Giovanni Riccardi was born on December 10 1911, in Alessandria.
He came from the Alessandria school of the 1920s and 30s. In those years the Piedmontese team forged a number of midfield players and wingers of great quality and he was certainly one of them. He played for his hometown team for six years, achieving a sixth place in Serie A and playing in a Coppa Italia final in 1935-36, where he scored the only goal in a 5-1 defeat to Torino. In 1936 he even played a game for the Italy B Side and a few months later signed for Lazio together with his teammates Luigi Milano and Umberto Busani. The club paid an astronomical fee, for the time, of 400,000 lire for the three players (almost a million euros in today’s money).
He stayed for three seasons. Despite an excellent second place in 1936-37, Riccardi was a bit of a disappointment and in the subsequent years suffered the competition of Libero Marchini. He made 67 appearances with 11 goals.
In 1939 he signed for Liguria but the club at the end of the season was relegated. He moved a few kilometres and in 1940 began playing for Savona in Serie B and almost made it back to the first tier. He closed his career with Verona in 1941-42, and later played in the amateur leagues.
Once he stopped playing he began a managerial career in local Ligurian clubs.
He died in 1980.
Lazio Career
Season | Total appearances (goals) | Serie A | Coppa Italia | Mitropa Cup |
1936-37 | 27 (5) | 26 (5) | - | 1 |
1937-38 | 18 (3) | 17 (3) | 1 | - |
1938-39 | 22 (3) | 20 (3) | 2 | - |
Total | 67 (11) | 63 (11) | 3 | 1 |
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