Mario Frustalupi

Mario Frustalupi
	Frustalupi as Sampdoria captain in the 1966–67 season
Personal information
Date of birth	16 September 1942
Place of birth	Orvieto, Italy
Date of death	14 April 1990 (aged 47)
Position(s)	Midfielder
Senior career*
Years	Team
1961–1962	Empoli
1962–1970	Sampdoria
1970–1972	Internazionale
1972–1975	Lazio
1975–1977	Cesena
1977–1981	Pistoiese
	*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Mario Frustalupi (12 September 1942 – 14 April 1990) was an Italian footballer, who played as a midfielder.

Playing career

Born in Orvieto (Umbria), Frustalupi debuted in Italian Serie A in 1963 with Sampdoria, for which he played in 8 seasons. In 1970, he moved to FC Internazionale, then in need of a replace for Luis Suárez, but Frustalupi disappointed the premises. With the Milanese team he won a scudetto and reached the final of the European Cup in 1972, losing against Ajax.

The following year he was sold to S.S. Lazio. Although he often quarrelled with the club's leading star striker Giorgio Chinaglia, he contributed to make the team one of the strongest in Italy, as shown by the side's scudetto victory in 1974. He also had a successful stint with A.C. Cesena, which under him reached its best result ever in the league, a sixth-place finish in Serie A and the right to play in the UEFA Cup.

In 1977 Frustalupi went to Pistoiese, being a protagonist of the first team's promotion to Serie A. He retired in 1981.

Death

Frustalupi died in a car accident in 1990.