Happy birthday to Massimo Giacomini, one of Udinese's legends, who turned 87 on Friday!
He made over 200 appearances as an Udinese player and was the team's coach for 128 games, leading Udinese to its double promotion from Serie C to Serie A. These achievements have made him one of the most important figures in Udinese history.
Originally from Friuli, he rose through the ranks of Udinese's Academy. He made his first-team debut in 1957 and became one of the team's key players between the 1959 and 1961 Serie A seasons.
In 1961, his playing career at Udinese came to a temporary stop, as he joined Genoa. However, after playing for Genoa, Lazio, Brescia, Milan and Triestina, he made his return to Udinese, playing a key role in the team for three Serie C seasons.
Once his playing career came to an end, he immediately started coaching Udinese in the 1973/74 season for one year, along with Sergio Manente as coach assistant. However, it was his second spell as Udinese coach that was truly historic:
Giacomini returned at the start of the 1977/78 season to coach a team that symbolised Friulian resilience following the 1976 earthquake: he secured two consecutive promotions from Serie C to Serie A, with Udinese having been absent from the top flight since 1962.
In 1978, he also won the Serie C Coppa Italia and the Anglo-Italian Cup.
After making it to the top flight, he joined Milan, but his journey at Udinese was not over yet. After also coaching Torino, Napoli, Triestina, Perugia and Venezia, he returned to Udinese for the third time in 1987, at the start of the Pozzo era, and finally retired in the early 1990s.
Massimo Giacomini's 40-year journey at Udinese was truly remarkable and has left a lasting bond with the club.
Happy birthday, coach!