Nicola Caricola
Nicola Caricola (born 13 February 1963 in Bari, Italy) is a former Italian footballer who played as a sweeper.
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | 13 February 1963 | ||
| Place of birth | Bari, Italy | ||
| Height | 1.83 m (6 ft 0 in) | ||
| Position(s) | Defender | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 1981 | Bari | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1981–1983 | Bari | 70 | (2) |
| 1983–1987 | Juventus | 59 | (0) |
| 1987–1994 | Genoa | 201 | (6) |
| 1994 | Torino | 4 | (0) |
| 1994–1995 | Genoa | 24 | (0) |
| 1996 | MetroStars | 26 | (2) |
| National team | |||
| 1982–1984 | Italy U-21 | 10 | (4) |
| * Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only | |||
At club level, Caricola played for Bari (1981–83), Juventus (1983–87), Genoa (1987–94, 1994–95), and Torino (1994) in Italy. In 1995, he had an unsuccessful trial with English side Aston Villa. He finished out his career with the New York / New Jersey MetroStars of Major League Soccer, playing with them during the league's inaugural season in 1996. Although Caricola played well for the team, he is most remembered for the own goal he scored in the dying seconds of the club's first home game, a 1–0 loss to New England Revolution.[1] He retired in February 1997.[2]
In 2005 Nicola Caricola moved to Cape Town, South Africa and established Nicaf Espresso Systems, official distributor of Lavazza Espresso Coffee in southern Africa. The name "Nicaf" stands for "NI-cola" and "CAF-fe'".