Roberto Tricella (; born 18 March 1959) is an Italian former

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 defender. He was most frequently deployed as a

sweeper Sweepers are small, tropical marine (occasionally brackish) perciform fish of the family Pempheridae. Found in the western Atlantic Ocean and Indo-Pacific region, the family contains about 26 species in two genera. One species (''Pempheris xanth ...

throughout his career. Tricella played for Italian clubs Internazionale, Verona,

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 ...

, and Bologna, winning a Coppa Italia with Inter, a Serie A title with Verona, and a Coppa Italia- UEFA Cup double with Juventus. At international level, he represented the Italy national football team at the

1984 Summer Olympics The 1984 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXIII Olympiad and also known as Los Angeles 1984) were an international multi-sport event held from July 28 to August 12, 1984, in Los Angeles, California, United States. It marked the secon ...

, and at 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 ...

Club career

Tricella was born at Cernusco sul Naviglio, near Milan. During his club career he played for Inter (1977–79), Hellas Verona (1979–87),

(1987–90), and Bologna (1990–92). With Inter, he made his Serie A debut, also winning the

1977–78 Coppa Italia The 1977–78 Coppa Italia was the 31st Coppa Italia, the major Italian domestic cup. The competition was won by Internazionale, who defeated Napoli in a one-legged final played at the Stadio Olimpico in Rome. First round Group 1 Group 2 ...

. He later moved to Serie B club Hellas Verona, and during the

1984–85 Serie A The 1984–85 Serie A season heralded Hellas Verona's first and so far only Scudetto. Unusually, none of the big three of Juventus, Milan or Internazionale managed to finish in the top two. Ascoli, Lazio and Cremonese all were relegated to Serie ...

season, he notably captained

Osvaldo Bagnoli Osvaldo Bagnoli (born 3 July 1935) is an Italian former football coach and player who played as a midfielder. Playing career Born in the Bovisa district of Milan, Bagnoli began his professional career as a midfielder with his hometown club A.C. ...

's Verona to an historic Serie A victory, the only league victory in the club's history. He later transferred to Juventus in 1987, as an intended replacement for

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 ...

, and during his final season with the club, he briefly served as the club's

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

in 1989, and was able to capture a Coppa Italia and UEFA Cup double, under manager Dino Zoff.

International career

Tricella earned 11 caps for the Italy national team from 1984 to 1987, and he was included in Italy's

squad under Enzo Bearzot, although he did not play in the tournament, serving as

's backup in the libero role. Under Bearzot's successor, manager Azeglio Vicini, he also received little space due to the presence of

Franco Baresi Franchino Baresi (; born 8 May 1960) is an Italian football youth team coach and a former player and manager. He mainly played as a sweeper or as a central defender, and spent his entire 20-year career with Serie A club AC Milan, captaining t ...

on the team. He also competed for Italy at the

, where the team finished in fourth place after a semi-final defeat.

Style of play

A tenacious but fair defender, Tricella was known for his ability to time his challenges, as well as his ability to defend opponents in one on one situations, due to his mobility. He was also capable of starting quick attacking plays after winning back possession courtesy of his tactical intelligence, range of passing, and elegance on the ball. Although he was also capable of playing as a

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 ...

, he was most frequently deployed as a

throughout his career, and stood out for his more modern interpretation of the role, which saw him often advance with the ball and launch counter-attacks with long passes, rather than simply clearing the ball away in the mold of a more traditional sweeper.

Honours

Verona * Serie A: 1984–85 Inter Milan * Coppa Italia: 1977–78 Juventus * Coppa Italia: 1989–90 * UEFA Cup: 1989–90

References

External links

*
Profile at FIGC.it
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tricella, Roberto 1959 births Living people People from Cernusco sul Naviglio Italian footballers Italy international footballers Olympic footballers of Italy Footballers at the 1984 Summer Olympics 1986 FIFA World Cup players Inter Milan players Hellas Verona F.C. players Juventus F.C. players Bologna F.C. 1909 players UEFA Cup winning players Serie A players Serie B players Association football defenders Footballers from Lombardy Sportspeople from the Metropolitan City of Milan