Roberto Galbiati was born on September 16, 1957, in Cernusco sul Naviglio near Milan.
He started playing football for Inter and in 1974 debuted in Serie A in an away match drawn against Sampdoria. He played in Milan for two seasons and then signed for Pescara who were in Serie B. In his first year the Abruzzesi won promotion to Serie A but did not manage to stay there in the following season. With Pescara back in Serie B, Galbiati moved to Florence. He stayed for four years making 111 appearances in Serie A with one goal. In 1982 he signed for Torino and stayed for three years making 75 league appearances.
In 1985 Lazio had been relegated to Serie B. Several players were sold so many had to be signed. President Giorgio Chinaglia wanted to build a strong team that could immediately get back to Serie A and in Galbiati he saw the man who could lead the defence. Galbiati initially was not too excited by the prospect of playing in Serie B but Chinaglia offered him a good wage to convince him and he accepted. But there was no money and the club almost went bust. This affected the players, worried over what was going to happen, and the season was dire. The Biancocelesti just managed to avoid relegation. Galbiati did not play as well as in previous years, but it was understandable, there was a lot of pressure to perform.
After a single season with Lazio, he returned to Florence for a year before spending the final part of his career with Prato and Spezia in Serie C1.
Galbiati was called up for the Italian Under 21 national team 15 times, making 14 appearances.
Once he retired, he became a manager first for Poggibonsi, then Spezia. In 2001 he was head coach for Fiorentina’s primavera and from 2002 to 2005 assistant to the head coach, quite a long list in those years: Pietro Vierchowod, Alberto Cavasin, Emiliano Mondonico, Sergio Buso and Dino Zoff. After that experience, he managed minor Tuscany teams until 2011.
He currently works as punter in local TV and commentates on Primavera games for Sportitalia.
Galbiati was an excellent libero, but he came to Lazio at the wrong time.
Lazio Career
Season | Total appearances | Serie B | Coppa Italia |
1985-86 | 35 | 30 | 5 |
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