.jpg) Sacchi in 2007 | |||||||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Arrigo Sacchi[1] | ||||||||||||||||
| Date of birth | (1946-04-01)1 April 1946 (age 78) | ||||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Fusignano, Italy | ||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.70 m (5 ft 7 in) | ||||||||||||||||
| Managerial career | |||||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | ||||||||||||||||
| 1973–1976 | Fusignano | ||||||||||||||||
| 1976–1977 | Alfonsine | ||||||||||||||||
| 1977–1978 | Bellaria | ||||||||||||||||
| 1978–1982 | Cesena (youth) | ||||||||||||||||
| 1982–1983 | Rimini | ||||||||||||||||
| 1983–1984 | Fiorentina (youth) | ||||||||||||||||
| 1984–1985 | Rimini | ||||||||||||||||
| 1985–1987 | Parma | ||||||||||||||||
| 1987–1991 | AC Milan | ||||||||||||||||
| 1991–1996 | Italy | ||||||||||||||||
| 1996–1997 | AC Milan | ||||||||||||||||
| 1998–1999 | Atlético Madrid | ||||||||||||||||
| 2001 | Parma | ||||||||||||||||
Medal record
| |||||||||||||||||
Arrigo Sacchi (born 1 April 1946) is an Italian former professionalfootball coach, best known for having twice managedAC Milan. Sacchi is regarded as one of the greatest managers of all time,[2] and his Milan side (1987–1991) is widely regarded to be one of the greatest club squads of all time.[3][4][5]
Sacchi won theSerie A title in his1987–88 debut season and then dominated European football by winning back to backEuropean Cups in1989 and1990. From 1991 to 1996, he was headcoach of theItaly national team and led them to the1994 FIFA World Cup Final, where they lost toBrazil in a penalty shoot-out.
Sacchi was never a professional football player and for many years worked as a shoe salesman. This led to his famous quote directed at those who questioned his qualifications: "I never realised that in order to become a jockey you have to have been a horse first."[6] Another famous Sacchi quote is that "football is the most important of the least important things in life."[7]
Sacchi had grown up watching attacking sides, such asBudapest Honvéd,Real Madrid,Brazil and theNetherlands. He started his career managing his local club, Baracca Lugo, because he was not good enough to play for them. Of the challenge he faced, Sacchi said, "I was twenty-six, my goalkeeper was thirty-nine and my centre-forward was thirty-two. I had to win them over." He next coached at Bellaria before joiningCesena, who were in theSerie B, as a youth team coach. He then took over atRimini who were playing in theSerie C1, and almost led them to a title.
He received his breakthrough when he moved toFiorentina as a youth coach. His achievements with the youth team earned interest fromParma, who were then playing in Serie C1. He led Parma to promotion in his first season, and in the following season took them to within 3 points of promotion toSerie A. Of greater importance to his time at Parma, however, was the team's performance in theCoppa Italia; they beatAC Milan 1–0 in the group stages, and beat them again 1–0 on aggregate in the first knockout round. This was enough to attract interest from Milan club ownerSilvio Berlusconi, who promptly appointed Sacchi as manager.[8]
At Milan, Sacchi again faced problems of credibility. The press argued that such an inadequate player could never go on to be a successful coach, and that even Berlusconi – who had played football at amateur level – was probably a better player. Sacchi wittily replied "I never realised that in order to become a jockey you have to have been a horse first."[6] Sacchi was an instant success at theSan Siro, leading Milan to its firstSerie A title in nine years in hisdebut season, following up the league title with aSupercoppa Italiana in1988.[4][9]
Sacchi's success at Milan gained him two back-to-backEuropean Cups.[4][9] The success he gained was largely attributed to the Dutch trio he had purchased:Marco van Basten,Ruud Gullit andFrank Rijkaard. However, other great players such asRoberto Donadoni, as well as the defensive back four ofFranco Baresi,Alessandro Costacurta,Mauro Tassotti andPaolo Maldini, were also a key to his success.[4]
The first European Cup final in1989 was againstSteaua București, who were beaten 4–0. Gullit and Van Basten scored two goals each and Milan lifted theEuropean Cup for the first time in over 20 years. En route to the final, Milan had dispatchedReal Madrid 6–1 on aggregate in the semi-final. The quarter-final againstWerder Bremen was a tight affair; Milan only went through 1–0 on aggregate thanks to a Van Basten penalty. The second round was shrouded in controversy. Donadoni had his life saved only through the quick-thinking of theRed Star Belgrade physio, who broke his jaw to make a passage for oxygen to reach his lungs after he had suffered a bad foul and lay unconscious. The first leg ended in a 1–1 draw and the second leg got called off in 64th minute and rescheduled to be replayed the next day due to the thick fog (Milan was losing 0–1 at the moment). Milan eventually progressed following a penalty shoot-out.
