Giuseppe Bruscolotti

Giuseppe Bruscolotti (born 1 June 1951) is a former Italian footballer who played as a right-back. He is mostly remembered for his lengthy spell with S.S.C. Napoli, where he served as the club's captain and contributed to the team's first ever Serie A title in 1987. Throughout his career, he was referred to as "Pal e fierr" ("iron pole") by the fans, due to his physical strength.

Career Born in Sassano, Campania, Bruscolotti began his career with Sorrento in 1970. He immediately helped the club to Serie B promotion, winning the Serie C1 title during the 1970–71 season, and was a part of a defence which only conceded 12 goals in the league; the following season, however, the club were immediately relegated to Serie C once again, after finishing in second-last place in the league.

Bruscolotti subsequently moved to S.S.C. Napoli in 1972, where he spent most of his career, making over 500 appearances for the team during his sixteen seasons in Naples; he made his Serie A debut with Napoli during the 1972–73 season, in a 1–0 win over Ternana on 24 September 1972. Bruscolotti became a symbol and a legend of the club, and played a key role in helping Napoli to their first ever Serie A title in 1987; he was also the team's captain from 1978 until 1984, when he handed over the armband to Diego Maradona. He retired at the age of 37 in 1988; he held the record for most Serie A appearances for Napoli (387) and is now second for this category behind Marek Hamšík, and has made the second most appearances in all league competitions for the club, also behind Hamšík. He also made 96 appearances for Napoli in the Coppa Italia, and 28 in European competitions. Bruscolotti also scored 11 goals for Napoli throughout his career; one of his most notable goals came in a 1–0 home victory over Anderlecht in the return leg of the 1976–77 European Cup Winners' Cup semi-finals, although Napoli were eliminated by the eventual champions on aggregate. In addition to these titles, Bruscolotti also won two Coppa Italia titles with Napoli.

Style of play As a full-back, Bruscolotti was known in particular for his physical strength and balance, as well as his marking ability, leadership, and his hard-tackling style of play.

Honours

Club Sorrento Serie C (1): 1970–71

Napoli Serie A (1): 1986–87 Coppa Italia (2): 1975–76, 1986–87 Anglo-Italian League Cup (1): 1976

Records Second-most appearances in all competitions (S.S.C. Napoli) (after Marek Hamšík): 511 Second-most league appearances for S.S.C. Napoli (only Serie A regular-seasons) (after Marek Hamšík): 387