 Cabrini in 2008 | |||||||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | (1957-10-08)8 October 1957 (age 68) | ||||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Cremona, Italy | ||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.77 m (5 ft 10 in) | ||||||||||||||||
| Position | Left-back | ||||||||||||||||
| Youth career | |||||||||||||||||
| Cremonese | |||||||||||||||||
| Senior career* | |||||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) | ||||||||||||||
| 1973–1975 | Cremonese | 29 | (2) | ||||||||||||||
| 1975–1976 | Atalanta | 35 | (1) | ||||||||||||||
| 1976–1989 | Juventus | 297 | (33) | ||||||||||||||
| 1989–1991 | Bologna | 55 | (2) | ||||||||||||||
| Total | 416 | (38) | |||||||||||||||
| International career | |||||||||||||||||
| 1978–1987 | Italy | 73 | (9) | ||||||||||||||
| Managerial career | |||||||||||||||||
| 2000–2001 | Arezzo | ||||||||||||||||
| 2001 | Crotone | ||||||||||||||||
| 2004–2005 | Pisa | ||||||||||||||||
| 2005–2006 | Novara | ||||||||||||||||
| 2012–2017 | Italy women | ||||||||||||||||
Medal record
| |||||||||||||||||
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||||||||||||||||
Antonio Cabrini (Italian pronunciation:[anˈtɔːnjokaˈbriːni]; born 8 October 1957) is an Italian professionalfootballmanager and a formerplayer. He played as aleft-back, mainly withJuventus. He won the1982 FIFA World Cup with theItaly national team. Cabrini was nicknamedBell'Antonio ("beautiful Antonio"),[1] 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 greatestdefenders ever,[2] and is remembered in particular for forming one of the most formidable defensive units of all time withItaly and Juventus, alongside goalkeeperDino Zoff, as well as defendersClaudio Gentile andGaetano Scirea.[1] Cabrini won the Best Young Player Award at the1978 World Cup, after helping Italy manage a fourth-place finish, and also represented Italy atEuro 1980, once again finishing in fourth place. He is one of the few players to have won allUEFA Club competitions, an achievement he managed with Juventus.[3] In 2021, he was inducted into theItalian Football Hall of Fame.[4]
Cabrini was born inCremona, Lombardy. He made his professional football debut with the local teamU.S. Cremonese in theSerie C 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 theSerie B forAtalanta, and in the summer of 1976 he was acquired by Juventus, the team for which he was to spend most of his career.[3]
With Juventus, he won theSerie A six times, theCoppa Italia two times, oneUEFA Super Cup, oneEuropean Cup, oneUEFA Cup and oneIntercontinental European/South American Cup. In his final season with Juventus, he alsocaptained the side, after inheriting the armband from Scirea. In 1989, after 13 successful seasons with the Turin club, he moved toBologna 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).[3][5]
Cabrini was called up to Italy'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 againstFrance, which ended in a 2–1 win for 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 consecutiveWorld Cups: in 1978, 1982 and1986. Overall, Cabrini played 18 games during World Cup final stages, winning the 1982 edition despite missing a penalty in the final againstWest Germany. He also represented Italy at Euro 1980 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-winning team that included goalkeeper Dino Zoff, Gaetano Scirea,Giuseppe Bergomi, Claudio Gentile in defense,Marco Tardelli andBruno Conti in midfield, and Cabrini's Juventus teammatePaolo Rossi in attack. Cabrini had 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 championsArgentina.[6]
In total, he earned 73 caps for his country and scored nine goals (an Italy international record for a defender),[7] ending his career with theAzzurri in October 1987, earning his final appearance on 17 October 1987, in a 0–0 draw againstSwitzerland. He also captained the national side ten times.[8]
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.[1][2][3][9][10] A former leftwinger, he was also capable of playing on the left side of anattacking trident; he was later switched to left-back by his manager Ivanoe "Babo" Nolli during his time with the Cremonese youth side.[1][3][11] Cabrini's attacking prowess, eye for goal, intelligence, andcrossing 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 effectivefree kick andpenalty kick taker.[1][3][9][10] 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.[1][2][3][9][12] Despite his popularity off the pitch and open character, he was known for being a man of few words throughout his career;[1] moreover he also stood out for his discipline as a footballer, as he neither smoked nor drank.[3]
Cabrini started a coaching career in 2000 withSerie C1 clubArezzo, replacingSerse Cosmi and losing promotion on playoffs. He then coachedSerie B'sCrotone with little fortune, and later served as head coach for Serie C1 clubsPisa andNovara, although with dismal results.
He was announced to become the head coach of theSyria 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 Qualifiers and to make a preparation camp in Italy, but all that was canceled after the financial problems within the FA.
On 14 May 2012, Cabrini was appointed coach ofItaly women's national team.[13] On 4 August 2017, after five years as coach, he was replaced byMilena Bertolini.[14]
Later in 2008, he briefly contested the Italian TV reality showL'Isola dei Famosi (localized version ofCelebrity Survivor). In June 2009 he entered politics by joiningItaly of Values, as party responsible for sports issues in theLazio region.[15]
Juventus[3]
Italy[17]
Individual
| Best Young Player | |
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| FIFA Young Player Award | |
FIFA Young Player Award was first awarded in2006. | |
Italy squads | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| International | |
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| National | |
| Other | |
