In a professional career which spanned 22 years and saw him appear in nearly 700 official games, he played mainly for Roma (seven seasons) and Valencia (nine), winning a combined eight major titles for the two clubs.
In the summer of 1990, Carboni joined A.S. Roma, being an undisputed starter during his seven-year spell, with the exception of the 1992–93 campaign due to a serious injury. Under manager Ottavio Bianchi, he won the Italian Cup in 1991 in a 4–2 aggregate victory over former club Sampdoria; he also appeared in the first leg of the UEFA Cup final that year, which ended in a 2–0 defeat to Inter Milan.[3]
Aged already 32, Carboni moved abroad for the first time, signing for Spanish side Valencia CF in July 1997.[5][6] Both he and Roma were initially reluctant on the move, with the player having recently overcome a major achilles heel injury.[7] Carboni was approached by Roberto Baggio's agent, Antonio Caliendo.[7] Carboni assured Caliendo that he was not prepared for the move, but was eventually convinced to join after meeting with Valencia president Paco Roig, and ended up signing for the club on the back of a napkin.[7] Initially, Valencia were criticized for spending 2 million euros on a player who was expected to retire within a few years.[5] On September 7, 1997, he became only the seventh Italian to ever play in La Liga (with four of the last seven having come within the past year following a 46 year absence), and was sent off in his first game against FC Barcelona.[8] He appeared in 29 La Liga games in his first season, receiving nine yellow cards and three red as they finished in ninth position, in a campaign which saw manager Jorge Valdano being fired after only three rounds, with the player's countryman Claudio Ranieri taking his place.[7]
Carboni formed an efficient full back partnership with Jocelyn Angloma (born in the same year) in his first years with the Che, eventually helping the team to the 2001-02 and 2003-04 Spanish national championships and five other trophies, with Angloma having already left the club in the 2003–04 conquest.[9] He also helped Valencia to their second consecutive UEFA Champions Leaguefinal against FC Bayern Munich in 2001, but missed his penalty in an eventual shootout loss; during the first 120 minutes, he also committed the penalty that led to the Stefan Effenberg 1–1 equaliser.[10]
The 38-year-old Carboni played 44 competitive matches as Valencia won the league/UEFA Cupdouble in 2003–04. On 23 October 2005 he became the oldest player at the age of 40 years, six months and 17 days to take the field in the Spanish league, a record previously held by Deportivo de La Coruña's Donato – he had already achieved the feat of being the oldest winner of any European club competition when he won the UEFA Cup.[11][12] Due to his age, Carboni became known in Valencia's dressing rooms as Yayo, meaning Grandpa in Spanish.[5]
The 2004-05 season saw the return of Claudio Ranieri, who replaced Rafael Benítez after he signed to manage Liverpool F.C.. Under Ranieri's second spell, Valencia began recruiting a number of Italian players, including Bernardo Corradi, Marco Di Vaio, Stefano Fiore and Emiliano Moretti.[13] Ranieri was sacked following a seventh place finish in La Liga, with Moretti being the only of the Italian signings who was still at the club by the end of 2006. After the emergence of Moretti, Carboni only played five times in 2005–06, and retired from football at the age of 41, having appeared in 346 official games for Valencia.[14] His last game was away against CA Osasuna on May 16, 2006.[7][8] Ten days earlier against Atlético Madrid, he received a large ovation from the crowd when playing his last game at Valencia's home ground, the Mestalla.[7] At the time of his retirement, he was just two months younger than Valencia's manager Quique Sánchez Flores, who was also 41 years old. Three days after playing his final game, he became the club's director of football.[15]
On 19 June 2007, Carboni was sacked by Valencia as the working relationship between him and Quique Sánchez Flores was strained after several disputes.[16] The manager was dismissed himself only four months later.
Late career
On 10 June 2009, Carboni became the new sporting director at R.E. Mouscron in Belgium, teaming up with former Valencia teammate Miroslav Đukić, who acted as the manager.[17] In early June of the following year he reunited with former Valencia boss Rafael Benítez at Inter Milan, working with the Nerazzurri as technical consultant.[18]
Carboni was an athletic and hard-working attacking full back, who was known for his surging runs along the left flank as well as his longevity, stamina and defensive consistency.[2][11][25]
Personal life
Carboni's older brother, Guido, was also a footballer, and later a manager.[26][27]
Career statistics
Club
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition[8]
^Guastella, Gabriele (20 November 2011). "Empoli: Addio Pillon, tocca a Guido Carboni" [Empoli: Goodbye Pillon, enter Guido Carboni] (in Italian). Forza Nocerina. Archived from the original on 29 January 2016. Retrieved 22 January 2016.