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Being the only Italian player in the entire National Football League, Giorgio Tavecchio gets asked a lot about his very first approach to American Football. Born and raised until he was 9 years old in Italy, a country where the national sport is soccer, it comes as a surprise that the 29 years old native of Milan became a NFL placekicker instead. F...

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Giorgio Tavecchio is the 14th Italian to play in the National Football League. Before him Ralph D. Vince, Giovanni A. Bonadies, Giuseppe "Scanlon" Santone and Rocco Segretta in the 1920s; Giuseppe "Jumping Joe" Savoldi and Domenico Cara in the 1930s; Enio Conti, Bruno Banducci, Francesco Gaziano and Pietro Gorgone in the 1940s; Leo Nomellini in the...

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The Atlanta Falcons signed kicker Giorgio Tavecchio to a contract, the team announced Monday. Terms of the deal were not disclosed for Tavecchio, who was released by the Oakland Raiders earlier this month. Tavecchio will battle Matt Bryant for the kicking responsibilities with the Falcons. The 28-year-old Italian replaced Sebastian Janikowski in 20...

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Giorgio Tavecchio’s story is one of those stories that should be told to youngsters. His story is an example of how tenacity and grit in sport, and especially in life in general, can really help dreams come true. Much has been said and written about how he fought to play in the NFL, America’s top-flight American football league, and succeeded in be...

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