Eddie Firmani managed 13 different clubs over 29 years, mostly in the United States, Canada, and the Middle East.
18 Facts About Eddie Firmani
1.
2.
Eddie Firmani was originally called Il Tacchino because he flapped his elbows when he ran.
3.
In 1960 Firmani wrote a volume of autobiography "Football with the Millionaires", which provides an interesting contrast between the lifestyle of Italian footballers and their English counterparts in the era of the maximum wage.
4.
Eddie Firmani returned to England in 1963, linking up again with Charlton, now playing in the second division.
5.
Eddie Firmani is the only man ever to have scored 100 League goals in both England and Italy, albeit only 50 in the English first division.
6.
In 1967 Eddie Firmani was appointed Charlton manager and retired as a player.
7.
Eddie Firmani thus became the first Italian international to manage an English club.
8.
Eddie Firmani was fired in March 1970 with the Addicks battling against relegation to the Third Division.
9.
Eddie Firmani moved to North America and managed several North American Soccer League sides: Tampa Bay Rowdies, New York Cosmos and Philadelphia Fury which turned into Montreal Manic.
10.
Eddie Firmani managed the Rowdies to the NASL championship in 1975 in his first year in charge and was named the NASL coach of the year in 1976, when he guided Tampa Bay to the best regular season record.
11.
Eddie Firmani led the Rowdies to the finals of the NASL's indoor tournament in both 1975 and 1976, winning the latter.
12.
Eddie Firmani was the first of only three coaches to win both an outdoor and indoor title in the NASL.
13.
In 1977 Eddie Firmani was signed by the Cosmos mid-season, after having resigned from the Rowdies for personal reasons.
14.
Eddie Firmani added Carlos Alberto, Brazil's World Cup-winning captain of 1970, and the Cosmos won back-to-back titles in 1977 and 1978.
15.
Eddie Firmani coached in the Middle East during the mid-to-late 1980s, and in the early 1990s.
16.
Eddie Firmani worked as a manager in both Kuwait and later in Oman.
17.
Eddie Firmani mentioned in an interview how he and his wife had "liked it in Oman", and then described how he had led Sur to the first division for the first time in the club's history.
18.
Eddie Firmani was held captive during the First Gulf War, but was released unharmed.