Giuseppe Signori

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

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 1.70 m (5 ft 7 in)
Playing position(s) 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 (37)
1992–1997 Lazio 152 (107)
1998 Sampdoria 17 (3)
1998–2004 Bologna 142 (66)
2004–2005 Iraklis 5 (0)
2005–2006 Sopron 10 (3)
Total 541 (230)
National team
1992–1995 Italy 28 (7)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only

He played for several clubs in Italy throughout his career, and also had spells in Greece and Hungary with Iraklis Thessaloniki and MFC Sopron respectively. Signori won the Serie A top-scorer award three times and 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 28 times between 1992 and 1995, scoring 7 goals, and took part at the 1994 World Cup, where they reached the final.[1]

Club career

Signori was born in Alzano Lombardo, Bergamo. As a youngster he 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.[2] 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-finals of both the UEFA Cup and the Coppa Italia 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.

Between 17 May 1992 and 28 February 1993, Signori scored in a record 10 consecutive away games in Serie A (1 in 1991–92 with Foggia, and 9 in 1992–93 with Lazio). Alongside Cristiano Ronaldo, he holds the records for most consecutive away games with at least one goal in a single season (9), which he set during the 1992–93 season with Lazio.[3][4]

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 seven 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,[1] and Roberto Baggio's match-winning goal in the 87th minute of the quarter-final match against Spain.[5][6]

Style of play

Signori was a fast, hard-working, and diminutive left footed striker, who was a prolific goalscorer, due to his powerful and accurate shot, which drew frequent comparisons with Luigi Riva in the Italian media. A versatile forward, during the early part of his career he was used as a left winger or as a second striker, where his pace, excellent technique, and accurate crossing and passing ability were put to good use; in this position, he was known for his ability to cut in from the left flank and subsequently score by placing the ball at the far post with his left foot. He was also an extremely accurate set piece and penalty-kick taker, and was noted for his tendency to take set pieces and penalties without taking a run-up. When taking penalties, he often observed the keepers' movements, and attempted to send them the wrong first by waiting for them to dive before striking the ball. He scored 44 penalties from 52 attempts, making him one of the most accurate penalty takers in Serie A history, and the fifth most prolific spot kick taker of all time in the Italian league.[7][8][9][10][11] 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.[12] In training, in order to refine his accuracy from free kicks, he used to practise by attempting to curl the ball over artificial walls that were up to two metres in height, and that were placed closer to the ball than regulation distance.[13] In addition to his goalscoring and ability as a footballer, he was also known for his leadership and mentality; however, despite his talent, he was also known to be injury prone.[11][14] 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.[1]

Career statistics

Club
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League Cup Continental Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Leffe Calcio1984-85Serie D85——85
1985–86303——303
Total 388——388
Piacenza1986–87Serie C14130—171
Total 14130—171
Trento1987–88Serie C313——313
Total 313——313
Piacenza1988–89Serie B32550—375
Total 32550—375
Foggia1989–90Serie B3415——3415
1990–91341131—3712
1991–92Serie A321120—3411
Total 1003751—10538
Lazio1992–93Serie A322666—3832
1993–94242310302823
1994–95271754703921
1995–96312441313826
1996–97321540303915
1997–98624532139
Total 1521072416193195126
Sampdoria1997–98Serie A173——173
Total 173——173
Bologna1998–99Serie A281551116461231
1999–2000311510643819
2000–01231521—2516
2001–0214310—153
2002–032412—322714
2003–0422610—236
Total 14266102201217481
Career total 52623047193915614265

International

[6]

Italy national team
YearAppsGoals
199262
199262
1994133
199530
Total287

After retirement

After working as a Serie A football pundit for RAI Radio1,[15] he served as director of football of Ternana Calcio from 2008 to 2009. He undertook 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.[16] On 9 August 2011, it was announced that he had been banned from any football-related activity for five years for his role in alleged match fixing.[17]

