Giancarlo Bercellino (; born 9 October 1941) is a former

Italian football Football ( it, calcio ) is the most popular sport in Italy. The Italy national football team is considered to be one of the best national teams in the world. They have won the FIFA World Cup four times ( 1934, 1938, 1982, 2006), trailing on ...

er who played as a defender. He is sometimes referred to as Bercellino I, because his brother

Silvino Bercellino Silvino Bercellino (; born 31 January 1946) is a retired Italian football Football ( it, calcio ) is the most popular sport in Italy. The Italy national football team is considered to be one of the best national teams in the world. They ha ...

was also a football player. His father Teresio Bercellino also played football professionally in the

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 Cop ...

Club career

At club level Bercellino was most famous for his time with

Juventus Juventus Football Club (from la, iuventūs, 'youth'; ), colloquially known as Juve (), is a professional football club based in Turin, Piedmont, Italy, that competes in the Serie A, the top tier of the Italian football league system. Founded in ...

with whom he played over 200 games with in all competitions between 1961 and 1969, scoring 14 goals, and winning a

title and the

Coppa Italia The ("Italy Cup") is an annual knockout cup competition in Italian football organized by the FIGC until the 2009–10 season and the Lega Serie A ever since. History The beginning of the tournament was turbulent, due to the complexity of ...

. He also played for

Alessandria Alessandria (; pms, Lissandria ) is a city and ''comune'' in Piedmont, Italy, and the capital of the Province of Alessandria. The city is sited on the alluvial plain between the Tanaro and the Bormida rivers, about east of Turin. Alessandri ...

Brescia Brescia (, locally ; lmo, link=no, label= Lombard, Brèsa ; lat, Brixia; vec, Bressa) is a city and '' comune'' in the region of Lombardy, Northern Italy. It is situated at the foot of the Alps, a few kilometers from the lakes Garda and Iseo ...

and

Lazio it, Laziale , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = , demographics1_title2 ...

International career

At international level, Barcellino represented

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 ...

on six occasions between 1965 and 1968, and was a member of the team that won

UEFA Euro 1968 The 1968 UEFA European Football Championship final tournament was held in Italy. This was the third UEFA European Championship, an event held every four years and organised by UEFA. The final tournament took place between 5 and 10 June 1968. It ...

on home soil.

Style of play

Bercellino began his career as 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 ...

in his youth, who was known for his dynamism, energy, excellent

dribbling In sports, dribbling is maneuvering a ball by one player while moving in a given direction, avoiding defenders' attempts to intercept the ball. A successful dribble will bring the ball past defenders legally and create opportunities to score. A ...

skills and powerful and accurate striking ability, which also made him an accurate set-piece and

penalty Penalty or The Penalty may refer to: Sports * Penalty (golf) * Penalty (gridiron football) * Penalty (ice hockey) * Penalty (rugby) * Penalty (rugby union) * Penalty kick (association football) * Penalty shoot-out (association football) * Penal ...

taker. He was later deployed as a defender, where he excelled due to his consistency and tenacious style of play, which made him effective in defending one on one situations. In this new role defensive, he stood out for his physical strength, ability in the air, and his anticipation, although he was also known for his technique and goalscoring ability from defence.

Honours

Player

Club

;Juventus *

: 1966–67 *

: 1964–65

International

;Italy *

UEFA European Football Championship The UEFA European Football Championship, less formally the European Championship and informally the Euro, is the primary association football tournament organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA). The competition is contes ...

1968 The year was highlighted by protests and other unrests that occurred worldwide. Events January–February * January 5 – " Prague Spring": Alexander Dubček is chosen as leader of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia. * J ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bercellino, Giancarlo 1941 births Living people Italian footballers Italy international footballers U.S. Alessandria Calcio 1912 players Juventus F.C. players Brescia Calcio players S.S. Lazio players UEFA Euro 1968 players UEFA European Championship-winning players Serie A players Sportspeople from the Province of Vercelli Association football defenders Mediterranean Games gold medalists for Italy Mediterranean Games medalists in football Footballers from Piedmont Competitors at the 1963 Mediterranean Games People from Gattinara