Claudio Garella

Lore & Background

Garella was born in Turin in 1955, to parents Piera and Domenico. He first started playing football with Auxilium Monterosa, before joining the Torino youth system. He made his Serie A debut with Torino during the 1972–73 season, appearing in the final eight minutes of a 1–0 defeat to Lanerossi Vicenza, replacing Luciano Castellini; this was his only appearance for the club. In 1973, he joined JuniorCasale, where he remained for two seasons, first in Serie D and subsequently Serie C, even scoring a goal from a penalty. In 1975, he joined Novara, helping the club to a sixth–place finish in Serie B. The following season he joined Lazio, breaking into the starting line-up during his second season with the club at the age of 22, after initially serving as a back-up to Felice Pulici during his first season; however, he endured criticism from the Italian press during this period, due to his error–prone performances. In 1978, he moved to Sampdoria, where he spent three seasons in Serie B, before moving to Hellas Verona. Under manager Osvaldo Bagnoli, he helped the club win promotion back to Serie A, reach the 1984 Coppa Italia Final, and played a decisive role in helping the team win the 1984–85 Serie A title for the first time in the club's history, including producing a series of crucial saves in a 0–0 away draw against Roma. His performances and role in the club's league title victory earned him a move to Napoli, in part due to the insistence of Diego Maradona, where he won a domestic double during the 1986–87 season, and narrowly missed out on another league title during his third season, which was his last at the club. After two and a half seasons in Serie B with Udinese, Garella retired at the age of 36 after the conclusion of the 1990–91 Serie B season with Avellino, collecting two appearances with the club. Despite his playing ability at his peak, he never appeared for the Italy national team, in part due to heavy competition from other world class Italian goalkeepers at the time, such as Giovanni Galli, Franco Tancredi, Stefano Tacconi, and Walter Zenga.

In Their Own Story

The floodlights at Stadio Comunale hummed against the cool night air of Florence. Claudio Garella stood over the ball in the center circle, scanning the field with practiced ease. He received a pass, shielded it from a charging opponent, and without looking up, threaded a needle-like through-ball that split the defense wide open. The crowd roared as the striker broke away, but Garella simply nodded, his eyes already fixed on the next play in this beautiful game he loved.

Reader's Guide

Garella was a large, physically imposing, and acrobatic goalkeeper, who was known for his agility, bravery, and reflexes despite his sturdy build, as well as his unorthodox and spectacular – yet efficient – shot-stopping ability, namely his capacity to make saves with any part of his body, including his penchant for stopping the ball with his feet. He was also highly regarded for his speed when rushing off his line and his ability to get to ground quickly to parry, punch, or claim low balls. However, he also drew criticism from pundits, including Gianni Brera, in his youth due to his inconsistency, as he was also occasionally known for his tendency to commit errors, which were dubbed 'garellate' by Rai journalist Beppe Viola during the 1970s; as such, he also came to be known by the nickname Paperella by the Lazio fans, who were his team at the time. Despite initial skepticism towards him in the media due to his perceived unrefined and instinctive playing style, he was able to perform at a high level and contribute to Verona's scudetto victory during the 1984–85 season, with his performances later earning him critical praise as well as the superhero inspired nickname Garellik, a reference to Diabolik.

Did You Know?

• Garella scored a goal from a penalty while playing for JuniorCasale.
• He was nicknamed 'Paperella' by Lazio fans due to his error-prone performances.
• His move to Napoli was partly due to the insistence of Diego Maradona.
• He never played for Fiorentina despite some incorrect references.