| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Vincenzo Daniele Scifo | ||
| Date of birth | (1966-02-19)19 February 1966 (age 59) | ||
| Place of birth | La Louvière, Belgium | ||
| Height | 1.78 m (5 ft 10 in) | ||
| Position | Attacking midfielder | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1983–1987 | Anderlecht | 119 | (32) |
| 1987–1988 | Internazionale | 28 | (4) |
| 1988–1989 | Bordeaux | 24 | (7) |
| 1989–1991 | Auxerre | 67 | (25) |
| 1991–1993 | Torino | 62 | (16) |
| 1993–1997 | AS Monaco | 91 | (20) |
| 1997–2000 | Anderlecht | 75 | (14) |
| 2000–2001 | Charleroi | 12 | (3) |
| Total | 478 | (121) | |
| International career | |||
| 1984–1998 | Belgium | 84 | (18) |
| Managerial career | |||
| 2001–2002 | Charleroi | ||
| 2004–2006 | Tubize | ||
| 2007–2009 | Mouscron | ||
| 2012–2013 | Mons | ||
| 2015–2016 | Belgium U21 | ||
| 2021 | Royal Excel Mouscron | ||
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Vincenzo "Enzo" Daniele Scifo (Italian pronunciation:[ˈɛntsoʃˈʃiːfo]; born 19 February 1966)[1] is a retired Belgianfootballmidfielder. He has also managed theBelgium 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 theBelgium national team, for which he appeared in fourFIFA World Cups, being one of three Belgian players ever to do so.
Scifo was born inLa Louvière,Wallonia, to Italian parents fromSicily.[2][3][4] He proved himself a highly promising talent in youth football and was nicknamed "LittlePelé" at his local team, where he scored 432 goals in only four seasons as a junior.[3][5] Scifo joined his local clubR.A.A. Louviéroise as a seven-year-old in 1973.[3] He transferred to what used to be Belgium'smost successful club,R.S.C. Anderlecht, in 1982.[3]
Scifo made his first team debut withR.S.C. Anderlecht in 1983, at the age of 17.[5] After winning threeBelgian First Division championships with the club, and helping the team to the1984 UEFA Cup Final, only to lose out toTottenham on penalties, Scifo earned a reputation as one of the most promising young stars of his generation,[3] and moved to his ancestral country forInternazionale in1987 for a fee of 7.5 billion Lire.[6] At the time, this was the record amount for a football transfer.[7] After an unsuccessful spell inInter Milan, which saw him manage only four league goals in 28 appearances, he moved to French clubBordeaux in 1988 where he again disappointed, and faced injuries and conflict with senior squad members.[3][8] His career was revived by a successful move toAuxerre in 1989, at the age of 23, under managerGuy Roux, which led to a return to Italy withTorino in 1991;[9] his second spell inSerie A was more successful, as he reached the1992 UEFA Cup Final in his first season with Torino, and won theCoppa Italia the following season.[5] Scifo then moved toAS Monaco in 1993, where he enjoyed a similar level of success and won theFrench championship in1997.[5] He returned to Anderlecht later that year and won his fourth Belgian league title in the1999–2000 season.[10] He joinedCharleroi in 2000, but retired later in the same season, at the age of 36, after being diagnosed with chronicarthritis.[3][11] In total, Scifo scored 121 league goals in 478 official matches.[3]
Scifo made his senior international debut on 6 June 1984 forBelgium, in a 2–2 friendly draw againstHungary.[12] InBelgium's opening group match ofUEFA Euro 1984, on 13 June, he attracted much publicity when he helped his team to a 2–0 victory overYugoslavia; at the age of 18 years and 115 days, he was the youngest player ever to appear in the finals at the time.[5][13] 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.[14]
"“He’s the only European footballer who can genuinely be considered my successor."
