David Reno Bacuzzi (12 October 1940 – 21 April 2020) was an English

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby ...

and manager who played for Arsenal, Manchester City and

Reading Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of letters, symbols, etc., especially by sight or touch. For educators and researchers, reading is a multifaceted process involving such areas as word recognition, orthography (spelling ...

. He also represented

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

as a youth international. After a moderately successful career in the English League, Bacuzzi settled in the Republic of Ireland where he enjoyed a successful spell as player-manager with

Cork Hibernians Cork Hibernians F.C. were an Irish football club based in Cork. They played in the League of Ireland between 1957 and 1976 and, from 1962, played their home games at Flower Lodge. In 1971, they were League of Ireland champions. History The ...

before going on to manage Home Farm. He later opened a travel agency in

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of the Wicklow Mountains range. At the 2016 c ...

. Bacuzzi was born into an Anglo-Italian family that had settled in London. His paternal grandparents originally came from

Milan Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city h ...

. His father, Joe Bacuzzi, was also a notable footballer, playing as a defender for both Fulham and

during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

Playing career

Early years

Born in Islington, London, Bacuzzi began his career with

Eastbourne United Eastbourne United A.F.C. is a football club based in Eastbourne, England. They were formed in 2003 after a merger between Eastbourne United F.C. and Shinewater Association. In 2009 they were the Sussex County League champions for the first time i ...

under the guidance of coach

Ron Greenwood Ronald Greenwood CBE (11 November 1921 – 9 February 2006) was an English football player and manager, best known for being manager of the English national football team from 1977 until 1982, as well as being manager of West Ham United for 13 ...

. When Greenwood was appointed assistant manager at Arsenal, Bacuzzi eventually followed him.

Arsenal

Bacuzzi signed as amateur for Arsenal in March 1958 and then as a professional in May 1959. He made his First Division debut for the club on 18 February 1961, taking the place of the injured

Len Wills Leonard Edward Wills (8 November 1927 – September 2010) was an English footballer who played in the Football League for Arsenal. Life and career Born in Hackney, London, Wills first played for the youth teams of non-league Eton Manor, befo ...

, in a 3–2 win against

West Bromwich Albion West Bromwich Albion Football Club () is an English professional football club based in West Bromwich, West Midlands, England. They compete in the EFL Championship, the second tier of English football. The club was formed in 1878 and has pl ...

. During the 1961–62 season he shared the right-back position with Eddie Magill, playing 22 games. The following season, he lost his place and, as Magill became the first-choice right-back, Bacuzzi only played another 11 first-team matches during 1962–63 and 1963–64 seasons. He did, however, help

Arsenal Reserves Arsenal Football Club Academy is the youth system of Arsenal Football Club based in Hale End, London, England. It is often referred to as Hale End eponymously by the club, sports media, and fans. The academy teams play in the Professional Dev ...

win the

Football Combination The Football Combination was a football competition for the reserve teams of English Football League clubs from Southern England, the Midlands and Wales; other clubs from the Midlands and those from the North playing in the Central League (it is n ...

in 1962–63. In total he played 48 games for the Arsenal first team.

Manchester City

Bacuzzi signed for Manchester City on 24 April 1964 for a fee of £25,000 and made his league debut for the club in the second game of the 1964–65 season, a 6–0 win against

Leyton Orient Leyton Orient Football Club is a professional football club based in Leyton, East London, England, who compete in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. They are the second oldest football club in London to play at a profession ...

. During the season, which saw City finish as

Second Division In sport, the Second Division, also called Division 2 or Division II is usually the second highest division of a league, and will often have promotion and relegation with divisions above and below. Following the rise of Premier League style compet ...

champions, he played a total of 44 games, a figure matched by only one other City player,

Alan Oakes Alan Arthur Oakes (born 7 September 1942) is an English former footballer who holds Manchester City's all-time record for appearances. A midfielder, in total he played 776 the Football League matches – the tenth most in history. He is a co ...

