Emanuele Curcio

Emanuele Curcio (born 3 May 1953) is an Italian former professional footballer who played as a winger.[2] He made 15 appearances for Roma in the 1974–75 Serie A season, scoring twice, and played 71 times in Serie C for Messina and Cosenza.

Emanuele Curcio
Personal information
Date of birth (1953-05-03) 3 May 1953
Place of birth Sant'Angelo di Brolo, Italy
Height 1.68 m (5 ft 6 in)[1]
Position(s) Winger
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1971–1972 Orlandina
1972–1974 Messina 36 (4)
1974–1975 Roma 15 (2)
1975 Alessandria 0 (0)
1975–1978 Cosenza 79 (9)
1978–1979 Ragusa 26 (1)
1979–1981 Trapani 52 (12)
Total 209 (26)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Life and career

Curcio was born in 1953 in Sant'Angelo di Brolo, in the Province of Messina, Sicily.[1] As a youngster, he played local football for Orlandina before joining Messina,[3] where he made his senior debut on the opening day of the 1972–73 Serie C season in the starting eleven for a goalless draw away to Trani.[4] Curcio finished the season with 13 appearances as his team were relegated,[5] but the following season scored four goals from 23 appearances as Messina won their section of Serie D.[6]

His performances earned the 21-year-old Curcio a move to Roma of Serie A. Head coach Nils Liedholm gave him his debut as a second-half substitute on the opening day of the 1974–75 season in a 1–0 defeat away to Torino; his introduction livened up the attack, but made no difference to the score.[7] He made two more appearances in 1974 and,[8] after some muscle problems,[9] made an unexpected return to the first team for the visit to Vicenza on 5 January 1975. Demonstrating pace, trickery and clean shooting, he scored both goals in a 2–0 win[10] that extended Roma's winning run to five[9] and earned him a run in the side. He finished the season with 15 appearances from a possible 30, but no more goals.[8] Because of industrial action, the regular football highlights were not broadcast for the weekend of Curcio's goals against Vicenza. However, film still existed in the archives, and in 2011, Curcio was a guest on Rai 2's Domenica Sportiva  when his goals were aired for the first time.[2][11]

Curcio joined Alessandria at the start of the 1975–76 season, but in three months he played twice in the Coppa Italia Semiprofessionisti and not at all in Serie C.[12] Interviewed some 40 years later, he recalled believing he was not good enough, and that Roma's reasoning for moving him on was that with him in the team, they finished third, but with someone better in his place, they could win the title.[2]

In November, he joined another Serie C side, Cosenza,[1] where he played more regularly. He scored three goals from 58 appearances over 18 months in Serie C, and a further six goals from 21 appearances in Serie D in 1977–78,[12] after which he returned to Sicily and completed his football career with Ragusa in Serie C2 and Trapani in Serie D.[13]

At 28, he retired from football and settled in Capo d'Orlando, Messina, where he took up coaching artistic gymnastics. Initially he taught his daughters, but then opened a gym where other young girls could train,[14] and the ASD Gymnasium Ginnastica Artistica expanded into a training centre "looking more like a theme park than a gym" with 150 girls of all ages.[15][2]

References
  1. "Profile: Emanuele Curcio". worldfootball.net. HeimSpiel Medien. Retrieved 15 August 2020.
  2. Evangelista, Marco (9 October 2015). "La solitudine dell'ala sinistra" [The loneliness of the left winger]. Corriere dello Sport (in Italian). Lazio. Retrieved 15 August 2020 – via PressReader.
  3. "Rosa Stagione 1972–1973 – A.C.R. Messina". La Storia del Grande Messina (in Italian). Daniele Fiorillo. Retrieved 14 August 2020.
  4. "Stagione 1972–1973 – Serie C". La Storia del Grande Messina (in Italian). Daniele Fiorillo. Retrieved 14 August 2020.
  5. "Campionato 1972–73". Messina Calcio. Retrieved 14 August 2020.
  6. "Campionato 1973–74". Messina Calcio. Retrieved 14 August 2020.
  7. Tavarozzi, Antonio (7 October 1974). "Torino, una vittoria con fortuna" [Torino, a lucky win]. Stampa Sera (in Italian). p. 11 – via Almanacco GialloRosso.
  8. "Club matches: Emanuele Curcio: Serie A 1974/1975". worldfootball.net. HeimSpiel Medien. Retrieved 15 August 2020.
  9. "'Possiamo vincere contro chiunque'" ['We can beat anybody'] (PDF). L'Unità (in Italian). 6 January 1975. p. 10.
  10. Marzola, Giordano (6 January 1975). "La sorpresa Curcio mette k. o. il Vicenza con una doppietta" [Surprise package Curcio KOs Vicenza with a brace] (PDF). L'Unità (in Italian). p. 10.
  11. Lazzaro, Giuseppe (21 October 2011). "Calcio, amarcord: Il messinese Emanuele Curcio ospite della Domenica Sportiva, il "risarcimento" arriva dopo 36 anni. In Roma-Vicenza, gara del campionato di serie A giocata il 5 gennaio 1975, Curcio realizzò una doppietta con la maglia giallorossa" [Football, remember when... For Emanuele Curcio from Messina, guest on Domenica Sportiva, "compensation" comes after 36 years. In the Roma–Vicenza match in Serie A played on 5 January 1975, Curcio scored a brace in the giallorossi shirt]. Stampalibera.it (in Italian). Retrieved 14 August 2020.
  12. "Scheda giocatore: Curcio Emanuele". Museo Grigio. Retrieved 14 August 2020.
  13. "Statistiche su Curcio Emanuele". CarriereCalciatori.it (in Italian). Alessio Battini. Retrieved 14 August 2020.
  14. "Istruttori" [Instructors] (in Italian). A.S.Gymnasium Capo D'Orlando. Archived from the original on 25 September 2008.
  15. Argiri, Claudio (15 January 2016). "Un calcio alla palla con Emanuele Curcio e la ginnastica" [A kick to the ball with Emanuele Curcio and gymnastics]. Anni 60 News (in Italian). Agenzia Eventi S.r.l. Capo d'Orlando. Retrieved 14 August 2020.
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