Massimo Piloni (born 21 August 1948 in Ancona) is an Italian professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

coach Coach may refer to: Guidance/instruction * Coach (sport), a director of athletes' training and activities * Coaching, the practice of guiding an individual through a process ** Acting coach, a teacher who trains performers Transportation * Co ...

and a former player, who played as a goalkeeper.

Playing career

Born in Ancona, Piloni began playing football with the

Juventus Juventus Football Club (from la, iuventūs, 'youth'; ), colloquially known as Juve (), is a professional Association football, football club based in Turin, Piedmont, Italy, that competes in the Serie A, the top tier of the Italian football leagu ...

youth system in 1967, but was later sent to Serie C side Casertana for a season in 1968 in order to gain experience by manager Heriberto Herrera, before returning to Juventus in 1969. He made his Serie A debut in a 2–2 home draw against Varese on 4 April

1971 * The year 1971 had three partial solar eclipses ( February 25, July 22 and August 20) and two total lunar eclipses (February 10, and August 6). The world population increased by 2.1% this year, the highest increase in history. Events Ja ...

, at the age of 22, under coach

Čestmír Vycpálek Čestmír Vycpálek (Prague, 15 May 1921 – Palermo, 5 May 2002) was a Czech Republic, Czech football (soccer), football Association footballer, player and Association football manager, manager who played as a midfielder. He was an uncle of not ...

. That season, he made 7 appearances due to his promising performances, even featuring in the semifinal of the 1971

Inter-Cities Fairs Cup The Inter-Cities Fairs Cup, sometimes referred to as the European Fairs Cup, Fairs Cities' Cup, or simply as the Fairs Cup, was a European Association football, football competition played between 1955 and 1971. It is often considered the predecess ...

, in a 1–1 away draw against

Köln Cologne ( ; german: Köln ; ksh, Kölle ) is the largest city of the German western state of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) and the fourth-most populous city of Germany with 1.1 million inhabitants in the city proper and 3.6 million ...

on 14 April. Although it seemed he had overtaken Tancredi, also earning the nickname "Big Pilon", his performances in the first leg of the final against Leeds United, a 2–2 draw, were unconvincing, however, and he was forced to miss the second leg of the final due to injury, which Juventus went on to lose on aggregate. During his time with the Turin club, he was largely a backup to several goalkeepers, including Roberto Anzolin,

Roberto Tancredi Roberto Tancredi (born 30 January 1944 in Montecatini Val di Cecina) is a retired Italian professional football player who played as a goalkeeper. Career Tancredi began playing youth football with local side Rosignano before joining Juventus ...

, and Pietro Carmignani, but was mainly the understudy to legendary goalkeeper Dino Zoff, only making an appearance in the Coppa Italia against Cesena on 6 February 1974 during their time at the club together. In 1975, Piloni moved to Serie B side Pescara, helping the club to obtain Serie A promotion in

1977 Events January * January 8 – Three bombs explode in Moscow within 37 minutes, killing seven. The bombings are attributed to an Armenian separatist group. * January 10 – Mount Nyiragongo erupts in eastern Zaire (now the Democratic R ...

for the first time in their history, and making a name for himself as an experienced and reliable goalkeeper. In

1978 Events January * January 1 – Air India Flight 855, a Boeing 747 passenger jet, crashes off the coast of Bombay, killing 213. * January 5 – Bülent Ecevit, of Republican People's Party, CHP, forms the new government of Turkey (42nd go ...

, following Pescara's relegation, he moved to Rimini for two seasons. He ended his career after a season with Serie D side Fermana in 1981.

Coaching career

Following his retirement, Piloni worked as a goalkeeping coach with

Catania Catania (, , Sicilian and ) is the second largest municipality in Sicily, after Palermo. Despite its reputation as the second city of the island, Catania is the largest Sicilian conurbation, among the largest in Italy, as evidenced also by ...

between 2000 and 2003. After disagreements with the club in 2004, he went on work as a goalkeeping coach around Italy, and even in Scotland, with Italian clubs Perugia, Sambenedettese, and Scottish club Livingston, working with coaches such as Vujadin Boškov,

Serse Cosmi Serse Cosmi (born 5 May 1958) is an Italian football coach, most recently in charge of Rijeka. Career Early career Cosmi was born in 1958 in Ponte San Giovanni, a Perugia '' frazione''. His father, a cycling fan, called him Serse after Faus ...

, Carlo Mazzone, and Edy Reja, also developing goalkeepers such as Gennaro Iezzo,

Andrea Mazzantini Andrea Mazzantini (born 11 July 1968) is an Italian former professional football player who played as a goalkeeper. Career Mazzantini started his career with amateur club Canaletto under Adriano Buffon, the father of Italian goalkeeper Gianl ...

Armando Pantanelli Armando Pantanelli (born 1 June 1971) is an Italian former professional Association football, football Goalkeeper (association football), goalkeeper. Playing career Born in Turin, Pantanelli spent his childhood in Parma, and began his footballi ...

, and Marco Storari. Following an interview with ''

La Gazzetta dello Sport ''La Gazzetta dello Sport'' (; "The Sports Gazette") is an Italian daily newspaper dedicated to coverage of various sports. Founded in 1896, it is the most widely read daily newspaper of any kind in Italy (in 2018). History and profile ''La ...

'' in December 2015, in which he expressed his financial difficulties due to unemployment after having been "abandoned" by the world of football, he was hired by Eccellenza Romana side Atletico Vescovio later that month, as the club's goalkeeping coach.

Personal life

Piloni lives with his wife, Rosanna; together they have a son.

Honours

Club

;Juventus * Serie A champion: 1971–72, 1972–73, 1974–75.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Piloni, Massimo 1948 births Living people Italian footballers Serie A players Juventus F.C. players Delfino Pescara 1936 players Rimini F.C. 1912 players Fermana F.C. players Association football goalkeepers