Pietro Paolo Virdis

Antonio Pietro Paolo Virdis (born 26 June 1957) is an Italian football manager and former player, who played as a forward. Throughout his career, he played for Nuorese, before playing in Serie A with Cagliari Calcio, Juventus, Udinese Calcio, and A.C. Milan; he ended his career with Lecce. Known for his eye for goal, with Juventus, he won two league titles and a Coppa Italia; with Milan, he was the league's top-scorer in 1987, also winning a league title and the Supercoppa Italiana in 1988, and was part of the club's European Cup victory in 1989. At international level, he represented the Italy under-23 side at the 1988 Summer Olympics, helping the team to a fourth-place finish.

Pietro Paolo Virdis
Virdis in 1988
Personal information
Full name Antonio Pietro Paolo Virdis
Date of birth (1957-06-26) 26 June 1957
Place of birth Sassari, Italy
Height 1.82 m (5 ft 11 1⁄2 in)
Position(s) Striker
Youth career
1971–1973 Juvenilia Sassari
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1973–1974 Nuorese 25 (11)
1974–1977 Cagliari 75 (24)
1977–1980 Juventus 45 (8)
1980–1981 Cagliari 22 (5)
1981–1982 Juventus 30 (9)
1982–1984 Udinese 45 (12)
1984–1989 Milan 135 (53)
1989–1991 Lecce 46 (8)
Total 423 (130)
National team
1976–1978 Italy U-21 8 (1)
1987–1988 Italy Olympic Team 15 (9)
Teams managed
1998–1999 Atletico Catania
2001 Viterbese
2002 Nocerina
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only

Club career

Born in Sassari, Italy, Virdis started his career in his native Sardinia with amateur Serie D side Nuorese in 1973, scoring 11 goals in his first senior season at the young age of 16. He later joined Cagliari, making his Serie A debut on 6 October 1974 in a league game versus Udinese.

Virdis with Cagliari in 1974–75 season

In 1977, he joined Juventus, where he played until 1982, except for a one-year stint back at Cagliari in 1980–81. After failing to find a first team place, in 1982 he left Juventus for Udinese.[1] In 1984, he then moved at A.C. Milan, where he enjoyed his best period at club level. He made his Serie A debut with the club in a 2–1 away defeat to Parma on 22 August 1984, and he played five seasons with the rossoneri, winning the Serie A top-scorer title during the 1986–87 season, with 17 goals; he also won the 1987–88 Serie A title, and the 1988 Supercoppa Italiana with the club, followed by the 1988–89 European Cup. In total, he made 186 appearances for Milan, scoring 76 goals, 53 of which were scored in Serie A in 135 appearances. In 1989, aged 32, he left AC Milan to join Lecce, where he spent his final two seasons as a professional footballer before retiring in 1991.[2]

International career

Although he never gained a cap for the senior squad,[3] he helped the Italian Olympic team qualify for Seoul 1988. In the tournament, he went on to score 3 goals in 6 matches as Italy reached the semi-finals, losing out 2–0 to West Germany in the bronze medal final. Before this he competed in the 1982 UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship with the Italy national under-21 football team.

Managerial career

After retiring from active football, Virdis tried to pursue a career as a manager. In November 1998 he took his first managerial role, becoming head coach of Serie C1 club Atletico Catania,[4] being however fired later in April 1999.[5]

He then returned into management in March 2001, accepting an offer from Viterbese of Serie C1.[6] However, his stint lasted a mere two months, as he was fired in May of that year.[7] In April 2002 he then accepted a managerial role at Nocerina, leading the team for the final few weeks of the season.[8]

He later abandoned football and opened a restaurant and wine bar in Milan. However, in July 2008 he stated his interest in getting back into management.[9]

Club statistics
Season Club Tournament
T'mentAppsGol
1973–74 Nuorese D2511
1974–75 Cagliari A190
1975–76 A236
1976–77 B3318
1977–78 Juventus A101
1978–79 A236
1979–80 A121
1980–81 Cagliari A225
1981–82 Juventus A309
1982–83 Udinese A162
1983–84 A2910
1984–85 Milan A289
1985–86 A286
1986–87 A2817
1987–88 A2511
1988–89 A2610
1989–90 Lecce A254
1990–91 A214
Total Serie A423130

Honours

Club
Juventus[1]
Milan[2]

Individual

References
  1. Stefano Bedeschi (26 June 2013). "Gli eroi in bianconero: Pietro Paolo VIRDIS" (in Italian). Tutto Juve. Retrieved 6 February 2016.
  2. "A.C. Milan Hall of Fame: Pietro Paolo Virdis". acmilan.com. Retrieved 1 April 2015.
  3. "Dieci italiani più uno che avrebbero meritato la nazionale" (in Italian). La Repubblica. Retrieved 26 February 2017.
  4. "Virdis allenatore dell'Atletico Catania". Il Corriere della Sera (in Italian). 28 November 1998. Retrieved 10 June 2009.
  5. "L' Atletico Catania esonera Virdis". corriere.it (in Italian). 13 April 1999. Retrieved 10 June 2009.
  6. "Viterbese-Virdis, presentazione polemica" (in Italian). La Gazzetta dello Sport. 14 March 2001. Retrieved 10 June 2009.
  7. "La Viterbese ha licenziato Virdis" (in Italian). Corriere della Sera. 15 May 2001. Retrieved 10 June 2009.
  8. "Arezzo: promosso Pellicano' la Nocerina sceglie Virdis" (in Italian). La Gazzetta dello Sport. 19 April 2002. Retrieved 10 June 2009.
  9. "Anche Virdis ricade in tentazione: "Voglio fare l' allenatore"" (in Italian). Corriere della Sera. 12 July 2008. Retrieved 10 June 2009.
  10. Roberto Di Maggio; Igor Kramarsic; Alberto Novello (11 June 2015). "Italy - Serie A Top Scorers". RSSSF. Retrieved 2 December 2015.
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