Enzo Bearzot (; 26 September 1927 – 21 December 2010) was an Italian professional
football
Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...
player and manager. A
defender and
midfielder
A midfielder is an outfield position in association football.
Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundarie ...
, he led the
Italy national team to victory in the
1982 FIFA World Cup
The 1982 FIFA World Cup was the 12th FIFA World Cup, a quadrennial Association football, football tournament for men's senior national teams, and was played in Spain between 13 June and 11 July 1982. The tournament was won by Italy national foo ...
.
Nicknamed ''Vecio'' (standard Italian ''vecchio'', 'old man'), Bearzot coached the Italy national team the most (104 times, between September 1975 to June 1986). He was noted for his phlegmatic personality and pipe smoking.
A year after his death, an award was named in honour of the 1982 World Cup winning coach, the "
Enzo Bearzot Award", for the best Italian coach of the year.
Club career
![Enzo Bearzot - Talmone Torino 1958-59](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e4/Enzo_Bearzot_-_Talmone_Torino_1958-59.jpg)
Born in
Aiello del Friuli
Aiello del Friuli ( fur, Daèl) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Italian region Friuli-Venezia Giulia, located about northwest of Trieste and about southeast of Udine.
Aiello del Friuli borders the following municipalities: Bagnaria Ars ...
, in the
Friuli
Friuli ( fur, Friûl, sl, Furlanija, german: Friaul) is an area of Northeast Italy with its own particular cultural and historical identity containing 1,000,000 Friulians. It comprises the major part of the autonomous region Friuli Venezia Giulia ...
an
Province of Udine
The province of Udine ( it, provincia di Udine, fur, provincie di Udin, sl, videmska pokrajina, Resian dialect, Resian: , german: Provinz Weiden) was a Provinces of Italy, province in the autonomous region Friuli-Venezia Giulia of Italy, borderi ...
in
Friuli-Venezia Giulia
(man), it, Friulana (woman), it, Giuliano (man), it, Giuliana (woman)
, population_note =
, population_blank1_title =
, population_blank1 =
, demographics_type1 =
, demographics1_footnotes =
, demographics1_t ...
, Bearzot was son of a
bank teller
A bank teller (often abbreviated to simply teller) is an employee of a bank whose responsibilities include the handling of customer cash and negotiable instruments. In some places, this employee is known as a cashier or customer representative. ...
and attended high school at
Udine
Udine ( , ; fur, Udin; la, Utinum) is a city and ''comune'' in north-eastern Italy, in the middle of the Friuli Venezia Giulia region, between the Adriatic Sea and the Alps (''Alpi Carniche''). Its population was 100,514 in 2012, 176,000 with t ...
.
Enzo Bearzot made his debut in professional football with
Pro Gorizia in 1946, a team he left in 1948 to join
Internazionale
Football Club Internazionale Milano, commonly referred to as Internazionale () or simply Inter, and colloquially known as Inter Milan in English-speaking countries, is an Italian professional football club based in Milan, Lombardy. Inter is t ...
.
After three seasons with the ''Nerazzurri'', Bearzot moved to Sicily and joined
Catania
Catania (, , Sicilian and ) is the second largest municipality in Sicily, after Palermo. Despite its reputation as the second city of the island, Catania is the largest Sicilian conurbation, among the largest in Italy, as evidenced also by ...
for three more seasons.
In 1954, he moved to
Torino
Turin ( , Piedmontese: ; it, Torino ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in Northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital from 1861 to 1865. T ...
, which was rebuilding after the tragedy of
Superga
Superga is a hill situated on the south bank of the river Po to the east of Turin in north-west Italy. At above sea level, it is one of the most prominent of the hills that ring the city.
Superga is known for the Basilica of Superga and its ro ...
in 1949. In two seasons as a starter he played 65 matches, scoring one goal. In 1956 he returned to Internazionale where he appeared 27 times, the last of which was a 3–2 defeat at Bologna on 9 June 1957. The following year he returned to Torino. Here, he made 164 appearances and scored 7 goals for the ''Granata'' before retiring in 1964, aged 37, to take up coaching.
In his playing career, Bearzot totalled 251 appearances in Italy's
Serie A
The Serie A (), also called Serie A TIM for national sponsorship with TIM, is a professional league competition for football clubs located at the top of the Italian football league system and the winner is awarded the Scudetto and the Coppa ...
