Great Italian Players: Giuseppe Signori

By: Francesco | September 16th, 2008

Beppe was born on February 17, 1968 in Alzano Lombardo, Bergamo. As did most Italian boys, he loved to play and watch soccer. His own career started as a youth team player in a club connected to Inter, however he was found too small & light by the Inter youth team trainers. So at the age of 17 he moved to a non-league team called AlbinoLeffe (now in Serie B). He made a good first impact for AlbinoLeffe: During the first 8 games for the club he managed to score 5 goals and helped the club gain promotion to Serie C2. Since Beppe had a magic left foot and was a fast player his manager
preferred to play him as a left-winger so the team could take advantage of his beautiful crosses and his pace. Beppe did as the manager told him even though he preferred to play as a forward. The second year at AlbinoLeffe he played 30 games and scored 3 goals. But his left foot was involved in more goals then the three he scored himself. He made many assists from his position on the
left side of the field. After his promising performance at AlbinoLeffe a lot of clubs started
to show interest in him and before the 1986/87 season Piacenza decided to buy the talented youngster.

Piacenza played in Serie C1 at that moment. But the competition was hard and young Signori
didn’t have many chances to show what he was made of. During the season he only played 14 games, many of these as a substitute, and he only managed to score one goal. The next season Picenza let him go on loan to another Serie C club Trento to give him the possibility to play first team soccer on regular basis so he would develop. Beppe was playing great and once again he was among the best left-wingers in Serie C. He played 31 games for Trento that year and scored one goal. In the season 1988/89 Piacenza took him back and he was more mature and more confident. He played regularly in the first team. While at Trento, Piacenza had been promoted to Serie B, so now he was playing Serie B football and was once again considered one of the most talented left wingers in the league. He played 32 games and scored 5 goals during that season and a lot of scouts around the
country liked what they saw.

Foggia, a team on it’s way up through the system decided to invest money in the talented left winger who was causing headaches for all right backs in Serie B. But when Foggia’s manager and 4-3-3 enthusiast Zednek Zeman saw Beppe’s performance & qualities during pre-season training, he told him he could forget his days as a left winger. Zednek sawwhat other managers didn’t see. This was that Beppe had world class scoring abilities and that he made his best performances as
a striker with his remarkable pace, his technique and his left foot. The first season as a striker was a success. Beppe scored 14 goals and he was the Foggia fans’ new hero. This was only the
beginning though, Signori’s left foot had a lot more to give. The next season he scored 11 goals and helped Foggia to get promoted to Serie A. He was now playing at the highest level in
Italy and his first season was promising. 32 matches and 11 goals, and very good overall performance was the result of his first Serie A season. Foggia finished in 11th place.
A good result for a new team in the first division. During his Foggia time he formed a classic attacking trio together with Roberto Rambaudi (later Lazio) & Francesco ‘Ciccio’ Baiano (later Fiorentina & Pistoiese). With Beppe to the left, Baiano in the middle and Rambaudi to the right, the trio was devastating defenses all around the peninsula.

His performance in Foggia made it possible for him to represent his country as well. Arrigo Sacchi took over the Italy national team shortly after they had failed to qualify for the European
Championships in 1992. During the World Cup qualifications between 1992-94 Signori played on a regular basis for the national team, sometimes as a winger, and sometimes as a forward. He managed to score 3 goals during the Qualifying campaign and helped Italy to qualify for U.S.A 1994. Since he was playing so good for Foggia a lot of bigger clubs were after his signature. When S.S Lazio and its new owner Sergio Cragnotti hired Zeman as manager before the 92/93 season Zeman took some old Foggia players with him to his new club. Beppe was one of them, along with Chamot & Rambaudi.

Signori’s first season for Lazio can only be described in one way: Success. He scored 26 goals in 32 games and the fans at the Stadio Olimpico had a new hero. He also played 6 games for Lazio
in Coppa Italia, and scored 6 goals. Lazio finished 5th and qualified for Europe. The follwing year was partly destroyed by injuries. But even with injury problems, Signori managed to score 23 goals. The fact that he only played 24 Serie A games that year makes it even more impressive. He had an average of 0.96 goals per game. Imagine how many he could have scored if he had been injury free. Since Lazio had finished 5th the season before they got the opportunity to play in Europe. But Beppe missed the UEFA Cup adventure and only played one game in Europe that year. He also played 3 Coppa Italia games, but scored in none of them.

