Francesco "Franco" Scoglio (; 2 May 1941 – 3 October 2005) was 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 who coached at both national and international level.

Playing career

Francesco Scoglio was born in

Lipari Lipari (; ) is a ''comune'' including six of seven islands of the Aeolian Islands (Lipari, Vulcano, Panarea, Stromboli, Filicudi and Alicudi) and it is located in the Tyrrhenian Sea off the northern coast of Sicily, Southern Italy; it is ...

, in the

province of Messina The province of Messina (; ) was a Provinces of Italy, province in the autonomous island region of Sicily, Italy. Its capital was the city of Messina. It was replaced by the Metropolitan City of Messina. Geography Territory It had an area of , ...

, Italy. He played as a defender or

midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in t ...

Managerial career

Nicknamed ''il Professore'' (the Professor) because of his past teaching activity (he was a

pedagogy Pedagogy (), most commonly understood as the approach to teaching, is the theory and practice of learning, and how this process influences, and is influenced by, the social, political, and psychological development of learners. Pedagogy, taken ...

graduate), Scoglio never actually had a playing career. He started a managing career in 1972 in one of the Reggina youth teams. He then went on coaching at amateur and Serie C levels in

Sicily Sicily (Italian language, Italian and ), officially the Sicilian Region (), is an island in the central Mediterranean Sea, south of the Italian Peninsula in continental Europe and is one of the 20 regions of Italy, regions of Italy. With 4. ...

and

Calabria Calabria is a Regions of Italy, region in Southern Italy. It is a peninsula bordered by the region Basilicata to the north, the Ionian Sea to the east, the Strait of Messina to the southwest, which separates it from Sicily, and the Tyrrhenian S ...

(Gioiese,

Messina Messina ( , ; ; ; ) is a harbour city and the capital city, capital of the Italian Metropolitan City of Messina. It is the third largest city on the island of Sicily, and the 13th largest city in Italy, with a population of 216,918 inhabitants ...

Acireale Acireale (; , locally shortened to ''Jaci'' or ''Aci'') is a coastal city and ''comune'' in the north-east of the Metropolitan City of Catania, Sicily, southern Italy, at the foot of Mount Etna, on the coast facing the Ionian Sea. It is home to ...

, Akragas). It was Scoglio who discovered the great potential of

Salvatore Schillaci Salvatore Schillaci (; 1 December 1964 – 18 September 2024), commonly known as Totò Schillaci, was an Italian professional association football, footballer who played as a striker (association football), striker. During his club career, he p ...

, one of his players during Scoglio's second stint in Messina. However, Scoglio is most remembered for his time in

Genoa CFC Genoa Cricket and Football Club () is an Italian professional Association football, football club based in Genoa, Liguria. The team competes in the Serie A, the top division of the Italian football league system. Established in 1893, Genoa is ...

, which was also the team for which he first coached. He achieved great success with his next clubs, being often fired before the end of the season. He is also known for having coached the national teams of

Tunisia Tunisia, officially the Republic of Tunisia, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It is bordered by Algeria to the west and southwest, Libya to the southeast, and the Mediterranean Sea to the north and east. Tunisia also shares m ...

and

Libya Libya, officially the State of Libya, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to Egypt–Libya border, the east, Sudan to Libya–Sudan border, the southeast, Chad to Chad–L ...

. Under his management,

reached the semi-finals of the

2000 African Cup of Nations The 2000 African Cup of Nations was the 22nd edition of the Africa Cup of Nations, the association football championship of Africa ( CAF). It was co-hosted by Ghana and Nigeria, who jointly replaced Zimbabwe as host. Just like in 1998, the field ...

. His last coaching (and unsuccessful) experience was on 2002–2003 for

SSC Napoli Società Sportiva Calcio Napoli (), commonly known as SSC Napoli or simply Napoli, is an Italian professional football club based in Naples, Campania that currently competes in the Serie A, the highest league of Italian football. Napoli are am ...

After retirement

Scoglio then became a very popular TV commentator on football shows in Italy, and even worked for

Al Jazeera Al Jazeera Media Network (AJMN; , ) is a private-media conglomerate headquartered in Wadi Al Sail, Doha, funded in part by the government of Qatar. The network's flagship channels include Al Jazeera Arabic and Al Jazeera English, which pro ...

as the technical expert reporting on the Italian league.

Death

On 3 October 2005, Scoglio was appearing on a regional television station in

Genoa Genoa ( ; ; ) is a city in and the capital of the Italian region of Liguria, and the sixth-largest city in Italy. As of 2025, 563,947 people live within the city's administrative limits. While its metropolitan city has 818,651 inhabitan ...

, having a rather heated and passionate, yet civil, discussion with Genoa president

Enrico Preziosi Enrico Preziosi is an Italian entrepreneur. He runs a number of businesses and is most famous for having been the chairman () of football club Genoa C.F.C., Genoa. Toys Preziosi is the chairman () of the board of directors of Giochi Preziosi (co ...

. While Preziosi was answering one of Scoglio's charges, Scoglio lost consciousness and slumped in his chair. He died of an apparent heart attack shortly thereafter. This dramatic event fulfilled his own prophecy "I'll die talking about Genoa CFC" (''Morirò parlando del Genoa'').

Legacy

Following his death, in 2016 the city of

, the provincial capital of his birthplace as well as the home of

ACR Messina Associazioni Calcio Riunite Messina S.r.l. is a football club based in Messina, Sicily, Italy, that competes in the Serie C, the third tier of the Italian football league system. History Football in Messina The origins of the team go b ...

, a club he coached for many years, honoured his memory by renaming the local stadium after him.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Scoglio, Francesco 1941 births 2005 deaths People from Lipari Italian men's footballers Footballers from Sicily Men's association football defenders Men's association football midfielders Serie C players Italian football managers Italian expatriate football managers AS Reggina 1914 managers ACR Messina managers SSD Città di Acireale 1946 managers Spezia Calcio managers Genoa CFC managers Bologna FC 1909 managers Udinese Calcio managers Lucchese 1905 managers Delfino Pescara 1936 managers Torino FC managers Cosenza Calcio managers SSC Ancona ASD managers SSC Napoli managers Serie A managers Tunisia national football team managers Libya national football team managers Filmed deaths Deaths onstage Sportspeople from the Metropolitan City of Messina 2000 African Cup of Nations managers 20th-century Italian sportsmen