Gabriele Oriali

Gabriele "Lele" Oriali (; born 25 November 1952) is an Italian former professional footballer who primarily played as a defensive midfielder but also played as a right-back, who is currently sports coordinator at Serie A club Napoli.

As a player, he was known in particular for his stamina, work-rate, ball-winning ability, and for his adeptness at breaking down opposition plays.

Oriali spent his club career initially with Inter Milan, and subsequently with Fiorentina. At international level, he represented Italy at the 1980 European Championship, and was also a member of the team that won the 1982 FIFA World Cup. Following his retirement, he worked as a sporting director and as a team manager.

With Inter, he won the scudetto again during the 1979–80 season (scoring 6 goals), and the Coppa Italia twice; his first Coppa victory was during the 1977–78 season, whilst his second came during the 1981–82 season. In all he played 70 matches and scored 8 goals for Inter in the Coppa Italia competition.

Oriali played 45 matches and scored 3 goals for Inter in European cup competitions. He was part of the team that lost to Ajax in the 1971–72 European Cup final. That year Inter won both of its derby games, a feat that would not be repeated until 2007, 26 years later.

Oriali played for Italy in the 1980 European Championship, where Italy finished in fourth place on home soil, losing to Czechoslovakia in a penalty shootout in the third-place match, after reaching the semi-final. Oriali returned to the role as technical director at Inter in 2019, and was also appointed as team manager of the Italy national team concurrently.

Style of play Oriali did not have the best technical ability, but he was a tenacious and hard-working player, who was both tactically intelligent, and versatile; this allowed him to play anywhere in midfield, and also in defence, mainly as a full-back. Throughout his career, he distinguished himself for being a central or defensive midfielder with notable stamina, who excelled at reading the game and stopping opposing players; he was also an excellent man-marker. In addition to his work-rate, energy, and defensive abilities as a ball-winner, he was also known for his reliable distribution, and for having a tendency to receive and play many balls during matches. Due to his playing style, he was labeled an "incontrista" by the Italian press, a player whose sole responsibility was to break up plays and distribute the ball to another player to start an attack after winning back possession. He is considered one of the best Italian players of all time in his position. He was also highly regarded for his positional sense, as well as his ability to interpret the game and time his attacking runs, which allowed him to contribute to his team's offensive play with occasional goals.

In 2012, Oriali stated that the player who currently most resembled him in terms of his playing style was Daniele De Rossi, although, unlike De Rossi, Oriali was never sent-off throughout his career.

Career statistics

Scores and results list Italy's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Oriali goal.

+ List of international goals scored by Gabriele OrialiNo.DateVenueOpponentScoreResultCompetition1 26 September 1979 Stadio Comunale, Florence, Italy 1–0 1–0 Friendly

Trivia His face appeared on a Chad stamp in 1983–one of a series of stamps commemorating the 1982 World Cup. He appears on a 60 franc stamp alongside Włodi Smolarek of Poland. Oriali is cited in the Luciano Ligabue song Una vita da mediano (A life as a half back), one of his most popular songs. Ligabue is a known Inter fan. Golden Foot: 2021, as Football Legend

Orders