Francesco "Ciccio" Graziani (; born 16 December 1952) is an Italian

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

manager Management (or managing) is the administration of organizations, whether businesses, nonprofit organizations, or a government bodies through business administration, nonprofit management, or the political science sub-field of public administra ...

and former football player who played as a

forward Forward is a relative direction, the opposite of backward. Forward may also refer to: People *Forward (surname) Sports * Forward (association football) * Forward (basketball), including: ** Point forward ** Power forward (basketball) ** Smal ...

. He began his career with

Arezzo Arezzo ( , ; ) is a city and ''comune'' in Italy and the capital of the Province of Arezzo, province of the same name located in Tuscany. Arezzo is about southeast of Florence at an elevation of Above mean sea level, above sea level. As of 2 ...

in 1970, and later joined

Torino Turin ( , ; ; , then ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital from 1861 to 1865. The city is main ...

in 1973, where he remained until 1981, winning a

Serie A The Serie A (), officially known as Serie A Enilive in Italy and Serie A Made in Italy abroad for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Italy and the highest tier of the Italian football league system. Establish ...

title in 1976 and the

Capocannoniere The ''capocannoniere'' award (; ), known as Paolo Rossi Award since 2021, is awarded by the Italian Footballers' Association (AIC) to the highest goalscorer of each season in Italy's Serie A. From the 2010–11 season unti the change of denomina ...

title as the Serie A top goalscorer in 1977; with 122 total goals scored for Torino, he is the seventh-highest scorer in the history of the Torinese club behind

Valentino Mazzola Valentino Mazzola (; 26 January 1919 – 4 May 1949) was an Italian Association football, footballer who played as an attacking midfielder or Forward (association football), forward. Considered one of the great Playmaker#Advanced playmakers, num ...

(123). He subsequently moved to

Fiorentina ACF Fiorentina, commonly referred to as Fiorentina (), is an Italian professional Association football, football List of football clubs in Italy, club based in Florence, Tuscany. The original team was founded by a merger in August 1926, while ...

, where he narrowly missed out on the Serie A title in his first season, and later also played for

Roma Roma or ROMA may refer to: People, characters, figures, names * Roma or Romani people, an ethnic group living mostly in Europe and the Americas. * Roma called Roy, ancient Egyptian High Priest of Amun * Roma (footballer, born 1979), born ''Paul ...

between 1983 and 1986, winning two

Coppa Italia Coppa Italia () is the annual domestic cup of Italian football. The knockout competition was organized by the DDS and the Lega Calcio until the 2009–10 season and by Lega Serie A ever since. Juventus is the competition's most successf ...

titles and reaching the 1984 European Cup Final. He later spent two seasons with

Udinese Udinese Calcio (; "Udinese Football") is a professional football club based in Udine, Friuli-Venezia Giulia, Italy. The team currently competes in the Serie A, the first tier of Italian football. It was founded on 30 November 1896 as a sport ...

, before ending his career with Australian club

APIA Leichhardt APIA Leichhardt Football Club, also known simply as APIA (Associazione Poli-sportiva Italo Australiana), is a semi-professional soccer club based in the suburb of Leichhardt, New South Wales, Leichhardt in Sydney, Australia. The club was forme ...

in 1988. At international level with the Italy national team, they won the

1982 Events January * January 1 – In Malaysia and Singapore, clocks are adjusted to the same time zone, UTC+8 (GMT+8.00). * January 13 – Air Florida Flight 90 crashes shortly after takeoff into the 14th Street Bridge in Washington, D.C. ...

FIFA World Cup The FIFA World Cup, often called the World Cup, is an international association football competition among the senior List of men's national association football teams, men's national teams of the members of the FIFA, Fédération Internatio ...

, and made fourth-place finishes at the

1978 FIFA World Cup The 1978 FIFA World Cup was the 11th edition of the FIFA World Cup, a Anniversary#Latin-derived numerical names, quadrennial international Association football, football world championship tournament among the men's senior national teams. It wa ...

and

UEFA Euro 1980 The 1980 UEFA European Football Championship finals tournament was held in Italy. This was the sixth UEFA European Championship, which is held every four years and endorsed by UEFA. It was the first European Championship to feature eight teams ...

. With 23 official goals, he is the ninth-highest all-time scorer for the Italy national team (tied with

Christian Vieri Christian Vieri (; born 12 July 1973), commonly known as Bobo Vieri, is an Italian former professional footballer who played as a centre forward. Having been born in Italy, Vieri moved with his family to Australia as a child, before returning ...

