Giuseppe "Beppe" Signori (; born 17 February 1968) is an Italian former professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby ...

who played as a forward. He played for several clubs in Italy throughout his career, and also had spells in Greece and Hungary with

Iraklis Thessaloniki Gymnasticos Syllogos Iraklis ( el, Γυμναστικός Σύλλογος Ηρακλής, en, Gymnastics Club Heracles), commonly referred to as Iraklis, is a Greek multi-sports club based in Thessaloniki. The club was founded in 1908 as "Mace ...

and

MFC Sopron FC Sopron was a Hungarian football club from the town of Sopron, near the Austrian border. It was founded in 1921 as ''Soproni Postás''. The club's home stadium is Stadion Városi with a capacity of 5,300. With the beginning of the season 20 ...

respectively. Signori won the Serie A top-scorer award three times and is one of the top ten scorers in

Serie A The Serie A (), also called Serie A TIM for national sponsorship with TIM, is a professional league competition for football clubs located at the top of the Italian football league system and the winner is awarded the Scudetto and the Cop ...

history. At international level, Signori represented

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

28 times between 1992 and 1995, scoring 7 goals, and took part at the

1994 World Cup The 1994 FIFA World Cup was the 15th FIFA World Cup, the world championship for men's national soccer teams. It was hosted by the United States and took place from June 17 to July 17, 1994, at nine venues across the country. The United States w ...

, where they reached the

final Final, Finals or The Final may refer to: * Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which decides a winner for an event ** Another term for playoffs, describing a sequence of con ...

Club career

Signori was born in

Alzano Lombardo Alzano Lombardo ( Bergamasque: ) is a in the province of Bergamo, Lombardy, northern Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of t ...

, Bergamo. As a youngster he played in the youth system of

Internazionale Football Club Internazionale Milano, commonly referred to as Internazionale () or simply Inter, and colloquially known as Inter Milan in English-speaking countries, is an Italian professional football club based in Milan, Lombardy. Inter is t ...

, but was eventually released after being told by the club that he was too short to succeed as a professional. He went on to make his pro debut for

Leffe Leffe () is a premium beer brand owned by InBev Belgium, the European operating arm of the global Anheuser–Busch InBev brewery giant. There are several beers in the range, and they are marketed as abbey beers. They are brewed in large quan ...

(1984–86), followed by

Piacenza Piacenza (; egl, label= Piacentino, Piaṡëinsa ; ) is a city and in the Emilia-Romagna region of northern Italy, and the capital of the eponymous province. As of 2022, Piacenza is the ninth largest city in the region by population, with over ...

(1986–87 and 1988–89),

Trento Trento ( or ; Ladin and lmo, Trent; german: Trient ; cim, Tria; , ), also anglicized as Trent, is a city on the Adige River in Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol in Italy. It is the capital of the autonomous province of Trento. In the 16th ce ...

(1987–88), Foggia (1989–92),

Lazio it, Laziale , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = , demographics1_title2 ...

(1992–97),

Sampdoria Unione Calcio Sampdoria, commonly referred to as Sampdoria (), is an Italian professional football club based in Genoa. The club was formed in 1946 from the merger of two existing sports clubs whose roots can be traced back to the 1890s, ...

(January–June 1998) and

Bologna Bologna (, , ; egl, label=Emilian language, Emilian, Bulåggna ; lat, Bononia) is the capital and largest city of the Emilia-Romagna region in Northern Italy. It is the seventh most populous city in Italy with about 400,000 inhabitants and 1 ...

(1998–2004). He then spent two short periods abroad: first in Greece in 2004 with

; and then in October 2005 he signed a one-year contract with Hungarian team

to end his professional career. The pinnacle of Signori's career came at Lazio, where he was the top goalscorer in Serie A three times, in 1993, 1994, and 1996 (the last title shared with

Igor Protti Igor Protti (born 24 September 1967) is an Italian former professional footballer who currently works as a general manager for Livorno. Throughout his playing career, he made a name for himself as a prolific and opportunistic striker, who mainl ...

