Angelo Elia
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | 26 August 1957 | ||
| Place of birth | Magliaso, Switzerland | ||
| Position | Forward | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 1970–1973 | Magliaso | ||
| 1973–1974 | Agno | ||
| 1974 | Lugano | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1974–1978 | Lugano | ||
| 1978–1979 | Servette | 16 | (4) |
| 1979–1981 | Lugano | 50 | (14) |
| 1981–1984 | Servette | 87 | (30) |
| 1985–1989 | Lugano | ||
| International career | |||
| 1975–1976 | Switzerland U18 | 1 | (0) |
| 1981–1982 | Switzerland | 5 | (1) |
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Angelo Elia (born 26 August 1957) is a Swiss former footballer who played as a forward for Lugano and Servette in the 1970s and 80s.[1]
Early life
[edit]The son of a former footballer and policeman, Elia grew up in Brissago.[2] He started playing football in Magliaso in 1970, before moving to Agno three years later.[2]
Club career
[edit]Born in Magliaso, only a couple of villages away and just a short distance from Lugano, Elia joined Lugano's first team as a 17-year-old for their 1974–75 Nationalliga A season, under head coach Alfredo Foni. In the 1975–76 season he was called up for the Switzerland under-18 national team and made one appearance for them.
In July 1978 Elia moved to Servette under head coach Péter Pázmándy. He scored his first goal for his new team on 26 August 1978 as Servette played at home in the Charmilles Stadium against Basel. It was the last goal of the game as Servette won 6–0 against their opponents.[3] That season Elia won the treble with his new team (League, Swiss Cup and League Cup). Elia is also known from Servette's run in the 1978–79 European Cup Winners' Cup, where he scored as the team eliminated AS Nancy to reach the quarter-finals,[4] also scoring two goals against PAOK.[2] He suffered a muscle tear and spent four months in hospital.[2]
Elia returned to Lugano after that season and played two years for them. However, he returned to Servette in the summer of 1981, signing a five-year contract.[2] Here he became regular player and achieved a cup victory in 1984 and the 1984–85 Nationalliga A title, albeit he left Servette to return to Lugano during the 1984–85 season.[5]
International career
[edit]After one appearance in the Switzerland under-18 national team,[citation needed] he was capped five times for Switzerland.[5] Elia scored in a 2–1 victory over the Netherlands in 1981, a result Switzerland did not manage to repeat until 2007.[6] In total, he made 30 appearances for youth teams of Switzerland.[2]
Style of play
[edit]Elia's strengths were acceleration, ball control and being able to "instinctively anticipate[] attacking moves", while passing was a weakness.[2]
Personal life
[edit]Elia worked as a teacher and studied psychology and pedagogy.[2]
Honours
[edit]Servette
References
[edit]- ^ Angelo Elia at WorldFootball.net
- ^ a b c d e f g h Estermann, Hans (16 September 1981). "Vom ewigen Talent zum Topspieler" [From eternal talent to top player]. Thuner Tagblatt (in German). Vol. 105, no. 216. Retrieved 23 October 2025.
- ^ Verein "Basler Fussballarchiv" (26 August 1978). "Servette FC - FC Basel 6:0 (3:0)" (in Swiss High German). Verein "Basler Fussballarchiv". Retrieved 21 October 2025.
- ^ Carrel, Robin; Seri, Ludovic (14 March 2024). "Sorti aux tirs au but par Plzen, Servette a des regrets" [Eliminated on penalties by Plzen, Servette has regrets]. 20 minutes (in French). Retrieved 23 October 2025.
- ^ a b Angelo Elia at National-Football-Teams.com
- ^ "Swiss triumph over powerful Dutch". Swissinfo.ch. 22 August 2007. Retrieved 20 October 2025.
- 1957 births
- Living people
- 20th-century Swiss sportsmen
- Swiss men's footballers
- Men's association football forwards
- Switzerland men's international footballers
- Switzerland men's youth international footballers
- Swiss Super League players
- Challenge League (Switzerland) players
- FC Lugano players
- Servette FC players