Gianluigi Lentini

Club career

Torino

1986–1992: Hometown hero and team success Born in Carmagnola, Piedmont, to Sicilian parents, Lentini grew up playing in the Torino youth system. After occasional appearances for the senior side, he spent the 1988–89 season on loan with Serie B club Ancona. He returned to Torino the following year and scored six goals as they won the Serie B title and were promoted to Serie A. Under new coach Emiliano Mondonico and the transfer outlay by owner Gian Mauro Borsano to acquire Rafael Martín Vázquez to compliment a team containing Lentini and other academy products Luca Marchegiani and Giorgio Bresciani, Torino won the Mitropa Cup in 1991 and finished in fifth place.

In the following year, following the arrivals of Enzo Scifo and Walter Casagrande, Torino reached the 1992 UEFA Cup final (with Lentini integral in the semi-final second leg victory over Real Madrid) and finish in third-place in Serie A; he also extended his contract until June 1995. He returned to the pitch at the end of the 1993–94 season, playing sporadically as Milan retained their league title, won the Champions League, and finished runners-up in the Intercontinental Cup.

1994–1996: Poor form and departure Lentini suffered long-term effects to his memory and vision from the crash, and had a notable decline in form and playing time; former teammate Marcel Desailly said, "You could see the skills, how he was before the crash and after the crash. Everything was completely different". He returned to Torino in 1997, spending three seasons with the club; during the 1998–99 Serie B season, he helped his side to earn to promotion to Serie A the following season, where they once again would face relegation. He left in 2001 and subsequently played several seasons in the lower divisions with various other clubs, including Cosenza, the phoenix club Cosenza, Canelli, Saviglianese, Nicese and Carmagnola, before retiring in 2012, aged 43.

During his prime, Lentini was considered a highly talented prospect, known for his pace, mobility, work-rate, physical strength, intelligence and leadership. Although he was usually deployed as a left winger, he was capable of playing on either flank. He was highly regarded for his creativity, his excellent technical ability, agility, speed, balance, and his dribbling skills, as well as his crossing ability, which made him an extremely effective attacking threat on the wing, and allowed him to beat opponents in one on one situations and subsequently provide assists for his teammates.

Personal life Lentini was married to Alexandra Carlsson, a model from Sweden; their son, Nicholas, was born in 1996. Nicholas plays as a goalkeeper.

Honours Torino Scania 100 Tournament: 1991