Attilio Lombardo

Early career

Lombardo started his career at Pergocrema, having been promoted from the youth squad, in Italy's Serie C2, in 1983, only 16 years old, before moving up to the Serie B side Cremonese, in 1985, where he made a name for himself, as a more-than-capable right sided winger under the guidance of manager Tarcisio Burgnich.

Sampdoria

He was then sent to Serie A side Sampdoria for a total fee of 4 billion lira. Playing alongside talented players such as Gianluca Vialli, Roberto Mancini, Pietro Vierchowod, Gianluca Pagliuca, and Ruud Gullit, under manager Vujadin Boškov, Lombardo won several domestic and continental trophies with Sampdoria, such as Serie A, the Coppa Italia, the Italian Super Cup, and the Cup Winners' Cup. In the 1988–89 season, he picked up medals for the Coppa Italia in 1989, facing a rejuvenated Napoli side with legendary Argentine attacking midfielder Diego Maradona, only to defeat the Partenopei 4–0. In 1990, he lifted his side to victory in the Cup Winners' Cup, retaining impressive wins against Borussia Dortmund, Monaco and Anderlecht in the final. The following season, Lombardo won the Supercoppa Italiana in 1991 against previous Serie A champions Roma, as well as the Serie A title. In fact, Lombardo also played for the Sampdoria side under Boškov that narrowly lost the 1992 European Cup final to Cruyff's Barcelona in extra time. He also enjoyed a successful season in 1993–94, where he scored 8 times in Serie A, and 5 in the Coppa…

During his career, Lombardo gained 18 caps for the Italy national side, between 1990 and 1997, scoring three goals, but injury and competition from other wide players, such as Donadoni, Di Livio, Pessotto and Moriero, meant he was rarely a regular member of the national side, and Italy never called him up for a major tournament.

Regarded during his career as one of Sampdoria's best-ever wingers, Lombardo was known for his pace, strength, stamina, and work-rate at both ends of the pitch, which allowed him to cover the right flank effectively. He was also noted for his professionalism and dedication, which contributed to a career with few serious injuries, and he was regarded as a consistent player and a key figure in the dressing room. Although he was not particularly gifted with talent or technical ability, he nevertheless possessed good dribbling skills and control when running at speed, and he frequently utilised his acceleration, power and agility to beat opponents effectively in one-on-one situations. A tactically versatile and hard-working team player, he was also highly regarded for his creativity and accurate crossing ability as a winger, as well as his ability to start attacking plays and quick counter-attacks after his team won back the ball; furthermore, he was also known for his offensive contribution, composure, and eye for goal, although he also drew criticism at times for being wasteful in front of goal.

Following his retirement from active football, he remained at Sampdoria until June 2006 as the youth team manager. In the next two years, however, the Primavera squad would achieve reasonable success in the Campionato Nazionale Primavera. In 2006, he was appointed manager of Swiss side Chiasso in the Swiss Challenge League. He resigned in May 2007, citing a lack of motivation. The team was relegated to the third tier of Swiss Football the following season. In April 2008, he was appointed at the helm of Tuscan Serie C2 club Castelnuovo. He stayed at the club for the remainder of the season, leading the small Tuscan club to escape relegation through the playoffs. Lombardo then moved to Lega Pro Prima Divisione club Legnano for the entire 2008–09 season, and was unable to save his side from relegation to Lega Pro Seconda Divisione, the fourth level of Italian Football. Lombardo was appointed in July 2009 as the new head coach of Spezia in the Lega Pro Seconda Divisione, but unexpectedly resigned in October, despite his team having attained third place in the league table. Eventually, at the end of the season, Spezia would automatically garner promotion to Serie C1 as runners-up to the title. In July 2010, Lombardo joined the coaching staff at Manchester City, linking up again with compatriot Roberto Mancini. In 2012, following the departure of Andy Welsh, he was appointed manager of the club's reserve squad; however, after the sacking of Roberto Mancini on 13 May 2013, Lombardo…