 Lippi asChina manager in 2019 | |||||||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Marcello Romeo Lippi[1] | ||||||||||||||||
| Date of birth | (1948-04-12)12 April 1948 (age 77) | ||||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Viareggio, Italy | ||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.82 m (6 ft 0 in) | ||||||||||||||||
| Position | Sweeper[2] | ||||||||||||||||
| Youth career | |||||||||||||||||
| 1963–1969 | Viareggio | ||||||||||||||||
| Senior career* | |||||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) | ||||||||||||||
| 1969–1979 | Sampdoria | 274 | (5) | ||||||||||||||
| 1969–1970 | →Savona (loan) | 21 | (2) | ||||||||||||||
| 1979–1981 | Pistoiese | 45 | (0) | ||||||||||||||
| 1981–1982 | Lucchese | 23 | (0) | ||||||||||||||
| Total | 363 | (7) | |||||||||||||||
| International career | |||||||||||||||||
| 1971 | Italy U23 | 2 | (0) | ||||||||||||||
| Managerial career | |||||||||||||||||
| 1985–1986 | Pontedera | ||||||||||||||||
| 1986–1987 | Siena | ||||||||||||||||
| 1987–1988 | Pistoiese | ||||||||||||||||
| 1988–1989 | Carrarese | ||||||||||||||||
| 1989–1991 | Cesena | ||||||||||||||||
| 1991–1992 | Lucchese | ||||||||||||||||
| 1992–1993 | Atalanta | ||||||||||||||||
| 1993–1994 | Napoli | ||||||||||||||||
| 1994–1999 | Juventus | ||||||||||||||||
| 1999–2000 | Inter Milan | ||||||||||||||||
| 2001–2004 | Juventus | ||||||||||||||||
| 2004–2006 | Italy | ||||||||||||||||
| 2008–2010 | Italy | ||||||||||||||||
| 2012–2014 | Guangzhou Evergrande | ||||||||||||||||
| 2016–2019 | China | ||||||||||||||||
| 2019 | China | ||||||||||||||||
Medal record
| |||||||||||||||||
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||||||||||||||||
Marcello Romeo LippiCommendatore OMRI (Italian pronunciation:[marˈtʃɛlloˈlippi]; born 12 April 1948) is an Italian former professionalfootball player and former manager, who led theItaly national team to victory in the2006 FIFA World Cup.
He was appointed as Italy head coach in the summer of 2004 and 2008, and he was succeeded byCesare Prandelli after a disappointing performance in the2010 FIFA World Cup.[3]
Throughout his career as a manager, he won oneWorld Cup, oneUEFA Champions League, fiveSerie A titles, threeChinese Super League titles, oneCoppa Italia, oneChinese FA Cup, fourItalian Supercups, oneAFC Champions League, oneUEFA Super Cup and oneIntercontinental Cup. Lippi is the first and to date the only coach to win both the UEFA Champions League and the AFC Champions League.[4] He is also the first coach to have won the most prestigious international competitions both for clubs in different continents, and for national teams (theUEFA Champions League and theIntercontinental Cup in 1996 withJuventus; theAFC Champions League in 2013 withGuangzhou Evergrande; and theFIFA World Cup in 2006 with Italy).
Lippi is regarded as one of the greatest and most successful managers in football history,[2] and in 2007,The Times included him on its list of the top 50 managers of all time.[5] He was named the world's best football manager by theInternational Federation of Football History & Statistics (IFFHS) both in 1996 and 1998 and the world's best National coach in 2006.[6]
Born inViareggio, in northernTuscany, Lippi began his professional career as a defender in 1969, in the role ofsweeper.[2] He spent most of his playing years withSampdoria, where he played consecutively from 1969 to 1978, except for a year on loan atSavona. In 1979, he joinedPistoiese, being part of theArancioni's promotion toSerie A. He finished his playing career withLucchese.
Lippi retired from active football in 1982, at the age of 34, to pursue a coaching career. Despite never having played for Italy at senior level, Lippi gained experience playing in his country's top flight as acentral defender for Sampdoria. His rise to the top of the managerial tree also began at theGenoese club, where he started as a youth-team coach. After various stints in Italy's lower divisions, he became a head coach in Serie A in 1989 withCesena. Lippi then moved on toLucchese andAtalanta. The turning point for Lippi came in the1993–94 season when he ledNapoli to a place in theUEFA Cup.