. Bacuzzi started the 1965–66 season as the first choice right-back under new manager

Joe Mercer Joseph Mercer, OBE (9 August 1914 – 9 August 1990) was an English football player and manager. Mercer, who played as a defender for Everton and Arsenal in his footballing career, also went on to manage Aston Villa, Manchester City and Engl ...

but as the season went on, he found his place taken by

Bobby Kennedy Robert Francis Kennedy (November 20, 1925June 6, 1968), also known by his initials RFK and by the nickname Bobby, was an American lawyer and politician who served as the 64th United States Attorney General from January 1961 to September 1964, a ...

. He played a further 16 times for City before being transferred to

Reading

Bacuzzi signed for

on 9 September 1966 for a fee of £5,000. On 31 January 1968 Reading played against Bacuzzi's former club Manchester City in the

FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual knockout football competition in men's domestic English football. First played during the 1871–72 season, it is the oldest national football competi ...

. They held City to a credible 0–0 draw at

Maine Road Maine Road was a football stadium in Moss Side, Manchester, England, that was home to Manchester City F.C. from 1923 to 2003. It hosted FA Cup semi-finals, the Charity Shield, a League Cup final and England matches. Maine Road's highest a ...

but then lost the replay 7–0.

Coaching career

Cork Hibernians

In May 1970 Bacuzzi joined

as player-manager. Initially, Bacuzzi thought he had been approached from a mysterious exotic location when he received a misspelled telegram asking him to contact ''Cork Island'' instead of ''Cork, Ireland''. Bacuzzi subsequently guided Hibs to the

League of Ireland The League of Ireland ( ga, Sraith na hÉireann), together with the Football Association of Ireland, is one of the two main governing bodies responsible for organising association football in the Republic of Ireland. The term was originally use ...

title in 1971, beating Shamrock Rovers in a play-off. Then in 1972 and 1973 he also guided them to successive victories in FAI Cup finals.

Home Farm

In 1974 Bacuzzi was appointed manager of Home Farm and in 1975 he guided the club to victory in the FAI Cup for their first and only time. With a team that included Noel King, Dermot Keely and Martin Murray, they beat

Dundalk Dundalk ( ; ga, Dún Dealgan ), meaning "the fort of Dealgan", is the county town (the administrative centre) of County Louth, Ireland. The town is on the Castletown River, which flows into Dundalk Bay on the east coast of Ireland. It is h ...

Cork Celtic Cork Celtic F.C., originally Evergreen United F.C., was an Irish football club based in Cork. They played in the League of Ireland between 1951 and 1979 and played their home games at Turners Cross. In 1974, they were League of Ireland champion ...

and St Patrick's Athletic in earlier rounds before defeating Shelbourne 1–0 in the final at

Dalymount Park Dalymount Park (Irish: ''Páirc Cnocán Uí Dhálaigh'') is a football stadium in Phibsborough on the Northside of Dublin, Ireland. It is the home of Bohemian F.C., who have played there since the early 20th century. Affectionately known ...

. As a result, they became the first amateur team to win FAI Cup in forty years. The following season Bacuzzi took Home Farm into Europe as they competed in the

European Cup Winners Cup The UEFA Cup Winners' Cup was a European football club competition contested annually by the winners of domestic cup competitions. The cup was, chronologically, the second seasonal inter-European club competition organised by UEFA. The tourna ...

, playing against French side,

RC Lens Racing Club de Lens (, commonly referred to as RC Lens or simply Lens) is a French professional football club based in the northern city of Lens in the Pas-de-Calais department. Its nickname, ''les sang et or'' (''the blood and gold''), co ...

. They drew 1–1 at home but lost the away leg 6–0. As manager of Home Farm, Bacuzzi was responsible for the development of several

Republic of Ireland Ireland ( ga, Éire ), also known as the Republic of Ireland (), is a country in north-western Europe consisting of 26 of the 32 Counties of Ireland, counties of the island of Ireland. The capital and largest city is Dublin, on the eastern ...

internationals including

Ronnie Whelan Ronald Andrew Whelan (; born 25 September 1961) is an Irish former professional footballer player who played as a midfielder and sometimes as a defender. He played an integral role in the dominant Liverpool side that won a wealth of titles in ...