). He is the father of , who was also a professional footballer. He considers himself

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

Club career

Graziani was born in Subiaco, in the

province of Rome The province of Rome () was one of the five provinces that formed part of the Lazio region of Italy. It was established in 1870 and disestablished in 2014. It was essentially coterminous with the Rome metropolitan area. The city of Rome was t ...

. A prolific and physical striker, he started his footballing career in Bettini Quadraro before moving to Arezzo and then to Torino in 1973. Graziani played eight seasons for Torino, making his debut in Serie A on 18 November 1973 against

Sampdoria Unione Calcio Sampdoria, commonly referred to as Sampdoria (), is an Italian professional football club based in Genoa, Liguria. Sampdoria was formed in 1946 from the merger of two existing sports clubs whose roots can be traced back to the ...

and scoring his first goal in the top flight on 16 December of that same year against

Bologna Bologna ( , , ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the Emilia-Romagna region in northern Italy. It is the List of cities in Italy, seventh most populous city in Italy, with about 400,000 inhabitants and 150 different nationalities. Its M ...

. In total, Graziani scored 122 goals in 289 games for Torino, divided as follows: 221 appearances (97 goals) in the league, 45 appearances (17 goals) in the Coppa Italia and 23 appearances (8 goals) in European competition. He won the ''

Scudetto The ''scudetto'' (; Italian for 'little shield') is a decoration having the colors of the flag of Italy which is sewn onto the jersey of the Italian sports clubs that won the highest level championship of their respective sport in the previous ...

'' in 1975–76. During the next season, Graziani emerged as the top-scorer in Serie A with a tally of 21 goals. He formed, in those years, the famous pair nicknamed ''Gemelli del gol'' ("Goal twins") with his teammate

Paolo Pulici Paolo Pulici (; born 27 April 1950) is an Italian Manager (association football), football manager and former association football, footballer who played as a striker (association football), striker. With 172 goals in all competitions, he is the ...

. He helped Torino reach the Coppa Italia final in 1980, but was one of the players who failed to score his penalty in the resulting shoot-out defeat to Roma at the

Stadio Olimpico Stadio Olimpico (; ), colloquially known as l'Olimpico (The Olympic), is an Italian multi-purpose sports venue located in Rome. Seating over 70,000 spectators, it is the largest sports facility in Rome and the second-largest in Italy, after ...

in Rome. Graziani left Torino when, with his teammate Pecci, he transferred to Fiorentina for two seasons in 1981, missing the

title A title is one or more words used before or after a person's name, in certain contexts. It may signify their generation, official position, military rank, professional or academic qualification, or nobility. In some languages, titles may be ins ...

by a single point in the 1981–82 season. In 1983, he was signed by Roma; they won the Coppa Italia twice (1984 and 1986), and also reached the 1984 European Cup final, losing in a failed penalty shoot-out defeat to

Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...

at the Stadio Olimpico in Rome (Graziani himself missed a penalty in the shoot-out during the match). After two seasons with Udinese and a brief appearance in the Australian

National Soccer League The National Soccer League (NSL) was the top-level soccer league in Australia, run by Soccer Australia and later the Australian Soccer Association. The NSL, the A-League's predecessor, spanned 28 seasons from its inception in 1977 until its ...

with APIA Leichhardt, Graziani abandoned his playing career in 1988. He totaled 353 appearances, with 130 goals, in the Italian Serie A.

International career

Graziani was also an important international player for Italy: he represented the ''Azzurri'' at the 1978 FIFA World Cup, as a reserve behind

Paolo Rossi Paolo Rossi (; 23 September 1956 – 9 December 2020) was an Italian professional association football, footballer who played as a Striker (association football), striker. He led Italy national football team, Italy to the 1982 FIFA World Cup t ...

, where they finished in fourth place, and subsequently at the 1980 European Championship on home soil, where he made four appearances, scoring once, as Italy finished in fourth place once again, after reaching the semi-final of the tournament. He made his international debut on 19 April 1975, in a 0–0 home draw in Rome against

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

, and scored his first goal for Italy on 7 April 1976, in a 3–1 home win against

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. Featuring Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point in continental Europe, Portugal borders Spain to its north and east, with which it share ...

. Graziani also played a key role in Italy's victorious 1982 FIFA World Cup campaign: he scored one goal in the 1982 FIFA World Cup in a 1–1 draw against

Cameroon Cameroon, officially the Republic of Cameroon, is a country in Central Africa. It shares boundaries with Nigeria to the west and north, Chad to the northeast, the Central African Republic to the east, and Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, and the R ...

