Signori Giuseppe
Giuseppe “Beppe” Signori is a retired Italian footballer, who played as a forward. Signori was a fast, left footed striker, who was a prolific goalscorer, due to his powerful, accurate shot. During the early part of his career he was used as a left winger or as a second striker, where his technique, accurate crossing, passing, and pace were put to good use. He was also an accurate set piece and penalty-kick taker, and was notable due to his tendency to take set pieces and penalties without taking a run-up. Alongside Siniša Mihajlović, he is one of two players to have scored a hat-trick from free kicks in Serie A, a feat which he managed with Lazio in a 3–1 home win over Atalanta, on 10 April 1994. In addition to his goalscoring and ability as a footballer, he was also known for his leadership.
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Signori was not able fully to translate his success to the national level, partly due to differences between him and national coach Arrigo Sacchi, who preferred to play him in the midfield, as a left winger, only using him as a forward on occasion, both as a striker and as a supporting forward. He played for the national side 28 times between 1992 and 1995, scoring twelve goals. The only major tournament Signori played in was the 1994 FIFA World Cup, where he appeared six times as Italy finished in second place, but he did not play in the final against Brazil, as Italy were defeated on penalties after a 0–0 draw following extra time. Despite going scoreless during the tournament, he assisted Dino Baggio’s match-winning goal against Norway in Italy’s second group match, and Roberto Baggio’s match-winning goal in the 87th minute of the quarter-final match against Spain.
Watch the World Cup 94 Final highlights
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The 1994 FIFA World Cup Final took place at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California, United States, on July 17, 1994 to determine the winner of the 1994 FIFA World Cup. Brazil beat Italy 3–2 on penalties to claim their fourth World Cup title when the match finished 0–0 after extra time; this meant that Brazil surpassed Italy and Germany as the tournament’s most successful nation. It was the first World Cup final to be both scoreless in regular and extra time and to be decided by a penalty shoot-out. Silver Ball winner Roberto Baggio missed the decisive penalty. Brazil had previously beaten Italy in the 1970 final, marking the 1994 final as the second time that the same teams had met in two different World Cup finals, after Argentina and Germany met in 1986 and 1990. FIFA awarded the final match of the tournament to this famous college sports stadium near Los Angeles on June 30, 1992; the Rose Bowl was the largest stadium used for this tournament. The World Cup trophy was presented to Brazil captain Dunga by then-Vice President of the United States Al Gore. The Brazilian team dedicated their win to the late triple Formula One motor racing world champion Ayrton Senna, who had died in an accident at that year’s San Marino Grand Prix in Italy two and a half months before. With Italy finishing as runners-up, Franco Baresi became the sixth player in history to win gold, silver and bronze medals at the FIFA World Cup.
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Signori was sponsored by Diadora and used to squeeze his feet into boots that were too small for him, claiming that this improved his touch and accuracy on the ball. He is one of the top ten scorers in Serie A history, although he never received a winners medal in competitive football.
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Giuseppe Signori joined Bologna F.C. in the season 1998-1999. He helped the club to qualify for the 1998–99 UEFA Cup by winning the 1998 UEFA Intertoto Cup that season. Bologna went on to reach the semi-final of the UEFA Cup that season. He played 6 seasons with Bologna F.C. scoring 84 goals in 178 games.. Almost one goal every two games which is an incredible average considering that he was not playing for a top team. Overall, he scored 188 goals in Italy’s top division, the ninth highest in the history of the league, alongside Alessandro Del Piero and Alberto Gilardino.