With his success at Napoli, Lippi became a managerial target for the top Serie A clubs, withJuventus ultimately winning the race to secure his services. He won theSerie A title and theCoppa Italia in his first season at the club, also reaching the1995 UEFA Cup final, with a team that included players who would play an important role in the club's future successes, includingGianluca Vialli,Fabrizio Ravanelli,Roberto Baggio,Alessandro Del Piero,Angelo Peruzzi,Angelo Di Livio,Moreno Torricelli,Didier Deschamps,Paulo Sousa,Antonio Conte,Alessio Tacchinardi andGiancarlo Marocchi, as well asCiro Ferrara, a player Lippi had previously coached at Napoli and who later acted as his assistant with theAzzurri. He made the team less dependent on the individual plays of Baggio, and also helped Vialli and Ravanelli rediscover their goalscoring form, in addition to introducing a young Del Piero into the starting line-up in a 4–3–3 formation, following Baggio's injury.[7][8][9] The following season, Lippi guided Juventus to1995 Supercoppa Italiana and the1995–96 UEFA Champions League titles. With the arrival of several new key players which includedZinedine Zidane,Edgar Davids,Filippo Inzaghi,Mark Iuliano,Paolo Montero andIgor Tudor, these victories were followed by consecutive league titles, the1996 UEFA Super Cup, the1996 Intercontinental Cup and the1997 Supercoppa Italiana, as well as two more consecutive Champions League finals and another semi-final.[9][10]
After five highly successful seasons at Juventus, Lippi moved toInter Milan in1999, leading the club to a fourth-place finish in the league and the2000 Coppa Italia final,[10] though he was sacked after suffering a disappointing defeat in the first match-day of the2000–01 Serie A season; having previously also received significant criticism due to his poor results in his previous season with theNerazzurri, and after Inter were eliminated from the2000–01 UEFA Champions League in the third qualifying round by Swedish underdogsHelsingborg without managing to score a goal over the two legs.[2]
Following the sacking ofCarlo Ancelotti, Lippi was subsequently re-appointed as Juventus' head coach for the2001–02 season.[10] Following the departure of Inzaghi toMilan and Zidane toReal Madrid for a world record fee, the club acquiredPavel Nedvěd,Gianluigi Buffon andLilian Thuram to reinforce its line-up,[11] and managed to win two furtherscudetti under Lippi, as he also led thebianconeri to consecutive Supercoppa Italiana titles and two Coppa Italia finals, as well as the2003 UEFA Champions League final held atOld Trafford;[2] Juventus lost out to Milan in apenalty shootout, however, after both the teams failed to score during regulation and extra time.[12]
In March 2007, Lippi managed aEurope XI team who playedManchester United in aUEFA Celebration Match, commemorating the 50th anniversary of the signing of theTreaty of Rome and the 50th year of Manchester United's participation in European competitions. His team lost 4–3 at Old Trafford.
Lippi was appointed head of theItaly national team in July 2004, following a disappointingUEFA Euro 2004 campaign underGiovanni Trapattoni. TheAzzurri secured their passage to theFIFA World Cup finals with relative ease and subsequent victories, such as the 3–1 victory over theNetherlands and a 4–1 win overGermany in friendly matches, which raised expectations considerably. During the late weeks of the2005–06 season Lippi was under scrutiny surrounding the2006 Serie A scandal (Calciopoli); blamed because of his long-standing ties and previous history with Juventus, and pressured to step down as Italy coach.[13]
Throughout the2006 World Cup, Lippi was praised for rotating several players (fielding 21) and adopting several tactical systems that allowed his two starplaymakers,Francesco Totti andAndrea Pirlo, to play alongside each other and contribute to Italy's offensive play, assisting many of the team's goals,[14] eventually settling on a 4–2–3–1 formation.[15] In Lippi's formation, Totti occupied the advanced creative role behind the mainforward, in particulartarget-manLuca Toni, while Pirlo was deployed in the deep-lying playmaking role; the two players were supported defensively by hard-working box-to-box midfielders, such asDaniele De Rossi,Gennaro Gattuso,Simone Perrotta andSimone Barone, as well as wingerMauro Camoranesi, and attacking full-backsGianluca Zambrotta andFabio Grosso, who were expected to push up the flanks.[15][16][17][18] The Pirlo-Gattuso partnership in Italy's midfield, in particular, proved to be extremely effective, as Lippi led Italy all the way to thefinal of the tournament, where they beatFrance 5–3 in a penalty shoot-out after a 1–1 draw.[2][15][19] While the team was praised for adopting a more offensive approach than Lippi's predecessors, which saw a World Cup record of ten of the team's 23 players score, with the squad netting 12 goals in total, the team also stood out for its defensive stability. Led bycaptain and eventual2006 Ballon d'Or winnerFabio Cannavaro, Italy's back-line and goalkeeper – Gianluigi Buffon – only conceded two goals throughout the tournament, of which only one (an own goal) occurred in open play.[18][20][21][22][23]
