Bruno Gerzeli (October 3, 1925 – November 8, 1982) was an Italian professional footballer who played as a forward.
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Bruno Livio Gerzeli | ||
| Date of birth | October 3, 1925 | ||
| Place of birth | Monfalcone, Italy | ||
| Date of death | November 8, 1982 (aged 57) | ||
| Place of death | Salt Lake City, Utah, United States | ||
| Position(s) | Striker | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1942–1943 | C.R.D.A Monfalcone | ||
| 1945–1946 | Monfalconese C.N.T. | ||
| 1946–1947 | Venezia | 1 | (0) |
| 1947–1948 | Marzotto Valdagno | ||
| 1948–1949 | Salernitana | 9 | (2) |
| 1949–1950 | Stabia | ||
| 1950–1951 | Biellese | 31 | (3) |
| 1951–1952 | Anconitana | 31 | (4) |
| 1952 | Deportivo Samarios | 20 | (5) |
| 1954–1955 | Aosta | 18 | (0) |
| 1954–1955 | Toronto Hungarians | ||
| 1956–1958 | Toronto Sparta | ||
| 1963 | K.F.C. Estonia | ||
| Managerial career | |||
| 1963 | K.F.C. Estonia | ||
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Career
editBorn in Monfalcone, Gerzeli, a winger, inside forward[1] and centre-forward,[2] started his career in the Serie C side C.R.D.A. Monfalcone, which was the team of his hometown Monfalcone. After World War II, Gerzeli played the 1945-46 Serie C season for Monfalconese (which was the new name of C.R.D.A. Monfalcone); he was then signed by Venezia, a team which was competing in the Serie A. Gerzeli only played one match during the 1946–47 Serie A season, on July 6, 1947, against Triestina. After this one-match experience, he left Venezia and moved to Marzotto Valdagno, coming back to Serie C. He played a Serie B championship in 1948–1949 with Salernitana. In 1952 he decided to leave Italy for Colombia, a nation in which professional football was well-paid because of the so-called El Dorado period. He played for Deportivo Samarios in Colombia along with two other Italian footballers, Corrado Contin and Alessandro Adam.[3] He collected 20 appearances with Samarios, scoring five goals (the first of which was scored against Atlético Nacional on June 1, 1952).[4] In the summer of 1954 he played in the National Soccer League (NSL) with Toronto Hungarians.[5][6] In 1956, he continued playing in the NSL with Toronto Sparta, and was suspended by the league until 1960 after an incident with a referee in late 1958.[7][8] In 1963, he served as a player-coach for K.F.C. Estonia in the National Soccer League.[9]
Personal life
editAfter he retired from playing, Gerzeli emigrated to Canada in 1954.[10] He married and moved to the United States where he coached the Brigham Young University soccer program.[11] He was originally baptized as a Roman Catholic, but later converted to Mormonism.[6]
Gerzeli died in Salt Lake City on November 8, 1982, due to hepatitis of the liver.[12]
References
edit- ^ Juventus-Biellese 4-0. Corriere dello Sport, August 28, 1950, p. 3.
- ^ Il 29 agosto a Biella riunione degli assi. Corriere dello Sport, August 3, 1950, p. 6.
- ^ Statistics at Golgolgol.net Archived June 18, 2013, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "Nacional 2 - 2 Samarios" (in Spanish). Archived from the original on February 21, 2013. Retrieved October 25, 2012.
- ^ Waring, Ed. "4,000 See Game: 'All-Stars' Lead Ukes In Win Over Hungarians". The Globe and Mail. p. 24.
- ^ a b Spraggett, Allen (December 2, 1967). "The soccer star who joined the Mormons". Toronto Daily Star. p. 57.
- ^ Waring, Ed (June 11, 1956). "Italia Wins Another, Blanking Hungarians Before 5,000 Crowd". The Globe and Mail. p. 28.
- ^ Waring, Ed (August 29, 1958). "Borchert Scores Pair As Olympia, Italia Tie". The Globe and Mail. p. 30.
- ^ Waring, Ed (May 8, 1963). "Canada Impressive, Scottish Soccer Star To Make Home Here". The Globe and Mail. p. 14.
- ^ Allen Spraggett (December 2, 1967). "Bruno Gerzeli, the soccer star who joined the Mormons". Toronto Daily Star.
- ^ "History of the Church in Italy". David R. Crockett. 11 January 2013.
- ^ "Bruno Gerzeli: Social Security Death Index (SSDI) Death Record". Genealogybank.com. Retrieved 12 January 2013.
External links
edit- Profile at Enciclopediadelcalcio.it