, being called up once to play for
Italy
Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...
, making his debut on 27 November 1955 in a 2–0 1955–56
Central European International Cup match defeat to
Hungary
Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia a ...
.
Managerial career
![Italia, 1976, Bearzot, Tardelli e Bettega](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/6d/Italia%2C_1976%2C_Bearzot%2C_Tardelli_e_Bettega.jpg)
After having ended his playing career, Bearzot became assistant coach of Torino, working alongside Italian managers
Nereo Rocco and
Giovan Battista Fabbri
Giovan Battista Fabbri (8 March 1926 – 2 June 2015) was an Italian football player and manager.
Career
Fabri managed a number of Italian club sides, including Varese, SPAL , Sangiovannese, Giulianova, Livorno, Piacenza, Vicenza, Ascoli, C ...
. He successively moved in Tuscany to take his first head coaching job in Tuscany at the helm of
Serie C
The Serie C () is the third-highest division in the Italian football league system after the Serie B and Serie A. The Lega Italiana Calcio Professionistico (Lega Pro) is the governing body that runs the Serie C.
The unification of the Lega Pro ...
side
Prato
Prato ( , ) is a city and ''comune'' in Tuscany, Italy, the capital of the Province of Prato. The city lies in the north east of Tuscany, at the foot of Monte Retaia, elevation , the last peak in the Calvana chain. With more than 200,000 i ...
.
However, Bearzot did not go on a club career, and chose instead to start working for the
Italian Football Federation
The Italian Football Federation ( it, Federazione Italiana Giuoco Calcio; FIGC), known colloquially as ''Federcalcio'', is the governing body of football in Italy. It is based in Rome and the technical department is in Coverciano, Florence.
It ...
: first as under-23 head coach, then as assistant coach of
Ferruccio Valcareggi
Ferruccio Valcareggi (; 12 February 1919 – 2 November 2005) was an Italian football player and coach, who played as a midfielder.
Playing career
Valcareggi was born in Trieste, on 12 February 1919. A right–sided, offensive–minded, centra ...
in the
1974 FIFA World Cup
The 1974 FIFA World Cup was the tenth FIFA World Cup, a quadrennial football tournament for men's senior national teams, and was played in West Germany (and West Berlin) between 13 June and 7 July. The tournament marked the first time that the ...
. After the German World Cup, Bearzot was appointed as assistant coach of
Fulvio Bernardini, and was then promoted head coach of Italy in 1975. Bearzot drove the national team to fourth place in the
1978 FIFA World Cup
The 1978 FIFA World Cup was the 11th edition of the FIFA World Cup, a quadrennial international football world championship tournament among the men's senior national teams. It was held in Argentina between 1 and 25 June.
The Cup was won by t ...
.
This performance was repeated in the
1980 European Championship, hosted by Italy.
![Sandro Pertini Spagna 1982](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/5a/Sandro_Pertini_Spagna_1982.jpg)
In the
1982 FIFA World Cup
The 1982 FIFA World Cup was the 12th FIFA World Cup, a quadrennial Association football, football tournament for men's senior national teams, and was played in Spain between 13 June and 11 July 1982. The tournament was won by Italy national foo ...
, after poor performances in the three first matches, Bearzot announced the so-called ''
silenzio stampa'' (press silence) in order to avoid rising criticism from the Italian press. Following that, the Italian team finally started to play its best football, defeating
Argentina
Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...
and
Brazil
Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...
(see
Italy v Brazil (1982 FIFA World Cup)
Italy v Brazil was a football match that took place between Brazil and Italy at Estadio Sarriá, Barcelona on 5 July 1982. It was the final second round group stage match for Group C in the 1982 FIFA World Cup. The match was won by Italy 3–2, w ...
) in the second round,
Poland
Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...
in the semi-final and
Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
in the
Final
Final, Finals or The Final may refer to:
*Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which decides a winner for an event
** Another term for playoffs, describing a sequence of cont ...
, and winning the World Cup for the first time since 1938.
Italy did not qualify for the
Euro 1984.
Bearzot resigned after the
1986 FIFA World Cup
The 1986 FIFA World Cup was the 13th FIFA World Cup, a quadrennial football tournament for men's senior national teams. It was played in Mexico from 31 May to 29 June 1986. The tournament was the second to feature a 24-team format. Colombia ha ...