After winning the World Cup, Lippi stated that this was his "most satisfying moment as a coach", even after winning theIntercontinental Cup and theUEFA Champions League with Juventus.[24] Three days after the final, Lippi did not renew his expiring contract with theItalian Football Federation (FIGC), and left his office as coach of Italy. He was succeeded byRoberto Donadoni.[25] Following his stint as Italy's manager, Lippi served as a commentator for2007–08 UEFA Champions League matches forSky Sport.[26]
Under the management of Donadoni, Italy was eliminated atUEFA Euro 2008 at the quarter-final stage bySpain on penalties, prompting Donadoni's dismissal. On 26 June 2008, Lippi was re-appointed as coach of Italy.[3] Italy took part in the2009 FIFA Confederations Cup under Lippi, where they suffered a first-round elimination following a 3–0 loss toBrazil in their final group match.[27] Later that same year, Italyqualified for the 2010 World Cup with two games to spare following a 2–2 away draw againstIreland on 10 October.[28]
For the2010 World Cup, Lippi selected mostly veterans of the victorious 2006 squad, controversially omitting younger players such asMario Balotelli andGiuseppe Rossi, in addition to notable players such asAntonio Cassano.[29][30][31] Italy's performance at the 2010 World Cup was extremely poor, drawing 1–1 with bothParaguay andNew Zealand before losing 3–2 toSlovakia and finishing bottom of the group.[32][33] Lippi resigned after the Slovakia defeat, and was succeeded byCesare Prandelli.[34][35] Lippi was also criticised by pundits for playing several players out of position in a 4–2–3–1 formation that he had not used in the lead-up to the tournament.[36]
On 17 May 2012,Chinese Super League sideGuangzhou Evergrande announced that they had officially signed Lippi on a two-and-a-half-year deal worth around €30 million, replacing Korean managerLee Jang-soo.[37] Lippi's first official game in China came three days later on 20 May, in a 1–0 home victory againstQingdao Jonoon. He achieved adouble in his first season at the club by winning theleague anddomestic cup titles. In his second season, on 2 October 2013, Lippi led his side to the2013 AFC Champions League final for the first time in the club's history. Four days later, on 6 October, he led Guangzhou Evergrande to win their third consecutive Chinese Super League title by beatingShandong Luneng Taishan 4–2 away. In thefinal of the2013 AFC Champions League, his side defeatedFC Seoul to win the club's first Asian title, the first continental title for a Chinese club for23 years.[38][39] Guangzhou Evergrande, however, was later defeated in the two-leggedfinal byGuizhou Moutai in theChinese FA Cup, hence unable to become the first Chinese club to achieve acontinental treble. Later that year, Lippi also led the club to a fourth-place finish in the2013 FIFA Club World Cup.[38] On 28 February 2014, Guangzhou Evergrande announced that they had officially extended Lippi's contract on a three-year deal, keeping him at the club until 2017.[40] On 2 November 2014, Lippi publicly declared that he had retired from coaching after having guided Guangzhou Evergrande to their fourth successive league title. He continued with Guangzhou as thedirector of football. However, he resigned from the club on 26 February 2015.[41]
On 22 October 2016, Lippi, was appointed manager of theChina national team.[42][43][44] He made his debut in a 0–0 draw against Qatar valid for the2018 World Cup qualification.[45] Lippi led the side during the final stage of the2019 AFC Asian Cup, where China won 2–1 overKyrgyzstan and 3–0 againstPhilippines, before losing 2–0 to group leadersSouth Korea on 16 January.[46] China then beatThailand 2–1 to earn a place in the quarter-finals, where the Chinese team was knocked out byIran after a 3–0 defeat on 24 January; Lippi subsequently confirmed his departure as head coach.[47][48]
On 24 May 2019, Marcello Lippi was re-appointed as head coach of China, replacing compatriotFabio Cannavaro after his brief tenure.[49][50] He resigned for the second time that year on 15 November, following a 2–1 defeat toSyria.[51][52]
On 22 October 2020, Lippi announced his retirement from coaching.[53]
In his bookIl Gioco delle Idee: Pensieri e Passioni da Bordo Campo ("A Game of Ideas: Thoughts and Passions from the Sidelines"),[9][54] Lippi outlined his coaching philosophy. He emphasizes the importance of team spirit and unity. He likens a psychologically well integrated team to the functioning of a psychologically healthy family. On the strategic aspect of coaching, he emphasizes the importance of mutual relations between players. Players must all follow the same plan and play for each other, "not" for themselves. Lippi argues that "a group of the best players do not necessarily make for the best team". What is more important, he argues, is that the tactical plan or formation is one that allows each player to maximize (1) his utility for his teammates and (2) the expression of his full potential. Lippi also sat the choice of tactical formation is constrained by the qualities of the team's players. Thus selecting the best possible team not only requires finding the right combination of players for the chosen formation, but also finding the right formation for the chosen players.
