Francesco Graziani Football player, football manager Date of Birth: 16.12.1952 Country: Spain

Biography of Francesco Graziani

Francesco Graziani is a former Italian football player and current football manager. He began his career as a forward in Arezzo before moving to Torino. Graziani played a crucial role in helping the team win the Serie A championship.

In 1973, Graziani joined Torino and quickly established himself as one of the key players. In 1977, he became the top scorer of Serie A, with 21 goals. From 1981 to 1983, Graziani played for ACF Fiorentina, and from 1983 to 1988, he was a part of AS Roma. During his time with Roma, Graziani came close to winning the European Cup but missed a penalty in the match against Liverpool.

After leaving Roma, Graziani moved to Udinese where he played until 1988. He also had the opportunity to represent Italy at the international level. He first joined the U21 national team in 1973 and later became a member of the senior national team from 1975 to 1983. Graziani scored 23 goals in 64 appearances, including a goal against Cameroon in the 1982 FIFA World Cup.

In 1988, Graziani retired from playing and in 1989, he returned to the field as a coach. He initially faced difficulties and had little success as a coach for Fiorentina, Reggina, and Avellino. After leaving Avellino in 1993, Graziani took a break from the sport for nine years before returning as the managing director of Catania in 2001. Under his guidance, Catania achieved notable results and was promoted to Serie B.

However, Graziani left his position after only nine matches in the 2002 season. He returned to coaching in 2003, this time with Montevideo in Serie C2. Unfortunately, he was not able to achieve significant success with the team and was ultimately dismissed before the end of the season. From 2004 to 2006, Graziani worked with the amateur team Cervia, leading them to promotion to Serie D and gaining popularity.