Mario Bertini (; born 7 January 1944) is an Italian former professional

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 ...

who played as 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 ...

. Throughout his career Bertini played for Italian clubs Empoli,

Fiorentina ACF Fiorentina, commonly referred to as Fiorentina (), is an Italian professional football club based in Florence, Tuscany, Italy. The original team was founded by a merger in August 1926, while the actual club was refounded in August 2002 fol ...

Inter Milan 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 ...

, Prato, and

Rimini Rimini ( , ; rgn, Rémin; la, Ariminum) is a city in the Emilia-Romagna region of northern Italy and capital city of the Province of Rimini. It sprawls along the Adriatic Sea, on the coast between the rivers Marecchia (the ancient ''Ariminu ...

; he spent nine seasons with Inter, winning a

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 ...

title in 1971. At international level, he represented the Italy national team on 25 occasions between 1966 and 1972, scoring twice, and was a member of the team that reached the 1970 FIFA World Cup Final.

Club career

During his

club career, Bertini played for several Italian teams: Empoli (1963–64),

(1964–68), and most notably

(1968–77), where he remained for nine seasons, winning the Scudetto in 1971; he had previously also won a

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 ...

and a

Mitropa Cup The Mitropa Cup, officially called the La Coupe de l'Europe Centrale or Central European Cup, was one of the first international major European football cups for club sides. It was conducted among the successor states of the former Austria-Hunga ...

double with Fiorentina in 1966. He also won the

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 ...

1963 Events January * January 1 – Bogle–Chandler case: Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation scientist Dr. Gilbert Bogle and Mrs. Margaret Chandler are found dead (presumed poisoned), in bushland near the Lane Co ...

whilst playing with Prato for a season (1962–63). He ended his career in

Serie B The Serie B (), currently named Serie 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 season. It had been ...

, in 1978, after a season with

( 1977–78).

International career

Bertini earned 25 caps for the Italy national team between 1966 and 1972. He missed out on the 22-man Italy squad for the 1966 FIFA World Cup, although he was still brought to England by manager

Edmondo Fabbri Edmondo Fabbri (16 November 1921 – 8 July 1995) was an Italian football player and coach; a fast player, he mainly played as a winger. Playing career Fabbri was born in Castel Bolognese. During his club career, he played for several teams. H ...

, along with

Luigi Riva Luigi "Gigi" Riva (; born 7 November 1944) is an Italian former professional footballer who played as a centre-forward. Considered to be one of the best players of his generation, as well as one of the greatest strikers of all time, Riva enjoye ...

, as an additional reserve in order to gain experience with the national side. Bertini played in the 1970 FIFA World Cup, where he wore the number 10 shirt, as Italy managed a second-place finish. 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 con ...

, he marked Pelé in his movements in depth outside the area, although

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 ...

eventually defeated Italy 4–1.

Style of play

A quick, well-rounded, and hard-working

defensive 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 boundari ...

, Bertini was mainly known for his stamina, strength, and tackling abilities, and was also capable of playing as a defender due to his defensive attributes; although he primarily served as a ball-winner, he was a complete midfielder who was also known for his eye for goal from

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 ...

, due to his powerful striking ability from distance, as well as his accuracy from penalties and ability to make later attacking runs from behind into the penalty area.

Honours

Fiorentina *

: 1965–66 *

: 1966 Inter Milan *

: 1970–71 Prato *

: 1962–63

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bertini, Mario 1944 births Living people Italian footballers Association football midfielders Association football defenders Italy international footballers 1970 FIFA World Cup players Serie A players Serie B players Serie C players A.C. Prato players Empoli F.C. players ACF Fiorentina players Inter Milan players Rimini F.C. 1912 players People from Prato Sportspeople from the Province of Prato Footballers from Tuscany