Paolo Negro

Paolo Negro (Italian pronunciation: [ˈpaːolo ˈneːɡro]; born 16 April 1972) is an Italian former professional footballer and manager who played as a centre back or as a right back. He is currently the youth coach of Cragnotti FC.

Paolo Negro
Personal information
Full name Paolo Negro[1]
Date of birth (1972-04-16) 16 April 1972
Place of birth Arzignano, Italy
Height 1.82 m (6 ft 0 in)
Position(s) Defender
Club information
Current team
 Cragnotti FC (youth coach)
Youth career
1988–1990 Brescia
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1990–1992 Bologna 49 (0)
1992–1993 Brescia 26 (1)
1993–2005 Lazio 264 (19)
2005–2007 Siena 49 (4)
Total 388 (24)
National team
1991–1994 Italy U21 10 (2)
1994–2000 Italy 8 (0)
Teams managed
2010–2011 Cerveteri
2012–2014 Zagarolo
2016–2017 Voluntas Spoleto
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only

In an eighteen year professional career, Negro amassed Serie A totals of 362 games and 24 goals, mainly for Lazio, winning eight major titles with the club, including one national championship and the 1999 Cup Winners' Cup. He also appeared with Italy at Euro 2000, where they finished in second place.

Club career

Early career: Brescia and Bologna

Negro was born in Arzignano, Province of Vicenza. A youth player at Brescia Calcio, he joined Bologna in 1990,[2] and made his Serie A debut against Genoa, on 28 October 1990,[3] amassing over 50 overall appearances in his first two professional seasons, the latter spent in Serie B.

Brescia and Lazio

After a quick return to Brescia,[4] he then moved to Rome's S.S. Lazio in the summer of 1993.[5]

Negro won the Coppa Italia during the 1997–98 season, also reaching the UEFA Cup final that year with Lazio, losing out to Inter. The following season, Lazio won the Supercoppa Italiana, and placed second in Serie A behind A.C. Milan, but won the 1998–99 UEFA Cup Winners' Cup, although he was an unused substitute in the club's 2–1 defeat of RCD Mallorca in the final. These successes were immediately followed by the UEFA Super Cup in 1999, defeating UEFA Champions League winners Manchester United in the final.[6] During the 1999–2000 season, he helped Lazio win the Serie A title, with two goals in 26 appearances, also helping Lazio to capture the Coppa Italia and the Supercoppa Italiana over Inter, winning the first edition of the Pallone d'Argento in 2000.[7] The prize is awarded to a player who has stood out during the course of a season, both for their discipline as well as for their footballing performances. Lazio also reached the quarter finals of the UEFA Champions League that season.

The following season, however, on 17 December 2000, Negro scored an own goal in a derby match against A.S. Roma, who eventually lifted the scudetto, while Lazio finished the season in third place.[8] During the 2003–04 season, Negro was able to capture his third Coppa Italia title with Lazio, beating Juventus in the final.[9]

Siena

Having joined A.C. Siena in 2005, Negro scored a dramatic 85th-minute goal to defeat former side Lazio 2–1 on the final day of the 2006–07 season.[10][11] Without it, Siena would have been relegated to the second division, instead of Chievo. He appeared a further 50 times in the league in two campaigns, for a total of 363 official games.

In August 2008, almost one year after retiring, 36-year-old Negro underwent a trial at Serie B club Modena FC, but nothing came of it.

International career

On 16 November 1994, Negro made his debut for Italy, in a 2–1 home loss against Croatia in a UEFA Euro 1996 qualifier. He received a total of eight caps with the Azzurri between 1994 and 2000, and he was selected by manager Dino Zoff to be a member of the Italian squad that took part at Euro 2000 tournament, where the national team reached the final, finishing the tournament in second place behind France.

Previously, Negro was an essential member of the Italy U21 side under Cesare Maldini, as they defeated Portugal in the 1994 European Championship final, in Montpellier.[12]

Style of play

Negro was a strong, aggressive, hard-tackling, physical player, who excelled in the air, and who possessed a powerful shot from distance. He was also a tactically intelligent, reliable, and versatile player, and disciplined defender, who excelled at zonal-marking. He was also an attentive man-marker, with reliable technique and distribution, as well as good pace and stamina, which allowed him to be effective when moving forward along the right flank after winning back possession.[13][14]

Coaching career

In June 2011, he passed the category 2 coaching exams, which made him eligible to coach Lega Pro teams.[15]

