Giuseppe Wilson

Joseph (Giuseppe) "Pino"[1] Wilson (Italian pronunciation: [dʒuˈzɛppe ˈwilson]; born 27 October 1945) is an Italian former footballer who played as a centre back. Although born in Northern England, Wilson played the majority of his football career in Italy.

Giuseppe Wilson
Personal information
Full name Joseph Wilson
Date of birth (1945-10-27) 27 October 1945
Place of birth Darlington, England
Height 173 cm (5 ft 8 in)
Position(s) Centre back
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1964–1965 Cirio 18 (0)
1965–1969 Internapoli 138 (0)
1969–1980 Lazio 296 (4)
1978 → New York Cosmos (loan) 16 (0)
Total 468 (4)
National team
1974 Italy 3 (0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only

At club level he played as a defender for Internapoli and Lazio, as well as representing the Italian national football team three times in 1974. Wilson was one of 15 named in the Italian football betting scandal in 1980 (along with Bruno Giordano, Massimo Cacciatori and Lionello Manfredonia, in the forst instance).

Biography

Wilson was born in Darlington to a Neapolitan woman Lina Di Francesca and Dennis Wilson, an Englishman who worked as an iron and steel worker at the local factory. Wilson's parents had met while Dennis was serving with the British Army in Italy. When Joseph Wilson was just six months old, his family moved to Naples, his mother's hometown as she found it hard to settle in the UK due to the cold winters. His father found a job as supervisor at a Nato base.[2]

Club career

Internapoli and Lazio

He started his career with Internapoli in 1964–65 and he played for the side more than 150 times.[3]

He joined S.S. Lazio in 1969. At Lazio he would enjoy his most notable spell as a footballer, staying with them for a decade playing over 300 games for them.[3] This was a successful period for the club who won their first ever Serie A title in 1973–74 as well as the Coppa delle Alpi in 1971. The time he spent at Lazio gained him a place in the Italian national football team, and he was in the squad for the 1974 FIFA World Cup.

New York Cosmos

As his career wound down, Wilson spent a season in the United States, playing in the NASL league with the New York Cosmos during 1978, and winning the title.[1] Wilson was named the Defensive Player of the game for Soccer Bowl '78[4]

International career

Wilson's success with Lazio gained him a place in the Italian national football team, and he was in the squad for the 1974 FIFA World Cup. He made his debut in a friendly 0–0 draw against West Germany in 1974, and he made two appearances at the 1974 World Cup, making 3 appearances in total for Italy.[5]

Retirement

Wilson is currently a pundit for Rai. In 2013, sport journalist Vincenzo Di Michele wrote Wilson's biography, "Pino Wilson: a True Captain from Another Era".[6] Wilson was briefly involved with an Italian restaurant in his native Darlington named Casa di Chirico, after his grandmother's maiden name. The restaurant is now called Sardis.

Honours
Lazio
New York Cosmos

References
  1. Wilson's NY Cosmos stats
  2. TheAdvertisersSeries.net Archived 29 July 2009 at the Wayback Machine
  3. "Giuseppe Wilson". National Football Teams. Benjamin Strack-Zimmerman.
  4. https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=2jxOAAAAIBAJ&sjid=9-0DAAAAIBAJ&pg=6817,5857954&dq=cosmos+nasl+champions&hl=en
  5. "Wilson, Giuseppe" (in Italian). FIGC. Retrieved 16 June 2015.
  6. Vincenzo Di Michele. "Pino Wilson Vero Capitano d'altri tempi ". Fernandel Editore, 2013. ISBN 8895865871

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