Antonio Juliano
- Dag Jenkins
- Mar 9
- 2 min read
Updated: 14 hours ago
Antonio Juliano was born in Naples on December 26, 1942.
In 1956, at 13 he joined the Napoli youth setup.
In 1962 he made his debut for the first team in a Coppa Italia semi-final against Mantova (Napoli then won the trophy despite being in B). In 1963 he made his league debut against Inter.
He would remain with Napoli for seventeen seasons. He played 505 games (394 in A) with 38 goals (26 in A). In this long period the Partenopei finished: 2nd in B (promoted), 16th in A (relegated), 8th in B, 2nd in B (promoted), 3rd, 4th, 2nd, 7th, 6th, 4th, 8th, 9th, 3rd, 2nd, 5th, 7th and 6th. He was captain from 1968 to 1978. His managers included Fioravante Balde, Bruno Pesaola (5 seasons over two periods), Giovanni Molino, Giuseppe Chiappella (four seasons over two periods), Luís Vinicio (three seasons) and Gianni Di Marzio.
The various squads included Lazio connections: Giovanni Molino (1955-61), Amos Mariani (1959-61), Pietro Adorni (1966-69), Pierluigi Ronzon (1967-68), Giuseppe Massa (1966-72), Gian Piero Ghio (1968-70), Pierpaolo Manservisi (1970-71, 1972-74), Claudio Bandoni (1971-72), Alessandro Abbondanza (1971-72), Sergio Clerici (1977-78), Luigi Boccolini (1977-78), Aldo Nardin (1980-81), Walter Speggiorin (1981-82), Claudio Vinazzani (1983-86), Oscar Damiani (1985-86), Gigi Simoni (manager 1985-86), Dino Zoff (manager 1990-94, 1997, 2001).
With Napoli Juliano won the Coppa Italia twice (1962, 1976), an Alps Cup (1966) and an Anglo-Italian League Cup (1976).
In 1978 he left Napoli and played one last season with Bologna. The Rossoblu initially had Bruno Pesaola as manager, then Marino Perani and finally Cesarino Cervellati and finished 13th. Juliano played 15 league games with 2 goals and 4 games in Coppa Italia.
At 36 he then retired.
He won 18 caps for Italy. He won the European Championship in 1968 and was runner-up at the 1970 World Cup.
Juliano was a midfield playmaker. He organised the game with his sense of timing and positioning. He was one of the best classic "registi" in Italy in the 1960s and 70s. He was not flash but concrete and precise. He was a strong player and a born leader. He was once described by Dino Zoff as being "an atypical Neapolitan" with no show or theatrics.
His name is profoundly linked to Naples. "Totonno" as he was nicknamed was Neapolitan, spent more than 20 years at the club and was captain for 12. Definitely a legend in the pre-Maradona years but also still today.
Juliano died in his beloved Naples on December 13, 2023.
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