Paolo Antonello Beruatto was born in Cuorgnè (Turin), on January 2, 1957.
He started playing football with local Vallorco but his first real team was Torino in their youth sector.
In 1973-74 he spent a season with Asti in Serie D, making 2 appearances.
In 1974-75 he was with Ivrea in Serie D, making 20 appearances with 2 goals.
In 1975 he left Piedmont and joined Monza in Serie C. The Brianzoli got promoted to Serie B and won the Anglo-Italian Cup in his first year. He then played two more full years in Serie B for the Biancorossi. He made a total of 66 appearances with 1 goal for Monza.
In November 1978 he joined Avellino in Serie A. The Irpini earned a positive 10th place under former Lazio player Rino Marchesi. Avellino beat both Milan and Inter at home in a historic season for the "Lupi". Beruatto played 12 league games.
In the 1979-80 season Avellino again stayed up with 12th place. The Biancoverdi beat Napoli away and Juventus at home. Beruatto played 29 league games with 1 goal (Pescara).
In 1980-81 Avellino had a new manager, Brazilian Luis Vinicio. They also started the league with a five-point deduction due to the previous year's Calcio Scommesse scandal (betting scandal). Lazio and Milan were punished with relegation, so the Irpini got off lightly.
Despite the initial handicap the Irpini managed to stay up. Five teams ended up third bottom on 25 points but Avellino saved themselves due to a better record in the direct matches ("classifica avulsa"- a separate table only counting the matches between the teams tied on the same points). Beruatto played a solid 29 league matches.
In 1981 Beruatto returned "home" to Torino. He stayed six seasons, the first under former Lazio player Massimo Giacomini, the second and third with Eugenio Bersellini and the next three with Luigi 'Gigi' Radice. “Il Toro” came 9th, 8th, 5th, 2nd, 5th and 11th. In 1982 they reached the final of Coppa Italia (lost to Inter 2-1 on aggregate) and in 1987 the quarterfinals of the UEFA Cup (lost to Tirol 2-1 on aggregate). Beruatto played 150 league games with 4 goals (Ascoli, Fiorentina x2, Napoli), 44 in Coppa Italia with 1 goal (Sampdoria) and 8 in the UEFA Cup with 1 goal (Nantes).
In 1987 Beruatto joined Lazio in Serie B. The Biancocelesti, with manager Eugenio Fascetti, had avoided relegation the previous season despite a nine-point handicap and this year aimed for promotion. Fascetti stayed on and Lazio were successful in their attempt to return to Serie A. Beruatto played 35 league games with 1 goal (Modena) and 5 in Coppa Italia.
The following year in the top flight Lazio had a new manager, Giuseppe Materazzi. The Biancocelesti finished 11th. Beruatto made 28 league appearances and 9 in Coppa Italia. He was on field and played the full game in Lazio’s first derby win for ten years with a young Paolo Di Canio goal.
The following season was his last at Lazio. The Biancocelesti finished 9th and Beruatto played less, 10 league games and 2 in Coppa Italia. The highlight of the season was a 3-0 win over Maradona's Napoli who would go on to win the Scudetto (Beruatto played the last 6 minutes plus injury time).
He then joined Mantova in Serie C1 for two years where he played another 37 games. At 35 he retired.
On retirement he came back to Lazio and was involved in the youth sector for six years. He then embarked on a coaching career mainly in Serie C1 and C2 (including Triestina, Padova, Arezzo, SPAL). Since 2010 he has been working at youth level (Palermo, Sampdoria, Juventus) and has also collaborated with a couple of teams abroad (Sion and OFI Crete).
Beruatto had a decent career. He is remembered fondly at Avellino, Torino and Lazio. He was a left full-back who covered the whole wing well. He is 1.79 and 75 kilos and was an athletic and untiring player.
At Lazio he played a total of 89 games with 1 goal. He will be remembered as part of the promotion team that finally put and end to Lazio’s tribulations in the "purgatory" of Serie B and as a protagonist of the triumphant "Di Canio" derby of 1989.
His son Pietro is also a left-back and plays in serie B with Pisa. He also won 6 caps for Italy U-20's.
A last non- footballing anecdote is that Paolo Beruatto's daughter took part and got to the final of the 2020 the Miss Italia beauty contest ...well ...anyway.
Lazio Career
Season | Total appearances (goals) | Serie A | Serie B | Coppa Italia |
1987-88 | 40 (1) | - | 35 (1) | 5 |
1988-89 | 34 | 28 | - | 9 |
1989-90 | 12 | 10 | - | 2 |
Total | 86 (1) | 38 | 35 (1) | 16 |
Sources