, which saw Italy being defeated in the round of 16 by
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
.
Bearzot was criticised during the latter tournament for relying too heavily on players from the 1982 team, as some of them were past their best form by 1986.
He holds the
record for the most times on the bench as manager of Italy, with 104 appearances.
After a long period of inactivity, Bearzot was appointed President of the FIGC Technical Sector (''Settore Tecnico'', the main football coaching organization of Italy) in 2002. He left this office in 2005.
Style of management
Bearzot was highly regarded for his tactical prowess, meticulousness, and versatility as a manager. He often studied his opponents in great detail before matches, in order to plan out and prepare his team's strategy; he was also known for his ability to adopt different tactics, formations, and playing styles, depending on the style of play of the opposition, and for having the capacity to find a system which best suited his players. At the same time, he preferred not to impose set plays and tactical plans on his players, as he believed that above all, they should have the freedom to express their ability and individual talent. At the 1978 World Cup, his Italian side often adopted an attractive, offensive-minded possession game based on passing, creativity, movement, attacking flair, and technique, due to the individual skill of his players; the front three – made up of centre-forward Paolo Rossi, and wingers
Roberto Bettega
Roberto Bettega (; born 27 December 1950) is an Italian former footballer who played as a forward.
A prolific and athletic player, Bettega is mostly remembered for his successful time at his hometown club Juventus, where he won several titles ...
and
Franco Causio
Franco Causio (; born 1 February 1949) is an Italian former professional footballer who won the 1982 FIFA World Cup and played for Juventus for many years in the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s. Regarded as one of Italy's greatest ever wingers, through ...
– would also often change positions with one another, in order to disorient the opposing defenders.
![Sivori bearzot sonrientes](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/13/Sivori_bearzot_sonrientes.jpg)
At the
1982 World Cup, he usually used a fluid
4–3–3 formation, which was capable of shifting into a
4–4–2, 5–2–3, or
3–5–2 formation throughout the course of a match; in his 4–3–3 system, Bearzot usually used two creative
wingers (usually
Bruno Conti
Bruno Conti (; born 13 March 1955) is an Italian football manager and former player. He is currently head of A.S. Roma's youth sector.
Throughout his playing career, Conti was usually deployed as a winger, and also previously played for Roma, ...
and
Francesco Graziani
Francesco "Ciccio" Graziani (; born 16 December 1952) is an Italian football manager and former football player who played as a forward.
He began his career with Arezzo in 1970, and later joined Torino in 1973, where he remained until 1981 ...
, the latter of whom usually also served as a
second striker
Forwards (also known as attackers) are outfield positions in an association football team who play the furthest up the pitch and are therefore most responsible for scoring goals as well as assisting them. As with any attacking player, the role ...
) and a
centre-forward
Forwards (also known as attackers) are outfield positions in an association football team who play the furthest up the pitch and are therefore most responsible for scoring goals as well as assisting them. As with any attacking player, the role ...
(usually
Paolo Rossi
Paolo Rossi (; 23 September 1956 – 9 December 2020) was an Italian professional footballer who played as a forward. He led Italy to the 1982 FIFA World Cup title, scoring six goals to win the Golden Boot as top goalscorer, and the Golden ...
) up-front, a
playmaker
In association football, a playmaker is a player who controls the flow of the team's play, and is often involved in offensively and defensively playing passing moves which lead to goals, through their vision, technique, ball control, creativit ...
(usually
Giancarlo Antognoni
Giancarlo Antognoni (; born 1 April 1954) is an Italian former professional footballer who played as a midfielder. A skillful and creative offensive playmaker, regarded as one of the best Italian players of all time in his position, he played mos ...
) and two hard–tackling
box-to-box players (usually
Marco Tardelli
Marco Tardelli (; born 24 September 1954) is an Italian former football player and manager. At club level, he played as a midfielder for several Italian clubs; he began his career with Pisa, and later played for Como, Juventus, and Internaziona ...
and either
Gabriele Oriali
Gabriele "Lele" Oriali (; born 25 November 1952) is an Italian former association football, footballer who primarily played as a defensive midfielder but could also play in Defender (association football), defence. As a player, he was known in p ...
or
Gianpiero Marini
Gianpiero Marini (; born 25 February 1951) is an Italian former professional football manager and player, who played as a midfielder. A strong and hard-working defensive midfielder, Marini played for several Italian clubs throughout his career, ...