Regarded as one of the best and most successful managers of all time,[2][5] in 2013,James Horncastle, while writing forESPN, described Lippi has a coaching style and tactical prowess with the following words: "[His] coaching education is broader than most. He worked before, during and after the revolution brought byArrigo Sacchi. So think of him as a bridge between the oldgioco all’italiana and the new, a blend of the traditional and the modern. His teams knew how toman-mark and to playzone. They invited opponents onto them andcounterattacked but could also take the game to whoever they were playing and press them in their half of the pitch. Balance was everything. Lippi's starting XIs were never fixed. They were always in discussion and would be adapted according to the opposition."[2] In the early part of his managerial career, Salvatore Lo Presti noted that Lippi was known for implementing an energetic and offensive style, which used a zonal marking system in defence;[55] throughout his time at Juventus, he frequently used a high defensive line and theoffside trap, with Peruzzi and subsequently Buffon acting assweeper-keepers,[56][57] while he used heavy pressing off the ball, with the team's forwards being the first line of defence, putting pressure on their opponents.[58][59][60]
Lippi was also noted for his versatility as a manager.[9] In 2017, Nicky Bandini also noted in an article forFourFourTwo that Lippi switched from his initial 4–3–3 system to a 4–4–2 formation to better accommodate the arrival of French offensive playmakerZinedine Zidane at Juventus during the 1996–97 season; he was ultimately given licence to operate in a free role between the lines.[61] Lippi also went on to use the 4–3–1–2 and 3–4–1–2 formations to better suit Zidane's playing style;[62][63][64] he had also used the former formation during the 1994–95 season when Baggio was fit, as he was less suited to the 4–3–3.[9] At Inter, Lippi used a fluid3–3–1–3 formation, which would often become a3–5–2. During his second spell at Juventus, he used a fluid 4–4–2 formation, with Pavel Nedvěd acting as a left winger on paper, who would frequently cut inside and move into the centre to shoot on goal, or operate in a creative role behind the forwards as an attacking midfielder, while he would also cover for the full-backs defensively.[65][66] During the2002–03 season, in order to accommodate the club's new right winger Camoranesi into the team's starting line-up, Lippi successfully shifted Zambrotta to a left-sided full-back role, due to his ability to overlap, run down the flank, provide width, cross into the box, or even cut inside and shoot on goal himself with his stronger foot.[66][67][68][69]
In 1999, several journalists ofLa Gazzetta dello Sport praised Lippi for his charismatic leadership during his time with Juventus.[70] Several of the club's former midfielders under Lippi went on to become managers, and have cited Lippi as an influence; these include Didier Deschamps, Paulo Sousa, Antonio Conte, and Zinedine Zidane.[71][72] Lippi's perceived career rival, Manchester United manager SirAlex Ferguson, also admired Lippi's coaching style.[73]
Similarly, during Italy's victorious 2006 World Cup campaign, Lippi was praised for adopting several tactical systems that allowed his two star playmakers, Francesco Totti and Andrea Pirlo, to play alongside one other.[14] He eventually settlied on a 4–2–3–1 formation,[15] in which Totti occupied the advanced creative role behind the centre-forward, while Pirlo was deployed in the deep-lying playmaking role; the two players were supported defensively by hard-working wingers and box-to-box midfielders, as well as attacking full-backs, who provided width to the team.[2][15][16][17][18][19] The team also drew praise for its defensive solidity.[18][20]World Soccer magazine also noted that Lippi's tactical flexibility throughout the tournament was further demonstrated by the fact that he often changed formations throughout the course of a single match, in addition to rotating players.[74] Indeed, the fluidity of the team's formation was based on the movement and work-rate of the wide midfielders, who were required both to push up and track back. Lippi's system saw the players adopt more of a 4–4–1–1 or 4–4–2 formation when defending off the ball, which then became a more offensive 4–2–3–1 system when in possession, with the wide midfielders acting as attacking wingers, in particular Camoranesi on the right.[65][75][76] Perrotta was instead used in a more defensive wide role on the left, to help reinforce the midfield, due to his work-rate.[77][78][79]
