Renato Curi was born in Montefiore dell'Aso, Province of Ascoli Piceno in 1953. He started his professional career in 1969 with then-amateur club Giulianova, helping his side to win promotion to Serie C. He left Giulianova in 1973 for Como, and Serie B club Perugia one year later, helping his side, coached by Ilario Castagner, to win a historical first promotion ever to Serie A, and being a "grifoni" mainstay in the next years. Notably, his impressive performances proved to be instrumental for ensuring Perugia a historical sixth place in their 1976–77 Serie A campaign, and newspapers started rumours about a possible call-up of him for the Italy national football team. However, this never happened, as Curi suddenly died on 30 October 1977 during a home match against Juventus, five minutes after the beginning of the second half, due to a myocardial infarction.