Francesco Flachi
Encyclopedia
Francesco Flachi is a former Italian professional footballer who is currently suspended from active football due to doping positiveness until 2022.
youth system, Flachi got his senior debut in 1993, in a promotion-ending season
, scoring twice in twelve games in Serie B
. His top level
debut came on 4 September 1994 against Cagliari Calcio
, in a 2–1 win.
Flachi lost his place in the squad, and in 1996–97 he was loaned out to A.S. Bari
. His good performances prompted a return to Florence, but the competition of Gabriel Batistuta
and Luis Oliveira
was ruthless and, in January 1998, Flachi was again loaned, this time to A.C. Ancona
, where he got an impressive 10 goals in 17 games.
, who had just been relegated to the second division, and spent the next four years in ‘‘purgatory’’.
In the first season with Samp, with manager Giampiero Ventura
, he did not succeed to gain a starter berth, still scoring five times in 28 games. In the following season, with the arrival of coach Luigi Cagni
, he scored 17 times in 34 matches, as well as creating many too. In 2001–02
, he became known by fans as "Salvatore della patria" ("Saviour of the homeland" in Italian
). In that season, which would be the last for the Genovese
outfit in the second flight, Flachi recorded 16 goals in 37 games.
In 2002, the Blucerchiati were bought by Riccardo Garrone, and Walter Novellino was hired, with Flachi netting five goals in 35 appearances upon the return to Serie A, while also welcoming his first daughter, Valentina.
However, his relationship with Novellino was not ideal. They had numerous arguments on and off the pitch. Flachi paid for his attitude by remaining on the bench in the first half of the 2003–04 campaign
. As the partnership of Massimo Marazzina
and Atsushi Yanagisawa
did not click, Novellino began playing Flachi and Fabio Bazzani
with good results. The team eventually finished 8th, with 24 goals between Flachi (11) and Bazzani (13).
In 2004–05
, with 14 goals in 35 appearances and some assists
, Flachi achieved somewhat of a legend status amongst fans of the team. In that season, Sampdoria nearly earned UEFA Champions League
qualification but had to settle for 5th, with the subsequent return to the UEFA Cup
. In 2005–06, Flachi continued to display top football (31 matches, 11 goals), this time accompanied by new striker Emiliano Bonazzoli
. However, Sampdoria failed to qualify from their UEFA Cup group
and finished 14th in the league (12th after the match fixing scandal
).
were gathering information for gamblers in Italian football. Their club received a €20,000 fine.
Trace amounts of cocaine were found in Flachi's system in a random test, after a 2–0 loss to Inter Milan on 28 January 2007. On 31 May, he was suspended for 16 months. Later, the ban was increased to two years. As a result of the ban, his contract with Sampdoria was canceled.
Following the ban, Flachi started training with Eccellenza Tuscany
team Pietrasanta, hoping to return back into active football once his ban expired. On June 2008, second level' Empoli F.C.
completed his signing; he returned to competitive football in January of the following year.
In the 2009 summer, Flachi penned a deal with another Serie B club, Brescia Calcio
. He played 14 games, mostly as a substitute, and scored two goals until he was suspended again on January 2010 following a cocaine positiveness in a drugs test held on 19 December 2009. Flachi was handed a 12 year ban in June 2010 that will end on 12 January 2022, effectively ending his career as a player.
, for an August 2004 friendly with Iceland
, but would never make his debut.
Fiorentina, Bari and Ancona: 1993–1998
After some years in the ACF FiorentinaACF Fiorentina
ACF Fiorentina, commonly referred to as simply Fiorentina, is a professional Italian football club from Florence, Tuscany. Founded by a merger in 1926, Fiorentina have played at the top level of Italian football for the majority of their existence; only four clubs have played in more Serie A...
youth system, Flachi got his senior debut in 1993, in a promotion-ending season
Serie B 1993-94
This article contains information on the 1993-1994 season of Serie B, the second highest football league in Italy.-Final classification:-Results:...
, scoring twice in twelve games in Serie B
Serie B
Serie B, currently named Serie bwin due to sponsorship reasons, is the second-highest division in the Italian football league system after the Serie A. It is contested by 22 teams and organized by the Lega Serie B since July 2010, after the split of Lega Calcio that previously took care of both the...
. His top level
Serie A
Serie A , now called Serie A TIM due to sponsorship by Telecom Italia, is a professional league competition for football clubs located at the top of the Italian football league system and has been operating for over eighty years since 1929. It had been organized by Lega Calcio until 2010, but a new...
debut came on 4 September 1994 against Cagliari Calcio
Cagliari Calcio
Cagliari Calcio is an Italian football club based in Cagliari, Sardinia. The club was formed in 1920 and currently plays in Italian Serie A, having spent a large part of recent years mainly in Serie A and Serie B....
