Former Cagliari defender Mario Manera died today at the age of 78. He joined the Rossoblu the season after they won the historic Scudetto, in 1970-71, but was unable to play. Acquired in November from Brescia, after starts with Melegnanese, Pro Patria, and Reggiana, he found himself in a reigning champions team already without Gigi Riva, who had just been injured in the Austria-Italy match following a deadly tackle by Norbert Hof.
Manera failed to make any appearances for Cagliari, but he did make it into the Panini Footballers album that season, wearing a white shirt with red and blue trim and the Scudetto on the chest . He then continued his career at Genoa under a former Cagliari coach, Arturo “Sandokan” Silvestri, with whom he achieved promotion to Serie A in 1973. He then had stints with Atalanta, Piacenza, and Pro Piacenza, before ending his career in 1979.
In Serie A, Manera made his debut on September 14, 1969, with Brescia against Milan and went on to make 21 appearances that season. He was born in Bascapè on February 20, 1947, and died today in the same town in the province of Pavia . The funeral will be held tomorrow at 3:30 PM in the local church.