Antonio Cabrini (; born 8 October 1957) is an Italian professional football

manager Management (or managing) is the administration of an organization, whether it is a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government body. It is the art and science of managing resources of the business. Management includes the activities ...

and a former

player Player may refer to: Role or adjective * Player (game), a participant in a game or sport ** Gamer, a player in video and tabletop games ** Athlete, a player in sports ** Player character, a character in a video game or role playing game who ...

. He played

left-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 ...

, mainly with Juventus. He won the 1982 FIFA World Cup with the Italy national team. Cabrini was nicknamed ''Bell'Antonio'' ("beautiful Antonio"), because of his popularity as a charismatic and good-looking football player. On the field, he made a name for himself as one of Italy's greatest

defenders Defender(s) or The Defender(s) may refer to: *Defense (military) *Defense (sports) **Defender (association football) Arts and entertainment Film and television * ''The Defender'' (1989 film), a Canadian documentary * ''The Defender'' (1994 f ...

ever, and is remembered in particular for forming one of the most formidable defensive units of all time with Italy and Juventus, alongside goalkeeper

Dino Zoff Dino Zoff (; born 28 February 1942) is an Italian former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper. He is the oldest ever winner of the World Cup, which he earned as captain of the Italian national team in the 1982 tournament, at th ...

, as well as defenders

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 ...

and

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 ...

. Cabrini won the Best Young Player Award at the

1978 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 ...

, after helping Italy manage a fourth-place finish, and also represented Italy at

Euro 1980 The 1980 UEFA European Football Championship finals tournament was held in Italy. This was the sixth UEFA European Championship, which is held every four years and endorsed by UEFA. It was the first European Championship to feature eight teams i ...

, once again finishing in fourth place. He is one of the few players to have won all

UEFA Club competitions UEFA competitions (french: competitions de l'UEFA), referred improperly by the mass media as European football, are the set of tournaments organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA), generally in professional and amateur assoc ...

, an achievement he managed with Juventus. In 2021, he was inducted into the Italian Football Hall of Fame.

Club career

Cabrini was born in Cremona, Lombardy. He made his professional football debut with the local team

U.S. Cremonese Unione Sportiva Cremonese, commonly referred to as Cremonese, is an Italian football club based in Cremona, Lombardy, which plays in the . History Cremonese was in the Serie A in its first season, 1929–30, but entered a long period of decli ...

in 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 ...

during the 1973–74 season, making three appearances and gaining a starting place the following 1974–75 season. In the 1975–76 season he played in the

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 ...

for

Atalanta Atalanta (; grc-gre, Ἀταλάντη, Atalantē) meaning "equal in weight", is a heroine in Greek mythology. There are two versions of the huntress Atalanta: one from Arcadia (region), Arcadia, whose parents were Iasus and Clymene (mythology ...

, and in the summer of 1976 he was acquired by Juventus, the team for which he was to spend most of his career. Antonio Cabrini - 1970s - US Cremonese

With Juventus, he won 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 ...

six times, 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 ...

two times, one

UEFA Super Cup The UEFA Super Cup is an annual super cup football match organised by UEFA and contested by the winners of the two main European club competitions; the UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League. The competition's official name was original ...

, one

UEFA Champions League The UEFA Champions League (abbreviated as UCL, or sometimes, UEFA CL) is an annual club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) and contested by top-division European clubs, deciding the competi ...

, one

UEFA Cup A cup is an open-top used to hold hot or cold liquids for pouring or drinking; while mainly used for drinking, it also can be used to store solids for pouring (e.g., sugar, flour, grains, salt). Cups may be made of glass, metal, china, clay ...

and one

Intercontinental Intercontinental is an adjective to describe something which relates to more than one continent. Intercontinental may also refer to: * Intercontinental ballistic missile, a long-range guided ballistic missile * InterContinental Hotels Group ( ...

