Massimo Crippa (; born 17 May 1965) is an Italian 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 ...

, who played as a

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 is the current sporting director of

Renate Renate is a feminine given name. It is derived from the Latin name Renatus. It is common in German, Dutch and Norwegian. Notable people with the given name include: *Renate Aschauer-Knaup (born 1948), German singer (Amon Düül II) * Renate Blaue ...

. Crippa played for several Italian clubs throughout his career, winning several titles during his spells with

Napoli Naples ( ; ; ) is the regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 908,082 within the city's administrative limits as of 2025, while its province-level municipality is the thir ...

and

Parma Parma (; ) is a city in the northern Italian region of Emilia-Romagna known for its architecture, Giuseppe Verdi, music, art, prosciutto (ham), Parmesan, cheese and surrounding countryside. With a population of 198,986 inhabitants as of 2025, ...

. At international level, he represented 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 ...

at the

1988 1988 was a crucial year in the early history of the Internet—it was the year of the first well-known computer virus, the Morris worm, 1988 Internet worm. The first permanent intercontinental Internet link was made between the United State ...

and the

1996 Summer Olympics The 1996 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXVI Olympiad, also known as Atlanta 1996 and commonly referred to as the Centennial Olympic Games) were an international multi-sport event held from July 19 to August 4, 1996, in Atlanta, ...

Club career

A determined and physically powerful player, Crippa began his playing career during the 1981–82 season, with A.C. Meda Mobil, in the

Prima Categoria The Prima Categoria is the seventh level (since 2014–15) in the Italian football league system and is organized by the National Amateur League by the Regional Committees. Each individual league winner within the Prima Categoria level progress ...

, where he spent two seasons in the first squad. He later moved to play in the

Eccellenza Lombardy Eccellenza Lombardy () is the regional Eccellenza football division for clubs in Lombardy, Italy. It is competed amongst 48 teams, in three groups (A, B and C). The winners of the Groups are promoted to Serie D. The club which finishes second also ...

- the sixth tier of Italian club football - with FBC Saronno for two seasons before moving to his hometown club,

Seregno Seregno (; ) is a town and ''comune'' of the new Province of Monza and Brianza in the Italian region of Lombardy. Seregno received the honorary title of city by a presidential decree on 26 January 1979. It is served by Seregno railway station ...

. His performances earned him a move to nearby

Serie C2 Serie C2 was the fourth highest football league in Italy, the lowest with a professional status. History Before the 1978–79 season, there were only three professional football leagues in Italy, the third being Serie C. The league menaging t ...

club

Pavia Pavia ( , ; ; ; ; ) is a town and comune of south-western Lombardy, in Northern Italy, south of Milan on the lower Ticino (river), Ticino near its confluence with the Po (river), Po. It has a population of c. 73,086. The city was a major polit ...

in the summer of 1986. After only one season with the club, he moved to

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 ...

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 ...

. In the 1987–88 season he scored three goals for the

Turin 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 ...

club in 29 league appearances. Crippa left Torino in the summer of 1988 to join

. Playing behind

Diego Maradona Diego Armando Maradona Franco (30 October 196025 November 2020) was an Argentine professional association football, football player and manager. Widely regarded as one of the greatest players in the history of the sport, he was one of the two ...

, who was at the peak of his abilities, Crippa joined a strong midfield that also included Alemão,

Fernando De Napoli Fernando De Napoli (; born 15 March 1964) is an Italian former professional footballer, who played either as a central midfielder or as a winger during the 1980s and 1990s. He is best known in club football for being a regular in the Napoli te ...

and Francesco Romano. In his first season with the club, Crippa helped Napoli to finish second in

and to win the

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, beating

VfB Stuttgart Verein für Bewegungsspiele Stuttgart 1893 e. V. (), commonly known as VfB Stuttgart (), is a German professional sports club based in Stuttgart, Baden-Württemberg. The club's Association football, football team is currently part of Germany's f ...

in the final. He helped Napoli to fend off the challenge of

A.C. Milan (), commonly referred to as Milan or AC Milan () mainly outside of Italy, is an Italian professional Football club (association football), football club based in Milan, Lombardy. Founded in 1899, the club competes in the Serie A, the top tie ...

to win the

Scudetto The ''scudetto'' (; Italian for 'little shield') is a decoration having the colors of the flag of Italy which is sewn onto the jersey of the Italian sports clubs that won the highest level championship of their respective sport in the previous ...

in the following season. He scored a goal as Napoli defeated

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 ...

