Filippo Galli

Filippo Galli (born 19 May 1963) is an Italian football manager and former player, who played as a defender.

For the Italian singer, see Filippo Galli (bass).
Filippo Galli
Personal information
Date of birth (1963-05-19) 19 May 1963
Place of birth Monza, Italy
Height 1.81 m (5 ft 11 1⁄2 in)
Position(s) Defender
Youth career
1981–1982 Milan
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1982–1996 Milan 217 (3)
1982–1983 → Pescara (loan) 28 (2)
1996–1998 Reggiana 54 (2)
1998–2001 Brescia 93 (2)
2001–2002 Watford 28 (1)
2002–2004 Pro Sesto 38 (1)
Total 458 (11)
National team
1984–1987 Italy U-21 7 (0)
Teams managed
2006–2008

Milan Primavera

Milan (Technical Assistant)
2009–2018 Milan youth system
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only

He is mostly remembered for his lengthy and successful spell with A.C. Milan, where he played alongside Baresi, Maldini, Costacurta, and Tassotti, forming a strong defensive line-up under managers Arrigo Sacchi and Fabio Capello, in the teams which were respectively known as The Immortals and The Invincibles; during his 15 seasons with the club, he won five Serie A titles and three UEFA Champions League titles, among other trophies.

Club career

Born in Monza, Galli played for A.C. Milan from 1983 to November 1996, after initially being a member of the club's youth sector.[1] He made his Milan debut in Serie A on 18 September 1983, in a 4–2 home win over Verona. During his 13 seasons with the club, he enjoyed many domestic and international successes under managers Arrigo Sacchi and Fabio Capello, winning five Serie A titles, three European Cups, two Intercontinental Cups, three European Super Cups, and four Italian Super Cups; he also scored 4 goals for the club in 325 appearances: 3 in Serie A, in 217 appearances, and 1 in the Coppa Italia, with his final goal coming against Brescia on 4 September 1991. He was initially an important member of the starting line-up alongside teammates Franco Baresi, Mauro Tassotti, and Paolo Maldini, featuring in what is considered to be one of the greatest defences of all time.[lower-alpha 1] He played a key role during Milan's 1987–88 Serie A triumph, as Milan only conceded 12 goals in 30 league games, finishing with the best defence in Italy. However, due to injuries, and the emergence of Alessandro Costacurta in his position, he began to find less space in the starting line-up, and was usually used as a substitute in later years, although he was still able to contribute to important victories with the club, notably helping Milan to keep a clean-sheet with a dominant defensive performance, as they defeated Barcelona 4–0 in the 1994 UEFA Champions League Final.[11][12]

Before joining the Milan senior side, Galli initially made his professional debut whilst on loan with Pescara during the 1982–83 season. Following his time with Milan, he was sold to Reggiana in 1996, another Serie A team. After two seasons with Reggiana, he moved to Brescia for two seasons, helping the club to Serie A promotion, during the 1999–2000 Serie B season, and subsequently helping the team to avoid relegation and qualify for the 2001 UEFA Intertoto Cup the following season, playing alongside Roberto Baggio, under manager Carlo Mazzone. At the age of 38, he successively spent a season at Watford whilst Gianluca Vialli was the team's manager, scoring once against Walsall.[13]

International career

Galli never played for the Italy senior team,[14] although he was capped for the Italy under-21 side on 7 occasions between 1984 and 1987, and he took part with Italy at the 1984 UEFA European Under-21 Championship, where they reached the semi-final. He was also a member of Italy's squad at the 1984 Summer Olympics, where they managed a fourth-place finish.[15]

Style of play

A composed, consistent, intelligence, tenacious, and tactically versatile player, with excellent technique, distribution, Galli was known for his man-marking ability and defensive awareness; an attentive player, he excelled at reading the game, and was usually used as a centre-back, although he was often called on to fill in at any defensive position, and also played at right-back, and as sweeper on occasion.[12][14]

Despite his ability, he often struggled with injuries throughout his career, and predominantly served as a back-up in his later career, following the emergence of younger players.[14][11]

After retirement

Galli retired in 2004, aged 41, after two seasons with minor Serie C2 club Pro Sesto. Following his retirement, he began a coaching career, and he has been responsible for the A.C. Milan youth system for many years. In August 2008, he began working for the first team, and he became Carlo Ancelotti's assistant-coach, alongside his former teammate Tassotti. Following Ancelotti's departure in 2009, he became a technical assistant of then-new head coach Leonardo Araújo. Galli also worked as a pundit on occasion. In September 2012, he began the coaching course in Coverciano.[16]

Honours

Club

Milan[11]

Individual
  • A.C. Milan Hall of Fame[11]

legend
  1. See[2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10]

References
  1. "Mondo CALCIO – Serie B 1999/2000: GALLI". Archived from the original on 2009-05-05. Retrieved 2007-05-15.
  2. James Horncastle (21 March 2016). "Gianluigi Buffon record cements his legacy as greatest keeper of all-time". ESPN FC. Retrieved 21 March 2016.
  3. Paolo Bandini (21 March 2016). "Gianluigi Buffon humble as clean sheet record tumbles, but delight not universal". The Guardian. Retrieved 21 March 2016.
  4. Rob Smyth (8 May 2009). "The Joy of Six: Great defences". The Guardian. Retrieved 9 March 2016.
  5. "Nazionale: 2013, addio al catenaccio. Balotelli-Rossi coppia mondiale" (in Italian). La Repubblica. 19 November 2013. Retrieved 9 March 2016.
  6. Lorenzo Turati (15 June 2015). "Costacurta: "Contro lo Steaua la finale più bella, Sacchi era un genio"" (in Italian). spaziomilan.it. Retrieved 9 March 2016.
  7. Foot, John (2006). Winning at All Costs: A Scandalous History of Italian Soccer. New York: Nation Books. p. 228.
  8. Mattia Fontana (19 August 2014). "La storia della tattica: da Sacchi a Guardiola" (in Italian). Eurosport. Retrieved 10 March 2016.
  9. Corrado Sannucci. "MILAN 1988-1994: 6 ANNI DA CAMPIONI" (in Italian). Storie di Calcio. Retrieved 10 March 2016.
  10. Jonathan Terreni (19 June 2012). "Speciale squadre nella leggenda, Milan '93-'94 vs Inter '09-'10" (in Italian). Calciomercato.it. Retrieved 10 March 2016.
  11. "A.C. Milan Hall of Fame: Filippo Galli". acmilan.com. A.C. Milan. Retrieved 31 March 2015.
  12. "Maglia Rossonera: Filippo Giovanni Galli ("Lo Squalo Bianco di Villasanta")". magliarossonera.it (in Italian). Maglia Rossonera. Retrieved 1 April 2015.
  13. "Watford 2-1 Walsall". WatfordFC.com. 27 August 2001. Archived from the original on 23 June 2010. Retrieved 26 June 2010.
  14. "Dieci italiani più uno che avrebbero meritato la nazionale" (in Italian). La Repubblica. Retrieved 26 February 2017.
  15. "Convocazioni e presenze in campo: Galli, Filippo". figc.it (in Italian). FIGC. Retrieved 1 April 2015.
  16. "A.C. MILAN COMUNICATO UFFICIALE". acmilan.com (in Italian). 10 June 2009. Retrieved 1 April 2015.
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