Fulvio Collovati was born in Teor, in the province of Udine, on 9 May 1957. Discovered by Giovanni Trapattoni, he grew up in the youth sector at AC Milan, where he would go on to make his debut in Serie A in the 1976/77 season. A central defender, he became a regular starter under Nils Liedholm, winning the ‘79/80 Scudetto with the Rossoneri, along with a Coppa Italia and the Serie B league title. In the summer of 1982, he moved across Milan to Inter, where he made a total of 109 appearances across four seasons. The twilight of his career saw him play for Udinese, Roma and Genoa, securing a historic fourth place for the latter of this trio in the 1990/91 Serie A season.

His National Team debut came at the age of 21 on 24 February 1979, in a friendly against the Netherlands in Milan. From that day onwards, he would become a key member of Coach Enzo Bearzot’s squad, earning a call-up both for the 1980 Euros, where Italy finished fourth, and for that triumphant 1982 World Cup campaign in Spain. He was also present at the World Cup finals in 1986, his final appearance in Azzurri colours coming in the third group game of the tournament in Mexico, with his career record ending at 50 caps and three goals for Italy.