Antonio Di Gennaro

Antonio di Gennaro (; born 5 October 1958) is an Italian former footballer who played as a midfielder.

Club career During his club career, Di Gennaro played for Fiorentina (1976–80), Perugia (1980–81), Hellas Verona (1981–88) and Bari (1988–91). He later joined Bari in 1988, where he served as the team's captain, helping the team to obtain promotion to Serie A and winning the Mitropa Cup in 1990, before retiring in 1991, after helping the club avoid relegation.

International career At international level, Di Gennaro earned 15 caps and scored 4 goals for the Italy national football team between 1984 and 1986, including playing in all four Italian matches at the 1986 FIFA World Cup, where Italy were eliminated by France in the round of 16. He made his international debut on 3 November 1984, in a 1–1 draw against Switzerland, and all 15 of his caps were won whilst he was playing his club football with Verona.

Style of play Described as a "modern" footballer, Di Gennaro was a quick, agile, versatile and well-rounded player, with good dribbling skills, who was known for his ability to adapt to different playing situations on the pitch, and was therefore capable of playing in several midfield positions. He stood out throughout his career for his pace work-rate, stamina, defensive skills, and ball winning abilities, as well as his creativity and offensive capabilities in midfield; due to his wide range of skills, he was capable of playing both as a defensive midfielder, or in the centre as a deep-lying playmaker, courtesy of his vision, technique, range of passing and strong mentality, which enabled him to start attacking plays or distribute the ball quickly to his teammates after winning back possession. Although he was mainly a team-player, he also had an ability to get forward, and was a powerful and accurate striker of the ball, and could also function as an advanced playmaker. In addition to his footballing ability, he was known for his leadership and humorous personality.

After retirement Following his retirement, Di Gennaro worked for a time as one of the directors of his former club, Fiorentina.

Honours Verona Serie B: 1981–82 Serie A: 1984–85

Bari Mitropa Cup: 1990