Luigi Barbesino (Italian pronunciation: [luˈiːdʒi barbeˈziːno]; 1 May 1894 – 20 April 1941) was an Italian association footballer and manager from Casale Monferrato in the region of Piedmont.

A midfielder, he was a one club man in the truest sense of the term, spending his eight playing seasons at his hometown club Casale, helping them to win their one and only Italian Football Championship title, and collecting 83 league appearances and 11 goals for the club between 1912 and 1920.

[4] He is officially the fourth-youngest international player to ever appear for Italy, behind only Rodolfo Gavinelli, Renzo De Vecchi, and Gianluigi Donnarumma; he made his international debut on 1 July 1912, in a 1–0 away win over hosts Sweden at the Summer Olympics that year, at the age of 18 years and 2 months.

[5] When World War II began, Barbesino abandoned football to serve as a major observer in the Regia Aeronautica, flying in Savoia-Marchetti SM.79 trimotors of 194ª squadriglia bombardamento terrestre (193rd bomb squadron) based with the rest of 20° Stormo (20th wing) on Sciacca airfield in Sicily.

While his wingman turned back one-hour after take-off due to bad weather, Barbesino's aircraft was never heard of again.