Giancarlo De Sisti

Giancarlo De Sisti

Giancarlo De Sisti in 1969
Personal information
Date of birth	(1943-03-13) 13 March 1943
Place of birth	Rome, Italy
Position(s)	Midfielder
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
1960–1965	Roma	87	(13)
1965–1974	Fiorentina	256	(28)
1974–1979	Roma	135	(9)
International career
1967–1972	Italy	29	(4)
Managerial career
1981–1985	Fiorentina
1985–1987	Udinese
1991–1992	Ascoli
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Giancarlo de Sisti (born 13 March 1943) is a retired Italian footballer and football manager, who played as a midfielder.

Playing career

Best known by his nickname Picchio, during his club career, De Sisti played for A.S. Roma (1960–65, 1974–79) and ACF Fiorentina (1965–74), winning several domestic and international titles with both clubs.

At international level, he earned 29 caps and scored 4 goals for the Italy national football team between 1967 and 1972, and he played in the championship-winning team at Euro 1968 on home soil, and was also later a member of the Italian side that finished runners-up at the 1970 FIFA World Cup.

Coaching career

He then tried a coaching career, achieving his coaching badges in 1980 and later becoming head coach of Fiorentina. He was later forced to leave his job after being diagnosed with brain abscess. He then returned into football with Udinese, and then entering into the Italian Football Federation as head coach of the Italian Juniores and Military squads. He then made a return into club football in 1991 with Ascoli, being successively sacked on January 1992.

In March 2003, after more than ten years of inactivity, he returned into coaching, joining Lazio as youth team coach. He left the job only a few months later, following the appointment of Roberto Mancini as new head coach of the biancazzurri.

Style of play

A creative and technically gifted deep-lying playmaking midfielder, who is regarded as one of Italy's and Roma's greatest ever playmakers, De Sisti was known for his simple yet efficient style of play; this involved him constantly looking for spaces, playing many short and accurate passes on the ground, and taking very few touches of the ball, in order to retain possession, reduce the chance of errors, and set his team's tempo. He was known for his composure under pressure and his consistency, and rarely misplaced passes or lost possesion. He was also gifted with excellent vision and long passing ability, which allowed him to create goalscoring opportunities and play accurate lobbed passes and through-balls to team-mates.

Career statistics

Season	Team	League			Cup			Continental			Other			Total
		Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
1960–1961	AS Roma	2	0	1	1	1	0	-	-	-	4	1
1961–1962		A	11	1	CI	1	0	CdF	1	0	-	-	-	13	1
1962–1963		A	18	2	CI	0	0	CdF	5	1	-	-	-	23	3
1963–1964		A	28	7	CI	4	0	CdF	4	2	CdA	1	0	37	9
1964–1965		A	28	3	CI	1	1	CdF	5	1	-	-	-	34	5
1965–1966	Fiorentina	A	34	5	CI	6	0	CdF	3	1	CM	2	0	45	6
1966–1967		A	30	6	CI	1	0	CdC	2	1	CM	4	0	37	7
1967–1968		A	30	6	CI	2	0	CdF	4	1	-	-	-	36	7
1968–1969		A	30	2	CI	3	0	CdF	6	0	-	-	-	39	2
1969–1970		A	27	2	CI	6	1	CC	6	0	-	-	-	39	3
1970–1971		A	29	3	CI	11	3	CdF	4	0	-	-	-	44	6
1971–1972		A	29	1	CI	10	2	-	-	-	CM	6	0	45	3
1972–1973		A	27	1	CI	4	2	CU	1	0	CA-I	7	1	39	4
1973–1974		A	19	2	CI	3	1	CU	2	0	-	-	-	24	3
Totale Fiorentina			256	28		46	9		22	3		19	1	348	41
1974–1975	AS Roma	A	29	5	CI	10	0	-	-	-	-	-	-	39	5
1975–1976		A	28	2	CI	4	0	CU	6	0	-	-	-	38	2
1976–1977		A	28	2	CI	4	1	-	-	-	-	-	-	32	3
1977–1978		A	25	0	CI	4	0	-	-	-	-	-	-	29	0
1978–1979		A	25	0	CI	4	0	-	-	-	-	-	-	29	0
Totale Roma			222	22		33	3		22	4		1	0	278	29
Totale carriera			478	50		79	12		44	7		20	1	626	70

Honours

Club

Roma

• Inter-Cities Fairs Cup: 1960–61
• Coppa Italia: 1963–64

Fiorentina

• Serie A: 1968–69
• Coppa Italia: 1965–66
• Mitropa Cup: 1966

International

Italy

• UEFA European Championship: 1968
• FIFA World Cup Runner up: 1970