, which proved to be decisive for the Azzurri's qualification to the knockout phase, who advanced on number of goals scored, at the expense of the African team; this was Graziani's final goal for Italy. Graziani appeared in all of Italy's matches as the nation went on to win the tournament for the third time in their history. In the

final Final, Finals or The Final may refer to: *Final examination or finals, a test given at the end of a course of study or training *Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which d ...

against

West Germany West Germany was the common English name for the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) from its formation on 23 May 1949 until German reunification, its reunification with East Germany on 3 October 1990. It is sometimes known as the Bonn Republi ...

, however, he was forced off in the seventh minute of play after sustaining a shoulder injury following a collision with

Wolfgang Dremmler Wolfgang Dremmler (born 12 July 1954) is a German former Association football, footballer who played as a midfielder. A trained Metalsmith, metalworker, Dremmler was part of the Germany national football team, West Germany team that reached the ...

, and was replaced by

Alessandro Altobelli Alessandro Altobelli (; born 28 November 1955) is a former professional Italian footballer who played as a forward, and who won the 1982 World Cup with Italy. Nicknamed ''Spillo'' ("Needle") for his slender build, Altobelli was a prolific goal ...

; Italy won the match 3–1 to claim the title. Graziani's final official appearance for Italy came on 29 May 1983, in a 2–0 away defeat to

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

in a

UEFA Euro 1984 qualifying The qualifying round for the 1984 European Football Championship consisted of 32 teams divided into seven groups; three of four teams and four of five teams. The qualifying round was played at various times between May 1982 and December 1983, wi ...

match. He returned to the national team for the 25th anniversary of the

1982 FIFA World Cup Final The 1982 FIFA World Cup final was a football match contested between Italy and West Germany. It was the final match of the 1982 FIFA World Cup tournament and was played on 11 July 1982 at the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium in the Spanish capital and ...

on 27 July 2007 in

Stuttgart Stuttgart (; ; Swabian German, Swabian: ; Alemannic German, Alemannic: ; Italian language, Italian: ; ) is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, largest city of the States of Germany, German state of ...

, scoring twice, with the final score of 4–4. With 23 goals in 64 caps between 1975 and 1983, he is ranked as the ninth-highest all-time scorer for his national team.

Style of play

Nicknamed "Ciccio", Graziani was a prolific and versatile forward, known for his composure in front of goal, and was capable of playing as a main striker, in a creative

midfield In many sports, midfield is the part of a sports field that is near the line that is equally far from the end lines. That is, in American football it is the part of the field near the 50-yard line; in association football (soccer) and field hoc ...

role, or even on the

wing A wing is a type of fin that produces both Lift (force), lift and drag while moving through air. Wings are defined by two shape characteristics, an airfoil section and a planform (aeronautics), planform. Wing efficiency is expressed as lift-to-d ...

, due to his ability to play off of his teammates. Although in his youth he was not known for being particularly skilful, he showed great technical improvements throughout his career; these characteristics, along with his determination, work-rate, eye for goal, heading accuracy, ability in the air, and physical attributes, enabled him to excel as a

centre-forward In the sport of association football, a forward (attacker or striker) is an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield position which primarily plays further up the pitch than Midfielder, midfielders and Defender (association football), d ...

Managerial career

Graziani coached a number of teams with little fortune: he managed his former club Fiorentina during the 1989–90 season, in which they narrowly avoided relegation but reached the

1990 UEFA Cup Final The 1990 UEFA Cup Final was an association football tie played on 2 May 1990 and 16 May 1990 between Juventus and Fiorentina of Italy. Juventus won 3–1 on aggregate. This was the first final between two Italian sides in the UEFA competiti ...

, and later coached Reggina in 1990, and

Avellino Avellino () is a city and ''comune'', capital of the province of Avellino in the Campania region of southern Italy. It is situated in a plain surrounded by mountains east of Naples and is an important hub on the road from Salerno to Benevento. ...

in 1993. In the 2001–02 season, Graziani, who was the managing director of

Catania Catania (, , , Sicilian and ) is the second-largest municipality on Sicily, after Palermo, both by area and by population. Despite being the second city of the island, Catania is the center of the most densely populated Sicilian conurbation, wh ...

