Giovanni "Gianni" De Rosa (September 19, 1956 – August 2, 2008) was an Italian

Italy

Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...

 football

Football (soccer)

Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a sport played between two teams of eleven players with a spherical ball...

 striker

Striker

Forwards, also known as strikers, are the players on a team in association football who play nearest to the opposing team's goal, and are therefore principally responsible for scoring goals...

 who played at Serie A

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...

 level with Napoli

S.S.C. Napoli

Società Sportiva Calcio Napoli, commonly referred to as Napoli, is a professional Italian football club based in Naples and founded in 1926. The club has spent most of its history in Serie A, where it currently plays its 2011–12 season....

, Como and Perugia

Perugia Calcio

Associazione Calcistica Perugia Calcio is an Italian association football club based in Perugia, Umbria, direct heir of the old Perugia Calcio and A.C. Perugia, excluded from Italian football because of financial troubles....

, also winning a 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...

 topscorer title in 1981

Serie B 1980-81

This article contains information on the 1980-1981 season of Serie B, the second highest football league in Italy.-Final classification:-Results:-References and sources:...

 as a Palermo

U.S. Città di Palermo

Unione Sportiva Città di Palermo is an Italian football club from Palermo, Sicily which currently plays in Serie A, the top level of Italian football. Formed in 1900 as Anglo Panormitan Athletic and Football Club, the club had various names before assuming its final form in 1987 and is currently...

 player.

Career

Born in Cerignola

Cerignola

Cerignola is a town and comune of Apulia, Italy, in the province of Foggia, 40 km southeast from the town of Foggia. It has the third-largest land area of any comune in Italy, at 593.71 km², after Rome and Ravenna.-History:...

, Province of Foggia

Province of Foggia

The Province of Foggia is a province in the Apulia region of Italy.This province is also known as Capitanata, originally Catapanata, because during the Middle Ages it was governed by a catapan, as part of the Catapanate of Italy...

, he made his professional debut in 1974 with Serie C

Serie C

The Lega Italiana Calcio Professionistico , commonly known as Lega Pro , is the governing body that runs the third and fourth highest football divisions in Italy, the Prima Divisione and Seconda Divisione respectively. It also includes the sole professional club of San Marino...

 side Lecco

Calcio Lecco 1912

Calcio Lecco 1912 is an Italian football club, based in Lecco, Lombardy.Lecco currently plays in Lega Pro Seconda Divisione, having last been in Serie A in 1967.The team's colors are blue and dark blue.-History:The club was founded in 1912....

. After a season out on loan at Massese

U.S. Massese 1919

Società Sportiva Dilettantistica Massese is an Italian football club, based in Massa, Tuscany. Massese currently plays in Eccellenza Tuscany, having last been in Serie B in 1969.- History :The club was founded in 1919 as Società Sportiva Juventus Massa....

, he was signed by Ternana

Ternana Calcio

Ternana Calcio is an Italian football club based in the city of Terni, Umbria.The team's colours are red and green.The club was founded in 1925 and refounded in 1993. In its history, Ternana have twice played in Serie A...

, where he spent three seasons. In 1980 he made his Serie A debut with Perugia

Perugia Calcio

Associazione Calcistica Perugia Calcio is an Italian association football club based in Perugia, Umbria, direct heir of the old Perugia Calcio and A.C. Perugia, excluded from Italian football because of financial troubles....

. After a short spell with Como, he was signed by 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...

 club Palermo

U.S. Città di Palermo

Unione Sportiva Città di Palermo is an Italian football club from Palermo, Sicily which currently plays in Serie A, the top level of Italian football. Formed in 1900 as Anglo Panormitan Athletic and Football Club, the club had various names before assuming its final form in 1987 and is currently...

, where he spent two successful season, scoring a total 29 goals and winning a topscorer title in 1981. He then returned to the Italian top flight in 1983, with Napoli

S.S.C. Napoli

Società Sportiva Calcio Napoli, commonly referred to as Napoli, is a professional Italian football club based in Naples and founded in 1926. The club has spent most of its history in Serie A, where it currently plays its 2011–12 season....

, where he spent a single season before to move to Cagliari

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....

. He then finally moved to Rimini

Rimini Calcio F.C.

Associazione Calcio Rimini 1912 is an Italian association football club based in Rimini, Emilia-Romagna....

 in his final appearance as a professional player. After his retirement, he settled in Riccione

Riccione

Riccione is a comune in the Province of Rimini, Emilia-Romagna, northern Italy. As of 2007 Riccione had an estimated population of 34,868.-History:...

.

Gianni De Rosa died on August 2, 2008 in a road accident in Rimini

Rimini

Rimini is a medium-sized city of 142,579 inhabitants in the Emilia-Romagna region of Italy, and capital city of the Province of Rimini. It is located on the Adriatic Sea, on the coast between the rivers Marecchia and Ausa...

, as his motorcycle was struck by a bus in the night.