Gino Cappello

Gino Cappello

Personal information
Full name	Gino Cappello IV
Date of birth	2 June 1920
Place of birth	Padua, Italy
Date of death	28 March 1990 (aged 69)
Height	1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)
Playing position	Forward
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps^†	(Gls)^†
1939–1940	Padova	60	(39)
1940–1943	Milan	74	(29)
1944	Padova	10	(6)
1945–1956	Bologna	245	(80)
1956–1958	Novara	22	(5)
National team
1949–1954	Italy	11	(3)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. † Appearances (goals)

Gino Cappello (2 June 1920 - 28 March 1990) was an Italian football (soccer) player.

A native of Padua, he debuted for the Italian national team on May 22, 1949 in a 3-1 win against Austria. He was one of four players to play both games at the 1950 World Cup. Four years later he played his last game for the national team at the 1954 World Cup in a 4-1 win against Belgium.

Despite not having the best dribbling skills, he played center forward like a natural. His main characteristic was to become completely separated from the game for long periods only to suddenly pull off the winning shot or a crucial assist. After two seasons in Serie B with Padova, he landed in Serie A with Milan in 1940. In the three seasons at Milan he was always the second leading scorer unfortunately Milan was not a major contender then. After the war he went to Bologna where he played for ten straight seasons. He scored 80 goals in 245 games leaving a mark on the fans not to be forgotten. In his last two seasons he played for Novara in Serie B. Genius and dissolute, Gino Cappello is also known for having had two life bans;once in 1952 in a summer game for punching a referee, he served 12 months of a suspension before being absolved. In 1958, when he was playing with Novara, he decided to quit having reached the age of forty.