European/South American Cup The European/South American Cup, more commonly known as the Intercontinental Cup and from 1980 to 2004 as the Toyota European/South American Cup (abbreviated as Toyota Cup) for sponsorship reasons, was an international football competition end ...

. In his final season with Juventus, he also captained the side, after inheriting the armband from Scirea. In 1989, after 13 successful seasons with the Turin club, he moved to

Bologna Bologna (, , ; egl, label=Emilian language, Emilian, Bulåggna ; lat, Bononia) is the capital and largest city of the Emilia-Romagna region in Northern Italy. It is the seventh most populous city in Italy with about 400,000 inhabitants and 1 ...

for two more years before retiring as a player. He played a total of 352 Serie A matches (297 of them with Juventus), scoring 35 goals (33 of them with Juventus).

International career

Cabrini was called up to

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 ...

's being part of the list of 20 players to participate in the 1978 FIFA World Cup despite being uncapped (he however, had 23 caps for junior teams). He earned his first cap on 2 June 1978, in Italy's opening game against

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

, which ended in a 2–1 win to the "Azzurri"; Italy went on to finish the tournament in fourth place, and Cabrini was named the Best Young Player of the Tournament. He soon became an international regular for the next nine years; he participated as a starter in all of Italy's games in three consecutive World Cups: in 1978, 1982 and

1986 The year 1986 was designated as the International Year of Peace by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 **Aruba gains increased autonomy from the Netherlands by separating from the Netherlands Antilles. **Spain and Portugal enter ...

. Overall, Cabrini played 18 games during World Cup final stages, winning the 1982 edition despite missing a penalty in the final against

West Germany West Germany is the colloquial term used to indicate the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG; german: Bundesrepublik Deutschland , BRD) between its formation on 23 May 1949 and the German reunification through the accession of East Germany on 3 O ...

. He also represented Italy at

as a starter on home soil, finishing the tournament in fourth place, after reaching the semi-finals. Cabrini was part of the

1982 World Cup The 1982 FIFA World Cup was the 12th FIFA World Cup, a quadrennial 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, who defeated West Germany 3–1 i ...

-winning team that included goalkeeper

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 ...

in defense,

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

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, ...

in midfield, and Cabrini's Juventus teammate

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 ...

in attack. Cabrini gave a strong performance throughout the tournament, helping to lead his country to win the title, keeping two clean sheets throughout the tournament, but also scoring the crucial match-winning goal in Italy's 2–1 second round win over defending champions

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 ...

. In total, he earned 73 caps for his country and scored nine goals (an Italy international record for a defender), ending his career with the ''Azzurri'' in October 1987, earning his final appearance on 17 October 1987, in a 0–0 draw against Switzerland. He also captained the national side ten times.

Style of play

A fast and powerful attacking left-back, Cabrini is considered one of the greatest full-backs of his generation and of all time, as well as being regarded as one of the best defenders in the history of Italian football. A former left winger, he was also capable of playing on the left side of an attacking trident; he was later switched to left-back by his manager Ivanoe "Babo" Nolli during his time with the Cremonese youth side. Cabrini's attacking prowess, eye for goal, intelligence, and crossing ability, along with his passing, flair, and technical ability, enabled him to revolutionise the role of the modern full-back in Italian football, and he added a new attacking dimension to the position: he was known for being prolific in front of goal, despite his defensive playing role, courtesy of his striking ability from distance, and his ability to make attacking runs up the flank; due to his timing and elevation, he was also strong in the air, and was an effective

free kick A free kick is an action used in several codes of football to restart play with the kicking of a ball into the field of play. Association football In association football, the free kick is a method of restarting the game following an offe ...

and

penalty kick A penalty shot or penalty kick is a play used in several sports whereby a goal is attempted during untimed play. Depending on the sport, when a player commits certain types of penalties, the opposition is awarded a penalty shot or kick attempt. ...

taker. These skills, combined with his precociousness, consistency, and defensive ability, as well as his athletic, and physical qualities, made of him one of the best full-backs in the world in his prime. Despite his popularity off the pitch and open character, he was known for being a man of few words throughout his career; moreover he also stood out for his discipline as a footballer, as he neither smoked nor drank.