, Ken DeMange and

Brian Mooney Brian Mooney, (born 2 February 1966 in Dublin) is an Irish former footballer who made his name as a skilful winger in English football. Mooney was spotted in 1983 by Liverpool playing for Irish schoolboy club Home Farm F.C. where he had won a F ...

, all of whom subsequently signed for

Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a populat ...

. However, he also turned down the opportunity to sign a young Paul McGrath after a brief trial. He also managed the

League of Ireland XI The League of Ireland XI, more recently referred to as the ''Airtricity League XI'' for sponsorship reasons, is the representative team of the League of Ireland, the national association football league of the Republic of Ireland. For much of its ...

during the qualifiers for the

1976 Events January * January 3 – The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights enters into force. * January 5 – The Pol Pot regime proclaims a new constitution for Democratic Kampuchea. * January 11 – The 1976 ...

and 1980 Olympic Football Tournaments and the amateur team that qualified for the 1978

UEFA Amateur Cup The UEFA Amateur Cup was a football competition for amateur teams in Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. ...

. He was briefly assistant manager at Shamrock Rovers under Jim McLaughlin in 1985.

Honours

''Player'' Arsenal Reserves *

**''Winners'' 1962–63: 1 Manchester City *

**''Winners'' 1964–65: 1 ''Manager'' Cork Hibernians *

**''Winners'' 1970–71: 1 * FAI Cup **''Winners'' 1972, 1973: 2 *

Blaxnit Cup The Blaxnit Cup, is a defunct club football competition which featured teams from both football associations on the island of Ireland, in a similar format to the later Setanta Cup. It was inaugurated in 1967 as a cross-border competition between c ...

**''Winners'' 1972: 1 *

Dublin City Cup The Dublin City Cup is a defunct Irish football tournament which was played for by all League of Ireland sides (and not just those from Dublin city as the name suggests). It ran from 1933 and ran uninterrupted until 1973. In the 1975–76 se ...

**''Winners'' 1971, 1973: 2 *

League of Ireland Shield The League of Ireland Shield ( ga, Sciath Sraithe na hÉireann) is a defunct Irish football tournament which was introduced when the League of Ireland started in 1921 and ran uninterrupted until 1972. It was played before the league season began ...

**''Winners'' 1970, 1973: 2 * Munster Senior Cup **''Winners'' 1970, 1971, 1973: 3 Home Farm * FAI Cup **''Winners'' 1975: 1 * SWAI Personality of the Year **

Cork Hibernians F.C. Cork Hibernians F.C. were an Irish football club based in Cork. They played in the League of Ireland between 1957 and 1976 and, from 1962, played their home games at Flower Lodge. In 1971, they were League of Ireland champions. History The cl ...

– 1971/72

Death

Bacuzzi died on 21 April 2020, aged 79, in

St. Vincent's University Hospital St. Vincent's Hospital ( ga, Ospidéal Ollscoile Naomh Uinseann) is a teaching hospital located at Elm Park, south of the city of Dublin, Ireland. It is at the junction of Merrion Road and Nutley Lane opposite the Merrion Centre, Dublin, Merrion ...

, Dublin, from

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was identified in Wuhan, China, in December 2019. The disease quickly ...

during the

COVID-19 pandemic in the Republic of Ireland The COVID-19 pandemic in the Republic of Ireland is part of the worldwide pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). In the Republic of Ireland, it has resulted in 1, ...

References

Sources

* ''Who's Who of Arsenal'' (2007): Tony Matthews * ''Maine Road Favourites – Where Are They Now ?'' (2006): Ian Penney with Fred Eyre

External links

Dave Bacuzzi
at arsenalfc.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Bacuzzi, Dave 1940 births 2020 deaths English footballers English football managers League of Ireland players League of Ireland managers Home Farm F.C. coaches Arsenal F.C. players Manchester City F.C. players Reading F.C. players Footballers from Islington (district) English people of Italian descent Cork Hibernians F.C. players League of Ireland XI players League of Ireland XI managers Association football defenders English expatriate football managers English expatriates in Ireland Deaths from the COVID-19 pandemic in the Republic of Ireland