Former Juventus stopper Francesco
Morini, a mainstay of he dominant Bianconeri side of the 1970s,
died Tuesday at the age of 77.
Morini, who duelled with greats of the game like Inter's Roberto
Boninsegna and Cagliari's Gigi Riva, won five scudetti and a
UEFA Cup in Turin.
Juve said on its website: "Born in San Giuliano Terme on 12
August 1944, Francesco Morini was much more than Juventus'
long-term centre-back.
Morini was a player that provided assurances, an extraordinarily
reliable operator who was always present and came into his own
when matches became more like battles. He even earned himself
the nickname of Morgan (after the film Morgan, the Pirate), in
recognition of his ability to plunder the ball from the opposing
strikers.
Morini was in his element when going toe to toe with the top
centre-forwards of the era, most notably Roberto Boninsegna and
Luigi Riva. He would become their shadow, depriving them of time
and space, man-marking them from the first minute to the last.
Any words chosen to describe the decade Morini spent at Juventus
would struggle to do him justice. Juve were a youthful side when
the 25-year-old Morini joined from Sampdoria in 1969, with the
defender adding both energy and experience, having made his
Serie A debut back in the 1963/64 season. Success soon followed,
as Morini won five Scudetto titles, one Coppa Italia and one
UEFA Cup, making a total of 372 appearances without scoring a
single goal. The man himself would often laugh about this in
later life - his job was to keep them out, not score them.
Morini's contribution at Juventus didn't end when he hung up his
boots, as he went on to serve as the club's sporting director
and later team manager, playing a key role in the
extraordinarily successful period between 1981 and 1994.
Aside from his on-field success, Francesco Morini was also a
wonderfully likeable character. Anyone who had the pleasure of
spending time with him will remember how his pride at having
achieved so much at Juventus shone through whenever he told
stories about his career.
We've lost one of our own.
Thanks for everything, Francesco.
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