Giovanni Galli

Giovanni Galli

Personal information
Date of birth	29 April 1958 (1958-04-29)
Place of birth	Pisa, Italy
Height	1.87 m (6 ft 1 1⁄2 in)
Playing position	Goalkeeper
Youth career
	Fiorentina
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps†	(Gls)†
1977–1986	Fiorentina	259	(0)
1986–1990	Milan	98	(0)
1990–1993	Napoli	98	(0)
1993–1994	Torino	31	(0)
1994–1995	Parma	10	(0)
1995–1996	Lucchese	26	(0)
Total		522	(0)
National team
1976–1982	Italy U21	22	(0)
1982–1986	Italy	19	(0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. † Appearances (Goals).

For the Italian Formula One driver, see Nanni Galli.

Giovanni Galli (born 29 April 1958) is an Italian retired footballer who played as a goalkeeper, and currently a politician.

In a professional career which spanned nearly two decades, he played in 496 Serie A games, mainly with Fiorentina (nine seasons) and Milan (four), winning six major titles with the latter club.

An international in the 80s, Galli appeared with Italy in two World Cups.

Club career

Born in Pisa, Galli started his professional career with ACF Fiorentina, where he played in nine Serie A seasons. In 1986–87, he joined fellow league side A.C. Milan, being first-choice for three of his four years and starting in both of the club's back-to-back European Cup conquests, in 1989 and 1990.

In the 1990 summer, following Milan's signing of Sebastiano Rossi, 32-year old Galli left, going on to represent S.S.C. Napoli and appearing in an average of 33 league games during his three-year spell, starting by winning the Italian Supercup, 5–1 against Juventus FC. He finished his stint in the top division at the end of 1994–95, after starting for Torino Calcio and being backup at AC Parma.

Galli retired at the age of 38 after a brief stint with A.S. Lucchese-Libertas of Serie B. In December 2007, he joined Hellas Verona F.C. as its director of football, leaving his position after only two months in charge.

International career

Galli took part in Italy's 1982 FIFA World Cup expedition, without playing any match. The same had already happened in the UEFA Euro 1980 tournament; his national team debut happened in a friendly match against Greece on 5 October 1983 (3–0 win).

As a starter, Galli played in the 1986 World Cup in Mexico, as Italy were ousted in the round of 16 by France.

Honours

Club

• Milan:
  • European Cup: 1988–89, 1989–90
  • UEFA Super Cup: 1989
  • Intercontinental Cup: 1989
  • Italian League: 1987–88
  • Italian Supercup: 1988

• Napoli:
  • Italian Supercup: 1990

• Parma:
  • UEFA Cup: 1994–95

Country

• FIFA World Cup: 1982

Politics / Personal

On 1 March 2009, Galli was announced as the center-right mayoral candidate in the 2009 local elections in Florence. His candidacy was supported by People of Freedom, Lega Nord and a number of minor local movements. In the first round of the elections, held on 6 and 7 June, he ended in second place, with 32% of votes; he was successively defeated fourteen days later in the second round of the election by centre-left candidate Matteo Renzi, taking only 40% of local votes.

Galli was the father of Niccolò Galli, a promising young footballer who died in a road accident in 2001, aged only 17. Additionally, he also worked as a TV and radio commentator.

External links

• Stats at Tutto Calciatori (Italian)
• National team data (Italian)
• Giovanni Galli at National-Football-Teams.com