Gianpietro Marchetti

Gianpietro Marchetti, also written Gian Pietro, was born on 22 October 1948 in Rudiano, in the province of Brescia in Lombardy, close to the river Oglio that marks the border with the province of Bergamo. He grew up a Juventus supporter and later recalled arguing with friends who backed Inter or Milan while playing at the parish oratory.

He played youth football in Rudiano and in nearby Chiari, where he was noticed by Giuseppe Brolis, the long-serving head of the Atalanta youth system, who brought him to Bergamo. He was training to become a primary school teacher, but the demands of training camps forced a choice between finishing his diploma and pursuing football, and he chose football.

Marchetti made his Serie A debut for Atalanta on 28 May 1967, aged 18, in a match at Foggia. After seven league appearances in two seasons he moved to Lecco in Serie B for 1968-69, where he was a regular and scored three goals.

Juventus signed him in 1969. He debuted on 16 November 1969 at the Cagliari of Gigi Riva, playing as a defensive midfielder. He gradually took over the left-back role alongside Luciano Spinosi and, under Cestmir Vycpalek, won the Serie A title in 1971-72 and 1972-73. He made 102 appearances and scored six goals for Juventus and played in the 1973 European Cup final against Ajax in Belgrade.

He won seven caps for Italy at youth level and two for Italy B, and Ferruccio Valcareggi gave him his senior debut on 17 June 1972 against Romania in Bucharest. He made five senior appearances between 1972 and 1973, the last against Brazil in Rome.

In 1974 he returned to Atalanta as part of the transfer that took Gaetano Scirea to Juventus. He spent five seasons in Bergamo, captaining the side that won promotion to Serie A through the 1977 play-offs, including the 2-1 victory over Cagliari in Genoa. He ended his playing career with Catanzaro in Serie A in 1979-80.

In March 1982 he became sporting director of Triestina, staying until 1988. That August Leonardo Garilli appointed him sporting director of Piacenza. With Gigi Cagni as coach the club rose from Serie C1 to Serie B in 1991 and reached Serie A for the first time in 1993, famously with an all-Italian squad. Piacenza bounced straight back after relegation in 1994 and established themselves in the top flight, later under Walter Novellino. When Marchetti left in 2001 he had overseen four promotions and six Serie A seasons. He later held the same role briefly at Napoli, resigning in December 2002, and at Modena.

Marchetti kept a low public profile away from football. He remained closely tied to the province of Brescia where he was born, and reports of his death said the funeral would take place there. Details of his family have not been widely published.

Marchetti died at the age of 78 after an illness. His death was reported on 5 November 2026 by La Gazzetta dello Sport and the Piacenza newspaper Liberta, which described him as the architect of the club's most celebrated team. Some Italian sources place his death on 4 November in Chiari; the exact date was not stated in the first published reports. The funeral was to be held in the province of Brescia, where he lived.

As a player Marchetti was valued for his versatility, able to play left-back, centre-back, sweeper or defensive midfielder, and for a modern approach to the full-back role that combined marking with attacking runs. He is remembered at Atalanta as the captain of the 1977 promotion side.

His lasting mark was made as a sporting director. The Piacenza he built with Leonardo Garilli and Gigi Cagni became one of the stories of Italian football in the 1990s, a provincial club that reached and held a place in Serie A while choosing to field only Italian players.