Bruno Pizzul
 Pizzul in 1958 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | 8 March 1938 | ||
| Place of birth | Udine, Italy | ||
| Date of death | 5 March 2025 (aged 86) | ||
| Place of death | Gorizia, Italy | ||
| Height | 1.93 m (6 ft 4 in) | ||
| Position(s) | Midfielder | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| ?–1958 | Pro Gorizia | ||
| 1958–? | Catania | ||
| 1960–1961 | Ischia | 5 | (0) |
| ?–? | Catania | ||
| ?–? | Cremonese | ||
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Bruno Pizzul Commendatore OMRI (Italian pronunciation: [ˈbruːno ˈpittsul]; 8 March 1938 – 5 March 2025) was an Italian journalist and a professional football player. He was best known for being the television commentator of matches involving the Italy national football team from 1986 to 2002.[1]
Football career
Born in Udine, Pizzul started his football career in an amateur club of Cormonese Cormons, a town in the Province of Gorizia. From the end of the 1950s to the beginning of the 1960s he played as a professional midfielder for Pro Gorizia, Catania, Ischia and Cremonese.[2]
Career in journalism
Graduated in jurisprudence, in 1969 Pizzul was hired by RAI, the Italian public service broadcaster, as a sports commentator. The first match commented was Juventus–Bologna of 1969–70 Coppa Italia and the first international match was the UEFA Euro 1972 Final (USSR–West Germany). In 1986, starting with the Mexican FIFA World Cup, he became the official commentator of Italy national football team, succeeding Nando Martellini.
He kept this role until 21 August 2002, when he commented his last match of Italy – a friendly match against Slovenia played in Trieste, where Italy lost by 1–0.[3][4] After his official leave-taking from RAI, in 2007 Pizzul commented for La 7 the replicas of Italian matches at 2006 FIFA World Cup and several matches of 2007–08 Coppa Italia.
Film
Bruno Pizzul played the role of himself in the Italian 1974 film L'arbitro (lit. 'The Referee'), directed by Luigi Filippo D'Amico, with Lando Buzzanca and Joan Collins.[5]
In 1996, he lent his voice in the final scenes of the film Fantozzi - Il ritorno, directed by Neri Parenti, with Paolo Villaggio.
Personal life and death
Pizzul was married to Maria, and had three children; Fabio, Silvia, and Carla, as well as 11 grandchildren. [6][7]
He identified as Roman Catholic.[8] On 2 June 2022, he was awarded the title of Commander of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic.[9]
Pizzul died on 5 March 2025, three days before his 87th birthday.[10] Football club AC Milan commemorated him as the voice of their historic 4–0 victory over FC Barcelona in the 1994 UEFA Champions League final, which Pizzul commentated on the Italian public television.[11]
Pizzul was a supporter of Torino FC. For the match against Parma, scheduled at the Stadio Ennio Tardini on Saturday 8 March, Torino wore a special shirt, with a dedicated blue patch applied, containing a phrase that Bruno Pizzul himself had dedicated to the Granata team: "From the history of Torino FC I know the spirit of belonging and this sense of identity, the ability to feel part of a family".
Udinese Calcio took to the field with a black armband during the match against SS Lazio.[12]
References
- ^ "The Azzurri get a new voice". The Offside. 26 July 2010. Archived from the original on 7 October 2011.
- ^ "Bruno Pizzul, memorie di un cronista". Storie di Calcio (in Italian).
- ^ Padovan, Giancarlo (29 July 2002). "Pizzul, è ora di salutare l'Italia". Corriere della Sera (in Italian). p. 32. Archived from the original on 11 September 2012.
- ^ "Italia-Slovenia, poco calcio tra cariche e scontri". Corriere della Sera (in Italian). 22 August 2002.
- ^ L'arbitro (1974) at IMDb.
- ^ "Bruno Pizzul è felicemente sposato con la moglie Maria da moltissimi anni. Dal matrimonio nascono 3 figli".
- ^ "La famiglia si è allargata con l'arrivo di ben undici nipoti: «Una vera squadra»".
- ^ Giordano, Lucio (6 January 2023). "Lo sentivo al mio fianco durante le telecronache e mi aiutava a non sbagliare". Dipiù (in Italian). No. 1. pp. 74–77.
- ^ "Le onorificenze della Repubblica Italiana - Pizzul Dott. Bruno" (in Italian). 2 June 2022.
- ^ È morto Bruno Pizzul, icona del giornalismo sportivo. Addio alla voce che ci ha fatto sognare (in Italian)
- ^ https://sport.tiscali.it/calcio/articoli/pizzul-milan-atene-sua-voce-tutto-eternamente-bello
- ^ https://www.corrieredellosport.it/news/calcio/2025/03/07-138992826/una_patch_sulla_maglia_il_torino_omaggia_cos_il_pizzul_tifoso_granata
External links
- Bruno Pizzul at IMDb
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