). In 1998, he was sold for an undisclosed figure to Sampdoria after being used more sparingly by the Lazio coach Sven-Göran Eriksson. At Bologna, he helped the club to qualify for the

1998–99 UEFA Cup The 1998–99 UEFA Cup was won by Parma in the final against Marseille. It was their second title in the competition. It was the last edition of the old format UEFA Cup, before the Cup Winners' Cup was merged into it to include domestic cup winn ...

by winning the

1998 UEFA Intertoto Cup The 1998 UEFA Intertoto Cup finals were won by Valencia, Werder Bremen, and Bologna. All three teams advanced to the UEFA Cup. The 1998 tournament saw Spanish clubs debut in the competition and also the return of English clubs, since the controve ...

that season. Bologna went on to reach the semi-finals of both the UEFA Cup and the

Coppa Italia The ("Italy Cup") is an annual knockout cup competition in Italian football organized by the FIGC until the 2009–10 season and the Lega Serie A ever since. History The beginning of the tournament was turbulent, due to the complexity of ...

that season. Overall, he scored 188 goals in Italy's top division, the ninth highest in the history of the league, alongside

Alessandro Del Piero Alessandro Del Piero (; born 9 November 1974) is an Italian former professional footballer who mainly played as a deep-lying forward, although he was capable of playing in several offensive positions. Since 2015, he has worked as a pundit ...

and

Alberto Gilardino Alberto Gilardino (; born 5 July 1982) is an Italian professional football manager and a former player who played as a striker. He is currently in charge as caretaker of Genoa, a club he was contracted with on July 2022 as a youth coach. A p ...

. Between 17 May 1992 and 28 February 1993, Signori scored in a record 10 consecutive away games in Serie A (1 in 1991–92 with Foggia, and 9 in

1992–93 Year 199 ( CXCIX) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was sometimes known as year 952 '' Ab urbe condita''. The denomination 199 for this year has been used since t ...

with Lazio). Alongside

Cristiano Ronaldo Cristiano Ronaldo dos Santos Aveiro (; born 5 February 1985) is a Portuguese professional footballer who plays as a forward and captains the Portugal national team. He is currently a free agent. Widely regarded as one of the greatest p ...

, he holds the records for most consecutive away games with at least one goal in a single season (9), which he set during the 1992–93 season with Lazio.

International career

Signori was not able fully to translate his success to the national level, partly due to differences between him and national coach

Arrigo Sacchi Arrigo Sacchi (born 1 April 1946) is an Italian former professional football coach. He has twice managed AC Milan (1987–1991, 1996–1997), with great success. He won the Serie A title in his 1987–88 debut season and then dominated European ...

, who preferred to play him in the midfield, as a left winger, only using him as a forward on occasion, both as a striker and as a supporting forward. He played for the national side 28 times between 1992 and 1995, scoring seven goals. The only major tournament Signori played in was the

1994 FIFA World Cup The 1994 FIFA World Cup was the 15th FIFA World Cup, the world championship for men's national soccer teams. It was hosted by the United States and took place from June 17 to July 17, 1994, at nine venues across the country. The United States ...

, where he appeared six times as Italy finished in second place, but he did not play in the

against

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

, as Italy were defeated on penalties after a 0–0 draw following extra time. Despite going scoreless during the tournament, he assisted Dino Baggio's match-winning goal against

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the ...

in Italy's second group match, and Roberto Baggio's match-winning goal in the 87th minute of the quarter-final match against

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

Style of play

Signori was a fast, hard-working, and diminutive left footed striker, who was a prolific goalscorer, due to his powerful and accurate shot, which drew frequent comparisons with

Luigi Riva Luigi "Gigi" Riva (; born 7 November 1944) is an Italian former professional footballer who played as a centre-forward. Considered to be one of the best players of his generation, as well as one of the greatest strikers of all time, Riva enjoye ...

in the Italian media. A versatile forward, during the early part of his career he was used as a

left winger A midfielder is an outfield position in association football. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundarie ...

or as a

second striker Forwards (also known as attackers) are outfield positions in an association football team who play the furthest up the pitch and are therefore most responsible for scoring goals as well as assisting them. As with any attacking player, the role ...

, where his pace, excellent technique, and accurate crossing and passing ability were put to good use; in this position, he was known for his ability to cut in from the left flank and subsequently score by placing the ball at the far post with his left foot. He was also an extremely accurate

set piece In film production, a set piece is a scene or sequence of scenes whose execution requires complex logistical planning and considerable expenditure of money. The term is often also used more broadly to describe a sequence in which the film-maker's ...

and penalty-kick taker, and was noted for his tendency to take set pieces and penalties without taking a run-up. When taking penalties, he often observed the keepers' movements, and attempted to send them the wrong first by waiting for them to dive before striking the ball. He scored 44 penalties from 52 attempts, making him one of the most accurate penalty takers in Serie A history, and the fifth most prolific spot kick taker of all time in the Italian league. Alongside

Siniša Mihajlović Siniša Mihajlović ( sr-Cyrl, Синиша Михајловић, ; 20 February 1969 – 16 December 2022) was a Serbian professional football player and manager. During his career as a footballer, he played as a defender or midfielder. He won ...

