Giuseppe Greco was born in Galatina (Lecce), on March 19, 1958.
He started in the Lecce youth sector but at 15 joined Torino's academy.
In 1976 he was loaned to Turris (Torre del Greco-Naples) in Serie C. Under Ezio Volpi the Torresi finished 6th. Greco played 35 league games and scored 9 goals.
In 1977 he had his first stint, on loan, at Ascoli in Serie B. It was a triumphant season under Antonio Renna. The Bianconeri won Serie B, seventeen points ahead of joint second placed Catanzaro and Avellino. Greco played 26 league games with 2 goals (Varese, Catanzaro) and 4 games in Coppa Italia. His teammates included former Lazio defender Gaetano Legnaro and future forward Claudio Ambu.
In 1978 Greco went back to his parent club Torino. Greco made his Serie A debut and over two seasons played 34 league games with 6 goals (Avellino, Lazio, Bologna, Atalanta, Avellino again and Ascoli), 8 games in Coppa Italia with 1 goal (Lecce) and 1 game in the UEFA Cup. The manager was Gigi Radice and the Granata finished 4th (UC) and 3rd (UC). In his second year Toro reached the final of Coppa Italia but lost to Roma on penalties. In his first year he played alongside future Lazio keeper Giuliano Terraneo ('86-'87).
In 1980 Greco joined Lazio. The Biancocelesti had been punished with relegation to Serie B for some of their players (Bruno Giordano, Lionello Manfredonia, Pino Wilson and Massimo Cacciatori) alleged involvement in the Totonero match fixing scandal. The manager was highly rated Ilario Castagner and Lazio hoped to get straight back up to Serie A. Things did not go to plan and partly due to a missed penalty in the penultimate game, Lazio finished 4th. Greco played 34 league games with 7 goals (Verona, Varese, Taranto, Palermo, Varese again, Genoa x2) and 5 games in Coppa Italia with 1 goal (Verona).
In 1981-82 he returned to Ascoli in Serie A. The "Picchio" (The Woodpecker) had three good seasons under Carlo Mazzone finishing 6th, 13th and 10th. Greco played 79 league games with 16 goals (including twice against Roma and winner against Milan) and 15 games in Coppa Italia with 9 goals. His 9 goals in the domestic cup all came in 1982-83 and he was the tournament's top scorer. His teammates included Lazio scudetto keeper Felice Pulici, former Lazio defenders Filippo Citterio, Paolo Pochesci, Carlo Perrone and future Lazio, Paolo Monelli and Fortunato Torrisi.
In 1984 Greco joined Bologna on loan. The Felsinei were in Serie B and finished 9th, under first Pietro Santin and then Bruno Pace. Greco played 34 league games with 4 goals (Triestina, Varese, Padova, Catania). He played alongside former Lazio, Lorenzo Marronaro.
In 1985 he returned to Ascoli for the third time but did not stay and instead joined Matino on loan near Lecce and played 27 games with 12 goals at regional level.
In 1986 he returned to Ascoli and stayed two seasons. Ascoli were newly promoted and finished 12th, first under Aldo Sensibile (1-9) and then Ilario Castagner (10-30). Greco played 11 league games with 1 goal (Torino). The following year Ascoli finished 12th again and Greco played 15 league games with 1 goal (Torino) and 6 games in Coppa Italia. In Coppa Italia, Ascoli beat both Inter and Milan on penalty shootouts (Greco scored both his) but lost to Sampdoria 3-5 on aggregate in the quarter finals.
In 1988 he joined Potenza for a season in C2. The Leoni Rossoblu finished 14th and Greco played 25 league games with 3 goals.
His last club was Brindisi in 1989-90. The Adriatici were in C1 but were relegated after a playoff. Greco played 21 league games with 6 goals.
At 32 he then retired.
In his youth Greco played 3 games for Italy U20's and 3 games for the U21's.
After retiring he became a sports director.
Greco was an attacking midfielder. At 1.73 and 70 kilos he was an agile and skilful left-footed player. His main task was to set up the strikers but he scored a fair amount of goals too, 78 in his career (24 in A, 13 in B and 11 in Coppa Italia). His peak was at Ascoli where he won Serie B in 1978, played five seasons in Serie A and a total of 183 games.
At Lazio he had a decent season with 34 appearances and 7 goals but his timing was unlucky with the Biancocelesti narrowly missing out on promotion.
Lazio Career
Season | Total appearances (goals) | Serie B | Coppa Italia |
1980-81 | 38 (8) | 34 (7) | 5 (1) |
Sources
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