Gianluigi Lentini

Football player infobox
playername = Gianluigi Lentini


fullname = Gianluigi Lentini
nickname = "Gigi"
dateofbirth = birth date and age|1969|3|27
cityofbirth = Carmagnola
countryofbirth = Italy
height = height|meter=1.81
currentclub = Retired
position = Attacking midfielder/right winger
youthyears = 1985-1986
youthclubs = Torino
years = 1986-1988 1988-1989 1989-1992 1992-1996 1996-1997 1997-2001 2001-2004 2004-2007
clubs = Torino Ancona Torino AC Milan Atalanta Torino Cosenza Canelli
caps(goals) = 22 0(0) 37 0(4) 89 (16) 60 (13) 31 0(4) 93 (10) 70 0(6)
nationalyears = 1991-1993
nationalteam = Italy
nationalcaps(goals) = 13 0(0)
pcupdate =
ntupdate =

Gianluigi Lentini (born March 27, 1969 in Carmagnola) is a former Italian international winger who once held the distinction of being the world's most expensive footballer, when he moved from Torino to AC Milan for £13 million in 1992. He was a very talented midfielder/winger with electrifying on and off the ball speed, creativity, superb crosses and short passes, top dribbling, top shot and superb technique.

Indeed, it was this fee - which arose due to a bidding war between Milan and Juventus after his great performances for Torino - that partially triggered a wave of huge spending amongst Europe's top clubs in the 1990s. At the time, the world was staggered that so much money could be paid for one footballer - the Vatican called it "an offence against the dignity of work". After this he was a key player in AC Milan's Scudetto winning season. Sadly, after a horrific car accident in 1993, which left him briefly in a coma and with serious head injuries, his career languished. However, Lentini's goal-scoring record of a goal approximately every seven games is considered above average by Italian standards considering his position of winger.

He played 30 times in Milan's title-winning season (1992-93), but managed only 33 games for the club the next four seasons due to ongoing effects of the car crash.

Lentini went on to have a brief spell at Atalanta on loan in 1996, before returning to Torino for a more modest transfer fee of £2 million in 1997. He then joined Cosenza, where he played until 2004.

His phenomenal 1992 transfer fee was only eclipsed four years later, when Alan Shearer moved from Blackburn Rovers to Newcastle United for £15 million.

Lentini played football for Canelli (Serie D/A), and his salary was around £1700 (€2500) per month. He signed in 2004, when the team was playing regional Eccellenza league. He retired in 2007.

Honours

* UEFA Champions League - 1994
* Serie A - 1993, 1994, 1996
* Italian Super Cups - 1993, 1994
* Serie B - 1990, 2001

Enlaces externos

* [http://yotufutbol.com/modules/news/article.php?storyid=8 Gianluigi Lentini, biografia del jugador italiano]