Gianfranco Garbuglia was born in Corridonia (Macerata) on November 24, 1940.
His first club was, fellow Marchigiani, Sambenedettese. He played one season for the Rossoblu in 1959-60, in Serie B. The manager was first Alberto Eliani (1-26) and then, former Lazio player, Leandro Remondini. The "Samba" finished 14th and Garbuglia played 28 league games.
In 1960 he joined Udinese in Serie A. The manager was former Lazio Giuseppe Bigogno (1951-53) and the Bianconeri finished 15th. Garbuglia only played 7 league games. His teammates included a very young Dino Zoff plus Lorenzo Bettini (Lazio, 1955-57), Renzo Sassi (Lazio, 1954-56) and Massimo Giacomini (Lazio, 1963-64) plus a non-Lazio connection but important character Osvaldo Bagnoli (Verona Scudetto manager 1984-85).
In 1961 Garbuglia went back to Sambenedettese for a season. Still in Serie B the Rossoblu finished 12th . Garbuglia played 36 league games under Osvaldo Fattori (1-12) and then Alberto Eliani.
In 1962 Garbuglia joined Lazio. The Biancocelesti were in Serie B as they had been relegated for the first time in their history in the 1960-61 season. The following year they had narrowly missed out on promotion also due to the farcical disallowing of a Gianni Seghedoni goal against Napoli which the referee claimed, against all evidence, had gone in through a hole in the net.
This year, under Carlo Facchini (1-4) and then Juan Carlos Lorenzo, Lazio were successful, winning promotion with a 2nd place finish. Garbuglia played 30 league games.
In 1963-64 he stayed with Lazio. The Biancocelesti finished 8th. Garbuglia played 22 league games and 1 game in Coppa Italia.
In 1964 he left Rome and joined Messina in Serie A. He stayed four seasons in Sicily. The Giallorossi were relegated, then finished 7th, 11th and 19th in B (relegated again). The manager was Tonino Colomban for three seasons and then, former Lazio manager, Umberto Mannocci in the fourth. Garbuglia played 144 league games with 1 goal.
His last club was Potenza from 1969 to 1973. The Rossoblu from Basilicata were in Serie C and finished 13th, 5th, 14th and 20th (relegated). His managers included Mannocci again, Alfredo Mancinelli for two and a half seasons and then, in the relegation year, Gino Raffin, Luigi Masperi and Giacomo Di Caprio. Garbuglia played 114 league games for the Lucani.
At 32 he then retired.
Garbuglia was a defender, more specifically a full-back. He had a decent career playing 63 times in Serie A and 160 in B.
At Lazio he played 53 games, won a promotion to Serie A and in his second year obtained a positive 8th place in the top flight. He also had the satisfaction of beating both Milan and Juventus away.
Lazio Career
Season | Total appearances | Serie A | Serie B | Coppa Italia |
1962-63 | 30 | - | 30 | - |
1963-64 | 23 | 22 | - | 1 |
Total | 53 | 22 | 30 | 1 |
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