Dino Sani (Brazilian Portuguese: [ˈdʒinu ˈsɐni], Italian: [ˈdiːno ˈsaːni]; born 23 May 1932) is a Brazilian former footballer and coach. Sani was an experienced playmaking central midfielder with goalscoring prowess, and a "team player", who was well known for his ball skills, technique, accurate passing, creativity, and close control. Although he was not gifted with notable pace or athleticism, his positioning, keen tactical intelligence, outstanding vision, and his adeptness at long balls, in particular, made him a capable assist provider throughout his career.^[1][2]

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Dino Sani

Dino Sani in 2008
Personal information
Date of birth	(1932-05-23) 23 May 1932 (age 91)
Place of birth	São Paulo, Brazil
Position(s)	Midfielder
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
1950–1951	Palmeiras
1951	XV de Jaú
1952–1953	Comercial-SP
1954–1960	São Paulo
1961	Boca Juniors	14	(4)
1961–1964	Milan	63	(14)
1965–1968	Corinthians
International career
1957–1966	Brazil	15	(1)
Managerial career
1969–1970	Corinthians
1971–1974	Internacional
1974	Goiás
1975	Corinthians
1975	Palmeiras
1976	Coritiba
1977–1980	Peñarol
1981	Flamengo
1982	Fluminense
1982	Ponte Preta
1983–1984	Internacional
1984	Boca Juniors
1985	Coritiba
1989–1990	Qatar
1991–1992	Grêmio
Medal record Men's Football Representing  Brazil FIFA World Cup Winner 1958 Sweden
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

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The son of Italian immigrants, Gaetano Sani and Maria Gabrielli, Sani started his career at local club Palmeiras, XV de Jaú, Comercial-SP and São Paulo FC,^[3] and played in the Argentine First Division for Boca Juniors^[4] in 1961, where he played 13 games, scoring 4 goals. He then played in Italy for Serie A club A.C. Milan,^[5] with whom he won one scudetto in the 1961–62 season, followed by the 1962–63 European Cup.^[2][6]

As a member of the Brazil national team, Dino Sani participated at the South American Championship tournaments of 1957 in Peru and 1959 in Argentina, reaching the final on both occasions; he was also part of the squad that won the 1958 World Cup in Sweden. He made 15 appearances in total for Brazil between 1957 and 1966, scoring 1 goal.^[7]

After he left Milan in 1964, he returned to South America, and played for Corinthians before becoming a coach. He managed Internacional,^[8] Goiás, Palmeiras, Coritiba, Peñarol,^[9] Flamengo, Fluminense, Boca Juniors, Qatar and Grêmio.