Igor Protti, sole top scorer of a Serie A relegated team, dies at 58

Igor Protti died on Friday, June 19 at the age of 58 from colon cancer. The former striker, from Rimini, remains one of the most singular figures in Italian football of the 1990s.

Before his death, Protti shared a farewell message with his family, which they published on social media. “This magnificent journey, like every match, has reached the final whistle,” he wrote. “It is difficult to find words that can explain it, the only thing I can do is thank my large and wonderful family that I loved. All the people who loved me and were close to me, all the fans of the teams I played for, for the affection and love that I always showed and that I fully received. Hoping that this is a goodbye and not a farewell.”

Records that stand the test of time

During the 1995-1996 season, Protti scored 24 goals for Bari to claim the Serie A top scorer title. A cruel paradox: his club was relegated to Serie B that same year. He remains to this day the only player in Italian football history to have been crowned top scorer of the top division in a relegated team.

His career also took him to Lazio and Naples, though he did not confirm his status there, but it is another collective record that completes his statistical achievements: with Dario Hübner, he is the only player to have finished as top scorer in Serie A, Serie B and Serie C1, the three top divisions of Italian football.

After retiring from professional football, Protti held the position of sporting director at Livorno, a club where he is considered a legend. Italian football loses one of its most atypical strikers, whose records continue to defy time.