5–1 in the

1990 Supercoppa Italiana The 1990 Supercoppa Italiana was a pre-season football match contested by the 1989–90 Serie A winners Napoli and the 1989–90 Coppa Italia winners Juventus. The match resulted in a 5–1 win for Napoli. Match details See also * 199 ...

. Crippa moved to

in the summer of 1993 and in his first season he was part of the team that won the

UEFA Super Cup The UEFA Super Cup is an annual super cup Association football, football match organised by UEFA and contested by the winners of the two main European club competitions: the UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League. The competition's offic ...

over two legs against A.C. Milan. Parma lost the first leg, played at the

Stadio Ennio Tardini Stadio Ennio Tardini, commonly referred to as just Il Tardini, is a association football, football stadium in Parma, Italy, located near the centre of Parma, between the town centre and the city walls. It is the home of Parma Calcio 1913. The s ...

, 0–1, but won the second leg 2–0 with Crippa scoring the decisive goal in

extra time Overtime (OT) or extra time (ET) is an additional period of play to bring a game to a decision and avoid declaring the match a tie or draw where the scores are the same. In some sports, this extra period is played only if the game is required t ...

. Crippa won his second

at the end of the 1994–95 season as Parma defeated Juventus 2–1 on aggregate. Parma had finished second behind Juventus in that season's Serie A, and would do so again in the 1995–96 season. Crippa was part of Parma's first ever Champions League campaign during the 1997–98 season. In 1998, Crippa returned to Torino, who were playing 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 ...

; the team were promoted in his first season back at the club. He returned to the Eccellenza Lombardy in 2000 with Canzese playing until 2002. He finished his career in 2003 playing for

, the club of his city.

International career

After playing for the under-21 team, Crippa went on to make 17 appearances for

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

between 1988 and 1996. He made his debut in a 2–0 home win over

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on 22 December 1988, and he scored his only international goal in a 3–1 friendly win against

Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

on 14 December 1994. Crippa also represented Italy at two

Olympic Games The modern Olympic Games (Olympics; ) are the world's preeminent international Olympic sports, sporting events. They feature summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a Multi-s ...

: Seoul 1988, and

Atlanta 1996 Atlanta 1996 may refer to: * 1996 Summer Olympics * 1996 Summer Paralympics The 1996 Paralympic Games in Atlanta, Georgia, United States, were held from August 16 to 25. It was the first Paralympics to get mass media sponsorship, and had a bud ...

as overage player, under manager

Cesare Maldini Cesare Maldini (; 5 February 1932 – 3 April 2016) was an Italian professional football manager and player who played as a defender. Father to Paolo Maldini and grandfather to Daniel Maldini, Cesare began his career with Italian side Trie ...

. He scored the decisive goal in the 2–1 quarter-final victory against

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at the 1988 Olympics, as Italy reached the semi-finals, eventually finishing the tournament in fourth place.

Style of play

A hard-working and physically strong team-player, Crippa was known for his dedication, power, tenacity and stamina on the pitch, which enabled him to excel as a ball-winner in midfield and support his more creative and offensive-minded teammates.

Managerial career

Crippa was appointed the sporting director of

Lega Pro Seconda Divisione Serie C2 was the fourth highest football league in Italy, the lowest with a professional status. History Before the 1978–79 season, there were only three professional football leagues in Italy, the third being Serie C. The league menaging ...

in the summer of 2010, a position which he currently holds.

Honours

Napoli *

: 1989–90 *

Supercoppa Italiana The Supercoppa Italiana, also known as the Italian Super Cup, is an annual super cup tournament in Italian football. Founded in 1988 as a two-team competition, it has featured four teams since 2023 (the winners and runners-up of the previous ...

1990 Important events of 1990 include the Reunification of Germany and the unification of Yemen, the formal beginning of the Human Genome Project (finished in 2003), the launch of the Hubble Space Telescope, the separation of Namibia from South ...

: 1988–89 Parma *

: 1994–95 *

1993 The United Nations General Assembly, General Assembly of the United Nations designated 1993 as: * International Year for the World's Indigenous People The year 1993 in the Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands had only 364 days, since its ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Crippa, Massimo 1965 births Living people People from Seregno Italian men's footballers Italy men's international footballers Italy men's under-21 international footballers Men's association football midfielders AC Meda 1913 players AC Pavia 1911 SSD players Torino FC players SSC Napoli players Parma Calcio 1913 players US 1913 Seregno Calcio players Serie A players Serie C players Olympic footballers for Italy Footballers at the 1988 Summer Olympics Footballers at the 1996 Summer Olympics UEFA Europa League–winning players Footballers from the Province of Monza e Brianza 20th-century Italian sportsmen