– the latter two of whom usually operated in more of a
holding role, while the former served as a ''
mezzala'') in
midfield
Midfield is the part of a sports field that lies approximately in the center. In American football, association football (soccer) and field hockey, it is the area in and around the center circle, as well as the players who occupy that region. In ...
, while in
defence
Defense or defence may refer to:
Tactical, martial, and political acts or groups
* Defense (military), forces primarily intended for warfare
* Civil defense, the organizing of civilians to deal with emergencies or enemy attacks
* Defense industr ...
, he used a
sweeper (usually
Gaetano Scirea
Gaetano Scirea (; 25 May 1953 – 3 September 1989) was an Italian professional footballer who is considered one of the greatest defenders of his generation and one of the greatest defenders of all time. He spent most of his career with Juventus ...
) in front of the
goalkeeper
In many team sports which involve scoring goals, the goalkeeper (sometimes termed goaltender, netminder, GK, goalie or keeper) is a designated player charged with directly preventing the opposing team from scoring by blocking or intercepting o ...
, whose responsibilities were both defensive and creative, as well as either three man-marking defenders, or two attacking
full-backs and a man-marking
centre-back
In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield position whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring.
Centre-backs are usually positioned in pairs, with one full-back on either s ...
or ''stopper''; his team's defensive play was based on the ''
zona mista
Zona mista (; ), often referred as ''Mixed Plan'' () and, in the English-speaking world, to as ''The Game in Italian Style'' (); is a Football tactics and skills, tactic used in football in Italy, Italian association football mainly from the second ...
'' system (or "Gioco all'Italiana"), a cross between
zonal marking
In association football, marking is an organized defensive tactic which aims to prevent a member of the opposing team (usually a striker) from taking control of the ball. Several marking strategies exist in football, and they mostly differ from e ...
and
man-marking systems, such as ''
catenaccio''.
In Italy's second round match against
Brazil
Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...
, Bearzot further demonstrated his tactical astuteness by changing Italy's formation in order to contain the Brazilian midfield and prevent them from dominating the match with their possession game. In the final against Germany, due to an injury to playmaker Antognoni in midfield, he also altered Italy's formation to a 5–2–3, by instead fielding
Claudio Gentile
Claudio Gentile (; born 27 September 1953) is an Italian football manager and former player who played as a defender in the 1970s and 1980s.
Gentile appeared for Italy in two World Cup tournaments, and played for the winning Italian team in ...
as an additional man-marking centre-back, who would help left wing-back
Antonio Cabrini
Antonio Cabrini (; born 8 October 1957) is an Italian professional football manager and a former player. He played left-back, mainly with Juventus. He won the 1982 FIFA World Cup with the Italy national team. Cabrini was nicknamed ''Bell'Antoni ...
to cover Germany's winger,
Pierre Littbarski
Pierre Michael Littbarski (; born 16 April 1960) is a German professional football manager and former player of 1. FC Köln and the West Germany national team. Known for his dribbling abilities, he was mainly used as an attacking midfielder or ...
, while Cabrini would mark Germany's attacking right back,
Manfred Kaltz
Manfred Kaltz (born 6 January 1953) is a German former football player and manager, who played as a right-back.
Kaltz played in the Bundesliga for Hamburger SV and 13 times (one goal) for FC Mulhouse in Ligue 1 after initially joining Mulhouse l ...
; Italy's other two man-marking centre-backs,
Fulvio Collovati
Fulvio Collovati (; born 9 May 1957) is an Italian professional footballer who played as a defender. He was a stopper (a man–marking centre-back in Italian football jargon) and also played for Italy at international level, winning the 1982 ...
and
Giuseppe Bergomi
Giuseppe Bergomi (; born 22 December 1963) is an Italian former professional footballer who spent his entire career at Inter Milan. He is regarded as one of the greatest Italian defenders of all time, and as one of the best of his generation, be ...
