Interview with italian goldsmith-footballer Gianfranco Quartaroli

Who is Gianfranco Quartaroli?

Italian goldsmith artist Gianfranco Quartaroli was born in Valenza and works in Novara.

NOVARA FC

Founder of the Circuiti jewelry brand, he was the first goldsmith in the world to obtain the patent on jewels with the shapes of the Formula 1 and MotoGP circuits from the Ministry of Productive Activities.

Goldsmith expert registered with the Chamber of Commerce of Novara.

It received the recognition of "Artisan Excellence" Sector Precious Metals and Precious Stones from the Piedmont Region.

Gianfranco Quartaroli is not only the founder of the Circuiti Jewels brand, the artist and jeweler from Valenza was also a professional footballer.

Gianfranco where did you start your football career?

I started in the youth sectors of Torino and Novara.

TORINO FC 

In Turin there were a couple of years of considerable sacrifices; I was only 12 years old and I remember that I left school at 12.40 and ran to the station to catch the 12.50 train. On the train I ate two sandwiches and drank a Coca-Cola... I got off at Porta Nuova and took bus number 61, I arrived at the Gianni Agnelli sports field, I trained and always came back by train, they were the years of the big strikes, cell phones didn't exist... I almost always returned home around 11-12 pm...

But they were also the years in which Toro won its seventh championship. I remember that we in the youth sector had a free pass to see the first team matches and I will never forget my happiness, the enthusiasm of the Maratona and the entire Comunale, all in garnet for the occasion, in the last match against Cesena for the victory of the tricolor.

Which clubs did he play for?

I started training to play "seriously" in the first team of Mantova in Serie C at 17.

MANTOVA FC

After Mantua I went to Ravenna, the year I met my best friend with whom I lived for a year: Marco Nappi,ex Genoa,Atalanta,Fiorentina,Udinese.

Season 1984-85, that year we won the championship and came close to the final of the Italian Cup, losing on penalties in Posillipo on the return leg in a Wild West atmosphere as recounted by the then General Manager Gianluca Pecchini, today D.G. of the National Singers and Vice President of Mantova Calcio.

RAVENNA FC

A fantastic experience in Romagna, I still remember when we arrived at the stadium as winners and half the city was there waiting for us, the first shivers...

Milan-Ravenna

We played several luxury match; against Nils Liedholm's Milan, Marocchino's Bologna, Cravero and Agostini's Cesena,Arrigo Sacchi's Rimini, we won 4-1 against Bologna in front of 10,000 spectators, three goals by Marco Nappi and one goal by me.

Bologna-Ravenna

After Ravenna a series of unfortunate circumstances meant that instead of ending up in the athletes' company in Bologna I ended up at the Susa Alpine Battalion in Pinerolo for military service.

FC PINEROLO

It was the year of the historic friendly in August 1985 against Penarol, the Uruguayan club from Montevideo, I played the first 7 league games with only one goal scored, but of some importance having responded to the goal of the former Milan player Ugo Tosetto nicknamed the Keegan of Brianza and then with goals from the legendary Ezio Bertuzzo, former flag of Atalanta. It should be noted that in the ranks of Borgoticino played Professor Piero Volpi who later became Inter's doctor.

After Pinerolo I moved to Savona.

In Savona I played with Patrick Panucci, now an observer for Torino Calcio, brother of Christian, Giuliano Musiello former Juventus, Atalanta and Roma.

Gianfranco Quartaroli Mazara

MAZARA

and the following year through my agent I went to play in Mazara del Vallo of President Elio Abbagnato father of the star Eleonora Abbagnato, wife of Federico Balzaretti and sports director Valerio Majo, former Napoli, Palermo, Catanzaro, Bari as well as world champion with the National Military in 1992.

Another great experience in Sicily, initially I had some difficulty because I was not used to playing on clay courts.

Every Sunday there were between 2 and 5 thousand spectators, the games were played in Caltanissetta, Ragusa, Palermo, Gela, Acireale, Enna.

Then Biellese and how can I forget the experience at Castiglione delle Stiviere sponsored by Pata where I was lucky enough to play in a friendly in front of over 6,000 people against Diego Armando Maradona's Napoli, winner of the 1986-87 championship.

FC CASTIGLIONE-NAPOLI

Do you remember any footballers or coaches in particular?

