Antonio Giuliano, the son of the street who became Napoli’s captain and as manager brought Maradona to the blue team, has died.

In Naples it was enough to say “Totonno”. Everyone understood what he was talking about Antonio Giulianothe football player with him Diego Maradona He represented Naples and the Neapolitans better than anyone else. Today, the city mourns its leader, a few days before his 81st birthday, which he would have celebrated on December 26. blue life, 394 matches with the first team And 26 goals in 17 seasons from 1961 to 1978. More than five hundred goals, also including matches with youth teams. But it was The first Napoli player to wear a national team shirt. As manager of his city team, after finishing his playing career in Bologna, he brought to Napoli the greatest hero in its history: Diego Armando Maradona. A minute of silence will be observed in all Italian League stadiums before the matches of the next round of the tournamentas defined by the Italian Football Federation, which remembers it in the words of the President Gabriel Gravina“The passing of one of the heroes of one of the glorious pages of Italian football. European champion, vice-world champion, player of quality and imagination at the service of his club and the national team, At Napoli, he represented an organization first as a footballer and then as a technical director».

As a young man

born in san Giovanni and Teducchio, In the eastern area of ​​Naples, On December 26, 1942 (But it was announced in the registry office on January 1, 1943), Giuliano began to play in the street like all street urchins. Then when he was very young he wore the jersey of his neighborhood team: Fiamma Sangiovanese. He immediately showed his talent, so much so that one observer of the time, Giovanni Lambiasi, took him to the Napoli youth team. It was 1956 and Giuliano was only 14 years old.

Launched by Bisola

He pointed out that his first appearance in the Italian League came at the age of twenty Bruno BisolaIn a difficult season for Napoli, which was relegated to the second division. He spent 17 seasons in the blue jersey, including 12 as captain. He won the Italian Cup twice (1962 and 1976), the Alpine Cup (1966), and the English Italian League Cup (1976). Great players in the history of the Azzurri played alongside him: From Savory to Altafini, and from Kanye to Zoff. However, he led his team to important results at that time. The two second placesIn 1968 he succeeded Milan Rocco and in 1975 he succeeded his former teammate Altafini of Juventus. This is Naples Luis VinicioWho plays amazing, modern football and is the fulcrum of the game. Then he also finished third in the Italian League. In 1978, he left Napoli to end his career for only one season in Bologna. The funeral will be held tomorrow, Thursday, December 14, at 12 o’clock in the Church of San Giuseppe Via Riviera di Chiaia.

In the national team

Giuliano became a source of pride for his city’s fans when he wore the national team jersey as the first Neapolitan. He played 18 matches with the Italian national team and participated in three World Cup finals: England 66, Mexico 70, Germany 74. In Mexico, he entered the field for 16 minutes in the final match, which the Azzurri lost. Against Brazil Pele. Two years ago, in 1968, again with the national team Wins the European Championship. An elegant midfielder, a modern playmaker, Giuliano was a pioneer in his role.

As a manager

After leaving his career as a footballer, he returned to the Napoli club as general manager, becoming the protagonist of the arrival of champions such as Ruud Kroll in 1980 and, above all, Diego Maradona in 1984This made President Corrado Ferlaino overcome his doubts about the cost of the operation. After leaving Napoli in 1985, he returned as general manager in Serie B in the 1998-99 season. His strict and direct personality led him to often clash with… Corrado FerlinoWho worked with him in Naples for a long time. After relinquishing his role as a manager, he also became a respected sports commentator.

Tribute to Napoli Calcio, memory of Manfredi

Dozens of reactions and comments, and not just from the sports community, after the news of Juliano’s departure spread. «It is one of the worst days in the history of Napoli and its fans. “Antonio Giuliano, who was ‘Napoli’ for two decades, has died,” Società Sportiva Calcio Napoli tweeted (the president also retweeted this post). Aurelio De Laurentiis). “For those who don’t know him, it’s worth knowing who he is and what he represents for our city.
Hello Totono!”, concluded the club’s statement on social networks. Even the mayor of Naples, Gaetano ManfrediThe municipal administration expresses the city’s condolences “for the death of Antonio Giuliano, the exceptional and historic Napoli player who passed away today,” we read in a note from the municipality. “Giuliano represents A symbol of the long football season that is still alive in the memory of Neapolitansdistinguished by his successes on the field as a captain, the tremendous intuition he had as a manager, and the architect, among other things, of the negotiations that brought Maradona to Napoli. He maintained an inseparable relationship with the fans and with his city even after he stopped playing and coaching Napoli. He deserves to be remembered by the city in the best way,” concluded the municipal note, as if predicting some future initiatives in his memory.