, were dealt with the task of marking wing forward
Karl-Heinz Rummenigge, and centre-forward
Klaus Fischer
Klaus Fischer (born 27 December 1949) is a German former professional footballer and coach. He was a key player on the West Germany national team that lost the 1982 World Cup final to Italy. As a forward, he was noted for his bicycle kicks, ...
respectively, while the sweeper, Scirea, was given the freedom to help double mark forwards, advance into midfield in order to win the ball and start attacking plays, or get forward. Due to the versatility of his players and their tendency to switch positions throughout matches, Bearzot's side were known for their ability to exploit spaces in the opposition; his team's defensive strength was demonstrated by his players' ability to cover for each other and anticipate their opponents in order to win back the ball. His side were also highly adept at subsequently creating goalscoring opportunities from quick and highly organised counterattacks after winning back possession, as well as being capable of keeping the ball and circulating possession in order to conserve energy.
In addition to his skills as a tactician, Bearzot was also known for having a close relationship with his individual players, as well as for his ability to motivate them, create a united team environment, and foster a winning mentality.
In his obituary for Bearzot in ''
The Guardian
''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...
'' following the manager's death in 2010, Brian Glanville noted that "...Enzo Bearzot ... revitalised the national side. He imposed a far more flexible, adventurous style of play and led the team to victory at the World Cup in Spain in 1982."
Personal life and death
Bearzot was married to Luisa; together they had a son Glauco, and a daughter, Cinzia.
Bearzot died on 21 December 2010
in
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 ...
at the age of 83, exactly 42 years after
Vittorio Pozzo
Vittorio Pozzo (; 2 March 1886 – 21 December 1968) was an Italian football player, manager and journalist.
The creator of the '' Metodo'' tactical formation, Pozzo is regarded as one of the greatest managers of all time, and is the only man ...
;
he was buried in the family tomb in the cemetery of
Paderno d'Adda
Paderno d'Adda ( Brianzöö: ; Bergamasque: ) is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Lecco, in Lombardy. It is well known in the rest of Italy for the cast-iron San Michele Bridge built in the late nineteenth century following the Tour Eiff ...
.
Honours
As a player
Catania
*
Serie B
The Serie B (), currently named Serie Balkrishna Industries, BKT for sponsorship reasons, is the second-highest division in the Italian football league system after the Serie A. It has been operating for over ninety years since the 1929–30 ...
:
1953–54
Torino
*
Serie B
The Serie B (), currently named Serie Balkrishna Industries, BKT for sponsorship reasons, is the second-highest division in the Italian football league system after the Serie A. It has been operating for over ninety years since the 1929–30 ...
:
1959–1960
As a manager
Italy
*
FIFA World Cup
The FIFA World Cup, often simply called the World Cup, is an international association football competition contested by the senior men's national teams of the members of the ' ( FIFA), the sport's global governing body. The tournament ha ...
:
1982
Events January
* January 1 – In Malaysia and Singapore, clocks are adjusted to the same time zone, UTC+8 (GMT+8.00).
* January 13 – Air Florida Flight 90 crashes shortly after takeoff into the 14th Street bridges, 14th Street Bridge in ...
Individual
*Seminatore d'oro: 1982
*
World Soccer Magazine World Manager of the Year:
1982
Events January
* January 1 – In Malaysia and Singapore, clocks are adjusted to the same time zone, UTC+8 (GMT+8.00).
* January 13 – Air Florida Flight 90 crashes shortly after takeoff into the 14th Street bridges, 14th Street Bridge in ...
*
European Coach of the Year—Sepp Herberger Award: 1982
*
Panchina d'Oro alla carriera: 1992
*Inducted into the
Italian Football Hall of Fame
The Italian Football Hall of Fame ( it, Hall of Fame del calcio italiano) is the hall of fame for association football players that have had a significant impact on Italian football.
It is housed at the '' Museo del Calcio'' in Coverciano, Ital ...
(''posthumous honour'', 2011)
*
World Soccer Magazine 24th Greatest Manager of All Time: 2013
Orders
* 2nd Class / Grand Officer: ''
Grande Ufficiale Ordine al Merito della Repubblica Italiana'': 1982
References
External links
FIFA profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bearzot, Enzo
1927 births
2010 deaths
People from Aiello del Friuli
Italian footballers
Italy international footballers
Inter Milan players
Catania S.S.D. players
Torino F.C. players
Serie A players
Italian football managers
Italy national football team managers
1978 FIFA World Cup managers
UEFA Euro 1980 managers
1982 FIFA World Cup managers
1986 FIFA World Cup managers
FIFA World Cup-winning managers
Association football defenders
A.S. Pro Gorizia players
Grand Officers of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic
Footballers from Friuli Venezia Giulia