, in a 2–1 win.
Flachi lost his place in the squad, and in 1996–97 he was loaned out to A.S. Bari
A.S. Bari
Associazione Sportiva Bari is an Italian football club founded in 1908, they are based in Bari, Apulia and plays in Serie B. The club have spent many seasons bouncing between the top two divisions in Italian football, Serie A and Serie B....
. His good performances prompted a return to Florence, but the competition of Gabriel Batistuta
Gabriel Batistuta
Gabriel Omar Batistuta , nicknamed Batigol, is a former professional footballer. The prolific Argentine striker played most of his club football at Fiorentina in Italy, and he is the tenth top scorer of all-time in the Italian Serie A league, with 184 goals in 318 matches...
and Luis Oliveira
Luis Oliveira
Luis Airton Barroso Oliveira is a former Brazilian-Belgian football player and currently coach of the Nuorese.He spent most of his playing career in Italy.-Career:...
was ruthless and, in January 1998, Flachi was again loaned, this time to A.C. Ancona
A.C. Ancona
Associazione Calcio Ancona was a professional Italian football club, based in Ancona, Marche. It was founded in 1905 as Unione Sportiva Anconitana, changing its name to Ancona Calcio 1905 in 1981 and being refounded in 2004 with its last denomination....
, where he got an impressive 10 goals in 17 games.
Move to Sampdoria
Upon leaving his childhood club, Flachi moved to U.C. SampdoriaU.C. Sampdoria
Unione Calcio Sampdoria is an Italian association football club based in Genoa. The club was formed in 1946 from the merger of two existing sports clubs whose roots can be traced back to the 1890s, Sampierdarenese and Andrea Doria...
, who had just been relegated to the second division, and spent the next four years in ‘‘purgatory’’.
In the first season with Samp, with manager Giampiero Ventura
Giampiero Ventura
Giampiero Ventura is an Italian football manager and the current manager of Torino.-Career:After a short playing career started with Sampdoria, Ventura was forced to retire from active football at the age of 25 because of a serious back injury...
, he did not succeed to gain a starter berth, still scoring five times in 28 games. In the following season, with the arrival of coach Luigi Cagni
Luigi Cagni
Luigi "Gigi" Cagni is an Italian football former player and current manager of Vicenza in Serie B.- Player :Cagni, a defender, made his Serie A debut for Brescia in 1970, in a league match lost 4-0 to Cagliari...
, he scored 17 times in 34 matches, as well as creating many too. In 2001–02
Serie B 2001-02
This article contains information on the 2001-2002 season of Serie B, the second highest football league in Italy.-Final classification:-Results:...
, he became known by fans as "Salvatore della patria" ("Saviour of the homeland" in Italian
Italian language
Italian is a Romance language spoken mainly in Europe: Italy, Switzerland, San Marino, Vatican City, by minorities in Malta, Monaco, Croatia, Slovenia, France, Libya, Eritrea, and Somalia, and by immigrant communities in the Americas and Australia...
). In that season, which would be the last for the Genovese
Genovese
Genovese is an Italian surname meaning, properly, someone from Genoa, but more often , a clever person, a generalization particularly in Southern Italy of people from Genoa....
outfit in the second flight, Flachi recorded 16 goals in 37 games.
In 2002, the Blucerchiati were bought by Riccardo Garrone, and Walter Novellino was hired, with Flachi netting five goals in 35 appearances upon the return to Serie A, while also welcoming his first daughter, Valentina.
However, his relationship with Novellino was not ideal. They had numerous arguments on and off the pitch. Flachi paid for his attitude by remaining on the bench in the first half of the 2003–04 campaign
Serie A 2003-04
The 2003-2004 season in Italian Serie A football contained 18 teams for the 16th and last time from the 1988-89 season. With the bottom three being relegated, the 15th placed side would face the 6th highest team from Serie B, with the winner playing in the Serie A in 2004-2005.As usual, the top two...
. As the partnership of Massimo Marazzina
Massimo Marazzina
Massimo Marazzina is an Italian footballer who plays as a striker.-Early years:Marazzina was born in Pandino, a city near Lodi in the Province of Cremona. He finished his football formation at F.C. Internazionale Milano, and made his Serie A debut on 27 February 1994, in a 0–2 away loss against A.C...
and Atsushi Yanagisawa
Atsushi Yanagisawa
is a Japanese football player. Currently he is a striker for Vegalta Sendai in the top division of the J-League. Yanagisawa was born in Kosugi-machi, Toyama-ken, Japan...
did not click, Novellino began playing Flachi and Fabio Bazzani
Fabio Bazzani
Fabio Bazzani is an Italian association football striker, who currently plays for A.S.D. Mezzolara.He is a striker, notable for his headers, as well as his shooting and strength.-Career:...
with good results. The team eventually finished 8th, with 24 goals between Flachi (11) and Bazzani (13).
