Aldo Agroppi
Aldo Agroppi was born in Piombino (Livorno), on April 14, 1944. He made his name both as a player and later as a manager.
His youth clubs were Piombino, Torino and Genoa.
In 1960-61 he played 3 league games for Piombino in Serie D.
In 1961 he signed for Torino but played for their youth teams for three years.
In 1964-65 he was loaned to Genoa in Serie A. He played 2 games in Coppa Italia with 1 goal (Monza). The Rossoblu, first under Paulo Amaral and then Roberto Lerici, finished 16th and relegated. He often played with the U19s and won the prestigious Viareggio youth tournament. One of his teammates at Genoa was former Lazio player Massimo Giacomini (1963-64).
In 1965-66 he spent a season at Ternana in Serie C on loan. He played regularly, making 26 league appearances with 6 goals. The Umbri finished 3rd, first under Mario Caciagli (Lazio assistant manager 1958-60) and then Oreste Cioni.
In 1966-67 he was loaned to Potenza in Serie B. He played 35 league games with 4 goals. The Lions finished 6th under Alfredo Manichelli. The squad included future Lazio keeper Rosario Di Vincenzo (1967-72).
In 1967 Agroppi finally returned to his parent club Torino. He would remain eight seasons. He played 281 games (212 in A) and scored 20 goals (15 in A). The Granata finished 7th, 6th, 7th, 8th, 2nd, 6th, 5th and 6th. In 1968 and 1971 they won the Coppa Italia and in 1970 lost in the final group stage.
His managers were Edmondo Fabbri (two seasons, 1 Coppa Italia), Giancarlo Cadė, Beniamino Cancian (1 Coppa Italia), Gustavo Giagnoni (two and a half seasons) Fabbri again (a season and a half). The squads included Lazio connections; Giambattista Moschino (Lazio, 1962-63, 1971-73), Carlo Facchin (1971-72), Claudio Garella (1976-78). He left the season Torino won their 7th Scudetto (1975-76).
In 1975 Agroppi joined Perugia in Serie A and stayed two seasons. He played 45 games and scored 2 goals (Inter and the winner against Roma in 2-1 away win). The Griffins finished 8th and 6th under Ilario Castagner.
He then retired at 33.
He earned 5 caps for Italy.
He then started a long coaching career. He began in the Perugia youth academy.
In 1980-81 he was with Pescara in Serie B and finished 6th.
In 1981-82 he finished 3rd with Pisa in Serie B and won promotion.
In 1982-83 he was back in Perugia and finished 11th in B.
In December 1983 he took over at Padova in Serie B but resigned in February (W4, D5, L1).
In 1984-85 he returned to Perugia in Serie B. The Biancorossi just missed out on promotion finishing 4th.
In 1985 he reached Serie A. He was in charge at Fiorentina and finished 5th. His time in Florence however was overshadowed by problems with the Ultras who accused him of lacking respect for the captain Giancarlo Antognoni. Agroppi was even attacked and beaten up outside the ground and had to be rescued and defended by Daniel Passarella.
At the end of the season he was accused of being involved in the Totonero-bis betting scandal and suspended for 4 months. The game in question was from the 1984-85 season at Perugia.
This episode marked the beginning of his decline.
In 1987-88 he was sacked in January at Como in A (W2, D5, L6). The Lariani eventually finished 10th under Tarcisio Burgnich.
In January 1990 he took over at Ascoli in A but the Bianconeri were relegated.
In January 1993 he replaced Gigi Radice at Fiorentina in A but was sacked himself in April (W2, D6, L7). La Viola were eventually relegated.
This was his last coaching job as he then concentrated on punditry. He became a very outspoken commentator known for his strong criticism of many aspects of modern football and for his "Anti-Juventus" stance.
Agroppi was a midfielder. He had a good career with Torino and was one of the pillars in the late 1960s and early 1970s period which saw the Granata return to be competitive after struggling for many years following the 1949 Superga air crash tragedy. He won the Coppa Italia twice and was in the squads which included players who would go on to win the 1975-76 Scudetto (such as Luciano Castellini, Roberto Mozzini, Nello Santin, Claudio Sala, Roberto Salvadori, Renato Zaccarelli, Ciccio Graziani and Paolino Pulici).
As a manager his biggest satisfaction was a promotion to Serie A with Pisa (1982) and a UEFA qualification with Fiorentina (1986).
In 2011 he suffered a heart attack but survived. Aldo Agroppi died on January 2, 2025 in Piombino.
Sources
Comments