Vincenzo "Enzo" Daniele Scifo (; born 19 February 1966) is a retired Belgian

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly ...

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 ...

. He has also managed the Belgium national under-21 football team and several Belgian club sides. He played for clubs in Belgium, France and Italy, where he won several domestic titles. At international level, he was a member of the Belgian national team, for which he appeared in four

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 has ...

s, being one of three Belgian players ever to do so.

Early life

Scifo was born in

La Louvière La Louvière (; wa, El Lovire) is a city and municipality of Wallonia located in the province of Hainaut, Belgium. The municipality consists of the following districts: Boussoit, Haine-Saint-Paul, Haine-Saint-Pierre, Houdeng-Aimeries, Houde ...

Wallonia Wallonia (; french: Wallonie ), or ; nl, Wallonië ; wa, Waloneye or officially the Walloon Region (french: link=no, Région wallonne),; nl, link=no, Waals gewest; wa, link=no, Redjon walone is one of the three regions of Belgium—al ...

, to Italian parents from

Sicily (man) it, Siciliana (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = Ethnicity , demographics1_footnotes = , demographi ...

. He proved himself a highly promising talent in youth football and was nicknamed "Little

Pelé Edson Arantes do Nascimento (; born 23 October 1940), known as Pelé (), is a Brazilian former professional footballer who played as a forward. Widely regarded as one of the greatest players of all time and labelled "the greatest" by FIFA ...

" at his local team, where he scored 432 goals in only four seasons as a junior. Scifo joined his local club R.A.A. Louviéroise as a seven-year-old in 1973. He transferred to Belgium's most successful club,

R.S.C. Anderlecht ; french: Les Mauves et Blancs) , short name = R.S.C.A. , founded = , ground = Constant Vanden Stock Stadium , capacity = 22,500 , owntitle = Chairman , owner = Wouter Vandenhaute , manager = Brian Riemer ...

, in 1982.

Club career

Scifo made his first team debut with

in 1983, at the age of 17. After winning three Belgian First Division championships with the club, and helping the team to the

1984 UEFA Cup Final The 1984 UEFA Cup Final was an association football tie played on 9 May and 23 May 1984 to determine the champion of the 1983–84 UEFA Cup. The two-legged final was contested between Anderlecht of Belgium–– who were defending champions–– ...

, only to lose out to

Tottenham Tottenham () is a town in North London, England, within the London Borough of Haringey. It is located in the ceremonial county of Greater London. Tottenham is centred north-northeast of Charing Cross, bordering Edmonton to the north, Wal ...

on penalties, Scifo earned a reputation as one of the most promising young stars of his generation, and moved to Italian club Internazionale in 1987 for a fee of 7.5 billion Lire. After an unsuccessful spell in

Milan Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city ...

, which saw him manage only four league goals in 28 appearances, he moved to French club

Bordeaux Bordeaux ( , ; Gascon oc, Bordèu ; eu, Bordele; it, Bordò; es, Burdeos) is a port city on the river Garonne in the Gironde department, Southwestern France. It is the capital of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, as well as the prefectu ...

in 1988 where he again disappointed, and faced injuries and conflict with senior squad members. His career was revived by a successful move to

Auxerre Auxerre ( , ) is the capital of the Yonne department and the fourth-largest city in Burgundy. Auxerre's population today is about 35,000; the urban area (''aire d'attraction'') comprises roughly 113,000 inhabitants. Residents of Auxerre are r ...

in 1989, at the age of 23, under manager Guy Roux, which led to a return to Italy with

Torino Turin ( , Piedmontese: ; it, Torino ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in Northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital from 1861 to 1865. T ...

in 1991; his second spell in

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 ...

was more successful, as he reached the 1992 UEFA Cup Final in his first season with Torino, and won 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 ...

the following season. Scifo then moved to AS Monaco in 1993, where he endured a similar level of success and won the French championship in

1997 File:1997 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The movie set of ''Titanic'', the highest-grossing movie in history at the time; '' Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone'', is published; Comet Hale-Bopp passes by Earth and becomes one of ...

. He returned to Anderlecht later that year and won his fourth Belgian league title in the 1999–2000 season. He joined

Charleroi Charleroi ( , , ; wa, Tchålerwè ) is a city and a municipality of Wallonia, located in the province of Hainaut, Belgium. By 1 January 2008, the total population of Charleroi was 201,593.

in 2000, but retired later in the same season, at the age of 36, after being diagnosed with chronic

arthritis Arthritis is a term often used to mean any disorder that affects joints. Symptoms generally include joint pain and stiffness. Other symptoms may include redness, warmth, swelling, and decreased range of motion of the affected joints. In som ...

. In total, Scifo scored 121 league goals in 478 official matches.

International career

Scifo made his senior international debut on 6 June 1984 for

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to ...

, in a 2–2 friendly draw against

Hungary Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Cr ...

