Giorgio Ghezzi (; 11 July 1930 – 12 December 1990), nicknamed "

Kamikaze , officially , were a part of the Japanese Special Attack Units of military aviators who flew suicide attacks for the Empire of Japan against Allied naval vessels in the closing stages of the Pacific campaign of World War II, intending t ...

", was an

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

football manager and player who played as a

goalkeeper In many team sports which involve scoring goals, the goalkeeper (sometimes termed goaltender, netminder, GK, goalie or keeper) is a designated player charged with directly preventing the opposing team from scoring by blocking or intercepting o ...

Club career

Born in

Cesenatico Cesenatico ( rgn, Ziznàtic) is a port town with about 26,000 inhabitants on the Adriatic coast of Italy. It is located in the province of Forlì-Cesena in the region of Emilia-Romagna, about south of Ravenna. Cesenatico's port canal was surv ...

, Ghezzi started his career at

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 ...

in 1947 and later played for Modena between 1949 and 1951. He subsequently joined

Internazionale 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 t ...

in 1951, making his Serie A debut that season in a 3–1 home win over Legnano on 21 October. He remained at the club for 7 years, playing a total of 191 matches with the team across all competitions (

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 ...

, European Cup and

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 ...

). During his time with Inter, he won 2 Serie A titles in

1953 Events January * January 6 – The Asian Socialist Conference opens in Rangoon, Burma. * January 12 – Estonian émigrés found a government-in-exile in Oslo. * January 14 ** Marshal Josip Broz Tito is chosen President of Yug ...

and 1954. At the end of the 1957–58 season, he was sold to

Genoa Genoa ( ; it, Genova ; lij, Zêna ). is the capital of the Italian region of Liguria and the sixth-largest city in Italy. In 2015, 594,733 people lived within the city's administrative limits. As of the 2011 Italian census, the Province of ...

, and then, in 1959, he returned to

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 h ...

, but to join Inter's cross-city rivals

A.C. Milan Associazione Calcio Milan (), commonly referred to as AC Milan or simply Milan, is a professional Association football, football club in Milan, Italy, founded in 1899. The club has spent its entire history, with the exception of the 1980–81 ...

, as a replacement for his perceived career rival Lorenzo Buffon, who had instead joined Genoa that season, and who subsequently moved to Ghezzi's former club Inter the following season. With Milan, Ghezzi won another Serie A title in 1962 and the 1962–63 European Champions Cup in 1963; in the

1963 European Cup Final The 1963 European Cup Final was a football match between Milan and Benfica, held at Wembley Stadium, London, on 22 May 1963. Milan won the match 2–1, winning the European Cup for the first time. Runners-up Benfica made their third consecut ...

, he was one of the club's star performers as Milan defeated

Eusébio Eusébio da Silva Ferreira (; 25 January 1942 – 5 January 2014), nicknamed the "Black Panther", the "Black Pearl" or "O Rei" ("The King"), was a Portuguese footballer who played as a striker. He is considered one of the greatest players of ...

's Benfica 2–1 at

Wembley Wembley () is a large suburbIn British English, "suburb" often refers to the secondary urban centres of a city. Wembley is not a suburb in the American sense, i.e. a single-family residential area outside of the city itself. in north-west Londo ...

, becoming the first Italian goalkeeper to win the European Cup. Ghezzi retired with Milan in 1965.

International career

At international level, Ghezzi made six appearances for 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 ...

between 1954 and 1961. He made his debut on 11 April 1954, in a 3–1 away win over

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 ...

, and was a starting member of the Italy team that took part at the

1954 FIFA World Cup The 1954 FIFA World Cup was the fifth edition of the FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international football tournament for senior men's national teams of the nations affiliated to FIFA. It was held in Switzerland from 16 June to 4 July. Switzer ...

, despite competition from several other excellent Italian goalkeepers at the time, such as Leonardo Costagliola, Giovanni Viola,

Giuliano Sarti Giuliano Sarti (; 2 October 1933 – 5 June 2017) was an Italian professional football player, who played in the position of goalkeeper. Throughout his successful career, he played for several Italian clubs, although he is mostly remembered for h ...

, and William Negri. Later he found his opportunities in the national team more limited due to the presence of his perceived career rival Buffon.

Style of play

An aggressive, courageous and spectacular goalkeeper, Ghezzi was known in particular for his athleticism, agility, reflexes and acrobatic saves, as well as his speed when rushing off his line to anticipate or challenge opposing strikers; his playing style as a '' sweeper keeper'' inspired his nickname ''kamikaze''. Despite his shot-stopping abilities and reputation as one of the greatest Italian goalkeepers of his generation, he was also at times criticised for his mentality and consistency, and was known for letting his emotions get the better of him on occasion.

Managerial career

Following his retirement as a player, Ghezzi served as manager of Genoa between 1966 and 1967.

Personal life

Ghezzi dated the Italian television personality and actress Edy Campagnoli, who later went on to marry Ghezzi's perceived career rival, Buffon. Ghezzi died in his hometown Forlì on 12 December 1990, at the age of 60, from a heart attack.

Honours

Club

;Inter *

: 1952–53, 1953–54 ;Milan *

: 1961–62 * European Cup: 1962–63

Individual

*A.C. Milan Hall of Fame

References

External links

Profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ghezzi, Giorgio 1930 births 1990 deaths People from Cesenatico Italian footballers Italy international footballers 1954 FIFA World Cup players A.C. Milan players Inter Milan players Association football goalkeepers Genoa C.F.C. managers Genoa C.F.C. players Modena F.C. players Rimini F.C. 1912 players Serie A managers Serie A players Italian football managers UEFA Champions League winning players Footballers from Emilia-Romagna Sportspeople from the Province of Forlì-Cesena