Franco Vannini

Franco Vannini

Vannini with Perugia in 1975
Personal information
Date of birth	(1947-10-07) 7 October 1947 (age 77)
Place of birth	San Giovanni Valdarno, Italy
Height	1.89 m (6 ft 2 in)
Position(s)	Midfielder
Youth career
1963–1966	Arezzo
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
1966–1967	Arezzo	1	(0)
1967–1968	Entella	23	(5)
1968–1971	Como	83	(8)
1971–1972	Foggia	2	(0)
1972–1974	Como	45	(8)
1984–1985	Perugia	128	(29)
Total		283	(50)
Managerial career
1986–1987	Jesina
1987–1988	Monopoli
1988–1989	Teramo
1989–1991	Fidelis Andria
1991–1992	Catania
1992–1993	Monopoli
1993–1994	Giarre
1994–1995	Cremapergo
1995–1996	Pro Sesto 1913
1996–1997	Pisa
1997–1998	Cremapergo
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Franco Vannini (born 7 October 1947 in San Giovanni Valdarno) is a former Italian professional football player and manager. As a footballer he played as a midfielder.

Club career

Vannini played for several Italian clubs throughout his career, in particular he played for Perugia; he helped them win the Serie B in 1974–75, and was close to winning the 1978–79 Serie A, finishing unbeaten in second place.[1] However, it was during that season that the midfielder fell victim to a serious injury, in the home match against Inter (2-2) on February 4, 1979, which ended his career: a foul by Inter defender Adriano Fedele, committed while the game was stopped just moments after Vannini had halved the temporary double disadvantage of the Umbrians, caused him a double fracture of the tibia and fibula and a consequent halt that deprived the Griffins of one of their leaders in the race for the championship.[1]

Due to the aftermath of the injury, and despite numerous attempts to return, the player was unable to take the field in official matches (although he was included in the Perugia roster until the 1980–1981 season) and had to prematurely end his playing career, at just over thirty-one years old. In his career, he totaled 98 appearances and 22 goals in Serie A, and 162 appearances and 23 goals in Serie B.[2]

Honours

Player

Perugia

• Serie B: 1974–75

References

1. Sebastiano Vernazza (31 July 2007). "Perugia imbattibile con il modello Ajax" (PDF) (in Italian). Gazzetta dello Sport.
2. "Le favole del calcio italiano: il Perugia dei miracoli". calcioitaliastory.it. Archived from the original on 28 February 2014.

Media related to Franco Vannini at Wikimedia Commons