Armando Bianchi (born 20 November 1954) is an Italian former

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 lea ...

who played as an

attacking midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. ...

. He is a naturalized French citizen.

Career

In 1976, Bianchi signed for

Paris Saint-Germain Paris Saint-Germain Football Club, commonly referred to as Paris Saint-Germain () or simply PSG, is a French professional Association football, football club based in Paris. They compete in Ligue 1, the French football league system, top d ...

, one of France's most successful clubs, after playing for

Rouen Rouen (, ; or ) is a city on the River Seine, in northwestern France. It is in the prefecture of Regions of France, region of Normandy (administrative region), Normandy and the Departments of France, department of Seine-Maritime. Formerly one ...

in the French second division. At the age of 29, while playing for French second division side

Racing Club de France Racing Club de France, also known as RCF, is a French multi-sport club that was founded on 20 April 1882 under the name Racing Club. Racing Club changed its name to Racing Club de France (RCF) on 21 November 1885. The club is located at the Bois ...

, he suffered a career-shortening injury.

After football

From 1985 to 1993, Bianchi was player-manager in

Roanne Roanne (; ; ) is a commune in the Loire department, central France. It is located northwest of Lyon on the river Loire. It has an important Museum, the ''Musée des Beaux-arts et d'Archéologie Joseph-Déchelette'' (French), with many Egypt ...

and Riorges. He ended his playing days in 1993, and went to work for an insurance company for 12 years. In 2005, Bianchi returned to Roanne Foot, this time as both coach and technical director.

Personal life

Bianchi arrived in France at the age of 5. He became a naturalized citizen at the age of 24.

References

1954 births Living people Italian men's footballers French sportspeople of Italian descent Footballers from the Province of Como Men's association football midfielders FC Rouen players Paris Saint-Germain FC players Nîmes Olympique players Paris FC players Racing Club de France Football players Grenoble Foot 38 players Ligue 1 players Ligue 2 players 20th-century Italian sportsmen {{Italy-footy-midfielder-1950s-stub