Salvatore Bagni

Verified Timeline

Lore & Background

Bagni is the son of a Romagnol footballer and a Sicilian mother from Gela. He began his career with Serie D club Carpi (1975–77), later playing with Serie A side Perugia (1977–1981) before moving to Inter (1981–84), with whom they won the Coppa Italia in 1982. He is best remembered for his period at Napoli (1984–88), with whom they won a scudetto-Coppa Italia double in 1987. He later played for Serie B side Avellino for a season (1988–89) before retiring. In total, he scored 52 goals in Serie A. At international level, he made 41 appearances for the senior Italy national team between 1981 and 1987, scoring five goals. He was included in the Italian 1986 FIFA World Cup squad under manager Enzo Bearzot, wearing the number-10 shirt.

In Their Own Story

Bagni made his senior international debut on 6 January 1981, in the 1980 Mundialito in Montevideo, in a 1–1 draw against the Netherlands. He scored his first goal for Italy on 4 February 1984, in a 5–0 victory over Mexico, after only 20 seconds; for 29 years, this was the fastest goal ever scored by an Italian player at international level, until his record was beaten by a single second by Emanuele Giaccherini's opening goal in a 2–2 draw against Haiti in 2013. Bagni was initially named part of the 40-man preliminary Italian squads for both the 1978 and 1982 FIFA World Cups, even featuring in the unofficial, experimental pre-trounament friendlies, but his negative performances later led him to be excluded from the final squads for both tournaments, in which Italy went on to claim fourth and first-place finishes respectively. He was later included in the Italian 1986 FIFA World Cup squad under manager Enzo Bearzot, however, wearing the number-10 shirt.

Reader's Guide

A generous and hard-working team-player, Bagni was a tenacious, hard-tackling player, with good technique and team spirit, who was usually deployed as central, box-to-box or defensive midfielder. His tendency to commit aggressive and reckless challenges earned him the nickname 'The Warrior'. He also attracted controversy for an offensive gesture in a match against Roma. He was known for his eye for goal and could play as a winger or forward.

Did You Know?

• Bagni scored the fastest goal by an Italian player at international level for 29 years—after 20 seconds against Mexico in 1984.
• He scored a hat-trick for the Italy under-21 team against Greece.
• His youngest son died in a road accident in 1992 at age three.