Gianpaolo Bellini

Gianpaolo Bellini (born 27 March 1980) is an Italian former professional footballer who played as a defender. Bellini is a one-club man; he spent his entire professional career with Atalanta, and currently holds the record for the most appearances in the club's history (435).[1] His primary position was left-back, but he was also capable of playing on the right flank and as a central defender.

Gianpaolo Bellini
Bellini playing for Atalanta in 2016
Personal information
Date of birth (1980-03-27) 27 March 1980
Place of birth Sarnico, Italy
Height 1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)
Position(s) Defender
Youth career
1997–1998 Atalanta
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1998–2016 Atalanta 396 (9)
International career
2000–2002 Italy U-21 15 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Club career

Born in Sarnico, Province of Bergamo, Bellini played his first league match on 11 April 1999 for Atalanta, at that time in Serie B.

In the 2009–10 season, Bellini played as left-back, while Thomas Manfredini, Paolo Bianco, Leonardo Talamonti were used as central-defenders. On 26 July 2010, he and Manfredini signed a new 3+1 year contract with the club.[2]

On 8 May 2016, Bellini scored in his final game, a 1–1 Serie A draw against Udinese at the Stadio di Bergamo.[3] He retired having made a record 435 appearances for Atalanta, 279 of which were in the Serie A.

International career

Along with Cesare Natali, his teammate at Atalanta, Bellini was called up to the Italy under-21 side for the 2002 UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship. They partnered in 2 matches at the tournament as Italy reached the semi-finals.

Managerial career

In 2017, Bellini was named assistant head coach of Atalanta's Primavera (under-21) team. After five years as a deputy to Massimo Brambilla, in 2022, Bellini was appointed head coach of Atalanta's under-17 team.[4]

Honours
Atalanta

References
  1. Losapio 2020, section 990.
  2. "CONTRATTI BELLINI E MANFREDINI: ACCORDO RAGGIUNTO". Atalanta BC (in Italian). 26 July 2010. Retrieved 28 July 2010.
  3. "Toni And Bellini: A Tale of Two Serie A Farewell Penalties". forzaitalianfootball.com. 10 May 2016. Retrieved 11 May 2016.
  4. Carzaniga, Dennis (8 July 2022). "Dopo 5 anni da vice, arriva la prima esperienza da allenatore: l'ex Serie A guiderà l'Under 17" (in Italian). Sprint e Sport. Retrieved 1 August 2022.
  • Losapio, Andrea (2020). 1001 storie e curiosità sulla grande Atalanta che dovresti conoscere (in Italian). Rome: Newton Compton Editori. ISBN 978-88-227-4635-1.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: ref duplicates default (link)
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