A prophet in his homeland only as a coach, since as a player he never wore the white shirt. His rise began with the Carpanesi Boys before he took flight with Fiorentina, where he won the 1956 Scudetto, and later with Roma, lifting the Coppa Italia in 1963 and, earlier, the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup in 1960. A hard-nosed, high-temperament defensive midfielder, he also played for Palermo, SPAL, Sampdoria, Anconitana, and Angelana.
As a manager, he coached Maceratese, Lecco, Pisa, Monza, and Prato before finally taking charge of the Aquilotti. A well-prepared coach and a true walking archive of football knowledge, he was famously meticulous, capable of “cataloging” opponents and players from every level of the game.
In 1985 he pulled off a genuine sporting miracle, leading a squad of players without contracts and without pay to promotion to Serie C1, after years of frustration in Serie C2. Surprisingly dismissed at the end of the season, he was soon recalled amid public outcry following Ventura’s uncertain start. He then guided Spezia through some of the most thrilling moments of the 1980s: qualification for the elite Coppa Italia for two consecutive years, which brought prestigious matchups against Trapattoni’s Inter and Maradona’s Napoli, faced head-on, without fear.
In 1989, he came agonizingly close to delivering the ultimate dream: promotion to Serie B. But with just half an hour left in the season, in Lucca, the unthinkable happened, and the Tuscan side’s victory wiped away all remaining hope. At that point, the cycle had likely run its course. He stayed on the bench, but three straight defeats to Arezzo, Carrarese, and Empoli—combined with a seven-match winless run, brought an end to what was nonetheless a memorable tenure.
In 1995 he was called back as a last-resort savior, with Spezia on the brink of relegation to Serie C2. With Blengino in charge of the squad, the Spezia native worked yet another miracle, keeping the club up through the playoffs. He was retained for the following season but given a largely uncompetitive roster; after six matches, and six points earned, he stepped aside. Over the remainder of the campaign, the three coaches who followed managed just 17 additional points.

Spezia dropped back into Serie C2. Deeply attached to the Aquilotti and the city, even though he has lived in Florence for years, he never fails to recall those extraordinary seasons, especially 1989. “That period was spectacular,” he said on the tenth anniversary of cittadellaspezia.com. “The team’s image and performances brought 11,000 people to the Picco. The white-shirted faithful had been won back.”