Pistoia, July 2, 2024 – He died at the hospital in Pistoia Communard Nicholas77 years old, defender of Cagliari, champion of Italy in 1970. He was born in Uzzano.
“All of Cagliari Calcio – reads a statement from the rossoblù club – mourns the passing of Comunardo Niccolai, an unforgettable protagonist of the 1970 Scudetto. He was born in Uzzano, a small town in the province of Pistoia, on 15 December 1946. He owes his curious first name to his father, Lorenzo, who called him Comunardo in homage to the Paris Commune. After starting out in the Montecatini youth team, Nicholas He arrived very young in Sardinia, at Torres. It was 1963: he played 22 games in Serie C, standing out among the best prospects in the category. An excellent season that earned him the attention of Cagliariwho bought him before all the teams interested in his registration. Niccolai confirmed his qualities also in the red and blue, even if initially he had to act as a reserve for the more experienced Vescovi. With the departure of the latter in 1968, he definitively took possession of the number 5 shirt. He remained at Cagliari until 1976, then moved to Perugia and ended his career at Prato. With Cagliari he made over 270 appearances with 6 goals to his name”.
After hanging up his boots, he became a coach and appreciated selector of the youth teams of the Azzurri. He also christened, in a footballing sense, Gianluigi Buffon e Francesco Totti. In 1993/94 he became the coach of the women’s national team. His name remains linked to some own goals that have become legend.
He himself spoke about it with philosophy and self-irony: ‘At first it bothered me but then I got used to it. There are players who have had a great career but no one remembers them; at least I left a mark on the history of Italian football.'”