In 2004–05
Serie A 2004-05
In the 2004–05 season, the Serie A, the highest professional football league in Italy, was composed of 20 teams for the first time in several years....
, with 14 goals in 35 appearances and some assists
Assist (football)
In association football, an assist is a contribution by a player which helps to score a goal. Statistics for assists made by players may be kept officially by the organisers of a competition, or unofficially by, for example, journalists or organisers of fantasy football competitions...
, Flachi achieved somewhat of a legend status amongst fans of the team. In that season, Sampdoria nearly earned UEFA Champions League
UEFA Champions League
The UEFA Champions League, known simply the Champions League and originally known as the European Champion Clubs' Cup or European Cup, is an annual international club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations since 1955 for the top football clubs in Europe. It...
qualification but had to settle for 5th, with the subsequent return to the UEFA Cup
UEFA Cup
The UEFA Europa League is an annual association football cup competition organised by UEFA since 1971 for eligible European football clubs. It is the second most prestigious European club football contest after the UEFA Champions League...
. In 2005–06, Flachi continued to display top football (31 matches, 11 goals), this time accompanied by new striker Emiliano Bonazzoli
Emiliano Bonazzoli
Emiliano Bonazzoli is an Italian footballer, a striker, currently playing for Reggina.- Career :Bonazzoli started his career at Brescia. He played his first professional match on 15 May 1997 against Lecce, which his only match of the season the Serie B Champion. In the next two seasons he...
. However, Sampdoria failed to qualify from their UEFA Cup group
UEFA Cup 2005-06
The UEFA Cup 2005–06 season was won by Sevilla FC, beating Middlesbrough FC in the final. It was the first victory for Sevilla in a European competition, and the first appearance by Middlesbrough in a European final. The final took place at Philips Stadion, in Eindhoven, Netherlands. The match was...
and finished 14th in the league (12th after the match fixing scandal
Serie A 2005-06
In the 2005–06 season, Serie A, the major professional football league in Italian, was contested for the second year in a row by 20 teams. The league commenced on August 28, 2005 and finished on May 14, 2006...
).
Betting and cocaine
On 21 September 2006, Flachi was suspended for two months by the Italian Football Federation as investigations concluded he and teammate Moris CarrozzieriMoris Carrozzieri
Moris Carrozzieri is an Italian who currently plays as a football defender for Lecce.-Early career:Carrozzieri started his professional career at A.S. Bari...
were gathering information for gamblers in Italian football. Their club received a €20,000 fine.
Trace amounts of cocaine were found in Flachi's system in a random test, after a 2–0 loss to Inter Milan on 28 January 2007. On 31 May, he was suspended for 16 months. Later, the ban was increased to two years. As a result of the ban, his contract with Sampdoria was canceled.
Following the ban, Flachi started training with Eccellenza Tuscany
Eccellenza Tuscany
Eccellenza Tuscany is the regional Eccellenza football division for clubs in Tuscany, Italy. It is competed amongst 36 teams, in two different groups . The winners of the Groups are promoted to Serie D...
team Pietrasanta, hoping to return back into active football once his ban expired. On June 2008, second level' Empoli F.C.
Empoli F.C.
Empoli Football Club is an Italian association football club located in Empoli, Tuscany, founded in 1920 and played its first official match in 1921.In recent years, the club has all too often been bouncing between Italy's two top divisions...
completed his signing; he returned to competitive football in January of the following year.
In the 2009 summer, Flachi penned a deal with another Serie B club, Brescia Calcio
Brescia Calcio
Brescia Calcio , known simply as Brescia, is the largest football club in the Lombard city of Brescia, where it was founded in 1911.In the 2009–10 season, in the return leg of the Serie B playoff final, they defeated Torino 2-1 at home , returning to Serie A after a 5-year absence...
. He played 14 games, mostly as a substitute, and scored two goals until he was suspended again on January 2010 following a cocaine positiveness in a drugs test held on 19 December 2009. Flachi was handed a 12 year ban in June 2010 that will end on 12 January 2022, effectively ending his career as a player.
International career
Flachi represented Italy's U18 in the 1992 European Football Championship. He was also called-up once by the main squadItaly national football team
The Italy National Football Team , represents Italy in association football and is controlled by the Italian Football Federation , the governing body for football in Italy. Italy is the second most successful national team in the history of the World Cup having won four titles , just one fewer than...
, for an August 2004 friendly with Iceland
Iceland national football team
The Iceland national football team is the national football team of Iceland and is controlled by the Football Association of Iceland. It has never advanced to the finals of any major international competition....
, but would never make his debut.