Well over the years there have been so many, the first in absolute remains Marco Nappi, who returned from China due to covid and is now a coach with whom I often hear; but there have been so many examples that have improved me both as a man and as a footballer, perhaps to the younger ones the names that I am going to list do not mean anything, but I can assure you that each of them has been a bit like a father to me...

Gianfranco Quartaroli e Marco Nappi

Today with the internet, you just need to type in your name and surname to see the splendid career between Serie A and Serie B of these athletes;

Sergio Girardi, former goalkeeper of Inter and Genoa, Giovanni Botteghi, Oscar Lesca, Sauro Catellani, Giuliano Musiello, Nerio Ulivieri, Pasquale Borsellino, Doriano Pozzato, Manlio Zanini, Pasquale Fanesi, Giancarlo Olivotto, Lorenzo Frison, Ezio Bertuzzo...

Among the coaches, I have a wonderful memory of Dino Binacchi, Ignazio Arcoleo and Franco Panizza, known for the famous goal at San Siro in the last Serie A match of Mantova in the 1971-72 season, which allowed the red and white team to beat Milan at home.

Artisan Goldsmith Gianfranco Quartaroli

There is a lot of talk today about foreigners, do you remember any in particular?

Yes, of course, the year of Savona I bonded in particular with a great Brazilian midfielder Carlos Alberto Amaro called Carlinhos, former teammate of Cerezo in Atletico Mineiro, practically a phenomenon, he managed to score a goal from a corner kick by kicking with the outside of his right foot.

Gianfranco Quartaroli at work

Tony Cairoli Gianfranco Quartaroli

What is your relationship with social networks?

As far as football is concerned, it has given me the opportunity to meet up with many former teammates and friends I had lost track of: Pierangelo Avanzi ex Cremonese, Antonio Podda, Stefano Atzeri, Piero Giacalone (now a match analyst), Roberto Distefano, Marco Mirisola ex Casale and Perugia, Fabio Albinelli ex Bologna and many others.

Gianfranco Quartaroli Valentino Rossi

Have you ever had idols?

Yes of course, like all children who approach the game of football I also had my idols.

The peculiarity is that I have always been attracted by footballers who are a bit rebellious, naive and rock, with long hair, which is a bit my look; from Ezio Vendrame, Gianfranco Zigoni, Mario Kempes, el Trinche Carlovich Maradona's favorite to Claudio Paul Caniggia; another footballer that I have always loved and who is not remembered much is Jay Jay Ococha.

Gianfranco Quartaroli Aleix Espargaro'

I have always loved seeing the pair of bombers Pulici-Graziani on the field, they completed each other, an example of friendship and self-denial.

Gianfranco Quartaroli Marianne Vos

Which current footballer do you most resemble?

Without a doubt, two in particular, the French star Kylian Mbappe' and Vinicius of Real Madrid, Moise Kean are the footballers with the characteristics most similar to mine, both physically and in terms of speed and explosiveness, they also prefer to start from the left as I liked to do, even if I was used more often high on the right in the 4-3-3; certainly in today's football, players with these characteristics are rightly much more protected by referees, once we were targeted to the point of being knocked down.

Gianfranco Quartaroli Ben Spies

The combination of work and football has given me the opportunity to get to know many famous footballers, such as world champions Antonio Cabrini and Cafu, Giampiero Boniperti, Domenico Volpati, winner of the championship with Verona, Raffaele Rubino, bomber and captain in the historic promotion of Novara to Serie A.

Antonio Cabrini,Giampiero Boniperti,Domenico Volpati

Gianfranco Quartaroli and Cafu at Mugello

At the end of your career, were you still in the world of football?

I stopped playing at 38 years old, playing in recent years at a local level between Grignasco, Sunese, Barengo, Cerano, Vespolate, Cristinese, Veveri and I remained in the "circle" as Sports Director for 5 years, winning 3 more championships as a player and two as a sports director,but then I had to leave because work takes up most of my time,

Noriyuki Haga Gianfranco Quartaroli

 I opened the first and only jewelry and souvenir shop in Novara at the foot of the Dome of San Gaudenzio where I also work as a goldsmith expert, however I always follow football and sport in general often a source of inspiration for my creations signed CIRCUITI for sale on my e-commerce.