Serie C1 Serie C1 was the third highest football league in Italy. It consisted of 36 teams, divided geographically into two divisions. History Before the 1978–79 season, there were only three professional football leagues in Italy, the third being Se ...

, was successively appointed as manager, and led the Sicilian team to a historic promotion in

Serie B The Serie B (), officially known as Serie BKT for sponsorship reasons, is the second-highest division in the Italian football league system after the Serie A. It has been operating for over ninety years since the 1929–30 season. It had b ...

. He then resigned as football coach after the ninth match of the next season, and in 2003–04 he coached

Montevarchi Montevarchi is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Arezzo, Tuscany, Italy. History The town of Montevarchi sprang up around 1100, near to a fortified Benedictine monastery, founded by bishop Elempert (986–1010) of Arezzo. At first the cas ...

Serie C2 Serie C2 was the fourth highest football league in Italy, the lowest with a professional status. History Before the 1978–79 season, there were only three professional football leagues in Italy, the third being Serie C. The league menaging t ...

with little success, being fired before the end of the season. From 2004 to 2006, he coached

Cervia Cervia () is a seaside resort town in the province of Ravenna, located in the northern Italian region of Emilia-Romagna. Cervia is a major seaside resort in Emilia-Romagna, North Italy. Its population was 28,983 at the 2023 census. It is mainly ...

, an amateur team of

Emilia-Romagna Emilia-Romagna (, , both , ; or ; ) is an Regions of Italy, administrative region of northern Italy, comprising the historical regions of Emilia (region), Emilia and Romagna. Its capital is Bologna. It has an area of , and a population of 4.4 m ...

from

Eccellenza The Eccellenza (, "excellence") is the fifth level (since 2014–15) of Italian football.Official ...

league which was subject of an Italian reality show, ''Campioni – Il Sogno''. He led the team to an immediate promotion to

Serie D The Serie D () is the highest level of semi-professional football in Italy, and the fourth tier of the Italian national league system. It sits beneath the third and lowest fully professional league, Serie C, and feeds in to it through promotion ...

, being popular to the public because of his hot-blooded attitudes, especially during league matches. He later also worked for

Mediaset Mediaset S.p.A. is an Italian mass media and television production and distribution company that is the largest commercial broadcaster in the country. The company is controlled by the holding company MFE – MediaForEurope (the original ...

as a football pundit.

Career Statistics

International

:''Scores and results list Italy's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Baloncieri goal.''

Honours

Player

Torino *

: 1975–76 *

: runner-up 1979–80 Roma *Coppa Italia: 1983–84, 1985–86 *

European Cup The UEFA Champions League (UCL) is an annual club association football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) that is contested by top-division European clubs. The competition begins with a round robi ...

: runner-up 1983–84 Italy *

Individual * Serie A Top scorer: 1976–77 (21 goals) *Coppa Italia Top scorer: 1980–81 (5 goals) *

Torino FC Hall of Fame This is a list of Torino FC players who have been inducted into the Hall of Fame Granata. History The Hall of Fame Granata (''granata'' is the English for "maroon", the club's traditional colour) was created by the Museo del Grande Torino e della ...

: 2017 *

ACF Fiorentina Hall of Fame This is a list of ACF Fiorentina players who have been inducted into the club's Hall of Fame. History and regulations ACF Fiorentina's Hall of Fame has been launched in 2012, resulting from a collaboration between ACF Fiorentina and Museo Fiorent ...

: 2019

Manager

Cervia *Eccellenza: 2004–05 (Group B)

References

External links

Goals and appearances in Serie AL'eroe Francesco Graziani

Profile at FIGC.it
{{DEFAULTSORT:Graziani, Francesco 1952 births Living people People from Subiaco, Lazio Italian men's footballers Italian expatriate men's footballers Italian expatriate sportspeople in Australia Italy men's international footballers Italy men's under-21 international footballers SS Arezzo players Torino FC players AS Roma players ACF Fiorentina players Udinese Calcio players Serie A players Serie B players APIA Leichhardt FC players Expatriate men's soccer players in Australia Italian football managers ACF Fiorentina managers AS Reggina 1914 managers US Avellino 1912 managers Catania FC managers Montevarchi Calcio Aquila 1902 managers ASD Cervia 1920 managers Italian television personalities UEFA Euro 1980 players 1978 FIFA World Cup players 1982 FIFA World Cup players FIFA World Cup–winning players Men's association football forwards Footballers from the Metropolitan City of Rome Capital Italian Roman Catholics 20th-century Italian sportsmen