Massimo Ceccaroni (born 15 August 1968) is a Swiss 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 lea ...
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 ...
. He played for
FC Basel
Fussball Club Basel 1893, widely known as FC Basel, FCB, or just Basel, is a Swiss professional Association football, football club based in Basel, in the Basel-Stadt, Canton of Basel-Stadt. Formed in 1893, the club has been List of Swiss footba ...
for very nearly his entire career. He was later trainer at amateur club BSC Old Boys and then trainer of the Basel U21 team. Between 2012 and 2020 he was technical manager of the youth department. Since 2017 he is on Board of Directors of the FCB Holding AG and since January 2020 general manager sports project India, Chennai City FC - FC Basel.
Career
Active football
In 1977, Ceccaroni joined
FC Basel
Fussball Club Basel 1893, widely known as FC Basel, FCB, or just Basel, is a Swiss professional Association football, football club based in Basel, in the Basel-Stadt, Canton of Basel-Stadt. Formed in 1893, the club has been List of Swiss footba ...
's youth squad and advanced to their first team for their 1987–88 season signing his first professional contract under head-coach Urs Siegenthaler. After playing in four test games, Ceccaroni played his domestic league debut for his club in an away match on 3 October 1987 as Basel were defeated 5–0 by Lausanne-Sport. His teammates included goalie Urs Suter, defender Peter Bernauer, and Switzerland national team players such as Adrian Knup, Dominique Herr and Peter Nadig. Despite this personally strongly occupied team Basel were relegated to the Nationalliga B after the
1987–88 Nationalliga A
Statistics of the Swiss National League in the 1987–88 football season, both Nationalliga A and Nationalliga B.
Overview
There had been modifications to the Swiss Football Association (ASF/SFV) in advance of this season and the format of th ...
season.
Ceccaroni scored his first league goal for his club on 7 October 1992 in the home game at the
St. Jakob Stadium
The St. Jakob Stadium was a football (soccer), football stadium in Basel, Switzerland and the former home of Swiss club FC Basel. It was built in view of the 1954 FIFA World Cup, and as well as serving as a club stadium, it hosted several import ...
. It was the first goal of the game as Basel won 3–0 against Chênois. Because Ceccaroni was not known for goal scoring, his other league goals are mentioned here. His second was scored five weeks later on 14 November is also documented here. It was the second goal of the match as Basel won 8–0 against
Urania Genève Sport
Urania Genève Sport is a Swiss omnisport club based in Geneva. Its football section was founded in 1896.
The current club was born in 1922 through a merger between FC Urania and FC Genève.
Its main title is the Swiss cup, won in 1929 against ...
.
Nearly one year later, during Basel's 1993–94 season, on 11 September 1993, in the derby against local rivals Old Boys, Ceccaroni scored his next league goals. This happened in the stoppage time of the first half. Ceccaroni rushed down the right wing, staying remarkably close to the side line all the way, and after having run more than 50 meters he crossed the ball very high to the middle. As it seemed that the ball would fly over the cross bar, it suddenly dropped and fell into the goal. It was the first goal of the match as Basel won 6–1. His fourth and last league goal of his professional career was scored on 30 October, seven weeks later. It was the last goal of the home game as Basel were 3–1 victorious against
Monthey
Monthey (; ) is the capital of the district of Monthey in the canton of Valais in Switzerland.
History
The castle in the town center was built in 950 on a hill, the first houses of Monthey surrounded it. Monthey is first mentioned in 1215 ...
. During this season, under head-coach
Claude Andrey
Claude "Didi" Andrey (born 13 June 1951) is a former Swiss footballer, who most recently managed Yverdon-Sport FC in the Challenge League.
Andrey took over FC Basel for their 1993–94 season. His team included the likes of Swiss internation ...
Admir Smajić
Admir Smajić (born 7 September 1963) is a Bosnian professional football manager and former player.
He played in the Yugoslavia national team and the Bosnia and Herzegovina national team.
Club career Partizan
Born in Bijeljina,Ørjan Berg and the Swiss international strikers Dario Zuffi and
Philippe Hertig
Philippe Hertig (born 2 July 1965) is a Swiss former association football, footballer who played as a striker (association football), striker during the 1980s and 1990s. He is banker and is now assistant director of Mirabaud Group. In 2009 Herti ...
. Together they won the promotion/relegation group and became Nationalliga B champions and thus won promotion to the top flight of Swiss football. This after six seasons in the second tier.
Ceccaroni remained with the club for another eight Nationalliga A seasons. In their 2001–02 season they won the national double,
Championship
In sport, a championship is a competition in which the aim is to decide which individual or team is the champion.
Championship systems
Various forms of competition can be referred to by the term championship.
Title match system
In this sys ...
and the
Swiss Cup
The Swiss Cup (; ; ; ) is a football cup competition that has been organised annually since 1925–26 season by the Swiss Football Association.
The Swiss Cup final is usually the most important game of the year with a high attendance. The co ...
. Because he did not have many appearances in the team, Basel did not renew Ceccaroni's contract at the end of that season and his career came to an end. Between the years 1987 and 2002 Ceccaroni played a total of 605 games for Basel scoring a total of six goals. 398 of these games were in the Nationalliga A, 34 in the Swiss Cup and 153 were friendly games. He scored those four mentioned goals in the domestic league and the other two were scored during the test games.
Because Basel did not renew his contract, Ceccaroni retired from professional football and joined local amateur side SC Dornach so that he could complete his trainer diplomas.
