Bruno Nicolè (; 24 February 1940 – 26 November 2019) was an

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, a Romance ethnic group related to or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance languag ...

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 lea ...

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 ...

Club career

Throughout his club career, Nicolè played for several Italian clubs, and started his career with

Padova Padua ( ) is a city and ''comune'' (municipality) in Veneto, northern Italy, and the capital of the province of Padua. The city lies on the banks of the river Bacchiglione, west of Venice and southeast of Vicenza, and has a population of ...

at the age of 16, making his

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 ...

debut on 10 February 1957, in a 3–2 home win over

Inter Inter may refer to: Association football clubs * Inter Milan, an Italian club * SC Internacional, a Brazilian club * Inter Miami CF, an American club * Inter Playa del Carmen, a Mexican club * FC Inter Sibiu, a Romanian club * FC Inter Turku, ...

; his performances earned him a move to

Juventus Juventus Football Club (; from , ), commonly known as Juventus or colloquially as Juve (), is an Italian professional Association football, football List of football clubs in Italy, club based in Turin, Piedmont, who compete in Serie A, the ...

in 1957, where he won three Serie A titles and 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, also managing a goalscoring ratio of at least one goal every three games with the club, and even playing alongside the club's established attacking trio, which was made up of stars

John Charles William John Charles (27 December 1931 – 21 February 2004) was a Welsh association football, footballer who played as a centre-forward or as a centre-back. Best known for his first stint at Leeds United F.C., Leeds United and Juventus FC, Ju ...

Omar Sívori Enrique Omar Sívori (, ; 2 October 1935 – 17 February 2005) was an Argentine-Italian Association football, football player and manager who played as a Forward (association football), forward. At club level, he is known for his successful tim ...

and

Giampiero Boniperti Giampiero Boniperti (; 4 July 1928 – 17 June 2021) was an Italian association football, footballer who played his List of one-club men in association football, entire 15-season career at Juventus FC, Juventus between 1946 and 1961, winning five ...

. He later played for

Mantova Mantua ( ; ; Lombard and ) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Italian region of Lombardy, and capital of the eponymous province. In 2016, Mantua was designated as the "Italian Capital of Culture". In 2017, it was named as the "European C ...

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 ...

– where he won his third Coppa Italia in 1964, scoring the only goal in the second leg of the final victory over

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 a 1–0 aggregate win) – and

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 ...

, before ending his career in 1967, after two seasons 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 ...

with

Alessandria Alessandria (; ) is a city and commune in Piedmont, Italy, and the capital of the Province of Alessandria. It is also the largest municipality of the region. The city is sited on the alluvial plain between the Tanaro and the Bormida rivers, ...

International career

Nicolè made 8 appearances for the

Italy national football team The Italy national football team () has represented Italy in men's international Association football, football since its first match in 1910. The national team is controlled by the Italian Football Federation (FIGC), the governing body for fo ...

between 1958 and 1964, scoring two goals. He made his international debut on 9 November 1958, in a 2–2 friendly draw away against

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

at the

Stade Olympique Yves-du-Manoir The Stade Yves-du-Manoir (officially Stade olympique Yves-du-Manoir, also known as the Stade olympique de Colombes, or simply Colombes to the locals) is a rugby, track, and association football stadium in Colombes, near Paris, France, Paris, Fra ...

Colombes Colombes () is a Communes of France, commune in the northwestern suburbs of Paris, France, from the Kilometre zero, centre of Paris. In 2019, Colombes was the List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, 53rd largest city in France. ...

, near

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

, and scored both of Italy's goals during the match, his only international goals. At the age of 18 years and 258 days, he was the youngest goalscorer for the Italy national football team before being succeeded by

Wilfried Gnonto Degnand Wilfried Gnonto (; born 5 November 2003) is an Italian professional footballer who plays as a winger for club Leeds United and the Italy national team. Early life Gnonto was born in Verbania, Italy, in 2003 to Ivorian parents and he ...

, and also holds the record for being Italy's youngest ever

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

, at the age of 21 years and 61 days, when he wore the armband in Italy's 3–2 friendly win in Bologna over

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ; ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, part of the United Kingdom in the north-east of the island of Ireland. It has been #Descriptions, variously described as a country, province or region. Northern Ireland shares Repub ...

on 25 April 1961. His final appearance for Italy came in a 3–1 friendly home win over

Denmark Denmark is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe. It is the metropole and most populous constituent of the Kingdom of Denmark,, . also known as the Danish Realm, a constitutionally unitary state that includes the Autonomous a ...

on 5 December 1964.

Style of play

A versatile forward, who was capable of playing in several positions along the front line, Nicolè usually played as a central striker, or in a more withdrawn position as a winger, due to his ability to both score or set-up goals. A talented and creative player, with an imposing physique and an eye for goal, he was known for his

dribbling In sports, dribbling is maneuvering a ball by one player while moving in a given direction, avoiding defenders' attempts to intercept the ball. A successful dribble will bring the ball past defenders legally and create opportunities to score. As ...

skills, speed, and accurate shot. A precocious talent, despite his ability and emergence at an early age, he often struggled with injuries throughout his career which, coupled with his tendency to gain weight during his periods of inactivity, led to an early physical decline, which eventually forced him to retire prematurely at the age of 27.

After retirement

Following his retirement from professional football at the age of 27, Nicolè worked as a

physical education Physical education is an academic subject taught in schools worldwide, encompassing Primary education, primary, Secondary education, secondary, and sometimes tertiary education. It is often referred to as Phys. Ed. or PE, and in the United Stat ...

teacher. Nicolè died on 26 November 2019.

Honours

;Juventus *

champion: 1957–58, 1959–60, 1960–61. *

winner: 1958–59, 1959–60. *

Coppa delle Alpi ''Coppa delle Alpi'' (translated as Cup of the Alps) was an official football tournament, first organized by the Italian national league as it started in 1960 and then they were aided by the Swiss League from 1962, for the reason that the majorit ...

winner: 1963. ;Roma *

winner: 1963–64.

References

External links

Career summary by playerhistory.com
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Nicole, Bruno 1940 births 2019 deaths Italy men's international footballers Serie A players Serie B players Calcio Padova players Juventus FC players Mantova 1911 players AS Roma players UC Sampdoria players US Alessandria Calcio 1912 players Men's association football forwards Italian men's footballers Footballers from Padua 20th-century Italian sportsmen