Paolo Pulici

Paolo Pulici

File:Paolo Pulici - Torino 1978-79.jpg Pulici captain of Torino in 1978–79
Personal information
Full name	Paolino Pulici
Date of birth	(1950-04-27) 27 April 1950
Place of birth	Roncello, Italy
Height
Position(s)	Striker
Team information
Current team	Tritium (youth)
Youth career
19??–1967	Legnano
1967–1968	Torino
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
1966–1967	Legnano	1	(0)
1967–1982	Torino	335	(134)
1982–1983	Udinese	26	(5)
1983–1985	Fiorentina	40	(3)
Total		412	(142)
International career
1969–1972	Italy U21	9	(5)
1973–1978	Italy	19	(5)
Managerial career
1986–1989	Piacenza (Assistant)
1995–	Tritium (Youth)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Paolo Pulici (Italian pronunciation: [ˈpaːolo ˈpuːlitʃi]; born 27 April 1950) is an Italian football manager and former footballer who played as a striker. With 172 goals in all competitions, he is the all-time record goalscorer for Torino.

He is nicknamed Puliciclone (a name invented by Gianni Brera) or, more affectionately, Pupi. Since 1990 he has taught the game of football at Sportiva Tritium 1908 in Trezzo sull'Adda, at the football school that bears his name.

In 2014 he was inducted into the Torino Hall of Fame; he was the first player to ever be elected and was included in the "Forwards" category.

Club career

Pulici awarded best scorer in the 1975–76 Serie A

Initially courted by Internazionale, he was ultimately rejected as the club believed his left-foot only shooting could not match that of their striker Sandro Mazzola. Torino acquired from Legnano in 1967 and the then coach, Edmondo Fabbri, launched him as a starter in the 1968–69 season as a starter in Torino-Cagliari (0–0). In his first four seasons at Torino (three as starter), he played in 79 league games, but only scored nine goals due to technical shortcomings and his lack of composure in front of goal.

In 1972 the coach Gustavo Giagnoni excluded Pulici from the starting lineup for a period of two months, devoting him to technical refinement with the help of the coaches of the youth team. In 1972–73 he emerged as the top scorer in Serie A with 17 goals along with Gianni Rivera and Giuseppe Savoldi. He repeated this feat in 1974–75 (18 goals) and in 1975–76, when he scored 21 goals in the season won by Torino, played in tandem with strike-partner Francesco Graziani. The pair were nicknamed "i gemelli del gol" ("the twins of goal"): Pulici's goal was decisive in the final round of the season against A.C. Cesena.

He played with Torino for 14 seasons, disputed 437 official games and scored 172 goals between league and cup competitions. In addition to the Scudetto won in 1975–76, he finished 2nd place in the league in 1976–77 and won a Coppa Italia trophy in 1971.

In subsequent years his number of goals diminished, with a minimum of 3 goals in the 1979–80 season, which coincided with the departure of Torino head coach Luigi Radice. In 1982 he was allowed to leave Torino for free, moving to Udinese; after a season in Friuli, he went to Fiorentina, with whom he ended his playing career.

International career

File:Under 23, Italia-Paesi Bassi 1-1, 14 gennaio 1976.jpg

Pulici (kneeling, second from the right) with Italy U-23 in 1976

Pulici made his full international debut on 30 March 1973, in a 5–0 win over Luxembourg in a World Cup qualifier in Genoa. His first goals were a brace on 30 December 1975 in a 3–2 friendly win over Greece in Florence, his 7th cap. He then scored in his subsequent two matches, against Portugal and the United States.

In total, he played 19 matches and scored 5 goals for the Italy national football team. He made the squad for two World Cups (1974 and 1978), but did not enter the field of play in either tournament. Internationally, Pulici played in 19 games and scored 5 goals; often deployed in tandem with Graziani. Failing to repeat the performance offered at Torino, he was often replaced by Roberto Bettega.

Managerial career

After retiring, he joined the technical staff of Piacenza as assistant coach, after the Emilian club contacted him to resume athletic activities. From 1986 to 1988 he was at the side of coach Battista Rota, while in the season 1988–89 he reclaimed the role of assistant coach from Enrico Catuzzi and later Attilio Perotti.

Style of play

A prolific right-footed forward, he was also adept at using his left foot; a fast and physically strong player, Pulici was particularly gifted in the air and was known for his ability to score acrobatic goals; he was also an accomplished penalty kick taker.

Honours

Club

Torino

• Serie A: 1975–76
• Coppa Italia: 1970–71
• Campionato Nazionale Primavera: 1967–68, 1969–70

Individual

• Serie A – Top scorer: 1972–73 (17 goals), 1974–75 (18 goals), 1975–76 (21 goals)