On 30 December 2010, Negro took his first coaching job, becoming the boss of Promozione amateurs Cerveteri, a team from Lazio with former experiences in the professional tiers of Italian football.[16] He left the club after only three months, resigning on 23 March 2011 due to poor results.[17] On 26 January 2012, Negro accepted a job offer as head coach of Serie D amateurs Zagarolo.[18]

On 5 January 2015, after Mark Iuliano's promotion as new head coach of Latina, Negro was appointed as a new youth coach for the club.[19]

Honours

Club

Lazio[20]

International

Italy[21]

Individual

Orders
5th Class / Knight: Cavaliere Ordine al Merito della Repubblica Italiana: 2000[23]

References
  1. "Comunicato Ufficiale N. 223" [Official Press Release No. 223] (PDF) (in Italian). Lega Serie A. 24 January 2006. p. 6. Retrieved 13 December 2020.
  2. "The unforgettable own goal that changed Paolo Negro". The Guardian. 3 December 2016. Retrieved 16 May 2019.
  3. "Bologna fece uscire dal campo il Genoa tra i fischi" [Genoa booed off the pitch at Bologna]. www.pianetagenoa1893.net (in Italian). 16 May 2019. Retrieved 30 September 2017.
  4. "Calciomercato Brescia, la top 11 dei giocatori lanciati" [Brescia transfers, top 11 best players]. seriebnews.com (in Italian). 14 February 2019. Retrieved 16 May 2019.
  5. "Lazio, Radu aggancia Puccinelli" [Lazio, Radu catches Puccinelli]. www.corrieredellosport.it (in Italian). 11 March 2019. Retrieved 16 May 2019.
  6. "The unforgettable own goal that changed Paolo Negro". The Guardian. 3 December 2016. Retrieved 16 May 2019.
  7. "A Florenzi il "Pallone d'Argento"" [To Florenzi the “Pallone d’Argento”]. www.ussi.it (in Italian). 8 May 2016. Retrieved 16 May 2019.
  8. "Gli eroi improbabili del derby" [The unlikely heroes of the derby]. Esquire (in Italian). 5 March 2019. Retrieved 16 May 2019.
  9. "Juve, caduta senza fine la Lazio signora dell'Olimpico" [Juventus, fallen, Lazio champion of Olimpico]. la Repubblica (in Italian). 4 January 2010. Retrieved 16 May 2019.
  10. "Estorsione all'ex calciatore della Lazio Paolo Negro" [Ex'Laxio player Paolo Negro extorted]. www.ilmessaggero.it (in Italian). 20 April 2016. Retrieved 16 May 2019.
  11. Richardson, James (4 October 2005). "Anyone remember Paolo Negro?". The Guardian. Retrieved 29 February 2020.
  12. "Nazionale in cifre: Negro, Paolo". figc.it (in Italian). FIGC. Retrieved 20 April 2015.
  13. "Paolo Negro". BBC. Retrieved 22 September 2014.
  14. "Profile: Paolo Negro". ESPN FC. 13 July 2000. Retrieved 22 February 2017.
  15. "Baggio's new life as a professional coach". La Gazzetta dello Sport. 18 July 2011. Archived from the original on 22 July 2011. Retrieved 20 July 2011.
  16. "Promozione, il Città di Cerveteri cambia in panchina: via Teloni, il nuovo tecnico è Paolo Negro" (in Italian). Il Corriere Laziale. 30 December 2010. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 27 January 2012.
  17. "Promozione, Paolo Negro si dimette da tecnico del Cerveteri. Al suo posto Fabrizio Carbone" (in Italian). Il Corriere Laziale. 23 March 2011. Archived from the original on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 27 January 2012.
  18. "L'ex Lazio Negro nuovo allenatore del Zagarolo". =Resport.it (in Italian). 26 January 2012. Archived from the original on 9 September 2012. Retrieved 27 January 2012.
  19. "Paolo Negro nuovo mister della Primavera" (in Italian). US Latina Calcio. 5 January 2015. Archived from the original on 5 January 2015. Retrieved 5 January 2015.
  20. "Paolo Negro". Eurosport. Retrieved 17 December 2015.
  21. "P. Negro". Soccerway. Retrieved 17 December 2015.
  22. "A Florenzi il "Pallone d'Argento" Coppa Giaimè Fiumano" (in Italian). ussi.it. 8 May 2016. Retrieved 18 May 2016.
  23. "ONORIFICENZE". quirinale.it (in Italian). 12 July 2000. Retrieved 19 March 2015.
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