Franco Gallina (1 January 1945 – 5 July 2021) was an Italian footballer who played as a forward, most notably in the Serie A and the North American Soccer League.
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | (1945-01-01)1 January 1945 | ||
| Place of birth | Naples, Kingdom of Italy | ||
| Date of death | 5 July 2021(2021-07-05) (aged 76) | ||
| Position(s) | Forward | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1962–1963 | Casertana | 1 | (0) |
| 1963–1964 | Genoa | 0 | (0) |
| 1964–1965 | Virtus Entella | 23 | (7) |
| 1965–1966 | Cesena | 30 | (10) |
| 1966–1968 | Genoa | 42 | (4) |
| 1968–1969 | Lanerossi Vicenza | 12 | (4) |
| 1969–1971 | Internapoli | 34 | (1) |
| 1971 | Montreal Olympique | 20 | (10) |
| 1971–1973 | Atlante | ||
| 1973 | Montreal Cantalia | ||
| 1974 | Toronto Italia | ||
| 1975–1976 | Montreal Castors | ||
| Teams managed | |||
| 1973 | Montreal Cantalia (player-manager) | ||
| 1974 | Toronto Italia (player-manager) | ||
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Gallina played in the Serie D in 1962 with Casertana F.C. where he assisted in securing promotion after winning the Serie D title.[1] The following season he was signed by Genoa C.F.C. of the Serie A, but failed to make an appearance. In 1964, he played in the Serie C with Virtus Entella, and later with Cesena F.C.[2] He returned to his former club Genoa where he played in the Serie B.[3] After two seasons with Genoa he played in the Serie A with Lanerossi Vicenza, and made his debut on 17 November 1968 against A.C. Milan.[4]
In 1969, he returned to Serie C to play with Internapoli Football Club. He played abroad in 1971 with Montreal Olympique in the North American Soccer League.[1][5] In his debut season with Montreal he was named to the NASL Second Team.[6] The next season he played in the Mexican Primera División with Atlante F.C.[7][8] In 1973, he played in the National Soccer League with Montreal Cantalia where he served as a player-coach.[9][10] In 1974, he played with league rivals Toronto Italia once more in a capacity of a player-coach.[11][12] The following season he played with Montreal Castors.[13]
He died on 5 July 2021.[14]
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