Giancarlo Cella

Giancarlo Cella started to play as winger and midfielder in the youth of Piacenza Calcio, but later became a defender. He played his first senior match for Piacenza in Series IV (fourth-level) in October 1957 at the age of 17. When he moved to Torino FC in summer 1958, he played his first Series A game in October of the same year, aged only 18. After a loan spell at second-level Novara Calcio for one season (1959-60) he stayed at Torino for another five seasons, through 1965. The following years he played with Calcio Catania (1965-66) and Atalanta BC (1966-68) before joining Inter Milano in the summer of 1968. Cella played 42 Series A matches in three seasons for Inter and won the Italian league title in 1971. After that he spent his last season at his home club Piacenza Calcio, then playing in Series C (third-level). During this season he became playing coach and after his retirement in 1972, he stayed as coach up to 1974. Later he also worked as youth trainer at Inter and coached several lower level teams before returning to Piacenza Calcio in 1989, staying through 1993.

On an international level he played six matches for Torino in the Cup Winners’ Cup (1964-65) and nine matches for Inter in the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup (1969-70, 1970-71). In 1959 Cella was a member of the winning team at the Mediterranean Games and one year later played two matches at the 1960 Olympics when Italy finished fourth. He was on the preliminary squad for Italy for the 1962 World Cup, but an injury shortly before the tournament bumped him out.