Franco Causio was born in Lecce on 1 February 1949 and was one of the mainstays of Italian football during the ‘70s and ‘80s, both at club level and for the Azzurri. He made his professional debut for his hometown team, Lecce, in the 1964/65 season in Serie C. After a brief period at Juventus, he joined Regina and then Palermo, the club with which he made his top-flight debut, cementing himself at the highest level. In 1970 he returned to Juventus, where he played for eleven consecutive seasons; winning six Scudetti, one UEFA Cup (1976/77) and a Coppa Italia (1978/79). In 1981 he moved to Udinese and regained his place for the Azzurri, before moving to Inter in 1984. He returned to Lecce in the Salentini’s debut season in Serie A (1985/86), then moving to Triestina the following year, where he ended his career in 1988. 

He made his debut for the Azzurri on 29 April 1972 in the match against Belgium (0-0) played in Milan. He was part of the Azzurri squad in three World Cups: 1974, 1978 and most notably in the victorious campaign of Spain ’82. He ended his national career on 12 February 1983 in the match against Cyprus (1-1). Overall for the National Team he made 63 appearances registering six goals.