) was an Italian 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 known for his skill at scoring directly from corner-kicks, with two successful spells at FC Catanzaro in the mid-seventies and the late eighties.

Career

Palanca began his professionel career at Camerino, transferring to Frosinone

Frosinone Calcio

Frosinone Calcio is an Italian association football club, based in Frosinone, Lazio. The club was founded in 1928 and refounded in 1991, following cancellation by the Italian Football Federation.It in the season 2011-12 plays in Lega Pro Prima Divisione/B....

 the following year where he scored 17 goals in 28 matches.

He transferred to Catanzaro, staying for seven years and scoring 70 goals in 206 matches, being the team's topscorer 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...

 in the 1977-1978 season. When Catanzaros was promoted to 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...

, Palanca was again the team's topscorer with 13 goals. A memorable game with Roma

A.S. Roma

Associazione Sportiva Roma, commonly referred to as simply Roma, is a professional Italian football club based in Rome. Founded by a merger in 1927, Roma have participated in the top-tier of Italian football for all of their existence but one season in the early 50s...

 in the Stadio Olimpico

Stadio Olimpico

The Stadio Olimpico is the main and largest sports facility of Rome, Italy. It is located within the Foro Italico sports complex on the north of the city. An asset of the Italian National Olympic Committee, the structure is intended primarily for football...

 on 4 March 1979 ended 1-3 to Catanzaro; Palanca scored a hat-trick.

Palanca transferred to Napoli in 1981-1982, scoring 1 goal in 14 games. He moved to Como in Serie B the following season where again he scored only 1 goal in 19 matches. After returning to Napoli in 1983-1984, he alleged misunderstandings with coach Rino Marchesi

Rino Marchesi

Rino Marchesi is a former Italian football midfielder and manager from San Giuliano Milanese. Over the course of his career he played for five sides, spending the most of his time with Atalanta, Fiorentina and Lazio....

. The following two seasons Palanca played at Foligno

Foligno Calcio

Foligno Calcio is an Italian association football club, based in Foligno, Umbria.- History :The club was founded in 1928.Foligno currently plays in Lega Pro Prima Divisione.-Squad of the season 2011-12:-External links:**...

 in Serie C2

Serie C2

Lega Pro Seconda Divisione is the name of the fourth highest football league in Italy, the lowest with a professional status. Usually it consists of 54 teams, but in the season 2010–11 the teams are only 49 divided geographically into three divisions of 17, 16 and 16 teams each...

, scoring 18 goals in 47 matches, after which he returned to Catanzaro.

While back at Catanzaro for the 1986-1987 season, Palanca helped the team gain promotion from Serie C1

Serie C1

Lega Pro Prima Divisione is the name of the third highest football league in Italy. It consists of 36 teams, divided geographically into two divisions of 18 teams each. Until 2008 it was known as Serie C1....

 to Serie B, contributing 17 goals in 29 matches. Over the next three seasons with Catanzaro, he made 97 appearances and scored 28 goals. At the end of the 1989-90 season, Palancas' last in football, Catanzaro finished in 20th position in Serie B; the team was relegated to Serie C1.

External links

• Massimo Palanca official website