Gianpietro Marchetti has died; he played for Juventus, Atalanta, and Catanzaro and also had a great career in Piacenza

Italian soccer mourns Gianpietro Marchetti, who died at age 78 after an illness. Born in Rudiano, in the province of Brescia, on October 22, 1948, Marchetti began his career with Atalanta before moving to Lecco and joining Juventus in 1969. With the Bianconeri, he won two consecutive league titles, in 1972 and 1973, making 102 league appearances and scoring six goals. He also reached the 1973 European Cup final against Ajax and earned five caps for the Italian national team.

In 1974, Juventus included him in the trade that brought Gaetano Scirea to Turin. Marchetti thus returned to Atalanta, helping the team earn promotion to Serie A in 1977, before ending his playing career at Catanzaro.

After hanging up his cleats, he embarked on a new adventure as an executive, working first at Triestina and later at Piacenza. It was in Emilia that he left an indelible mark: as sporting director from 1988 to 2001, he was one of the architects of “Miracle Piacenza,” which, under coach Gigi Cagni, secured its first-ever promotion to the top flight in 1993.

During his thirteen years with the red-and-whites, Piacenza achieved a total of four promotions, three of which were to Serie A. Marchetti thus leaves behind an important legacy in Italian soccer, encompassing both the successes achieved on the field with Juventus and those built behind the scenes with the Emilia-based club.