. In

's opening group match of

UEFA Euro 1984 The 1984 UEFA European Football Championship final tournament was held in France from 12 to 27 June 1984. It was the seventh UEFA European Championship, a competition held every four years and endorsed by UEFA. At the time, only eight countries ...

, on 13 June, he attracted much publicity when he helped his team to a 2–0 victory over

Yugoslavia Yugoslavia (; sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Jugoslavija, Југославија ; sl, Jugoslavija ; mk, Југославија ;; rup, Iugoslavia; hu, Jugoszlávia; rue, label= Pannonian Rusyn, Югославия, translit=Juhoslavij ...

; at the age of 18 years and 115 days, he was the youngest player ever to appear in the finals at the time. Scifo featured in all three of Belgium's group matches in the tournament, as they placed third in their group and suffered a first round elimination. He appeared for

in the

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 en ...

1990 File:1990 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1990 FIFA World Cup is played in Italy; The Human Genome Project is launched; Voyager I takes the famous Pale Blue Dot image- speaking on the fragility of humanity on Earth, astrophysicis ...

1994 File:1994 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1994 Winter Olympics are held in Lillehammer, Norway; The Kaiser Permanente building after the 1994 Northridge earthquake; A model of the MS Estonia, which sank in the Baltic Sea; Nels ...

, and 1998 World Cups, playing sixteen games in total; he is one of only 14 players to have participated in four World Cups, and one of only three Belgian players ever to do so. Scifo helped his nation to the semi-finals of the 1986 edition of the tournament in Mexico, playing in all seven of his team's matches and scoring two goals as Belgium finished the tournament in fourth place; he was named the best young player of the tournament for his performances throughout the competition. In the 1990 edition of the tournament, held in Italy, Scifo scored a notable goal from long range in Belgium's 3-1 first round victory over

Uruguay Uruguay (; ), officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay ( es, República Oriental del Uruguay), is a country in South America. It shares borders with Argentina to its west and southwest and Brazil to its north and northeast; while bordering ...

, on 17 June, held in Verona; the goal was later elected as the tenth greatest FIFA World Cup goal of the Century in a 2002 poll, with 2,935 votes. Belgium were eventually eliminated in the second round against

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 ...

; four years later, at U.S.A. '94, the Belgian side were once again eliminated in the second round. Scifo retired from international football after Belgium's first round elimination in the 1998 World Cup held in France; in total he gained eighty-four international caps and scored eighteen goals.

Style of play

A highly creative

with an eye for goal, Scifo was a classic number 10

playmaker In association football, a playmaker is a player who controls the flow of the team's play, and is often involved in offensively and defensively playing passing moves which lead to goals, through their vision, technique, ball control, creativi ...

who usually played as an

attacking 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 ...

behind the strikers; he was also capable of playing as a

central 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 ...

, where he functioned as a

deep-lying playmaker 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 ...

, or as a wide midfielder along the right flank. Considered one of Belgium's greatest ever players, his primary traits as a footballer were his excellent vision, tactical intelligence, and technical skills, which allowed him to orchestrate his team's attacking moves from midfield; he was also highly regarded for his balance on the ball, and his ability to

dribble 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. ...

with his head up, as well as his accurate shooting and passing ability with his right foot, which enabled him both to score goals or create chances for his teammates. However, despite his talent, he was also criticised by his managers at times for his poor defensive work-rate off the ball, his introverted character, and for being selfish and inefficient at times, in particular in his youth, as he attempted too many individual dribbling runs, rather than looking to provide a simpler pass to an open teammate. Throughout his career, his unique playing style drew comparisons with

Gianni Rivera Giovanni "Gianni" Rivera (; born 18 August 1943) is an Italian politician and former footballer who played as a midfielder. During his career as a footballer he was mostly utilised as an attacking midfielder. Dubbed Italy's "Golden Boy" by the ...

, Giancarlo Antognoni, and his idol

Michel Platini Michel François Platini (born 21 June 1955) is a French football administrator and former player and manager. Regarded as one of the greatest footballers of all time, Platini won the Ballon d'Or three times in a row, in 1983, 1984 and 1985, a ...

After retirement

Scifo tried his hand at coaching with

R. Charleroi S.C. Royal Charleroi Sporting Club, often simply known as Charleroi or Sporting Charleroi, is a Belgian football club based in the city of Charleroi, in the province of Hainaut. Charleroi plays in the Belgian Pro League and their current spell at t ...

