Sebastiano Nela

A left-footed defender, Sebastiano Nela started his career with Genoa in 1978, before a move to Serie A side A. S. Roma in 1981. He won the Italian title in 1982/83, and the following season was in the Roma side beaten by Liverpool on penalties in the final if the European Champions’ Cup at the Olympic Stadium in Roma. Nela also won three Italian Cups, in 1984, 1986 and 1991.

Nela suffered a bad knee injury following an accident in 1987, and was out of action for nearly a year. The singer, and Roma fan, Antonello Venditti dedicated his song “Correndo correndo” to Nela. During the 1992/93 season, Nela moved to Napoli before retiring after the 1993/94 season, having made a total of 315 appearances in Serie A, and 498 club matches in all competitions.

Having played in three matches at the 1984 Olympics, including the bad tempered game against Egypt, when he was one of four men sent-off, Nela was called up for the senior international squad and made his début against West Germany on 22 May 1984. Between then and 1987, he won five senior caps, and was a member of the 1986 FIFA World Cup squad, although he did not play. With the co-operation with the journalist and writer Giancarlo Dotto in 2021, Nela wrote his biography entitled Il vento in faccia e la tempesta nel cuore.