Ruggiero Rizzitelli (; born 2 September 1967) is an Italian former

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 ...

who played as a striker. Due to his goalscoring ability, he was given the nickname "Rizzi-gol" by the fans.

Club career

Rizzitelli started his professional career for

Serie B The Serie B (), currently named 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 been ...

team

Cesena Cesena (; rgn, Cisêna) is a city and '' comune'' in the Emilia-Romagna region of Italy, served by Autostrada A14, and located near the Apennine Mountains, about from the Adriatic Sea. The total population is 97,137. History Cesena was ...

during the 1984–85 season, making his

Serie A The Serie A (), also called Serie A TIM for national sponsorship with TIM, is a professional league competition for football clubs located at the top of the Italian football league system and the winner is awarded the Scudetto and the Copp ...

debut in the 1987–88 season. He played four seasons with the small side from

Emilia-Romagna egl, Emigliàn (man) egl, Emiglièna (woman) rgn, Rumagnòl (man) rgn, Rumagnòla (woman) it, Emiliano (man) it, Emiliana (woman) or it, Romagnolo (man) it, Romagnola (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title ...

before joining A.S. Roma in 1988, where he scored a total of 29 goals in six seasons with the ''giallorossi'', winning a

Coppa Italia The ("Italy Cup") is an annual knockout cup competition in Italian football organized by the FIGC until the 2009–10 season and the Lega Serie A ever since. History The beginning of the tournament was turbulent, due to the complexity ...

in 1991. In the same year reached the

UEFA Cup Final The UEFA Europa League, formerly the UEFA Cup, is an association football competition established in 1971 by UEFA. It is considered the second most important international competition for European clubs, after the UEFA Champions League. Clubs qu ...

, but his goal was unable to prevent them from losing to

Inter Milan Football Club Internazionale Milano, commonly referred to as Internazionale () or simply Inter, and colloquially known as Inter Milan in English-speaking countries, is an Italian professional football club based in Milan, Lombardy. Inter i ...

. Roma were also subsequently defeated in the 1991 Supercoppa Italiana. From 1994 to 1996 he then played for

Torino Turin ( , Piedmontese: ; it, Torino ) 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 ...

, scoring a very impressive 30 goals in 60 appearances with the ''granata''. Despite his good performances, Torino were relegated to

in 1996, and Rizzitelli agreed for a move to German team

FC Bayern Munich Fußball-Club Bayern München e. V. (FCB, ), also known as FC Bayern (), Bayern Munich, or simply Bayern, is a German professional sports club based in Munich, Bavaria. It is best known for its professional men's football team, which pla ...

, then coached by fellow Italian

Giovanni Trapattoni Giovanni Trapattoni (; born 17 March 1939), sometimes popularly known as "Trap" or "Il Trap", is an Italian football manager and former player, considered the most successful club coach of Italian football. A former defensive midfielder, as a ...

. In his second season with Bayern, he seldom appeared as a regular starter due to injury and the emergence of Carsten Jancker, but proved to be a more than useful player on the bench, thanks to his quickness that made him skillful and dangerous on the counter-attack. He scored a total of 11 goals in 45 appearances with the Bavarian team, winning a

Bundesliga The Bundesliga (; ), sometimes referred to as the Fußball-Bundesliga () or 1. Bundesliga (), is a professional association football league in Germany. At the top of the German football league system, the Bundesliga is Germany's primary footbal ...

title in 1997 and a

DFB-Pokal The DFB-Pokal ( is a German knockout football cup competition held annually by the German Football Association (DFB). Sixty-four teams participate in the competition, including all clubs from the Bundesliga and the 2. Bundesliga. It is considere ...

(German Cup) in 1998. He returned to Italy in 1998 to join

Piacenza Piacenza (; egl, label= Piacentino, Piaṡëinsa ; ) is a city and in the Emilia-Romagna region of northern Italy, and the capital of the eponymous province. As of 2022, Piacenza is the ninth largest city in the region by population, with over ...

where he however failed to impress. Rizzitelli retired in 2001 after a season with Cesena.

International career

Rizzitelli received a total of nine caps with the Italian team between 1988 and 1991, making his debut on 20 February 1988 in a friendly match against

USSR The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nation ...

, played at Stadio San Nicola, Bari and won 4–1 by the ''azzurri''. He scored a total of two goals with the Italian team and was selected for the Euro 88 squad, but played no part in the tournament, as Italy reached the semi-finals. He was also part of the Italian Olympic squad that finished fourth in the 1988 Olympics in Seoul.

Style of play

Rizzitelli was a versatile forward, capable of playing in several offensive positions; he was deployed as a main striker as well as in a supporting role, in particular as a

second striker Forwards (also known as attackers) are outfield positions in an association football team who play the furthest up the pitch and are therefore most responsible for scoring goals as well as assisting them. As with any attacking player, the role ...

off another centre forward, or even as a winger or outside forward, where he could deliver assists to team mates. His versatility was demonstrated during his time at

Roma Roma or ROMA may refer to: Places Australia * Roma, Queensland, a town ** Roma Airport ** Roma Courthouse ** Electoral district of Roma, defunct ** Town of Roma, defunct town, now part of the Maranoa Regional Council * Roma Street, Brisbane, a ...

, where he formed an effective partnership with a more offensive

centre forward Forwards (also known as attackers) are outfield positions in an association football team who play the furthest up the pitch and are therefore most responsible for scoring goals as well as assisting them. As with any attacking player, the role ...

Rudi Völler Rudolf "Rudi" Völler (; born 13 April 1960), nicknamed "''Tante Käthe''" ("Aunt Käthe"), is a German former professional football player and manager who serves as the sporting director for Bayer Leverkusen. A forward, Völler won the FIFA W ...

. He was a quick, agile, and tenacious player, with good technique, who excelled in the air, despite his small stature.

Honours

Club

Roma *

: 1990–91 Bayern Munich *

: 1996–97 *

: 1997–98 *

DFB-Ligapokal The DFL-Ligapokal (, officially Premiere Ligapokal , previously DFB-Ligapokal ) or the ''German League Cup'' was a German football competition that took place before the start of the Bundesliga season, featuring the top five teams of the previous ...

: 1997

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Rizzitelli, Ruggiero 1967 births Living people Association football forwards Italian footballers Italy international footballers Italy under-21 international footballers Olympic footballers of Italy Footballers at the 1988 Summer Olympics UEFA Euro 1988 players FC Bayern Munich footballers Torino F.C. players A.S. Roma players A.C. Cesena players Piacenza Calcio 1919 players Italian expatriate footballers Serie A players Serie B players Serie C players Expatriate footballers in Germany Italian expatriate sportspeople in Germany Bundesliga players Italy B international footballers