Angelo Anquilletti Explained

Angelo Anquilletti
Birth Date:1943 4, df=y
Birth Place:San Donato Milanese, Italy
Death Place:Milan, Italy
Height:1.75 m
Position:Defender
Years1:1961–1964
Years2:1964–1966
Years3:1966–1977
Years4:1977–1979
Clubs1:Solbiatese
Clubs2:Atalanta
Clubs3:AC Milan
Clubs4:Monza
Caps1:90
Caps2:48
Caps3:278
Caps4:41
Goals1:0
Goals2:0
Goals3:0
Goals4:0
Totalcaps:457
Totalgoals:0
Nationalyears1:1969
Nationalteam1:Italy
Nationalcaps1:2
Nationalgoals1:0
Medaltemplates: (as player)

Angelo Anquilletti (pronounced as /it/; 25 April 1943 – 9 January 2015) was an Italian football defender.[1] A tough yet fair player, Anquiletti was a successful right-sided full-back, who was known for his strength, energy, work-rate, positioning, marking ability, anticipation, and his ability to read the game; he also excelled in the air and was confident on the ball and at distributing it to teammates, which also enabled him to be deployed as a sweeper towards the end of his career.[2] [3] He is mostly remembered for his lengthy spell with AC Milan and for being a member of the Italian UEFA Euro 1968 winning squad. Anquiletti was known by the fans as "Angelo Anguilla" (Angelo the Eel), due to his man-marking ability, and wore the number 2 shirt throughout his successful Milan career.[4]

Club career

Anquiletti Started his career in Serie D with Solbiatese during the 1964–65 season. In 1964 he played with Atalanta in Serie A, making his debut on 16 November 1964, at the age of 21, in a 1–0 away win over Cagliari; he remained at the club for two seasons. From 1966 to 1977 played for AC Milan, where he achieved notable success, forming an impressive defensive line-up during his 11 seasons with the club alongside Cudicini, Trapattoni, Rosato, and Schnellinger, which was nicknamed the Maginot Line. He was notably part of their European Cup victory in 1969, also winning the 1967–68 Serie A title, two European Cup Winners' Cups (1967–68 and 1972–73), the 1969 Intercontinental Cup, and four Coppa Italia titles (1966–67, 1971–72, 1972–73, 1976–77). He notably scored two goals against Levski Sofia in the first leg of the first round of the victorious 1967–68 edition of the European Cup Winners' Cup. Overall, he made 418 appearances for Milan, and is the club's ninth all-time appearance holder; 278 of his appearances came in Serie A, 71 in the Coppa Italia, 63 in European Competitions, and 6 in other competitions. He ended his career with Monza, spending 2 more seasons in Serie B before retiring in 1979, at the age of 36.[3] [4] [5]

Overall, he played 326 games in the Serie A for Atalanta and Milan, and 41 games in Serie B, although he was unable to score a goal in the Italian leagues throughout his career.[2] [4] [5]

International career

Anquiletti earned 2 caps for the Italy national football team, and was part of Italy's UEFA Euro 1968 squad that won the tournament on home soil under Valcareggi, despite not making an appearance throughout the cup. He made his international debut in January 1969, in a friendly tournament in Mexico which preceded the 1970 FIFA World Cup, making his only two appearances for Italy against Mexico that year. He struggled to find space in the national side due to the presence of Tarcisio Burgnich and Fabrizio Poletti in his role.[6]

Death

Anquiletti died on 9 January 2015, at the age of 71, after struggling with a long illness.[7] [8]

Career statistics

Club

[2]

ClubSeasonLeagueCupEuropeOtherTotal
AppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Solbiatese1961–62210------210
1962–63330------330
1963–64360------360
Atalanta1964–6516020----180
1965/6632030----350
AC Milan1966–6728050--50380
1967–68300100102--502
1968–693003070--400
1969–70260303030350
1970–71280120----400
1971–72280100100--480
1972–732805080--410
1973–7429030110--430
1974–7511050----160
1975–7622010080--400
1976–771805050--280
Monza1977–7832030----350
1978–799000----90
Total for Milan2780710622804192
Career totals4570790622806052

Honours

AC Milan[4] [5]

Italy[2]

Individual

Notes and References

  1. News: Angelo Anquilletti - Player Profile - Football. Eurosport. 2016-10-07.
  2. Web site: Enciclopedia del Calcio, 2011: Anquiletti, Angelo. enciclopediadelcalcio.it. Italian. 2 April 2015.
  3. Web site: A.C. Milan Hall of Fame: ANGELO ANQUILLETTI. A.C. Milan. 12 May 2017.
  4. Web site: Milan, morto Anquilletti, storico numero 2 degli Anni 70. gazzetta.it. La Gazzetta dello Sport. Italian. 9 January 2015. 2 April 2015.
  5. Web site: Mario Angelo ANQUILLETTI. magliarossonera. Italian. 2 April 2015.
  6. Web site: Nazionale in cifre - Convocazioni e presenze in campo: Anquiletti, Angelo. figc.it. FIGC. Italian. 2 April 2015. https://web.archive.org/web/20150106193757/http://www.figc.it/nazionali/DettaglioConvocato?codiceConvocato=76&squadra=1. 6 January 2015. dead.
  7. News: AC Milan mourns Anquilletti. acmilan.com. 9 January 2015.
  8. Web site: TOUCHING TRIBUTE TO ANGELO ANQUILLETTI. acmilan.com. 2 April 2015. 12 January 2015.