In 2016, manager Antonio Conte praised Lippi for his coaching skills and tactical prowess, as well as his ability to communicate with and motivate his players to foster a competitive team spirit and a winning mentality; he also went on to describe his experiences as a player under Lippi with Juventus stating: "I remember when Marcello Lippi arrived from Napoli with great ambition and determination. He was very important, as he was able to transmit to us precisely what he wanted. We hit rock bottom with defeat toFoggia, so Lippi said if we have to lose, we’ll go down fighting. From then on we attacked, pressed high and took the game to the opposition. Lippi was excellent at motivating the squad and passing on his ideas. I think the most important thing for a Coach is to have a clear vision and transmit that clearly to his players. Lippi always had that, as well as a great ability to motivate us, even when we played every three days. That Juventus had four consecutive European Finals and if you think back, that was an exceptional achievement."[80] Fabrizio Ravanelli, who, like Conte, played under Lippi at Juventus, has also praised Lippi, describing him as a manager who excelled at reading the game and motivating his players.[81]
In 2001, former footballer Roberto Baggio, who had a difficult relationship with Lippi, and who was often critical of his former manager, also noted in his autobiography –Una porta nel cielo – that he was impressed, however, by the fact that Lippi also paid great attention to his players' diets, and to their athletic preparation, and always made use of the newest technologies and hired athletic coaches who used the most current training methods.[82][83]
During his early coaching career, Lippi was also known forsmokingMercatorcigars while on the bench during matches.[2]
| Team | Nat | From | To | Record | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| G | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Win % | ||||
| Pontedera |  | 1 June 1985 | 1 June 1986 | 34 | 10 | 17 | 7 | 27 | 24 | +3 | 029.41 |
| Siena | | 1 June 1986 | 1 June 1987 | 34 | 5 | 14 | 15 | 13 | 27 | −14 | 014.71 |
| Pistoiese | | 10 June 1987 | 7 June 1988 | 40 | 10 | 16 | 14 | 32 | 38 | −6 | 025.00 |
| Carrarese | | 7 June 1988 | 30 June 1989 | 46 | 16 | 21 | 9 | 41 | 31 | +10 | 034.78 |
| Cesena | | 30 June 1989 | 26 January 1991 | 55 | 10 | 21 | 24 | 47 | 78 | −31 | 018.18 |
| Lucchese | | 20 June 1991 | 15 June 1992 | 42 | 9 | 22 | 11 | 38 | 38 | +0 | 021.43 |
| Atalanta | | 15 June 1992 | 8 June 1993 | 36 | 15 | 8 | 13 | 44 | 47 | −3 | 041.67 |
| Napoli | | 8 June 1993 | 30 June 1994 | 36 | 12 | 13 | 11 | 43 | 38 | +5 | 033.33 |
| Juventus | | 30 June 1994 | 8 February 1999 | 244 | 137 | 65 | 42 | 418 | 217 | +201 | 056.15 |
| Inter Milan | | 30 June 1999 | 3 October 2000 | 51 | 25 | 11 | 15 | 90 | 57 | +33 | 049.02 |
| Juventus | | 17 June 2001 | 28 May 2004 | 161 | 90 | 39 | 32 | 294 | 166 | +128 | 055.90 |
| Italy | | 16 July 2004 | 12 July 2006 | 29 | 17 | 10 | 2 | 45 | 19 | +26 | 058.62 |
| Italy | | 26 June 2008 | 25 June 2010 | 27 | 11 | 11 | 5 | 38 | 28 | +10 | 040.74 |
| Guangzhou Evergrande |  | 17 May 2012 | 2 November 2014 | 126 | 82 | 23 | 21 | 281 | 121 | +160 | 065.08 |
| China | | 22 October 2016 | 25 January 2019 | 30 | 10 | 9 | 11 | 35 | 41 | −6 | 033.33 |
| China | | 24 May 2019 | 14 November 2019 | 7 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 20 | 3 | +17 | 071.43 |
| Total | 998 | 464 | 301 | 233 | 1,506 | 973 | +533 | 046.49 | |||
Individual
3rd Class / Commander:Commendatore Ordine al Merito della Repubblica Italiana: 2006[99]
Awards | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
International tournaments | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
