Personal information | |||||||||||||||||
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Full name | Comunardo Niccolai | ||||||||||||||||
Date of birth | 15 December 1946 | ||||||||||||||||
Place of birth | Uzzano, Italy | ||||||||||||||||
Height | 1.77 m (5 ft 10 in) | ||||||||||||||||
Position(s) | Centre back | ||||||||||||||||
Senior career* | |||||||||||||||||
Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) | ||||||||||||||
1963–1964 | Torres | 22 | (0) | ||||||||||||||
1964–1976 | Cagliari | 218 | (4) | ||||||||||||||
1976–1977 | Perugia | 7 | (0) | ||||||||||||||
1977–1978 | Prato | 4 | (0) | ||||||||||||||
Total | 251 | (4) | |||||||||||||||
International career | |||||||||||||||||
1970 | Italy | 3 | (0) | ||||||||||||||
Medal record
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*Club domestic league appearances and goals |
Comunardo Niccolai (Italian pronunciation: [komuˈnardo nikkoˈlai]; born 15 December 1946) is an Italian former footballer, who played as a defender.
A tough, physically strong centre-back,[1] Niccolai initially began his career with Torres in 1963,[2] before joining Cagliari Calcio, where he played from 1964 to 1976, winning the only Serie A championship in the club's entire club history in 1970.[3] He ended his career in 1977 with Perugia.[2] Niccolai played 218 Serie A matches,[2] and is still remembered today for his proneness to score own goals, including some very spectacular ones.[4]
Niccolai made three appearances for the Italy national football team in 1970, and represented the team at the 1970 FIFA World Cup, where he won a runners-up medal; he only appeared in Italy's opening group match, a 1–0 win against Sweden on 3 June, as he was replaced by Roberto Rosato in the 37th minute, after sustaining an injury which kept him out of the remainder of the tournament.[5][6] This led his Cagliari coach Manlio Scopigno to declare: "I could expect everything from my life, but to see Niccolai in international telecast".[7]
He is currently working with the Italian Football Federation as national team scout.[8] He also worked as a youth coach for the Cagliari under-18 side.[9]