Summary and curiosity
;Summary
As nine-year old Ceccaroni joined
FC Basel
Fussball Club Basel 1893, widely known as FC Basel, FCB, or just Basel, is a Swiss professional Association football, football club based in Basel, in the Basel-Stadt, Canton of Basel-Stadt. Formed in 1893, the club has been List of Swiss footba ...
and as nineteen year old he advanced to the first team. In his first season he suffered relegation, six years later he was promotion. The finest moments of Ceccaroni's career were, firstly, winning the Nationalliga B in 1994 and, secondly, the Nationalliga A championship and the
Swiss Cup
The Swiss Cup (; ; ; ) is a football cup competition that has been organised annually since 1925–26 season by the Swiss Football Association.
The Swiss Cup final is usually the most important game of the year with a high attendance. The co ...
in 2002, these were Basel's first titles in 22 years.
Ceccaroni is considered as a cult figure in
Basel
Basel ( ; ), also known as Basle ( ), ; ; ; . is a city in northwestern Switzerland on the river Rhine (at the transition from the High Rhine, High to the Upper Rhine). Basel is Switzerland's List of cities in Switzerland, third-most-populo ...
. This mainly because he stayed loyal to the club for 25 years and always showed full commitment in each of his games. On the other hand, also because he never scored a goal in the top division during his entire professional career, not even then when he took his only penalty.
;Curiosity
In the match against Grasshopper Club on 29 September 2002 in the Stadion Schützenmatte it came to this situation. In the 4th minute of stoppage time GC goalkeeper Stefan Huber brought down Basel's goal getter Jean-Michel Tchouga in the penalty area and was then shown the red card. Oliver Kreuzer, Basel's designated penalty shooter, lays the ball down, but then the spectators intervene. «Massimo, Massimo!» The first tentative calls swell to a noise tornado. Ceccaroni's Christian name echoes through the small stadium through thousands of throats. The game is deep in stoppage time, Basel lead 1–0 and are preparing to take over the top of the table. But that is only a minor matter. What really counts is solely the wish that Massimo Ceccaroni finally makes himself immortal.
On the pitch, Kreuzer is skeptical. He doesn't want to jeopardize the victory and asks the referee how long he will let the game go. The answer: The penalty is the last action, then it's over. Finally Kreuzer decides: ''"Come on, Massimo, put that thing away!"'', and he gives the ball to Ceccaroni. He later said: ''"I was nervous, but at the same time, I felt very safe."'' No wonder, Ceccaroni already had his part in the game for the preceding goal. Reto Zanni, under pressure from Tchouga, had deflected his cross into his own goal. In addition, after Huber's dismissal, there is a greenhorn in the GC goal. The 18-year-old Peter Jehle makes his league debut. When should it work, if not today?
As Ceccaroni runs up, the fans collectively hold their breath. But instead of an explosion of cheers, it comes to a big disappointment. Jehle blocks Ceccaroni's weak attempt. Alltough the ball lands before Ceccaronis's boots and although he nails it into the net via the lower edge of the crossbar, but – oh dear – referee Stuchlik had already blown his whistle. What a drama! Ceccaroni shrugs his shoulders in embarrassment, the end of the dream of his dream of his first top level goal. Basel win 1-0 and "Massimos" mythos reached unimagined heights with the miss. Kreuzer reports on the field: ''"Until now, Ceccaroni was a legend, but from now on he is mega-cult."'' Even the unlucky person himself takes it with humor: ''"I would rather score a goal out of the game anyway."'' He will never succeed. In 2002, after nearly 400 games for Basel, he left the football business, goalless at top level.
Retirement
After his retirement from professional football he joined amateur side SC Dornach for three seasons. Then he moved to BSC Old Boys and became player-coach and then manager. He remained in this position until 2012. In the summer of 2012, he took over as technical director of Basel's youth department. He spent three seasons as head-coach of Basel's U-21 youth team. Since 2017 he is on Board of Directors of the FCB Holding AG and since January 2020 general manager sports project India,
Chennai City FC
Chennai City Football Club was an Indian professional football club based in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. The club predominantly competed in the I-League, which was then highest division of Indian football league system. They have also appeared in th ...
–
FC Basel
Fussball Club Basel 1893, widely known as FC Basel, FCB, or just Basel, is a Swiss professional Association football, football club based in Basel, in the Basel-Stadt, Canton of Basel-Stadt. Formed in 1893, the club has been List of Swiss footba ...
.
Personal life
Ceccaroni, whose parents are from Italy, was born in
Basel
Basel ( ; ), also known as Basle ( ), ; ; ; . is a city in northwestern Switzerland on the river Rhine (at the transition from the High Rhine, High to the Upper Rhine). Basel is Switzerland's List of cities in Switzerland, third-most-populo ...
and grew up in the quarter ''Saint Johann''. Ceccaroni is co-owner of ABT Bodenbeläge AG and worked there for ten years. He has an elder brother,
Stefano
Stefano is the Italian form of the masculine given name ΣτÎφανος (Stefanos, Stephen). The name is of Greek origin, ΣτÎφανος, meaning a person who made a significant achievement and has been crowned. In Orthodox Christianity the ach ...
, who also played for
Basel
Basel ( ; ), also known as Basle ( ), ; ; ; . is a city in northwestern Switzerland on the river Rhine (at the transition from the High Rhine, High to the Upper Rhine). Basel is Switzerland's List of cities in Switzerland, third-most-populo ...
Swiss Cup
The Swiss Cup (; ; ; ) is a football cup competition that has been organised annually since 1925–26 season by the Swiss Football Association.
The Swiss Cup final is usually the most important game of the year with a high attendance. The co ...