Renato Curi
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Renato Curi | ||
| Position(s) | Midfielder | ||
Renato Curi (September 20, 1953 — October 30, 1977) was an Italian footballer best known for his tenure as Perugia mainstay in the 1970s until his death during a league game against Juventus.
Biography
Renato Curi was born in Montefiore dell'Aso, Province of Ascoli Piceno in 1953. He started his professional career in 1969 with then-amateur club Giulianova, helping his side to win promotion to Serie C. He left Giulianova in 1973 for Como, and Serie B club Perugia one year later, helping his side, coached by Ilario Castagner, to win a historical first promotion ever to Serie A, and being a grifoni mainstay in the next years. Notably, his impressive performances proved to be instrumental for ensuring Perugia a historical sixth place in their 1976-77 Serie A campaign, and newspapers started rumours about a possible call-up of him for the Italy national football team. However, this never happened, as Renato Curi suddendly died on October 30, 1977 during a home match against Juventus, five minutes after the beginning of the second half, due to a heart attack.
The Perugia home stadium where Curi died was later named after him.