Rosario Di Vincenzo was born in Genoa, on June 16, 1941.
He started his football in the Genoa youth sector. In 1961 he joined Entella (Chiavari - near Genoa) in Serie D. He played 33 games for the "Diavoli Neri" (The Black Devils).
In 1962 he went to Inter but never made his debut under Helenio Herrera, The Nerazzurri won the Scudetto.
In 1963 he joined Triestina on loan in Serie B. He played 18 games for the "Alabardati' (The Halberded).
In 1964 he returned to Inter and finally made his debut. He played 3 league games under Herrera and Inter won the Scudetto, European Cup and the Intercontinental Cup.
In July 1965 he joined Varese in Serie A but only played 5 games before moving to Genoa in Serie B in November. With the Rossoblu he made 18 league appearances.
The following year he was at Potenza in Serie B. He played 38 league games in Basilicata before his big career move.
In 1967 he joined Lazio in Serie B. Under Roberto Gei and then Bob Lovati, he played 17 league games and 1 in Coppa Italia (Idilio Cei got 24 league games). Lazio finished 11th.
The following year he played more regularly, as Cei left for Palermo, making 27 league appearances and 1 in Coppa Italia. Lazio won the league under Juan Carlos Lorenzo and returned to Serie A.
The 1969-70 he shared goalkeeping duties with Michelangelo Sulfaro. Di Vincenzo played 16 league games and 3 in Coppa Italia while Sulfaro got 16 league games. Lazio finished a decent 8th.
The 1970-71 season was not as positive for the Biancocelesti. They got relegated back to Serie B under Lorenzo and then Lovati. Di Vincenzo played 21 league games.
In 1971-72 Lazio’s history changed with the arrival of new manager Tommaso Maestrelli. Lazio were promoted but Di Vincenzo only played 2 league games and 4 in Coppa Italia. Claudio Bandoni had arrived from Fiorentina and was the regular choice keeper with 36 league games. During the season Di Vincenzo also had a bust up with the "Maestro" and that was the beginning of the end of his Lazio experience.
In 1972-73, with the arrival of Felice Pulici and the return of Avelino Moriggi, Di Vincenzo joined Brindisi in serie B. He stayed three seasons playing 87 league games for the Apulian Biancazzurri. In his time in Brindisi he was involved in a nasty incident in an away game at Palermo. In an end of match scuffle he caused a Palermo player, Giorgio Barbana, to pass out and then spat on him. This caused inevitable friction with the Rosanero fans and after reciprocal insults and not particularly friendly gestures, one of these fans invaded the pitch and attacked Di Vincenzo causing him to be hospitalized (only until evening). Brindisi were awarded the win by default but the episode did not do Di Vincenzo's reputation any good.
In 1975 he was back in Serie A when he joined Sampdoria. He stayed three seasons, the first two in the top flight with 10 games and the third in Serie B with no games.
In 1978 he went down a couple of divisions to get more playing time. He joined Imperia, in Liguria, in C2 and made 33 league appearances. In 1979 he joined his last team, Pro Vercelli, in Serie D and played 10 league games.
At 39 he retired as a player but he stayed in the football world. He had an experience as manager for a year at Viterbese and then specialized in what he did best, goalkeeping. He passed on his experience as goalkeepers coach at Napoli (1994-97), Siena (2001-04, also as assistant coach to Giuseppe Papadopulo from his Lazio days), Lazio (2004-05), Palermo (2006) and Sampdoria (2007- youth goalkeepers coach).
Di Vincenzo played 55 games in Serie A and 194 in Serie B. He won a Scudetto in the Inter squad of 1962-63 and another Scudetto, European Cup and Intercontinental Cup in the squad of 1964-65.
It was at Lazio however where he left the biggest mark. He played a total of 102 games for the Biancocelesti. He won two promotions and was a member of the squad leading up to the historical first Scudetto.
Lazio career
Season | Total appearances | Serie A | Serie B | Coppa Italia | Anglo-Italian Cup | Cup of the Alps |
1967-68 | 19 | - | 18 | 1 | ​ | ​ |
1968-69 | 28 | - | 27 | 1 | ​ | ​ |
1969-70 | 24 | 16 | - | 3 | 1 | 4 |
1970-71 | 25 | 21 | - | - | ​ | 4 |
1971-72 | 6 | - | 2 | 4 | ​ | ​ |
Total | 102 | 37 | 47 | 9 | 1 | 8 |
Sources