Massimo Palanca

Massimo Palanca was born in Loreto (Ancona), on August 21, 1951. He and his family (a brother and six sisters) lived in nearby Portorecanati.

Source Wikipedia

At 12 he joined local club Portorecanati’s youth setup.

In 1970, at 19, he moved to Camerino in Serie D. He stayed three seasons playing 71 games and scoring 31 goals. His 18 goals in 1972-73 earned him the attention of Serie C clubs.

In 1973 he signed for Frosinone in the 3rd tier. He played 28 league games and scored 17 goals. The Ciociari finished 9th under former Lazio manager Umberto Mannocci (1964-66).

In 1974 Palanca moved south to Calabria and joined what would be his main club, Catanzaro. He stayed seven seasons. In the first the Giallorossi narrowly missed out on promotion, losing the playoff to Verona. The following year however they won a historic promotion to Serie A. In 1976-77 they were relegated but a year later won promotion again. In 1978-79 they finished a positive 9th in A (and reached the Coppa Italia semi-final), then 12th and 8th. Palanca was their shining star, in 231 appearances (96 in A) he scored 76 goals (37 in A).

In 1981 his performances earned him a move to Napoli. In Naples he did not repeat his previous form and played 29 games (23 in A) with 1 goal (Cesena). The Partenopei finished 4th (UEFA Cup) under Rino Marchesi. Apart from the manager, other Lazio connections were Filippo Citterio (1979-81), Claudio Vinazzani (1983-86), Oscar Damiani (1985-86) and Raimondo Marino (1986-89).

In 1982-83 he spent a season on loan with Como in Serie B. He played 20 league games and scored 2 goals. The Lariani missed out on promotion after a playoff, under Tarcisio Burgnich.

In 1983-84 Palanca was back with Napoli. He played 19 league games with 1 goal (Fiorentina in opener). The manager was first Pietro Santin and then Rino Marchesi and the Azzurri finished 11th. His teammates included future Lazio, Ciro Muro (1987-89).

Palanca then dropped a few leagues and joined Foligno in Serie C2. He stayed two seasons, playing 47 league games and scoring 18 goals. The Biancazzurri finished 5th, under Dante Fortini and 16th (relegated) under Luciano Aristei.

In 1986 he then made a return to the place he had been most successful, Catanzaro. He stayed another four seasons in Calabria. The "Regina del Sud", now in Serie C, won promotion and then finished 5th, 11th and 20th (relegated). He played another 136 games with 51 goals. His managers in his second spell included: Vincenzo Guerini, Tarcisio Burgnich, Gianni Di Marzio and Fausto Silipo.

He then retired in 1990 at 36. He had played 597 career games with 210 goals.

Palanca was a forward. He was short at 1.69 but was quick and had a wonderful left foot. His shoe size was a small 37. He became famous for his goals directly from the corner flag, 13!

At Catanzaro he is a legend. He was their star in the best years in their history. Famous home wins include Milan 1-0, Roma 1-0, Lazio 3-1 and 2-1, Napoli 2-0 while away Lazio 1-0 and Roma 3-1 He played 367 games for the Giallorossi and scored 137 goals (6 against Lazio). He is called “O Rey", "Piedino d'Oro", and "Piedino di fata". Top Italian sports journalist Sandro Ciotti once described his left foot as one of the best in Europe.

With his big bushy moustache and magic corner kicks he was one of standout players and characters of 70s and 80s football in Italy, especially in Catanzaro.

Sources

Wikipedia