Although the team was not as strong as they had been in the previous season, they were victorious again in1990. After victories againstHJK Helsinki, Real Madrid andKV Mechelen, Milan defeated GermanBayern Munich in the semi-final, thanks to anaway goal. In thefinal Frank Rijkaard scored the only goal of the game through a Van Basten assist to conquerSven-Göran Eriksson'sBenfica. By winning the final, Milan became the first team which retained the title since1980, and the last team to do so until Real Madrid would manage to achieve this feat 27 years later. Sacchi would also capture back to backEuropean Super Cups andIntercontinental Cups in 1989 and 1990, and would lead Milan to the final of the1989–90 Coppa Italia, where they were defeated byJuventus. The following season saw them defeated byeventual runners-upMarseille in the quarter-final, and finish second inSerie A behindSampdoria, while they were eliminated in the semi-finals of theCoppa Italia by eventual championsRoma. This was Sacchi's last season withi Rossoneri.[4][9]
In November 1991, Sacchi was appointed manager of theItaly national team, replacingAzeglio Vicini. Sacchi based his Italian selection predominantly on Milan players, especially in the defensive line which featured Paolo Maldini and Franco Baresi; the attacking line was led by 1993Ballon d'Or winnerRoberto Baggio ofJuventus. Notable exclusions from Sacchi'sAzzurri selections includedGianluca Vialli,Roberto Mancini,Giuseppe Bergomi (who had been part of the World Cup winning squad of1982) andWalter Zenga.[10]
Sacchi led Italy through thequalification campaign to reach the1994 FIFA World Cup. Despite losing their first match 1–0 to theRepublic of Ireland and finishing third in their group, Italy reached thefinal (their first since1982), where they were defeated byBrazil in apenalty shoot-out, the first ever shootout in a World Cup final. Under Sacchi, Italy qualified forUEFA Euro 1996, but were eliminated in the group stage from a group which included the eventual finalists,Germany and theCzech Republic.[9] Sacchi later commented that the Euro 96 side were his best Italy team.[11]
After leaving his position with the national team, Sacchi returned to Milan to replaceÓscar Tabárez in December 1996. However, the second spell was unsuccessful with Milan finishing 11th inthe league and suffering its worst ever Serie A defeat, losing 6–1 at home to eventual champions Juventus.[9]
Sacchi had brief spells in the SpanishLa Liga, taking charge ofAtlético Madrid in 1998 after his second spell with theRossoneri, where he left his post in March of that season, with them languishing in the bottom half of the table. He also briefly returned to Parma in2001, replacingAlberto Malesani,[9] but resigned after only 3 matches (2 draws, 1 victory) for stress reasons, to be replaced byRenzo Ulivieri.[12] He later returned to Madrid, this time at theSantiago Bernabéu Stadium as director of football atReal Madrid for the2004–05 season.[13]
Nicknamed "The Prophet of Fusignano",[14] Sacchi is regarded as one of the greatest managers of all-time.[2] He favored a fluid, yet highly organised attacking4–4–2 formation,[4][15][16] discarding the traditionallibero[17] in an era where Italian football was mainly focussed on strong defensive play,[16][18] andHelenio Herrera'sCatenaccio tactics were still a strong influence.[4][17] Defensively, Sacchi's teams adopted azonal marking system, which had already been introduced by his predecessorNils Liedholm, and were known for their defensive strength, conceding few goals;[17][19] indeed, the defensive quartet of Maldini, Baresi, Costacurta, and Tassotti, which Sacchi deployed both at Milan and with the Italy national team, is regarded as one of the greatest defences of all-time.[19][20][21][22][23]
Sacchi believes in the Dutch concept ofTotal Football,[15] insisting that young players should be coached in all aspects of football rather than into specialist positions, helping the team both with or without the ball.[24] He was also a firm believer in team ethic and treating all players as equals,[25] once saying, "The only way you can build a side is by getting players who speak the same language and can play a team game. You can't achieve anything on your own, and if you do, it doesn't last long. I often quote whatMichelangelo said: 'The spirit guides the hand.'"[26] To perfect his team's cohesion, Sacchi introduced "shadow play", where his players would simulate a match in training without a football.[17] As a coach, he also attracted controversy, as he was known for implementing a strict and rigorous training regime upon his players, and his teams were often known for their work ethic and discipline. Sacchi is also remembered for his outspokenness, stubbornness and his meticulous, obsessive attention to detail when preparing tactical solutions and perfecting plays, which his players were then expected to memorise and implement consistently during matches.[27] Throughout his career, he clashed with several of his players, includingMarco Van Basten,Gianluca Vialli, andRoberto Baggio, as well as managerFabio Capello.[28][29][30][31]
Sacchi is also credited as an innovator, popularising high pressing from his teams, theoffside trap, and a high defensive line with no more than 25 metres between defence and attack.[4][15][18][19][24][32][33] This style of pressing has been emulated successfully byJosé Mourinho'sPorto,[18]Pep Guardiola'sBarcelona,[15]Jürgen Klopp'sBorussia Dortmund[34] andJupp Heynckes's Bayern Munich.[35] His successor at Milan,Fabio Capello, retained aspects of Sacchi's tactics and went on to win fourScudetti in five seasons and the1993–94 Champions League.[16] Spanish coachRafael Benítez cites Sacchi as his role model and "the coach who has revolutionised football in the past 50 years".[36]
Sacchi has been frequently imitated in television by Italian comedianMaurizio Crozza.[37]
| Team | From | To | Record | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| G | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Win % | |||
| Rimini | 1982 | 1983 | 43 | 15 | 13 | 15 | 39 | 39 | +0 | 034.88 |
| Rimini | 1984 | 1985 | 42 | 15 | 19 | 8 | 46 | 36 | +10 | 035.71 |
| Parma | June 1985 | July 1987 | 88 | 34 | 38 | 16 | 80 | 46 | +34 | 038.64 |
| AC Milan | July 1987 | June 1991 | 196 | 109 | 58 | 29 | 307 | 114 | +193 | 055.61 |
| Italy | November 1991 | June 1996 | 53 | 34 | 11 | 8 | 90 | 35 | +55 | 064.15 |
| Milan | December 1996 | June 1997 | 25 | 7 | 7 | 11 | 29 | 36 | −7 | 028.00 |
| Atlético Madrid | June 1998 | February 1999 | 30 | 15 | 5 | 10 | 52 | 32 | +20 | 050.00 |
| Parma | January 2001 | January 2001 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 2 | +2 | 033.33 |
| Total | 480 | 230 | 153 | 97 | 647 | 340 | +307 | 047.92 | ||
Parma[8]
Milan[38]
Italy[2]
Individual
Italy squads | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| |||||||