, joining them for the 2000–01 season. Indifferent results led to his resignation in June 2002. He later coached Tubize between 2004 and 2006, and later became head trainer of R.E. Mouscron, another Belgian League team, in 2007. On 6 June 2009, Scifo quit Mouscron due to the club's difficult financial situation. In May 2006, he was part of the historic first European Selection, led by former England manager Terry Venables and Josep Mª Fusté which had its début in Eindhoven in the first EFPA Match. Scifo returned to club football with

Mons Mons (; German and nl, Bergen, ; Walloon and pcd, Mont) is a city and municipality of Wallonia, and the capital of the province of Hainaut, Belgium. Mons was made into a fortified city by Count Baldwin IV of Hainaut in the 12th century. T ...

between 2012 and 2013. Between 2015 and 2016, he served as the manager of the Belgium U21 national team.

Career statistics

Club

International

:''Scores and results list Belgium's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Scifo goal''.

Honours

Anderlecht * Belgian First Division: 1984–85, 1985–86, 1986–87, 1999–2000 *

Belgian Supercup The Belgian Super Cup ( nl, Belgische Supercup, ; french: Supercoupe de Belgique; german: Belgischer Fußball-Super Cup), ''Pro League Supercup'', is a Belgian club competition played as a single match between the Belgian First Division A champi ...

: 1985 *

Belgian League Cup The Belgian League Cup was a Belgian association football cup created in 1973. The competition was held from 1973 by eleven clubs wanting to increase professionalism in Belgian football but lasted only three seasons before being disbanded. The tour ...

: 2000 *

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 ...

: runners-up 1983–84 *

Jules Pappaert Cup Trophy Jules Pappaert or Pappaert cup is a Belgian football trophy since 1953 and is awarded annually to a club in the first, second or third division of the Belgian Pro League with the longest uninterrupted series of unbeaten games. The award i ...

: 1983, 1985, 2000 * Bruges Matins: 1985 * Belgian Sports Team of the Year: 2000 Monaco * Division 1: 1996–97 Torino *

1992–93 Year 199 ( CXCIX) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was sometimes known as year 952 '' Ab urbe condita''. The denomination 199 for this year has been used since t ...

: runners-up 1991–92 Belgium *

: fourth place

Individual * Belgian Golden Shoe: 1984 *

Ballon d'Or The Ballon d'Or (; ) is an annual football award presented by French news magazine '' France Football'' since 1956. Between 2010 and 2015, in an agreement with FIFA, the award was temporarily merged with the FIFA World Player of the Year (f ...

nominations:

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 ...

1992 File:1992 Events Collage V1.png, From left, clockwise: Riots break out across Los Angeles, California after the police beating of Rodney King; El Al Flight 1862 crashes into a residential apartment building in Amsterdam after two of its engin ...

, 1993 * 4 FIFA World Cup participations:

, 1998 * FIFA World Cup Best Young Player:

* FIFA World Cup All-Star Team:

La Gazzetta dello Sport ''La Gazzetta dello Sport'' (; "The Sports Gazette") is an Italian daily newspaper dedicated to coverage of various sports. Founded in 1896, it is the most widely read daily newspaper of any kind in Italy (in 2018). History and profile ''La ...

Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American non-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association. It produces news reports that are distributed to its members, U.S. new ...

Match A match is a tool for starting a fire. Typically, matches are made of small wooden sticks or stiff paper. One end is coated with a material that can be ignited by friction generated by striking the match against a suitable surface. Wooden mat ...

World Cup All-Star Team: 1990 *

French Division 1 Ligue 1, officially known as Ligue 1 Uber Eats for sponsorship reasons, is a French professional league for men's association football clubs. At the top of the French football league system, it is the country's primary football competition. ...

Foreign Player of the Year: 1990 * Belgian Professional Footballer of the Year: 1990–91 * Platina 11 (Best Team in 50 Years Golden Shoe Winners): 2003 * The Best Golden Shoe Team Ever: 2011 * RBFA 125 Years Icons Team: 2020 *

IFFHS The International Federation of Football History & Statistics (IFFHS) is an organisation that chronicles the history and records of association football. It was founded in 1984 by Alfredo Pöge in Leipzig. The IFFHS was based in Abu Dhabi for so ...

All Time Belgium Dream Team: 2021

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Scifo, Enzo 1966 births Living people Belgian footballers Belgian expatriate footballers R.A.A. Louviéroise players R.S.C. Anderlecht players Inter Milan players Expatriate footballers in Italy AJ Auxerre players Expatriate footballers in France Torino F.C. players Belgian First Division A players Serie A players Ligue 1 players AS Monaco FC players Expatriate footballers in Monaco Belgian football managers R. Charleroi S.C. managers R.A.E.C. Mons managers Belgium international footballers UEFA Euro 1984 players 1986 FIFA World Cup players 1990 FIFA World Cup players 1994 FIFA World Cup players 1998 FIFA World Cup players Royal Excel Mouscron managers Belgian people of Italian descent Belgian people of Sicilian descent Belgian expatriate sportspeople in Italy Belgian expatriate sportspeople in France Belgian expatriate sportspeople in Monaco People from La Louvière Association football midfielders Belgian First Division B managers Footballers from Hainaut (province)