Umberto Busani
{{short description|Italian footballer}}
{{Infobox football biography
| name = Umberto Busani
| image =
| fullname = Umberto Busani
| birth_date = {{birth date|1915|2|1}}
| birth_place = Parma, Italy
| death_date = {{Death date and age|1957|10|29|1915|2|1|df=yes}}
| death_place = Naples, Italy
| height =
| position = forward
| years1 = 1931–1933 | clubs1 = OND Chievo | caps1 = 22 | goals1 = 13
| years2 = 1933–1934 | clubs2 = Hellas Verona | caps2 = 2 | goals2 = 0
| years3 = 1934–1935 | clubs3 = GC Vigevanesi | caps3 = 29 | goals3 = 6
| years4 = 1935–1936 | clubs4 = Alessandria | caps4 = 28 | goals4 = 7
| years5 = 1936–1940 | clubs5 = Lazio | caps5 = 106 | goals5 = 38
| years6 = 1940–1948 | clubs6 = Napoli | caps6 = 171 | goals6 = 46
| years7 = 1945 | clubs7 = Frattese | caps7 = ? | goals7 = 15
| years8 = 1948–1950 | clubs8 = Casertana | caps8 = 34 | goals8 = 22
}}
Umberto Busani (1 February 1915 – 29 October 1957) was an Italian footballer who played as a forward for a number of Italian clubs in the 1930s and 1940s, most notably S.S. Lazio and S.S.C. Napoli.
Playing career
Fast, talented and regarded as one of the best wingers in S.S.C. Napoli's history,{{cite book |author= Carratelli |page=80}} he started his career at Chievo.[http://www.lorenzograssi.it/archivio/Chievo.pdf Chievo] lorenzograssi.it He helped Chievo reach the final of the championship.[http://www.itcpasolivr.it/AreaProgetto/200809_5BM_Chievo.pdf A SMALL COMPANY FOR A GREAT FOOTBALL DREAMS] itcpasolivr.it
He then moved on to Alexandria, for whom he made his Serie A debut on 22 September 1935. He played in the cup final played in Genoa on 11 June 1936, but his side lost against Turin. He then moved to S.S. Lazio in 1936 for a joint fee of 400,000 lira, along with teammates Luigi Milano and Giovanni Riccardi.Charles F. Church. Time for the old graysquare, by "Soccer 2000" - February 2002, pg. 68.
He made his debut on 13 September 1936 in a 3–0 victory over A.C. Milan. The club finished in second place in the final standings, three points behind champions Bologna.[https://www.rsssf.org/tablesi/ital37.html Italy 1936-1937] rsssf.org He was the fifth most prolific goalscorer with fifteen goals that year. The following years were less positive for the biancoazzurri; an eighth place in the championship was followed[https://www.rsssf.org/tablesi/ital38.html Italy 1937-1938] rsssf.org by a ninth-place finish in 1938–39.[https://www.rsssf.org/tablesi/ital39.html Italy 1938-1939] rsssf.org In his early years in Rome he invariably started matches, missing only a few games, the majority due to a fractured collarbone.
He moved to Napoli in 1940 and the Neapolitan side finished the 1940–41 season in eighth place. The following year, Busani was the club's top scorer, but Napoli succumbed to relegation, despite some memorable victories against Milan and Juventus. The 1942–43 season, Napoli's first in Serie B, saw him play all the games and score 10 goals (the team's third top scorer), but this was not enough to bring the team promotion.
After the war he returned to Napoli and he finished as the club's top scorer in 1946–47 with 12 goals.[https://www.rsssf.org/tablesi/ital47.html Italy 1946-1947] rsssf . com The next season was negative for both Napoli and Busani, ending with the relegation back in Serie B; he played only 12 games and scored two goals, so decided to finish his career at Casertana.
Post-retirement
After retiring, Busani settled in Campania, where he ran a sports shop and coached local sides.[http://www.larassegnadischia.it/calcio/calciolacco.pdf Lacco Ameno from its origins to 1970 of Peter Ferrandino] larassegnadischia.it
References
{{Reflist|2}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Busani, Umberto}}
Category:Italian men's footballers
Category:Footballers from Parma
Category:Men's association football forwards
Category:AC ChievoVerona players
Category:Hellas Verona FC players
Category:US Alessandria Calcio 1912 players