Guido Ara was an Italian footballer and coach who was considered to be one of the best half-backs (midfielder) in Italian football before World War I. Ara spent his entire career with Pro Vercelli and won seven Italian League titles between 1908-22. He won the first of 13 international caps in 1911, but would have played in Italy’s first ever international the year before had he not been banned by the Italian Football Federation at the time. He last played for Italy in 1920 and, despite being selected for the Olympics that year, he never participated. Ara later became a coach, and for nearly 30 years worked with the likes of Pro Vercelli (originally as player/coach), Fiorentina, AS Roma, Genoa and finally Lecco in the 1947/48 season.
Italy