He appeared forBelgium in the1986,1990,1994, and1998World Cups, playing sixteen games in total;[16] 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.[5] 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 namedthe best young player of the tournament for his performances throughout the competition.[4][5] 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 overUruguay, on 17 June, held in Verona;[5] the goal was later elected as the tenth greatest FIFA World Cup goal of the Century in a 2002 poll, with 2,935 votes.[17] Belgium were eventually eliminated in the second round againstEngland; four years later, atU.S.A. '94, the Belgian side were once again eliminated in the second round.[5] Scifo retired from international football after Belgium's first round elimination in the1998 World Cup held in France;[5] in total he gained eighty-four international caps and scored eighteen goals.[18]
A highly creativemidfielder with an eye for goal, Scifo was a classicnumber 10playmaker who usually played as anattacking midfielder behind the strikers; he was also capable of playing as acentral midfielder, where he functioned as adeep-lying playmaker, or as awide midfielder along the right flank. Considered one of Belgium's greatest ever players,[19] 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 todribble 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 withGianni Rivera,Giancarlo Antognoni, and his idolMichel Platini.[3][6]
Scifo tried his hand at coaching withR. Charleroi S.C., joining them for the 2000–01 season. Indifferent results led to his resignation in June 2002. He later coachedTubize between 2004 and 2006, and later became head trainer ofR.E. Mouscron, anotherBelgian League team, in 2007. On 6 June 2009, Scifo quit Mouscron due to the club's difficult financial situation.[20]
Scifo returned to club football withMons between 2012 and 2013. Between 2015 and 2016, he served as the manager of theBelgium U21 national team. Scifo was appointed manager ofMouscron in 2021, but was dismissed from his position after a poor start to the season.[21] In 2024, Enzo Scifo was appointed talent manager ofRAAL La Louvière, the successor club to Louviéroise where he started as a youth player.[22]
| Club | Season | League | National cup[a] | League Cup[b] | Europe | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Anderlecht | 1983–84 | Belgian League | 25 | 5 | 2 | 0 | – | 8[c] | 1 | 35 | 6 | |
| 1984–85 | 30 | 14 | 6 | 2 | – | 4[c] | 1 | 40 | 17 | |||
| 1985–86 | 31 | 5 | 2 | 0 | – | 5[d] | 2 | 38 | 7 | |||
| 1986–87 | 33 | 8 | 6 | 0 | – | 5[d] | 1 | 44 | 9 | |||
| Total | 119 | 32 | 16 | 2 | – | 22 | 5 | 157 | 39 | |||
| Inter Milan[24] | 1987–88 | Serie A | 28 | 4 | 10 | 0 | – | 6[c] | 1 | 44 | 5 | |
| Girondins Bordeaux | 1988–89 | Division 1 | 24 | 7 | 0 | 0 | – | 6[c] | 1 | 30 | 8 | |
| Auxerre | 1989–90 | Division 1 | 33 | 11 | 2 | 0 | – | 11[c] | 5 | 46 | 16 | |
| 1990–91 | 34 | 14 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | 37 | 14 | |||
| Total | 67 | 25 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 11 | 5 | 83 | 30 | ||
| Torino[25] | 1991–92 | Serie A | 30 | 9 | 5 | 0 | – | 11[c] | 2 | 46 | 11 | |
