Francesco Calì

Francesco Calì (Italian: [franˈtʃesko kaˈli]; 16 May 1882 – 3 September 1949) was an Italian professional football player, coach and referee, who played as a defender. He captained the Italy national football team in their first ever match, on 15 May 1910.

For the American mob boss, see Frank Cali.

Francesco Calì
Personal information
Date of birth (1882-05-16)16 May 1882
Place of birth Riposto, Italy
Date of death 3 September 1949(1949-09-03) (aged 67)
Place of death Genoa, Italy
Playing position(s) Defender
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1897–1899 Zürich
1899–1900 Urania Genève Sport
1900–1901 Genoa 1 (0)
1901–1912 Andrea Doria 34 (5)
National team
1910 Italy 2 (0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only

Early life

Calì was born in Riposto, Sicily on 16 May 1882, to Bruno Calì, a wine merchant. After pirate assaults on his father's business, he and his family immigrated to Switzerland two years later; he was nicknamed Franz.[1]

Career

Calì played several games as a left-back for Swiss clubs Zürich and Urania Genève Sport. He then played for two rival Genovese teams: Genoa and Andrea Doria.[2] He was also a referee during his time at Andrea Doria.[3][1]

Due to his experience as a footballer, as well as his knowledge of several foreign languages, he was selected as the Italy national team captain, in their first ever game[2][4][5] on 15 May 1910, in Milan against France, where Italy won 6–2.[4]

After his retirement as a player, he was also chosen several times as a member of the Italian national team technical commission, in 1912, 1914, 1915, 1920 and 1921.[6]

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References
  1. Bagnati, Giuseppe (14 May 2010). "Il ripostese che guidò la Nazionale". La Repubblica (in Italian). Retrieved 17 March 2019.
  2. Enrico Bronzo (6 January 2011). "Calì divenne capitano della nazionale perché conosceva le lingue straniere" (in Italian). Il Sole 24 Ore. Retrieved 13 May 2016.
  3. Storia Aiagenova.it
  4. "Franz Calì: il primo capitano raccontato in un libro" [Franz Calì: the first captain recounted in a book] (in Italian). La Gazzetta dello Sport. Retrieved 13 May 2016.
  5. Enrico Bronzo (6 December 2011). "La maglia azzurra compie 100 anni. La storia di Francesco Calì, il primo capitano" [The Azzurri shirt turns 100. The story of Francesco Calì, the first captain] (in Italian). Il Sole 24 Ore. Retrieved 13 May 2016.
  6. Di Maggio, Roberto (22 November 2018). "Italian national team coaches". Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation. Retrieved 18 March 2019.


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