Claudio Garella (1955-2022) *67

was an Italian professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper. Garella was born in Turin in 1955, to parents Piera and Domenico. He first started playing football with Auxilium Monterosa, before joining the Torino youth system. Garella made his Serie A debut with Torino during the 1972–73 Serie A season, appearing in the final eight minutes of a 1–0 defeat to Lanerossi Vicenza, replacing Luciano Castellini; this was his only appearance for the club. In 1973, he joined JuniorCasale, where he remained for two seasons, first in Serie D and subsequently Serie C, even scoring a goal from a penalty.

In 1975, he joined Novara, helping the club to a sixth–place finish in Serie B. The following season he joined Lazio, breaking into the starting line-up during his second season with the club at the age of 22, after initially serving as a back-up to Felice Pulici during his first season; however, he endured criticism from the Italian press during this period, due to his error–prone performances.