Romeo Benetti - 267.06 Performance Pts
Born: 20/10/1945 Verona, Italy
Position: Midfielder Height: 1.82m Weight: 77kg
With his
trademark moustache, Benetti looked part playboy, part Bond villain. He
combined passing ability and strong technical skills with tenacity and tough
tackling, so this seems an appropriate description. He was a presence in Serie
A, and for the Azzurri, throughout the 70s. He'd started out in the lower
leagues before joining Juventus in 1968. He didn't settle there so spent a
season with Sampdoria before beginning an impressive 6-year spell with Milan,
winning the first of his 55 international caps whilst there, in 1971. Milan
were runners-up in each of his first 3 seasons. City rivals Inter were crowned
champions in 1971, and Benetti's former club, Juventus, lifted the title the
following 2 seasons, finishing a single point ahead of Milan both times. There
was consolation to be had in 1973, however; Milan won the Cup Winners Cup that
year, beating Leeds United in the final, and also beat Juventus to win the
Coppa Italia. Benetti scored Milan's goal from the penalty spot and converted
in the successful shoot-out to win the cup after a 1-1 draw. Having seen
Juventus win Serie A on 3 occasions in the years since he left the club,
Benetti decided to rejoin them, and was rewarded with successive Scudetti in
1977 and 1978. These turned out to be the only league titles of his career, but
he ended up being a bit of a Coppa Italia specialist. He spent 2 seasons with
Roma at the end of his career, winning the cup both times (in 1980 and 1981)
which completed a hat-trick, having won it with Juve in 1979. The two earlier
competition victories with Milan gave him an impressive career tally of
5.
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