Name: Giorgio Mastropasqua



Country: Italy
Club: Atalanta B.C.  
Number: 4
Position: ★SWP , DMF, CMF
Side: RF/BS
Age: 25-28 years (13/07/1951)

Height: 182 cm
Weight: 75 kg

Attack: 70
Defence: 83
Balance: 83
Stamina: 82
Top Speed: 78
Acceleration: 76
Response: 81
Agility: 75
Dribble Accuracy: 79
Dribble Speed: 78
Short Pass Accuracy: 82
Short Pass Speed: 77
Long Pass Accuracy: 79
Long Pass Speed: 76
Shot Accuracy: 68
Shot Power: 82
Shot Technique: 70
Free Kick Accuracy: 65
Curling: 68
Header: 78
Jump: 82
Technique: 81
Aggression: 78
Mentality: 76
Goalkeeper Skills: 50
Team Work: 83

Injury Tolerance: 6
Condition: 6
Weak Foot Accuracy: 5
Weak Foot Frequency: 5
Consistency: 5
Growth type: Standard/Lasting

CARDS:
P16 - Extra Attacker
S02 - Passer
S09 - Covering
S10 - DF Leader

SPECIAL ABILITIES: Passing - Covering - D-Line Control

Attack/Defence Awareness: Balanced


INFO:
Very elegant, always with his head held high, great tactical sense, vision and technique, he knew how to build the game. Mastropasqua was the joker between the third line and the midfield who adapted to do everything. 182 centimeters, good touch of the ball and the innate ability to adapt to any need of the tactical script. the Mastropasqua who exemplifies to the crowds the new conception of the role of "libero" is that of the two championships at Ternana, the Mastropasqua who fits perfectly into the mechanism that Viciani demands of his team, in the "short game" that is. The "libero" must not only act as a defender in the second instance, since modern football demands much more of him. He must know how to disengage himself in order to be able to give his own illuminating contribution to the manoeuvre, in short, he must know how to "build" the game, rather than just destroy. And Mastropasqua learns the tactical lesson perfectly.

Mastropasqua often played as a sweeper, and was known for revolutionizing the role in Italy during the 1970s under his Ternana manager Corrado Viciani and the team's dynamic and hard-working possession–based system, which focused on short passing on the ground. He served as one of the first modern exponents of the position (Dutch style libero), due to his unique technical characteristics, namely a player who was not only tasked with defending and protecting the back-line, but also advancing out of the defence into midfield and starting attacking plays with their passing after winning back the ball.

He played as a libero, although he played the role in a different way than he used to in the seventies. Thanks to his technical skills, he was able to set up the action in the first person starting from the defense, not just destroying the game and throwing forward. For this reason, he changes his position on the field, acting a few meters in front of the defense and not behind all his teammates, almost in the position of a midfielder at the back. He was even considered as Capello's deputy in Juve.

He was born in the youth of Juventus, where he was aggregated among the greats in 1969. As often happens, he was loaned out to "cut his teeth" in Serie B, ending up first in Perugia and then in Terni. Here in 1972 he contributed to a historic promotion to the top division, where he made his debut the following season. The impact with the football of the "greats" is not the best, Ternana is relegated, making a defensive department perhaps not up to par end up under accusation. Mastropasqua was recalled to Turin, where he stayed only one season in which he barely made 8 appearances. In the summer of 1974 he ended up at Atalanta as a technical counterpart to Gaetano Scirea's transfer to Juventus. In Bergamo he found his dimension: after the first seasons in Serie A he managed to get back to Serie A in 1977 (scoring 7 goals!). Between 1974 and 1979, he made 153 appearances for La Dea and scored 14 goals. From here on he will never stay for more than two seasons in the same city: he will play with Bologna, Lazio, Catania, Piacenza and Pavia before finally hanging up his boots and embarking on a career as a coach among the amateurs between Bergamo and Rivoli, the town where he was born.