Comunardo Niccolai

Comunardo Niccolai (born 15 December 1946 in Uzzano ) is a retired Italian footballer and later coach.

During his coaching career was without major success and was of short duration, was Niccolai as a player of the team of the U.S. Cagliari, the first and only Italian Championship brought to Sardinia in 1970. In the same year Comunardo Niccolai also took part in the Football World Cup in Mexico with the national team of his native country.

Playing career

Club career

Comunardo Niccolai, born on December 15, 1946 in Uzzano in Tuscany, began playing football at a small club in Montecatini Terme, where he attended the youth departments. From there, he went in 1963 to FC Torres, then second-rate. For Torres, the young defender played for a year until the summer of 1964 and made 22 league games in that time. He then joined the club and joined the largest Sardinian club Cagliari the U.S., to where he witnessed the steep rise of the hitherto rather occurred as a provincial club club. At the time of commitment Niccolais 1964 Cagliari had risen straight for the first time in their history in the Serie A, the top division in the Italian football. There, the team coached by Arturo Silvestri was able to establish at once and finished second in its debut year, a surprisingly good place seven. In the following several years the U.S. Cagliari to easily keep in Serie A and to put more emphasis up year after year. So jumped in the 1968/69 season already the vice-championship, just four points behind Fiorentina out. In the following year landed the team coached by Manlio Scopigno, which included among other players such as Luigi Riva attacker, midfielder Angelo Domenghini or goalkeeper Enrico Albertosi, the big hit and was of Italian football champions. In Serie A 1969/70 they finished after the end of all game days surprising first place with four points ahead of Inter Milan. This title presents today the first and only dar. in the club's history yet renamed Cagliari Calcio in the league title the club Comunardo Niccolai had to convince you to with crucial role in this success, he was in 29 of 30 games this season in defense of Cagliari the square.

After the championship of 1970, it went with the services of Cagliari Calcio something down, you could not build on the achievements of that season. Comunardo Niccolai played until 1976 with the club and had to accept the bitter transition back into the second division in his last season in Sardinia, a full six years after the biggest success in club history. Then the defender Cagliari left after twelve years, which were only interrupted by a six-month spell at the Chicago Mustangs in the U.S., as well as 225 league inserts and four hits to get the AC Perugia, then just as an aspiring club like once Cagliari to join. In Perugia, however Niccolai played only one year, made ​​seven games and was therefore no longer at the club, as this was a season without a defeat and failed just short of winning the championship. From 1977 to 1978 Niccolai let his career finally finish at third division AC Prato, with which he descended.

National

In 1970 it brought Comunardo Niccolai on a total of three appearances in the Italian national football team. A scoring this did not succeed. From coach Ferruccio Valcareggi he was appointed to the Italian squad for the World Cup in Mexico in 1970, but was used during the tournament only once. In the first group game against Sweden ( Result: 1-0) Niccolai was in the starting lineup, but was replaced already in 37 minutes against Roberto Rosato and did not come in the rest of the tournament are used. The Italian team, however, reached the final at the World Cup, after being defeated in the semifinals Germany in the so-called Game of the Century. In the final but lost to Brazil.

Coaching career

The coaching career Comunardo Niccolais was very short. He initially looked after 1980-1981 AC Savoia in Serie C2, but the commitment did not come out for over a year. Then it took over a decade before the former defense again took a coaching job, which fell diverse activities as an assistant coach at this time. From 1993 to 1994, he finally showed up for the fortunes of the Italian women's national team, a position he gave but soon to Sergio Guenza off to work in the episode as a consultant and scout for Italian football.

Achievements

• Italian Master: 1969/70 with the U.S. Cagliari