Igor Protti is an Italian former professional footballer who currently works as a coach. Throughout his playing career, he made a name for himself as a prolific and opportunistic striker, who mainly operated in the penalty area. Protti started his career with his hometown club Rimini in 1983; although he played for several Italian club sides throughout his career, including Lazio and Napoli, he is mostly remembered for his time with Livorno, where he established himself as a legendary figure in the club's history during his second spell with the side, and eventually remained with the team until his retirement. Along with Dario Hübner, Protti is the only player to have won the top scoring titles in Serie A, Serie B, and Serie C1; he is also the only Serie A top-scorer to have suffered relegation with his club.
Career
Protti spent the majority of his early career playing for teams in lower divisions; he made his career debut in Serie C1 at the age of 16, with his home-town club Rimini, on 27 May 1984. After two seasons with the club, he later moved on to Livorno in 1985, for three seasons. After a season period with Virescit Bergamo, he was acquired by Messina in 1989, and he became an important figure with the club, making his Serie B debut with Messina, and scoring 31 goals over three seasons. In 1992, he moved to Bari, and after two seasons in Serie B, he helped his team to achieve Serie A promotion. During the 1994–95 season, he scored his first goal in Serie A against Napoli, as well as his first ever hat-trick, against Lazio. He came to more widespread notice during the 1995–96 Serie A season, in which he shared the top-scoring title with Giuseppe Signori, scoring 24 goals, despite his team, Bari, being relegated. This achievement led to a move to Lazio in 1996, but Protti's stay with the Rome club was not successful, and after two seasons with the club, including a loan to Napoli during the 1997–98 season, he was eventually released from his contract in 1998. After a spell in Serie B at Reggiana, helping the club to Serie A promotion, Protti returned to Livorno in Serie C1 in 1999, where he rapidly became one of the most popular players in that club's history, scoring 11 goals during his first season with the club. He later captained Livorno, leading the club to Serie B promotion during the 2001–02 Serie C1 season, winning the title, and finishing the campaign as the top-scorer, and the following season he was the top-scorer in Serie B. He subsequently led Livorno to Serie A promotion during the 2003–04 season, before retiring in 2005 after the team had finished a surprising 9th in their first top division campaign in many years, leaving the captain's armband to Cristiano Lucarelli. Protti's number 10 was then retired by the club. He has also been given the freedom of the city of Livorno in 2007. During the awarding ceremony, he asked the #10 jersey not to be retired any longer in order to "give anybody back the dream to dress it one day". The number will be reassigned starting from the 2007–08 season, with Francesco Tavano wearing the number 10 shirt.
