Fulvio Collovati

Fulvio Collovati (Italian pronunciation: [ˈfulvjo kolloˈvaːti]; born 9 May 1957) is an Italian former professional footballer who played as a defender. He was a stopper (a man–marking centre-back in Italian football jargon) and also played for Italy at international level, winning the 1982 FIFA World Cup. As a player, he was regarded as one of Italy's best defenders during the 1970s and 1980s. An elegant, physically strong, and dynamic player,^[1] he was gifted with good technique and distribution, as well as excellent anticipation, movement, marking ability, heading, and aerial prowess; because of his many defensive attributes, he was considered Roberto Rosato's heir at Milan.^{[2][3][4][5][6]}

Fulvio Collovati

Personal information
Date of birth	(1957-05-09) 9 May 1957 (age 67)
Place of birth	Teor, Italy
Height	1.82 m (6 ft 0 in)
Position(s)	Centre-back
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
1976–1982	A.C. Milan	158	(4)
1982–1986	Internazionale	109	(3)
1986–1987	Udinese	20	(2)
1987–1989	Roma	45	(1)
1989–1993	Genoa	72	(0)
Total		404	(10)
International career
1976–1978	Italy U-21	7	(0)
1979	Italy Olympic	1	(0)
1979–1986	Italy	50	(3)
Medal record Representing  Italy FIFA World Cup Winner 1982 Spain
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Club career

Collovati was born in Teor, in the province of Udine. Brought up through the A.C. Milan youth academy, he debuted in Serie A with the rossoneri in the 1976–77 season, in which he played eleven times and even won the Coppa Italia. In the next season he played more regularly (25 appearances, 1 goal) but his definitive moment came during the 1978–79 season in which, thanks to his 27 appearances, he won the scudetto. Following the 1979–80 season, Milan was relegated to the Serie B for their involvement in the Totonero football betting scandal. Unlike other players, Collovati stayed on with Milan in 1980–81 Serie B and played 36 games scoring two goals, winning the league title that season, and helping the club to regain promotion to Serie A the following season. Back in Serie A the next season, Milan won the Mitropa Cup with Collovati serving as the team's captain: however Milan was relegated to Serie B once again, but this time for their on-field exploits. On this occasion, Collovati (who in the meantime was called up to the Nazionale) decided to join local rivals Inter Milan.^[2]

In his first year with the nerazzurri (1982–83), he played in 28 games. At Inter he was always a mainstay in the defense, but in September 1986 he wanted to be closer to his hometown of Udine and he went to play for Udinese Calcio, where he only stayed for one season (20 games, 2 goals). He ended his career after two years at A.S. Roma (1987–88 and 1988–89) and four at Genoa C.F.C. (from 1989–90 to 1992–93), all in Serie A.

International career

In his international career, Collovati played 50 games and scored 3 goals: he made his senior debut for Italy on 24 February 1979 against the Netherlands (3–0) and he scored his first international goal on 16 February 1980 during Italy–Romania (2–1).^[2] Collovati was a member of the Italy squad that finished in fourth place at the 1980 European Championships on home soil, missing the decisive penalty in the shoot-out of the bronze-medal match against Czechoslovakia.^[7][8][9] Collovati represented his country in 8 FIFA World Cup qualification matches and was a protagonist at the 1982 World Cup in Spain where Italy won the World Cup for a third time, and Collovati was named as a member of the team of the tournament. He also made an appearance for Italy at the 1986 World Cup.^[10][11]

After retirement

He is now an analyst for the Italian media station RAI.^[12]

Honours

A.C. Milan^[2]

• Serie A: 1978–79
• Mitropa Cup: 1982
• Coppa Italia: 1976–77
• Serie B: 1980–81

Italy^[2]

• FIFA World Cup: 1982

Individual

• Sport Ideal European XI: 1980^[13]
• FIFA World Cup All-star Team: 1982^[14]

References

1. Tony Damascelli (19 August 2006). "Brio, 50 anni e un rimpianto "Ora in azzurro giocano tutti"". ilgiornale.it (in Italian). Retrieved 26 April 2015.
2. "Fulvio COLLOVATI" (in Italian). Maglia Rossonera. Retrieved 1 January 2015.
3. "Fluvio Collovati" (in Italian). Enciclopedia Giallorossa. Archived from the original on 9 April 2013. Retrieved 1 January 2015.
4. Damele, Fulvio (1998). Calcio da manuale. Demetra. p. 88.
5. Alberto Polverosi. "COLLOVATI, Fulvio" (in Italian). Treccani: Enciclopedia dello Sport (2002). Retrieved 5 June 2018.
6. "FULVIO COLLOVATI, UN DIFENSORE CON LA TESTA" (in Italian). Inter. 23 May 2017. Retrieved 23 June 2020.
7. "Buona Italia sconfitta ai rigori" (in Italian). UEFA.com. Retrieved 1 January 2015.
8. "Czechs beat Italy to third after shoot-out drama". UEFA.com. 4 October 2003. Retrieved 20 October 2017.
9. "Did you know? 1980 - 4 UEFA EURO". UEFA.com. 15 January 2008. Retrieved 29 November 2023.
10. Fulvio Collovati – FIFA competition record (archived)
11. "Nazionale in cifre: Collovati, Fulvio". figc.it (in Italian). FIGC. Retrieved 22 April 2015.
12. Giorgio Dell’Arti (2 December 2013). "Fulvio Collovati". corriere.it (in Italian). Il Corriere della Sera. Archived from the original on 5 February 2016. Retrieved 22 April 2015.
13. "Sport 1980". BigSoccer. Retrieved 4 June 2024.
14. "FIFA World Cup Awards: All-Star Team". Archived from the original on 30 June 2016. Retrieved 22 March 2015.

External links

• Fulvio Collovati at TuttoCalciatori.net (in Italian)
• Profile at FIGC Archived 27 February 2007 at the Wayback Machine (in Italian) ^{[dead link‍]}
• Fulvio Collovati at National-Football-Teams.com