Managerial career

Club coaching career

Cabrini started a coaching career in 2000 with Serie C1 club Arezzo, replacing

Serse Cosmi Serse Cosmi (born 5 May 1958) is an Italian football coach, most recently in charge of Rijeka. Career Early career Cosmi was born in 1958 in Ponte San Giovanni, a Perugia ''frazione''. His father, a cycling fan, called him Serse after Faust ...

and losing promotion on playoffs. He then coached

's Crotone with little fortune, and later served as head coach for Serie C1 clubs Pisa and

Novara Calcio Novara Football Club, commonly referred to as Novara, is an Italian football club based in Novara, Piedmont. The club was founded in 2021 by the City of Novara to replace old Novara Calcio that lost its professional status. History In Decembe ...

, although with dismal results. He was announced to become the head coach of Syria national team in September 2007, but soon after the announcement, problems started in the Syrian FA between the board of Directors and the Syrian National Teams Sponsors and thus the agreement with Cabrini was finally terminated in February 2008, before he actually managed the team. He was planned to take the Syrian team through the World Cup 2010 Qualifications and to make a preparation camp in Italy, but all that was canceled after the financial problems within the FA.

Italy women's national team

On 14 May 2012, Cabrini was appointed coach of Italy women's national team. On 4 August 2017, after five years as coach, he was replaced by

Milena Bertolini Milena Bertolini (born 24 June 1966) is an Italian former footballer and current manager of the Italy women's national team. As the national team coach, she led Italy to qualify for the 2019 FIFA Women's World Cup following a twenty-year absence ...

Personal life

Later in 2008, he briefly contested the Italian TV reality show '' L'Isola dei Famosi'' (localized version of Celebrity Survivor). In June 2009 he entered into politics by joining

Italy of Values Italy of Values ( it, Italia dei Valori, IdV) is a populist and anti-corruption political party in Italy. The party was founded in 1998 by former '' Mani pulite'' prosecutor Antonio Di Pietro, who entered politics in 1996 and finally left the p ...

, as party responsible for sports issues in the

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

region.

Honours

Juventus *

: 1976–77, 1977–78, 1980–81, 1981–82, 1983–84, 1985–86 *

: 1978–79, 1982–83 * Intercontinental Cup:

1985 The year 1985 was designated as the International Youth Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** The Internet's Domain Name System is created. ** Greenland withdraws from the European Economic Community as a result of a ...

* European Cup: 1984–85 * European Cup: Runner-up: 1982–83 *

UEFA Cup Winners' Cup The UEFA Cup Winners' Cup was a European football club competition contested annually by the winners of domestic cup competitions. The cup was, chronologically, the second seasonal inter-European club competition organised by UEFA. The tourn ...

: 1983–84 *

: 1976–77 *

1984 Events January * January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888. * January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeas ...

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 *

: Semi-finals: 1978 *

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 ...

: Semi-finals: 1980 Individual * FIFA World Cup Best Young Player Award: 1978 * Italian Football Hall of Fame: 2021

References

External links

Profile and Statistics
on the Italian FA website * {{DEFAULTSORT:Cabrini, Antonio 1957 births Living people Sportspeople from Cremona Italian footballers Italy international footballers Italy under-21 international footballers Italy youth international footballers Italian football managers U.S. Cremonese players Atalanta B.C. players Juventus F.C. players Bologna F.C. 1909 players UEFA Cup winning players Serie A players Serie B players Serie C players F.C. Crotone managers Pisa S.C. managers Novara F.C. managers S.S. Arezzo managers FIFA World Cup-winning players 1978 FIFA World Cup players UEFA Euro 1980 players 1982 FIFA World Cup players 1986 FIFA World Cup players Participants in Italian reality television series Italy women's national football team managers Association football fullbacks Footballers from Lombardy