Umberto Caligaris

Born in Casale Monferrato (Piedmont), Caligaris spent the first nine years of his career with the local team, A.S. Casale. He made his debut for them on 12 October 1919 in a match against local rivals Valenzana Calcio which Casale won 3–1. Casale was then in the Italian First division (the predecessor to Serie A) and had won the championship in 1914. However they were never to repeat that success and although during Caligaris's career with the club they twice qualified for the inter-regional semi-final of North Italy, they were unable to get further.

The Italy national team, however, did provide scope for his talents. He received his first cap on 15 January 1922 against a strong Austria side, in Milan; he was selected in place of Virginio Rosetta as right-back flanking the great Genoese left-back Renzo De Vecchi ("Son of God" to the fans), who had been playing for Italy since 1910. From then until De Vecchi's retirement from international football in March 1925, Rosetta and Caligaris were in competition for the right-back position. He played for Italy in the 1924 Olympics, the match against Spain being the first in which he played alongside Rosetta, also winning the Central European International Cup with Italy between 1927 and 1930. After winning a bronze medal at the 1928 Summer Olympics, Caligaris left Casale to join Rosetta at Juventus, making his Serie A debut with the club on 6 October 1929, in a 3–2 home victory over Napoli. Here the two full-backs, backed by Italian…

During the 1970s, an annual under-21 football tournament was named in the Italian's honour. The "Caligaris" International Tournament took place in the player's hometown of Casale Monferrato. A left-back, Caligaris is regarded as one of the best Italian defenders of his generation.

Club

Juventus

Serie A: 1930–31, 1931–32, 1932–33, 1933–34, 1934–35

International

Italy

FIFA World Cup: 1934 Central European International Cup: 1927–30, 1933–35; Runner-up: 1931–32 Summer Olympics: Bronze Medal 1928