After his 1993/94 season journalists all over the world were writing that Signori could get his big international break in the upcoming World Cup. In Italy’s first game against Ireland Signori
played up front together with Roby Baggio. He was replaced in the 84th minute by Nicola Berti and Italy lost the game 1-0. Right before Italy’s 2nd game against Norway, Beppe’s girl friend
(and later wife) Viviana told him that she was pregnant. That game was one of the best in Beppe’s career. He played with an amazing enthusiasm. Italy had a rough start though. After 21 minutes of the game Italy’s keeper Gianluca Pagliuca (later teammate with Beppe in Bologna) was sent off. Sacchi then chose to take superstar Roberto Baggio off the field and replace him with 2nd keeper Marchegiani, instead of substituting Beppe or Gigi Casiraghi who were playing up front together
with Roby. Beppe played amazing and in the 69th minute he hit a beautiful free kick from the left wing. Dino Baggio got his head on the ball and Italy got three vital points. Signori played the whole game. In the 3rd group game he also played the whole game. Italy drew with Mexico (1-1) and was ready for the knockout round. In the first playoff game they faced Nigeria. Nigeria took the lead
after 26 min and in the 63rd minute Signori was replaced by Zola. Italy managed to win though, after two goals by Roby Baggio. In the quarter final against Spain Signori once again had a decisive
part. He substituted Albertini at halftime and played the last 45 minutes. The score was 1-1 until the 88th minute when Signori created the goal. Signori ran onto a pass and clipped it over a Spanish defender for Roberto Baggio, who skipped past he keeper and finished from an impossible angle to put Italy through to the semi-final. In the semi-final Signori substituted an injured Baggio in the 71st minute. Baggio had already scored two goals by then and the result was Italy 2 – Bulgaria 1. Before the game Beppe had refused to play as a winger, and told Sacchi he wanted to start as a forward. For this he was placed on the bench, and it also had consequences for Beppe’s participation in
the World Cup Final. Signori felt that he deserved a chance as a striker. The general opinion among the experts of the world was that Signori was misused as a winger, and that a player who had scored
49 Serie A Goals in 56 Serie A games the past two years should play as a forward. Beppe, like Baggio, didn’t get along with Sacchi. Italy was now ready for the World Cup Final. But when Sacchi picked
the starting eleven he chose not to use Beppe who was dropped from the final after he had participated in all the other games in the tournament. He didn’t choose to play him as a substitute either. The final went to penalties and Italy lost. Baresi missed the first penalty, Albertini
& Evani then scored, but Massaro missed. Now the score was 2-3 and Brazil had the lead. Baggio took the last penalty for Italy and everyone knows what happens next. And Italy’s dreams of a new World Cup trophy were now over. Beppe had later said that he regrets the decision not to play as a winger when Sacchi told him to. The decision to not let Beppe play in the final led to a friction between Signori and Sacchi that continued in the following years. Signori only played 6 national team games after the World Cup. His last match took place against Slovenia on the 6th of November 1995.

The next season Signori and his Lazio finished 2nd in Serie A. Beppe scored 17 goals in 27 matches. He also scored 4 goals in 5 Coppa Italia matches. He continued to be the big star at Lazio and was now captain of the team as well. In the season 1995/96 Signori reclaimed his top scoring title.
He scored 24 goals in 31 games and shared the title with Bari’s Igor Protti. During the
summer rumors had been raised that Signori maybe would be transferred to Parma. This was not popular among the Lazio fans and lead to massive protests. The transfer was halted and Signori continued to play with the biancocelesti. Signori wasn’t picked for the Euro 96 squad that year and it was considered a scandal by many journalists.

In 1996/97 Signori scored 15 goals in 32 games and Lazio dropped another place in the league, finishing 4th. After the season Cragnotti decided he wanted a new coach. Ex-goalkeeper and World Cup winner Dino Zoff had coached the team for a while after Zeman had left, but Cragnotti wanted someone other then Zoff. He chose Sven-Göran Eriksson who was coaching Sampdoria at the time. This choice of manager would have big consequences for Beppe’s future career. Signori was at the moment Lazio’s biggest star & the fan favorite, captain of the team, and top scorer for the club during the last 5 seasons. When Eriksson moved in he brought with him his favorite player,
Roberto Mancini from Sampdoria, and he also brought back Boksic who had played for Juventus for a season. Suddenly Eriksson counted Signori as the 4th forward, after Mancini, Casiraghi (Beppe’s
partner for many years) and Alen Boksic. Eriksson tried to play with Signori-Mancini-Casiraghi up front for a while but it didn’t work out that well. Signori and Mancini were too similar. And when Eriksson had to choose between Mancini & Signori it was no surprise he chose Mancio. During the game between Rapid Wien & Lazio in the UEFA Cup, Beppe had enough. Eriksson had told him to warm up and prepare for a substitution. When Beppe stood and waited by the side line for the substitution, Mancini, the player he was supposed to replace got his second yellow card
and was sent off the field. Eriksson then changed his mind and ordered Pavel Nedved to quickly come over, and he put Pavel on the field instead of Beppe.