Honours

Club
Foggia[18]
Bologna[18]

International
Italy[19]

Individual

References
  1. Emmet Gates (21 January 2015). "Remembering Dino, the other Baggio". The Guardian. Retrieved 20 May 2015.
  2. Matt Vincent (22 January 2014). "The forgotten legends of football: Giuseppe Signori". Sports Keeda. Archived from the original on 4 October 2015. Retrieved 20 May 2015.
  3. "Juve, CR7 da record: 9 trasferte di fila con gol in Serie A. E nel mirino c'è Messi". La Gazzetta dello Sport (in Italian). 11 February 2019. Retrieved 11 February 2019.
  4. "Así está la Bota de Oro: Cristiano Ronaldo empata con Mbappé y se sitúa a tres goles de Messi" (in Spanish). www.marca.com. 10 February 2019. Retrieved 11 February 2019.
  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. "Chi è Signori, l'ex bomber con la mania di scommettere" (in Italian). Sky.it. 1 June 2011. Archived from the original on 10 November 2014. Retrieved 9 November 2014.
  8. Lorenzo Marucci (3 March 2015). "ESCLUSIVA TMW - Signori e i calci di punizione:"Bene Tevez, ritroviamo gli specialisti"" (in Italian). TuttoMercatoWeb.com. Retrieved 6 March 2017.
  9. Giorgio Dell'Arti (3 September 2014). "Biografia di Giuseppe Signori" (in Italian). www.cinquantamila.it. Retrieved 11 February 2019.
  10. Roberto Vinciguerra. "I migliori rigoristi della storia della serie A" [The best penalty takers in Serie A history] (in Italian). Il Guerin Sportivo. Retrieved 16 May 2016.
  11. "L'omaggio di Sacchi: lui e Signori ancora più grandi del loro talento". La Nuova Ferrara (in Italian). 11 May 2004. Retrieved 24 April 2020.
  12. Lanfredo Birelli (14 December 1998). "Record Mihajlovic: mai 3 gol su punizione diretta" [Mihajlovic record: never before 3 goals from direct free-kicks]. La Gazzetta dello Sport (in Italian). Retrieved 26 August 2015.
  13. Fabrizio Salvio (13 March 2004). "Professione cecchino". La Gazzetta dello Sport (in Italian). Retrieved 11 February 2019.
  14. Paolo Menicucci; Dinnyés Márton (18 November 2005). "Signori segna, il Sopron sogna" (in Italian). UEFA.com. Retrieved 25 January 2017.
  15. "RAI: WEEKEND CON LO SPORT IN DIRETTA SU RADIO, TV E SATELLITE" (in Italian). Satellite Oggi. 14 September 2007. Archived from the original on 1 December 2007. Retrieved 16 September 2007.
  16. "Maxi-inchesta sulle scommesse Arrestato anche Beppe Signori" (in Italian). La Gazzetta dello Sport, web edition. 1 June 2011. Retrieved 19 December 2015.
  17. "Soccer-Atalanta have points deducted over alleged match-fixing". Reuters. 9 August 2011.
  18. "Giuseppe Signori" (in Italian). Eurosport. Retrieved 19 December 2015.
  19. "G. Signori". Soccerway. Retrieved 19 December 2015.
  20. Roberto Di Maggio; Igor Kramarsic; Alberto Novello (11 June 2015). "Italy - Serie A Top Scorers". RSSSF. Archived from the original on 31 October 2015. Retrieved 2 December 2015.
  21. Roberto Di Maggio; Davide Rota (4 June 2015). "Italy - Coppa Italia Top Scorers". RSSSF. Archived from the original on 29 October 2015. Retrieved 15 June 2015.
  22. "Italy - Footballer of the Year". RSSSF. Archived from the original on 21 January 2015. Retrieved 6 February 2015.
  23. "Premio Nazionale Carriera Esemplare Gaetano Scirea: Alba d'Oro" (in Italian). Retrieved 21 January 2015.
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