, he is one of two players to have scored a hat-trick from free kicks in Serie A, a feat which he managed with

in a 3–1 home win over

Atalanta Atalanta (; grc-gre, Ἀταλάντη, Atalantē) meaning "equal in weight", is a heroine in Greek mythology. There are two versions of the huntress Atalanta: one from Arcadia (region), Arcadia, whose parents were Iasus and Clymene (mythology ...

, on 10 April 1994. In training, in order to refine his accuracy from free kicks, he used to practise by attempting to curl the ball over artificial walls that were up to two metres in height, and that were placed closer to the ball than regulation distance. In addition to his goalscoring and ability as a footballer, he was also known for his leadership and mentality; however, despite his talent, he was also known to be injury prone. Signori was sponsored by Diadora and used to squeeze his feet into boots that were too small for him, claiming that this improved his touch and accuracy on the ball.

After retirement

After working as a Serie A football pundit for RAI Radio1, he served as director of football of

Ternana Calcio Ternana Calcio, commonly referred to as Ternana, is an Italian football club based in Terni, Umbria. The club was founded in 1925 and refounded in 1993. In its history, Ternana has twice played in Serie A (in the 1972–73 and 1974–75 seas ...

in 2008 and 2009. On 1 June 2011, Signori was arrested in connection with a football betting scandal, together with other former players such as Stefano Bettarini and Mauro Bressan. He was initially placed under house arrest, until it was revoked two weeks later. On 9 August 2011, it was announced that he had been banned from any football-related activity for five years. On 23 February 2021, Signori was acquitted due to a "lack of evidence". On 1 June 2021,

FIGC The Italian Football Federation ( it, Federazione Italiana Giuoco Calcio; FIGC), known colloquially as ''Federcalcio'', is the governing body of football in Italy. It is based in Rome and the technical department is in Coverciano, Florence. It ...

's President Gabriele Gravina pardoned Signori to be able to return to football.

Career statistics

Club

International

Honours

Leffe * Campionato Interregionale: 1984-85 (Group B) Piacenza * Serie C1: 1986-87 Foggia *

Serie B The Serie B (), currently named 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 been ...

1990–91 Year 199 ( CXCIX) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was sometimes known as year 952 '' Ab urbe condita''. The denomination 199 for this year has been used since t ...

Bologna * UEFA Intertoto Cup:

1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The ''Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for frozen water, in soil in permanently s ...

Italy *

FIFA World Cup The FIFA World Cup, often simply called the World Cup, is an international association football competition contested by the senior men's national teams of the members of the ' ( FIFA), the sport's global governing body. The tournament ha ...

runner-up:

1994 File:1994 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1994 Winter Olympics are held in Lillehammer, Norway; The Kaiser Permanente building after the 1994 Northridge earthquake; A model of the MS Estonia, which sank in the Baltic Sea; Nelson ...

Individual * Serie A top scorer:

, 1993–94, 1995–96 (shared with

) *

top scorer:

, 1997–98 * Guerin d'Oro: 1993 * Premio Nazionale Carriera Esemplare "Gaetano Scirea": 2004

References

External links

*
FIGC Profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Signori, Giuseppe 1968 births Living people People from Alzano Lombardo Italian footballers Italy international footballers Association football forwards U.C. AlbinoLeffe players Piacenza Calcio 1919 players Calcio Foggia 1920 players S.S. Lazio players U.C. Sampdoria players Bologna F.C. 1909 players Iraklis Thessaloniki F.C. players FC Sopron players Serie A players Serie B players Serie C players Serie D players Super League Greece players Nemzeti Bajnokság I players 1994 FIFA World Cup players Italian expatriate footballers Italian expatriate sportspeople in Hungary Expatriate footballers in Greece Expatriate footballers in Hungary Italian expatriate sportspeople in Greece Sportspeople from the Province of Bergamo Footballers from Lombardy