Roberto Vieri (born 14 February 1946) is an Italian former professional footballer who played as a striker, and also as a central attacking midfielder or winger. Active in both Italy and Australia, Vieri made nearly 300 professional career league appearances, scoring over 50 goals. He also represented Italy at under-23 level, scoring a goal in five appearances.[2]

Roberto Vieri
Vieri with Juventus in 1969
Personal information
Date of birth (1946-02-14) 14 February 1946 (age 78)
Place of birth Prato, Tuscany, Italy
Position(s) Striker
Youth career
0000–1964 Fiorentina
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1964–1966 Fiorentina 0 (0)
1964–1965Prato (loan) 24 (11)
1966–1969 Sampdoria 84 (16)
1969–1971 Juventus 21 (3)
1971–1973 A.S. Roma 31 (1)
1973–1977 Bologna 37 (3)
1975Toronto Metros-Croatia (loan)[1] 9 (3)
1977–1980 Marconi Stallions 69 (17)
1981–1982 Prato 4 (1)
1982 Marconi Stallions 21 (1)
Total 300 (56)
International career
1967–1969 Italy U23 5 (1)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Personal life

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Vieri was born in Prato. His sons Christian and Max are also professional footballers, who both appeared at the international level respectively for Italy and Australia.[2]

Career

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Vieri started playing in the Fiorentina youth system before being loaned to Prato during the 1964–65 season, where he scored 11 goals in 24 matches and caused interest by Sampdoria of Serie B. He played for Sampdoria, both in Serie B and Serie A, until the 1969–70 season, when Juventus signed him for a then-significant 800 million ITL bid, plus Francesco Morini and Romeo Benetti. The next year, Vieri moved to A.S. Roma. During the 1973–74 season, he played for Bologna, winning the Coppa Italia during his first year with the team; he remained with the club until January 1977, when he accepted an offer by Australian football club Marconi Stallions, becoming one of the first Italian footballers to play abroad. He played with the Australian club until 1982, except for a one-year stint back at Prato. In 1983, he moved to Queanbeyan (New South Wales) where he became the player/coach of NSW State League club Inter Monaro for one year. In 1984, he returned to Sydney as part of the Marconi Stallions coaching staff.[2][3] In 1996 Vieri moved back to Italy and relocated in Tuscany with his wife.[4]

Honours

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Fiorentina[2]
Bologna[2]
Roma[2]

References

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  1. ^ "NASL-Roberto Vieri". www.nasljerseys.com.
  2. ^ a b c d e f Stefano Bedeschi. "Gli Eroi in Bianconero: Roberto Vieri" (in Italian). Tutto Juve. Retrieved 31 March 2016.
  3. ^ "Roberto "Bob" Vieri il Primo Emigrante" (in Italian). Storie di Calcio. 11 February 2016. Retrieved 4 June 2018.
  4. ^ "Roberto Vieri: Il primo emigrante". 11 February 2016.