Luigi Bertolini (; 13 September 1904 – 11 February 1977) was an Italian
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 le ...
who played as a
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 ...
.
Club career
Born in
Busalla
Busalla is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Metropolitan City of Genoa in the Italian region Liguria, located about north of Genoa.
Its territory is crossed by the upper valley of the Scrivia river. Nearby is the artificial Lake Busalletta.
H ...
,
province of Genoa
The Province of Genoa (Italian ''Provincia di Genova'') was a province in the Liguria region of Italy. Its capital was the city of Genoa. It was replaced by Metropolitan City of Genoa.
Overview
It has an area of and a total population of about ...
, Bertolini played in the 1920s for Savona,
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.
Alessandria ...
and
Juventus
Juventus Football Club (from la, iuventūs, 'youth'; ), colloquially known as Juve (), is a professional Association football, football club based in Turin, Piedmont, Italy, that competes in the Serie A, the top tier of the Italian football leagu ...
. He moved from Alessandria to Juventus in 1931, becoming an integral part of the remainder of their five-year championship run. In total, he played 135 matches for Juventus, scoring five goals, helping the team to win four
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 ...
tournaments. He retired from playing football in 1940.
International career
With the
Italy national football team
The Italy national football team ( it, Nazionale di calcio dell'Italia) has represented Italy in international football since its first match in 1910. The national team is controlled by the Italian Football Federation (FIGC), the governing bo ...
, Bertolini made his debut in 1929, and was a member of the teams that was runner-up at the
1931-32 Central European International Cup & winner at the
1933–35 Central European International Cup
The 1933–35 Central European International Cup was the third edition of the Central European International Cup played between 1933 and 1935. It was played in a round robin tournament between five teams involved in the tournament.
Final standin ...
but most notably he was also a member of the team that won the
1934 FIFA World Cup
The 1934 FIFA World Cup was the second edition of the FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international football championship for senior men's national teams. It took place in Italy from 27 May to 10 June 1934.
The 1934 World Cup was the first in w ...
. Alongside
Luisito Monti and
Attilio Ferraris
Attilio Ferraris (; 26 March 1904 – 8 May 1947) was an Italian footballer who played as a defensive midfielder.
Club career
Ferraris played ten seasons (254 games, two goals) in the Serie A, for A.S. Roma, S.S. Lazio and A.S. Bari.
Inte ...
, Luigi Bertolini made up the legendary Italian midfield established at the 1934 World Cup. In that tournament he started every game and was only rested by
Pozzo in the first quarter-final encounter against
Spain
, image_flag = Bandera de España.svg
, image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg
, national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond")
, national_anthem = (English: "Royal March")
, i ...
. Bertolini is very recognisable in the photos of the 1934 Italian World Cup-winning team by virtue of his big white bandana which he used to protect his head from the seams of the ball when attempting headers. He was also one of the 'Lions of Highbury' in the narrow loss to
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 ...
in November 1934 known as the
Battle of Highbury
The Battle of Highbury was a football match between England and Italy that took place on 14 November 1934 at Arsenal Stadium, Highbury, London. England won 3–2 in a hotly contested and frequently violent match.
Background
This was Italy's firs ...
. As the story goes, during the second half he was disoriented from fatigue and with the English constantly in attack, he kept calling out for Luisito not realising that Monti was not on the field (due to a broken bone) and the midline was just himself and Ferraris.
Managerial career
Following his retirement, Bertolini began his coaching career with Tigullia in 1938.
Honours
Club
;Juventus
*
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 ...
:
1931–32,
1932–33,
1933–34,
1934–35
;Tigullia
*
Prima Divisione
Prima Divisione (''First Division'') was the name of the first level of the Italian Football Championship from 1921 to 1926. The competition was initially founded in opposition to the FIGC by the richest clubs of Northern Italy, which disagreed the ...
: 1937–38
International
;
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 ...
*
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 ...
:
1934
Events
January–February
* January 1 – The International Telecommunication Union, a specialist agency of the League of Nations, is established.
* January 15 – The 8.0 1934 Nepal–Bihar earthquake, Nepal–Bihar earthquake strik ...
*
Central European International Cup
The European International Cup of Nations was an international football competition held by certain national teams from Central Europe & South Europe between 1927 and 1960.Leo Schidrowitz "Internationaler Cup", Vienna 1954 There were competitions f ...
:
1933-35
*
Central European International Cup
The European International Cup of Nations was an international football competition held by certain national teams from Central Europe & South Europe between 1927 and 1960.Leo Schidrowitz "Internationaler Cup", Vienna 1954 There were competitions f ...
: Runner-up:
1931-32
References
La Gazzetta dello Sport
1904 births
1977 deaths
Sportspeople from the Province of Genoa
Italian footballers
Italy international footballers
Association football midfielders
Serie A players
U.S. Alessandria Calcio 1912 players
Juventus F.C. players
Juventus F.C. managers
Serie A managers
1934 FIFA World Cup players
FIFA World Cup-winning players
Brescia Calcio managers
A.C. Cuneo 1905 managers
Italian football managers
Footballers from Liguria
20th-century Italian people
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