played for Roma and Udinese. Runners-up finishes became a recurring
theme during this period. In Serie A this happened with Fiorentina (in 1982)
and twice with Roma (in 1984 and 1986). Roma had actually won the title without
Graziani in 1983 and went all the way to the European Cup Final the following
year, where, in Rome's Olympic Stadium, they were (you've guessed it) runners
up to Liverpool. This was the match that featured Bruce Grobbelaar’s wobbly
legs in the penalty shoot-out, and Graziani was one of the players who missed.
His managerial career has involved spells at several clubs, mainly in the
Italian lower divisions; his best achievement came with Fiorentina, leading
them to the 1990 UEFA Cup Final.
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