Eddie Firmani
 Firmani circa 1984 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Edwin Ronald Firmani | ||
| Date of birth | 7 August 1933 | ||
| Place of birth | Cape Town, South Africa | ||
| Position(s) |
Striker | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 1949–1950 | Clyde F.C. (Cape Town) | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1950–1955 | Charlton Athletic | 100 | (50) |
| 1955–1958 |
Sampdoria | 63 | (52) |
| 1958–1961 | Inter Milan | 82 | (38) |
| 1961–1963 |
Genoa | 62 | (25) |
| 1963–1965 | Charlton Athletic | 55 | (32) |
| 1965–1967 | Southend United | 55 | (24) |
| 1967–1968 | Charlton Athletic | 10 | (6) |
| 1975 | Tampa Bay Rowdies | 1 | (0) |
| Total | 440 | (238) | |
| International career | |||
| 1956–1958 | Italy | 3 | (2) |
| Managerial career | |||
| 1967–1970 | Charlton Athletic | ||
| 1975–1977 | Tampa Bay Rowdies | ||
| 1977–1979 |
New York Cosmos | ||
| 1980 |
Philadelphia Fury | ||
| 1981–1982 | Montreal Manic | ||
| 1983 | Inter-Montréal | ||
| 1984 |
New York Cosmos | ||
| 1985–1990 |
Kazma SC | ||
| 1990 |
Al-Talaba | ||
| 1991 | Montreal Supra | ||
| 1992–1993 |
Sur FC | ||
| 1993 | Montreal Impact | ||
| 1996 | New York/New Jersey MetroStars | ||
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Edwin Ronald Firmani (Italian pronunciation: [ˈɛddi firˈmaːni]; born 7 August 1933) is a former professional football player and manager. A former forward, he spent most of his playing career in Italy and England. He managed 13 different clubs over 29 years, mostly in the United States, Canada, and the Middle East. Born in South Africa, he represented the Italy national team internationally.
Playing career
Firmani played as a
While playing in Italy, he was given a nickname which was later modified twice. He was originally called Il Tacchino (The Turkey) because he flapped his elbows when he ran. It was first changed to Il Tacchino Freddo (The Cold Turkey) for the phlegmatic way he celebrated his goals, before he was finally known as Il Tacchino d'Oro (The Golden Turkey) when he began scoring with greater frequency.[1]
In 1960 Firmani wrote a volume of autobiography "Football with the Millionaires", which provides an interesting contrast between the lifestyle of Italian footballers and their English counterparts in the era of the maximum wage.
He returned to England in 1963, linking up again with Charlton, now playing in the second division. After two years he moved to
Managerial career
Charlton Athletic
In 1967 Firmani was appointed Charlton manager and retired as a player. Firmani thus became the first Italian international to manage an English club.[3] In his second season in charge, Charlton finished third in the Second Division just missing out on promotion. He was fired in March 1970 with the Addicks battling against relegation to the Third Division.
North America
Firmani moved to North America and managed several
In 1977 Firmani was signed by the Cosmos mid-season, after having resigned from the Rowdies for personal reasons. At the time the Cosmos had a team featuring
He later managed Canadian sides
The Middle East
Firmani coached in the Middle East during the mid-to-late 1980s, and in the early 1990s. He worked as a manager in both
He was also held captive during the
Career statistics
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Italy | 1956 | 1 | 1 |
| 1957 | 1 | 0 | |
| 1958 | 1 | 1 | |
| Total | 3 | 2 | |
- Scores and results list Italy's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Firmani goal.
| No. | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 11 November 1956 | Wankdorfstadion, Bern |  Switzerland |
1–1 | 1–1 | 1956 Dr. Gerö Cup |
| 2 | 23 March 1958 | Praterstadion, Vienna |  Austria |
2–1 | 2–3 | 1958 Dr. Gerö Cup |
References
- ^ Moses, Sam. "All the way with Tampa Bay," Sports Illustrated, September 1, 1975 (article on page 48). Retrieved 12 December 2020
- ^ "NASL-". www.nasljerseys.com. Retrieved 25 July 2018.
- ^ Harris, Nick (19 May 2010). "From Cape Town to NY, via Charlton: the footballing life of Eddie Firmani". the Guardian. Retrieved 25 July 2018.
- ^ a b c Yannis, Alex (13 July 1992). "SIDELINES; Continuous Success in Volatile Corner". The New York Times. Retrieved 25 July 2018.
- ^ a b "Eddie Firmani – profile". European Football. Retrieved 6 January 2012.