Giuseppe Signori

Giuseppe Signori

Giuseppe Signori with Lazio in 1994
Personal information
Date of birth (1968-02-17) 17 February 1968
Place of birth Alzano Lombardo, Italy
Height 1.75 m (5 ft 9 in)
Playing position Striker, Left winger
Youth career
1981–1984 Internazionale
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1984–1986 Leffe 38 (8)
1986–1989 Piacenza 46 (6)
1987–1988 → Trento (loan) 31 (3)
1989–1992 Foggia 100 (66)
1992–1997 Lazio 152 (107)
1998 Sampdoria 17 (12)
1998–2004 Bologna 142 (78)
2004–2005 Iraklis 5 (0)
2005–2006 Sopron 10 (3)
Total 541 (283)
National team
– Italy 28 (12)

* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only.


Giuseppe "Beppe" Signori (Italian pronunciation: [dʒuˈzɛppe siɲˈɲori]; born 17 February 1968 in Alzano Lombardo, Bergamo) is a retired Italian footballer, who played as a forward.

Signori was a fast, left footed striker, who was a prolific goalscorer, due to his powerful, accurate shot. During the early part of his career he was used as a left winger or as a second striker, where his technique, accurate crossing, passing, and pace were put to good use. He was also an accurate set piece and penalty-kick taker, and was notable due to his tendency to take set pieces and penalties without taking a run-up.[1] Alongside Siniša Mihajlović, he is one of two players to have scored a hat-trick from free kicks in Serie A, a feat which he managed with Lazio in a 3–1 home win over Atalanta, on 10 April 1994.[2]

Signori was sponsored by Diadora and used to squeeze his feet into boots that were too small for him, claiming that this improved his touch and accuracy on the ball. He is one of the top ten scorers in Serie A history, although he never received a winners medal in competitive football. At international level, Signori represented Italy at the 1994 World Cup, where they reached the final.[3]

Club career

As a youngster Signori played in the youth system of Internazionale, but was eventually released after being told by the club that he was too short to succeed as a professional.[4] He went on to make his pro debut for Leffe (1984–86), followed by Piacenza (1986–87 and 1988–89), Trento (1987–88), Foggia (1989–92), Lazio (1992–97), Sampdoria (January–June 1998) and Bologna (1998–2004). He then spent two short periods abroad: first in Greece in 2004 with Iraklis Thessaloniki; and then in October 2005 he signed a one-year contract with Hungarian team MFC Sopron to end his professional career.

The pinnacle of Signori's career came at Lazio, where he was the top goalscorer in Serie A three times, in 1993, 1994, and 1996 (the last title shared with Igor Protti). In 1998 he was sold for an undisclosed figure to Sampdoria after being used more sparingly by the Lazio coach Sven-Göran Eriksson. At Bologna, he helped the club to qualify for the 1998–99 UEFA Cup by winning the 1998 UEFA Intertoto Cup that season. Bologna went on to reach the semi-final of the UEFA Cup that season. Overall, he scored 188 goals in Italy's top division, the ninth highest in the history of the league, alongside Alessandro Del Piero and Alberto Gilardino.

International career

Signori was not able fully to translate his success to the national level, partly due to differences between him and national coach Arrigo Sacchi, who preferred to play him in the midfield, as a left winger, only using him as a forward on occasion, both as a striker and as a supporting forward. He played for the national side 28 times between 1992 and 1995, scoring twelve goals. The only major tournament Signori played in was the 1994 FIFA World Cup, where he appeared six times as Italy finished in second place, but he did not play in the final against Brazil, as Italy were defeated on penalties after a 0–0 draw following extra time. Despite going scoreless during the tournament, he assisted Dino Baggio's match-winning goal against Norway in Italy's second group match,[3] and Roberto Baggio's match-winning goal in the 87th minute of the quarter-final match against Spain.[5][6]

After retirement

After working as a Serie A football pundit for RAI Radio1,[7] he served as director of football of Ternana Calcio from 2008 to 2009. He is currently undertaking coaching classes in the renowned Coverciano school in Florence, with the aim to become a football manager himself.

Signori was arrested on 1 June 2011 for his involvement in a betting scandal, together with other former players such as Stefano Bettarini and Mauro Bressan.[8] On 9 August 2011, it was announced that he had been banned from any football-related activity for 5 years for his role in alleged match fixing.[9]

Honours

Club

Foggia[10]
Bologna[10]

International

Italy[11]

Individual

References

  1. ↑ "Chi è Signori, l'ex bomber con la mania di scommettere" (in Italian). Sky.it. 1 June 2011. Retrieved 9 November 2014.
  2. ↑ Lanfredo Birelli (14 December 1998). "Record Mihajlovic: mai 3 gol su punizione diretta" [Mihajlovic record: never before 3 goals from direct free-kicks] (in Italian). La Gazzetta dello Sport. Retrieved 26 August 2015.
  3. 1 2 Emmet Gates (21 January 2015). "Remembering Dino, the other Baggio". The Guardian. Retrieved 20 May 2015.
  4. ↑ Matt Vincent (22 January 2014). "The forgotten legends of football: Giuseppe Signori". Sports Keeda. Retrieved 20 May 2015.
  5. ↑ Giancarlo Padovan (10 July 1994). "Spagna Adios, l'Italia avanza" (in Italian). Il Corriere della Sera. Retrieved 20 May 2015.
  6. ↑ "Nazionale in cifre: Signori, Giuseppe". www.figc.it (in Italian). FIGC. Retrieved 22 April 2015.
  7. ↑ "RAI: WEEKEND CON LO SPORT IN DIRETTA SU RADIO, TV E SATELLITE" (in Italian). Satellite Oggi. 14 September 2007. Retrieved 16 September 2007.
  8. ↑ "Maxi-inchesta sulle scommesse Arrestato anche Beppe Signori" (in Italian). La Gazzetta dello Sport, web edition. 1 June 2011. Retrieved 19 December 2015.
  9. ↑ "Soccer-Atalanta have points deducted over alleged match-fixing". Reuters. 9 August 2011.
  10. 1 2 "Giuseppe Signori" (in Italian). Eurosport. Retrieved 19 December 2015.
  11. ↑ "G. Signori". Soccerway. Retrieved 19 December 2015.
  12. ↑ Roberto Di Maggio; Igor Kramarsic; Alberto Novello (11 June 2015). "Italy - Serie A Top Scorers". RSSSF. Retrieved 2 December 2015.
  13. ↑ Roberto Di Maggio; Davide Rota (4 June 2015). "Italy - Coppa Italia Top Scorers". RSSSF. Retrieved 15 June 2015.
  14. ↑ "Italy - Footballer of the Year". RSSSF. Retrieved 6 February 2015.
  15. ↑ "Premio Nazionale Carriera Esemplare Gaetano Scirea: Alba d'Oro" (in Italian). Retrieved 21 January 2015.


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