The relationship between Eriksson and Signori was already on it’s last edge, and Signori responded to the decision to not put him on the field by gathering his things and leaving the Stadio Olimpico. This was the last time Beppe sat on the Lazio bench or played for Lazio at all. A few weeks later he went on loan to Sampdoria, where he had a period that was marked by injuries and bad form. The following season Lazio took him back, and he was used sparingly yet again. Then he suffered a leg injury that ruled him out for the rest of the season. That summer, Signori went under a period of reflection. He wanted to go to a club where he would play all of the time and refresh his career. He had seen what his friend Roberto Baggio did at Bologna, and since Baggio had left for Inter, Bologna were looking for a new talisman to lead their squad. In the summer of 1998, Signori signed for Bologna.

Signori arrived in Emilia-Romagna looking to get his career back on track. He scored 15 goals in 28 games in Serie A and was also one of the reasons behind Bologna´s successful UEFA Cup run. The team was only minutes away from reaching the final, but lost to Marseille on away goals. He played 12 games for Bologna in the UEFA-Cup (which they reached through the Intertoto cup) and scored 6 goals. Bologna finished 9th in Serie A. During his first season in Rossoblu he formed a dangerous attacking duo together with tall Swede Kennet Andersson. They had a great partnership and most of Andersson’s goals resulted from crosses from Beppe’s left foot.

In 1999/2000 Signori scored another 15 goals and played good soccer again, only one of those 15 goals was from the penalty spot. Once again he and Andersson formed a formidable attacking duo. He played 31 games that year. He also signed a new contract with Bologna
that would keep him at the club until 2003. Bologna finished in 11th place, comfortably midtable.
In 2000/2001 Signori had injury problems again and only scored a few goals before Christmas. But after that he got going and when the season was over he had scored 16 goals in only 23 games.
Bologna had another season in the middle of the table and finished in 12th place. The 2001/2002 season was a disappointment for Signori, who was injured most of the season and only managed to score 3 goals.

The following year was better for Signori, even though he also had injury trouble. Beppe played 24 games and scored 12 goals, 5 of them on penalties. During the season Beppe
had a small friction with coach Francesco Guidolin. Beppe was out of the team for some games when he was fit to play and the papers talked about a friction. The fans also showed their disappointment with Guidolin and supported Signori’s case. That summer, Beppe wasn’t offered a new contract at first, and was looking at other offers from abroad and from Italy. Rumors said that Chelsea,
Lazio, Siena, and clubs from Saudi Arabia & Qatar were interested. The fans of Bologna went out on the streets of Bologna to protest against the fact that their captain didn’t get a new contract and the board changed their mind. Guidolin also resigned before the season started and was replaced by Carlo Mazzone who had been Beppe’s coach in Bologna when he first arrived. Beppe had problems with injuries during the first half of the season of 2003/2004 and scored only two goals. Signori played 23 games and scored 6 goals. After the season, Signori said he couldn’t take the physical demands of Serie A anymore and wanted to play in a less competitive league. He ended his Serie A career with 186 Serie A Goals, only 14 away from the 200 goal milestone. He signed with Iraklis in the Greek First Division, but didn’t play well, only playing 5 games. The following season he decided to try his luck in Hungary with Sopron. He played 9 games and scored 3 goals. He clearly wasn’t the same player anymore and hung up his boots officially.

Following his retirement, Signori first tried his luck as a TV analyst, but then decided to go through the coaching course at Coverciano, where he received his coaching license. Currently his the director of sport for Serie C club Ternana.

Quick Profile

Name: Giuseppe Signori
Position: Striker
Clubs: AlbinoLeffe, Piacenza, Trento, Foggia, Lazio, Sampdoria, Bologna, Iraklis, Sopron
National Team: 28 games, 7 goals
Summary: Signori was a deadly striker blessed with great pace and an amazing left foot. He made scoring goals look so easy and his finishing was sublime. His goalscoring record speaks for itself, he scored 188 goals in Serie A, only 12 away from the big milestone of 200. If he had at least stayed another season or two in Serie A he could’ve reached it, however his injury problems were too much towards the end of his career. He also deserved more of a chance with the national team, but unfortunately he didn’t get along with Sacchi. Signori was also one of the most reliable penalty takers in Serie A history. He had a unique way of taking penalties, he would simply stand by the ball with no run-up and place it into the net.

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