| 1992–93 | 32 | 7 | 6 | 2 | – | 4[c] | 0 | 42 | 9 | |||
| Total | 62 | 16 | 11 | 2 | – | 15 | 2 | 88 | 20 | |||
| Monaco | 1993–94 | Division 1 | 31 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 11[e] | 2 | 44 | 8 |
| 1994–95 | 11 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | – | 13 | 3 | |||
| 1995–96 | 34 | 7 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 2[c] | 0 | 42 | 10 | ||
| 1996–97 | 15 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2[c] | 0 | 20 | 5 | ||
| Total | 91 | 20 | 6 | 3 | 7 | 1 | 15 | 2 | 119 | 26 | ||
| Anderlecht | 1997–98 | Belgian League | 30 | 4 | 2 | 1 | – | 7[c] | 2 | 39 | 7 | |
| 1998–99 | 27 | 8 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 4[c] | 0 | 34 | 9 | ||
| 1999–2000 | 17 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 1[c] | 0 | 21 | 3 | ||
| Total | 74 | 14 | 4 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 12 | 2 | 94 | 19 | ||
| Charleroi | 2000–01 | Belgian League | 12 | 3 | 1 | 0 | – | – | 13 | 3 | ||
| Career total | 477 | 121 | 53 | 9 | 11 | 2 | 87 | 18 | 628 | 150 | ||
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Belgium[26] | 1984 | 8 | 1 |
| 1985 | 3 | 1 | |
| 1986 | 12 | 3 | |
| 1987 | 4 | 0 | |
| 1988 | 4 | 0 | |
| 1989 | 5 | 0 | |
| 1990 | 9 | 2 | |
| 1991 | 6 | 3 | |
| 1992 | 6 | 1 | |
| 1993 | 5 | 4 | |
| 1994 | 6 | 0 | |
| 1995 | 3 | 2 | |
| 1996 | 4 | 0 | |
| 1997 | 4 | 0 | |
| 1998 | 5 | 1 | |
| Total | 84 | 18 | |
| No. | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 17 October 1984 | Heysel Stadium,Brussels |  Albania | 2–1 | 3–1 | 1986 World Cup qualifier |
| 2 | 27 March 1985 | Heysel Stadium, Brussels |  Greece | 2–0 | 2–0 | 1986 World Cup qualifier |
| 3 | 8 June 1986 | Estadio Nemesio Díez,Toluca |  Iraq | 1–0 | 2–1 | 1986 World Cup |
| 4 | 15 June 1986 | Estadio Nou Camp,León |  Soviet Union | 1–1 | 4–3 | 1986 World Cup |
| 5 | 10 September 1986 | Heysel Stadium, Brussels |  Republic of Ireland | 2–1 | 2–2 | Euro 1988 qualifier |
| 6 | 26 May 1990 | Heysel Stadium, Brussels |  Romania | 1–0 | 2–2 | Friendly |
| 7 | 17 June 1990 | Stadio Marc'Antonio Bentegodi,Verona |  Uruguay | 2–0 | 3–1 | 1990 World Cup |
| 8 | 27 February 1991 | Constant Vanden Stock Stadium, Brussels |  Luxembourg | 3–0 | 3–0 | Euro 1992 qualifier |
| 9 | 11 September 1991 | Stade Josy Barthel,Luxembourg | Luxembourg | 1–0 | 2–0 | Euro 1992 qualifier |
| 10 | 9 October 1991 | Sóstói Stadion,Székesfehérvár |  Hungary | 2–0 | 2–0 | Friendly |
| 11 | 25 March 1992 | Parc des Princes, Paris |  France | 2–1 | 3–3 | Friendly |
| 12. | 13 February 1993 | Makario Stadium,Nicosia |  Cyprus | 1–0 | 3–0 | 1994 World Cup qualifier |
| 13 | 2–0 | |||||
| 14 | 22 May 1993 | Constant Vanden Stock Stadium, Brussels |  Faroe Islands | 2–0 | 3–0 | 1994 World Cup qualifier |
| 15 | 13 October 1993 | Stadionul Steaua,Bucharest | Romania | 1–2 | 1–2 | 1994 World Cup qualifier |
| 16. | 7 June 1995 | Philip II Arena,Skopje |  North Macedonia | 2–0 | 5–0 | Euro 1996 qualifier |
| 17 | 5–0 | |||||
| 18 | 6 June 1998 | King Baudouin Stadium, Brussels |  Paraguay | 1–0 | 1–0 | Friendly |
Anderlecht[3]
Monaco[3]
Torino[3]
Belgium
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