Lorenzo Minotti (Italian pronunciation: [loˈrɛntso miˈnɔtti]; born 8 February 1967) is an Italian former professional footballer who played as a defender. Throughout his club career, he played for Italian sides Cesena, Parma, Cagliari, Torino, and Treviso; he is mostly remembered for his successful stint with Parma, where he won several domestic and international titles as the club's captain. At international level, he represented Italy on eight occasions between 1994 and 1995, and was a non-playing member of the team that reached the 1994 FIFA World Cup Final.
| Personal information | ||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | 8 February 1967 | |||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Cesena, Italy | |||||||||||||
| Height | 1.85 m (6 ft 1 in) | |||||||||||||
| Position(s) | Defender | |||||||||||||
| Senior career* | ||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) | |||||||||||
| 1985–1987 | Cesena | 14 | (0) | |||||||||||
| 1987–1996 | Parma | 280 | (29) | |||||||||||
| 1996–1997 | Cagliari | 18 | (2) | |||||||||||
| 1997–2000 | Torino | 7 | (0) | |||||||||||
| 2000–2001 | Treviso | 28 | (3) | |||||||||||
| Total | 318 | (34) | ||||||||||||
| International career | ||||||||||||||
| 1994–1995 | Italy | 8 | (0) | |||||||||||
Medal record
| ||||||||||||||
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | ||||||||||||||
Personal life
editBorn in Cesena, Emilia-Romagna, in 1967, Minotti later grew up in San Giorgio, where he began to play football as a youth in the town's polisportiva, also competing in judo and athletics. He later joined the Cesena Youth squad at the age of 8, later making his professional debut with the senior side. Minotti and his wife Debora have two children: Alex, who plays football for the Bologna youth side, and Andrea.[1]
Club career
editMinotti started his professional career his in 1985 with his hometown club Cesena in Serie B, at the age of 18, and he subsequently played in Serie A with Parma (1987–1996) for most of his career, followed by spells with Cagliari (1996–97), Torino (1997–2000), and Treviso (2000–2001). In total, he played 201 matches and scored 19 goals in Serie A, and during his successful time with Parma under manager Nevio Scala, he won two Coppa Italia titles, one UEFA Cup, an UEFA Super Cup, and one UEFA Cup Winners' Cup in 1993, also receiving Runners-up medals in the 1995 Supercoppa Italiana, and the 1996–97 Serie A. The victorious 1993 European Cup Winners' Cup Final game over Royal Antwerp F.C. was played at the Wembley Stadium, and Minotti opened the scoring with a notable volley as the Italians went on to win 3–1.[2] Minotti is regarded as one of the best players in Parma's history, and he served as the club's captain for many years.[1][3]
International career
editMinotti won 8 caps for the Italy national football team between 1994 and 1995. He received his first international call-up for Italy's match against Switzerland on 14 October 1992, although he only made his first appearance for Italy on 16 February 1994, in a 1–0 home defeat to France. He was also chosen by manager Arrigo Sacchi for Italy's roster at the 1994 FIFA World Cup, without playing any games in the final tournament, as Italy reached the 1994 FIFA World Cup final.[4][5][6]
Style of play
editA fast, powerful, modern, and tactically versatile left-footed defender, Minotti was capable of playing anywhere along the defensive line, both as a centre-back, or on occasion as a full-back, although his main role was that of a sweeper, due to his technique and ball-playing ability, which allowed to start plays from the back. A correct, consistent, hard-working, and intelligent player, he was known for his marking and the timing of his challenges, as well as his leadership, and his ability to read the game, which made him an important member of Parma's starting line-up in the 90s, leading him to become the club's captain and to be called up for the Italy national side. Minotti was also known for his excellent ability in the air and for his adeptness at making attacking runs, which allowed him to contribute to his team's offensive play with several goals throughout his career, despite being a defender; a powerful and accurate striker of the ball, he was also capable of scoring from volleys and curling free-kicks.[1][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14]
Post-playing career
editAfter retiring from football, he became team manager of his former club Parma from 2002 to 2004. He then became director of football of Cesena from 2007 to 2009, and again from June 2010 to May 2012.[15] In 2015, he worked as a football commentator for Sky Italia.[10] Later that year, he was named the head of the technical sector of Parma, following the club's relegation to Serie D due to bankruptcy.[16]
Honours
editClub
editParma[3]
International
edit- FIFA World Cup: Runner-up 1994
References
edit- ^ a b c Giusy Riciputi (22 February 2008). "Un calciatore con i piedi piantati per terra" (in Italian). Corriere Cesenate. Retrieved 29 October 2015.
- ^ "UEFA Cup Winners' Cup 1992/93". Retrieved 26 January 2015.
- ^ a b "Storie di calcio Minotti-Apolloni e quel Parma grande anche nel volontariato". Retrieved 26 January 2015.
- ^ a b 1994 FIFA World Cup: Italy Squad Archived 3 February 2009 at the Wayback Machine FIFA. Retrieved 22 January 2010.
- ^ a b "Convocazioni e presenze in campo". Retrieved 26 January 2015.
- ^ a b Marino Bartoletti (31 May 2002). "Minotti e il Mondiale maledetto "Mai in campo, come Ronaldo"" (in Italian). Il Corriere della Sera. Retrieved 29 October 2015.
- ^ "Parma calcio, che entusiasmo! E Manenti è già dimenticato…" (in Italian). Bergamo Post. 6 August 2015. Retrieved 29 October 2015.
- ^ Vincenzo Murgolo (7 November 2011). "21 maggio 1995, Juventus-Parma 4-0: di nuovo scudetto dopo nove anni di digiuno!" (in Italian). Juve News Radio. Archived from the original on 7 January 2015. Retrieved 7 January 2015.
- ^ EMILIO MARRESE (14 February 1994). "MINOTTI, IL BRAVO RAGAZZO" (in Italian). La Repubblica. Retrieved 29 October 2015.
- ^ a b "Oggi Minotti commenta su Sky" (in Italian). Corriere Cesenate. 11 January 2015. Retrieved 29 October 2015.
- ^ "Lorenzo Minotti" (in Italian). Calcio Reference. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 29 October 2015.
- ^ "The Parma story: Hernan, Hristro, Gigi and the dairy dream gone wrong". fourfourtwo.com. 24 June 2015. Retrieved 23 May 2024.
- ^ "Nevio Scala, il non-maestro: "I giovani? Bisogna lasciarli liberi di esprimersi, senza indottrinarli con troppi discorsi tattici"". Il Fatto Quotidiano (in Italian). 20 March 2022. Retrieved 23 May 2024.
- ^ "uno chef partito dal basso fuse rocco e il calcio totale e parma non fu più provincia Nevio Scala". La Gazzetta dello Sport (in Italian). 14 December 2014. Retrieved 23 May 2024.
- ^ "Rescissione consensuale tra Minotti e il Cesena" (in Italian). AC Cesena. 22 May 2012. Retrieved 21 June 2014.
- ^ "New Parma presented". Football Italia. 28 July 2015. Retrieved 19 October 2015.