Piero Gardoni (12 February 1934 – 15 December 1994) was an Italian 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 defender. He played for various Italian clubs, most notably

Atalanta Atalanta (; ) is a heroine in Greek mythology. There are two versions of the huntress Atalanta: one from Arcadia (region), Arcadia, whose parents were Iasus and Clymene (mythology), Clymene and who is primarily known from the tales of the Caly ...

, where he spent nine seasons and captained the team to its

Coppa Italia Coppa Italia () is the annual domestic cup of Italian football. The knockout competition was organized by the DDS and the Lega Calcio until the 2009–10 season and by Lega Serie A ever since. Juventus is the competition's most successf ...

victory in 1963.

Career

Gardoni was born in Borgo Palazzo,

Bergamo Bergamo ( , ; ) is a city in the Alps, alpine Lombardy region of northern Italy, approximately northeast of Milan, and about from the alpine lakes Lake Como, Como and Lake Iseo, Iseo and 70 km (43 mi) from Lake Garda, Garda and Lake ...

, in 1934, and grew up playing in the youth sector of his hometown club

. In 1953, Gardoni joined local

Serie D The Serie D () is the highest level of semi-professional football in Italy, and the fourth tier of the Italian national league system. It sits beneath the third and lowest fully professional league, Serie C, and feeds in to it through promotion ...

club

Caravaggio Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio (also Michele Angelo Merigi or Amerighi da Caravaggio; 29 September 1571 – 18 July 1610), known mononymously as Caravaggio, was an Italian painter active in Rome for most of his artistic life. During the fina ...

on loan for one season to gain playing experience. He then spent three seasons on loan at Palazzolo, also in Serie D, and one year on loan at Reggiana in

Serie C The Serie C (), officially known as Serie C NOW for sponsorship purposes, is the third-highest division in the Italian football league system after the Serie B and Serie A. The Lega Italiana Calcio Professionistico (Lega Pro) is the governing ...

, where he helped the club earn promotion to

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 ...

in 1958. Gardoni then returned to Atalanta, where he would spend the next nine seasons. In his first season with the Atalanta senior team, Gardoni won the

1958–59 Serie B The Serie B 1958–59 was the twenty-seventh tournament of this competition played in Italy since its creation. Teams Reggiana and Vigevano had been promoted from Serie C, while Atalanta and Hellas Verona had been relegated from Serie A. Final ...

and promotion to

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 ...

. He was then named

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

in 1960. In the 1962–63 season, Gardoni captained Atalanta to its first (and so far only)

triumph, forming part of a defensive line that allowed only three shots on target in the

final Final, Finals or The Final may refer to: *Final examination or finals, a test given at the end of a course of study or training *Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which d ...

against

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 ...

; Atalanta won the match 3–1. The following season, Gardoni scored his first and only goal for Atalanta, in a 2–1 Serie A victory over

Vicenza Vicenza ( , ; or , archaically ) is a city in northeastern Italy. It is in the Veneto region, at the northern base of the Monte Berico, where it straddles the Bacchiglione, River Bacchiglione. Vicenza is approximately west of Venice and e ...

. In total, he recorded 213 appearances with Atalanta (209 in national league competitions and 4 in cup competitions) and played in various defensive roles: he began his career as a full-back and evolved into a ''libero''. In 1967, Gardoni left Atalanta for Serie B club Reggina, where he spent one season. He retired as a player after a short spell with Serie D club Pergolettese in 1969.

Later life, death, and legacy

After retiring as a footballer, Gardoni worked in

insurance Insurance is a means of protection from financial loss in which, in exchange for a fee, a party agrees to compensate another party in the event of a certain loss, damage, or injury. It is a form of risk management, primarily used to protect ...

. In the 1990s, he co-owned an insurance agency in

Zogno Zogno (Bergamasque: ) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Bergamo in the Italy, Italian region of Lombardy, located about northeast of Milan and about north of Bergamo. Zogno borders the following municipalities: Algua, Alzano Lom ...

with his son Marco Gardoni. Following a

cancer Cancer is a group of diseases involving Cell growth#Disorders, abnormal cell growth with the potential to Invasion (cancer), invade or Metastasis, spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Po ...

diagnosis, Gardoni disappeared on 12 December 1994 and committed

suicide Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Risk factors for suicide include mental disorders, physical disorders, and substance abuse. Some suicides are impulsive acts driven by stress (such as from financial or ac ...

three days later; his body was found in the

Oglio The Oglio (; or ; , ) is a left-side tributary of the river Po in Lombardy, Italy. It is long. In the hierarchy of the Po's tributaries, with its of length, it occupies the 2nd place per length (after the river Adda), while it is the 4th pe ...

river. Gardoni is remembered for his grit and aerial strength as a defender and for his honest and humble demeanor as a person, as well as for his dedication to Atalanta. As the captain of the team that won the Coppa Italia in 1963, Gardoni is considered an icon by Atalanta

ultras Ultras are a type of association football fans who are known for their fanatical support. The term originated in Italy, but is used worldwide to describe predominantly organised fans of association football teams. The behavioural tendency ...

and is commemorated in their choreographic displays. Gardoni is also the subject of the fan song ''Ol Piero'', written by .

Honors

Palazzolo *

IV Serie The Serie D () is the highest level of semi-professional football in Italy, and the fourth tier of the Italian national league system. It sits beneath the third and lowest fully professional league, Serie C, and feeds in to it through promotion ...

: 1955 Reggiana *

: 1958 Atalanta *

1959 Events January * January 1 – Cuba: Fulgencio Batista flees Havana when the forces of Fidel Castro advance. * January 2 – Soviet lunar probe Luna 1 is the first human-made object to attain escape velocity from Earth. It reaches the ...

1963 Events January * January 1 – Bogle–Chandler case: Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation scientist Dr. Gilbert Bogle and Mrs. Margaret Chandler are found dead (presumed poisoned), in bushland near the Lane Cove ...

References

Citations

Bibliography

External links

Gli Eroi della Dea: Piero GARDONI
at ''TuttoAtalanta'' (in Italian) {{DEFAULTSORT:Gardoni, Piero 1934 births 1994 deaths Sportspeople from Bergamo Italian men's footballers Men's association football defenders Serie A players Serie B players Serie C players Serie D players Atalanta BC players USD Caravaggio players AC Reggiana 1919 players AS Reggina 1914 players Footballers from Lombardy Suicides by drowning Suicides in Italy 20th-century Italian sportsmen