Fabio Gaetaniello (born 25 August 1958 in

Livorno Livorno () is a port city on the Ligurian Sea on the western coast of Tuscany, Italy. It is the capital of the Province of Livorno, having a population of 158,493 residents in December 2017. It is traditionally known in English as Leghorn (pronou ...

) is a former Italian rugby union player and coach. He played as a centre.

Club career

He started his career at CUS Pisa, like his brother Fabrizio, who also would be an international player, where he played until 1977/78. He moved afterwards to

Rugby Livorno 1931 Rugby Livorno 1931 is an Italian rugby union team from Livorno. The club was founded in 1931 (hence that year in the club's name) and spent several seasons in the Italy's top tier championship. Rugby Livorno 1931's best placement in the Italian ...

, being at their squad from 1978/79 to 1981/82. He had his debut at Italian Championship in 1978. He moved to

Rugby Parma F.C. 1931 Crociati Parma Rugby F.C. are an Italian rugby union club. They are based in Parma in Emilia-Romagna. They were founded in 2010 by the merger of Rugby Parma F.C. (''Overmach Parma'') and F.C. Rugby Noceto and disbanded in 2014. Rugby Parma ''Rug ...

, where he played from 1982/83 to 1987/88. Once again, he returned to Rugby Livorno 1931, his team from 1988/89 to 1993/94, where he finished his player career. Gaetaniello never won an important national title during his player days.

National Team Career

He had 30 caps for

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 re ...

, from 1980 to 1991, scoring 5 tries, 20 points on aggregate. His first game was at the 18-13 win over

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 ...

, in

Madrid Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the second-largest city in the European Union (EU), and ...

, at 21 December 1980, for the 1980–81 FIRA Trophy, aged 22 years old. He was called for the

1987 Rugby World Cup The 1987 Rugby World Cup was the first Rugby World Cup. It was co-hosted by New Zealand and Australia – New Zealand hosted 21 matches (17 pool stage matches, two quarter-finals, the third-place play-off and the final) while Australia hosted 11 ...

, playing in three games, without scoring, and for the

1991 Rugby World Cup The 1991 Rugby World Cup was the second edition of the Rugby World Cup, and was jointly hosted by England, Scotland, Wales, Ireland and France: at the time, the five European countries who participated in the Five Nations Championship. This was ...

, playing in three games and scoring a try in the 30-9 win over the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

, in

Otley Otley is a market town and civil parishes in England, civil parish at a bridging point on the River Wharfe, in the City of Leeds metropolitan borough in West Yorkshire, England. Historic counties of England, Historically a part of the West Ridi ...

, at 5 October 1991. That would be the second win and the best result to date of Italy at the competition. His last game came at the 21-31 loss to

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

, in

Leicester Leicester ( ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city, Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest settlement in the East Midlands. The city l ...

, at 13 October 1991, aged 33 years old, as Italy exited competition at the 1st round.Fabio Gaetaniello International Statistics
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Coaching career

Gaetaniello become a coach, after ending his player career, being in charge of Rugby Livorno 1931, from 1994/95 to 2003/04. He was the coach of Italy Sevens national team for two seasons, from 2004/05 to 2005/06. He was in charge of

Cavalieri Prato Rugby Club I Cavalieri is a rugby union team from the city of Prato, Italy. They play in the Top12 having finished 2nd in the 2012–13 edition, losing to Mogliano Rugby in the final. History The team was formed in 2000 through the merger of three ...

, with

Andrea De Rossi Andrea De Rossi (born 8 August 1972 in Genova) is an Italian former rugby union footballer and a current coach. He played as number eight. De Rossi first team was Rugby Livorno, where he played from 1990/91 to 1999/2000. He then went to repre ...

, from 2006/07 to 2010/11, achieving the promotion to the Super 10 in 2008/09, and being runners-up of the Italian Championship in 2010/11.

References

External links

* 1958 births Living people Italian rugby union players Italy international rugby union players Italian rugby union coaches Rugby union centres Sportspeople from Livorno 1987 Rugby World Cup players 1991 Rugby World Cup players {{italy-rugbyunion-bio-stub