Giuseppe Bruscolotti

Giuseppe Bruscolotti (born 1 June 1951) is a former Italian footballer who played as a right-back. He is mostly remembered for his lengthy spell with S.S.C. Napoli, where he served as the club's captain and contributed to the team's first ever Serie A title in 1987. Throughout his career, he was referred to as "Pal e fierr" ("iron pole") by the fans, due to his physical strength.[3]

Giuseppe Bruscolotti
Personal information
Full name Giuseppe Bruscolotti
Date of birth (1951-06-01) 1 June 1951
Place of birth Sassano, Campania, Italy
Height 1.81 m (5 ft 11 in)
Position(s) Right-back
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1970–1972 Sorrento[1] 60 (1)
1972–1988 Napoli[2] 387 (9)
Total 447 (10)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only

Career

Born in Sassano, Campania, Bruscolotti began his career with Sorrento in 1970. He immediately helped the club to Serie B promotion, winning the Serie C1 title during the 1970–71 season, and was a part of a defence which only conceded 12 goals in the league; the following season, however, the club were immediately relegated to Serie C once again, after finishing in second-last place in the league.[4]

Bruscolotti subsequently moved to S.S.C. Napoli in 1972, where he spent most of his career, making over 500 appearances for the team during his sixteen seasons in Naples; he made his Serie A debut with Napoli during the 1972–73 season, in a 1–0 win over Ternana on 24 September 1972. Bruscolotti became a symbol and a legend of the club, and played a key role in helping Napoli to their first ever Serie A title in 1987; he was also the team's captain from 1978 until 1984, when he handed over the armband to Diego Maradona.[5] He retired at the age of 37 in 1988;[3][6] he holds the record for most Serie A appearances for Napoli (387), and has made the second most appearances in all league competitions for the club.[7] He also made 96 appearances for Napoli in the Coppa Italia, and 28 in European competitions. Bruscolotti also scored 11 goals for Napoli throughout his career; one of his most notable goals came in a 1–0 home victory over Anderlecht in the return leg of the 1976–77 European Cup Winners' Cup semi-finals, although Napoli were eliminated by the eventual champions on aggregate.[6] His most important goal for the club came in the second leg of the 1976 Anglo-Italian League Cup final, which saw Napoli triumph over Southampton.[8] In addition to these titles, Bruscolotti also won two Coppa Italia titles with Napoli.[3][6][9][10]

Style of play

A tenacious, imposing, and powerful full-back, Bruscolotti was known in particular for his physical strength and balance, as well as his excellent man-marking ability, leadership, and his hard-tackling style of play.[3][6] Although he was notorious for his aggressive challenges, he was also praised throughout his career for his fair-play attitude.[11]

Honours

Club

Sorrento[4]

Napoli

Records

References
  1. FootballPlus.com
  2. Bruscolotti Archived 2008-10-03 at the Wayback Machine
  3. "Giuseppe Bruscolotti" (in Italian). quicampania.it. Retrieved 7 April 2016.
  4. "La prima del Sorrento sulle rive del Lario" (in Italian). Il Giorno. 11 October 2009. Retrieved 7 April 2016.
  5. Nicola Sellitti (9 February 2016). "Bruscolotti, una vita in azzurro: "Napoli, ricorda quella partita dell'86"". La Repubblica (in Italian). Retrieved 7 April 2016.
  6. Leonardo Ciccarelli (24 October 2012). "La storia siete voi: "Pal 'e fierro" Bruscolotti" (in Italian). Tutto Napoli. Retrieved 9 April 2016.
  7. "Napoli Player Statistics". ClubAngloNapulitano. Retrieved 1 August 2007.
  8. "I PRECEDENTI DEL NAPOLI CON LE INGLESI" (in Italian). Pianeta Napoli. 11 March 2012. Retrieved 9 April 2016.
  9. "Coppa Italia 1975/76 - La Finale" (in Italian). hellastory.net. Retrieved 9 April 2016.
  10. Mimmo Carratelli (8 February 2012). "Il Napoli e una Coppa Italia che non ha mai onorato granché" (in Italian). ilnapolista.it. Retrieved 9 April 2016.
  11. Maurizio Cortese (11 March 2016). "Bruscolotti, "pal'e fierro" ma sempre leale. Gigi Riva lo paragonò a Berti Vogts" (in Italian). ilnapolista.it. Retrieved 9 April 2016.
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