 Benarrivo withParma in 1993 | |||||||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | (1968-08-21)21 August 1968 (age 57) | ||||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Brindisi, Italy | ||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.70 m (5 ft 7 in) | ||||||||||||||||
| Position | Full-back | ||||||||||||||||
| Senior career* | |||||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) | ||||||||||||||
| 1986–1989 | Brindisi | 76 | (2) | ||||||||||||||
| 1989–1991 | Padova | 69 | (7) | ||||||||||||||
| 1991–2004 | Parma | 258 | (5) | ||||||||||||||
| Total | 327 | (14) | |||||||||||||||
| International career | |||||||||||||||||
| 1993–1997 | Italy | 23 | (0) | ||||||||||||||
Medal record
| |||||||||||||||||
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||||||||||||||||
Antonio Benarrivo (Italian pronunciation:[anˈtɔːnjobenarˈriːvo]; born 21 August 1968) is an Italian former professionalfootballer who played as adefender. One of the best players in the world in his position in the 1990s, Benarrivo was an energetic attackingfull-back capable of operating on both wings; he began his career withBrindisi in 1986, and later moved toPadova in 1989. He came to prominence during his time withParma, joining the club in 1991; he won several domestic and European titles with the team and eventually became theclub's record appearance holder inSerie A and inEuropean competitions.[1]
At international level, Benarrivo representedItaly at the1994 FIFA World Cup, where they reached thefinal.
Benarrivo started playing with the professional football team of his city,Brindisi, inSerie C1, during the 1986–87 season. After three seasons playing in Apulia, he went to play forPadova inSerie B, where he remained for two years, attracting much attention from larger Italian clubs.[1]
In 1991, Benarrivo was bought byParma underNevio Scala; that year, he would help his new team to qualify for theUEFA Cup in his first year inSerie A. He quickly became one of the strongest players of theEmilian side, which achieved notable domestic and European successes over the next decade. In his first year in the highest division, Bennarivo won the1992Italian Cup, and the following year, during the1992–93 season, he won the1993Cup Winners' Cup. He reached a second consecutiveCup Winners' Cup final during the 1993–94 season and was defeated, although he was able to capture theEuropean Supercup with the club in1993.[1]
The series of thrilling triumphs he endured during his time atParma, which culminated in theUEFA Cup victory during the1994–95 season, as well as anotherCoppa Italia final, were not quite replicated in Serie A, however. Although Parma managed to navigate the top spots of the table during these seasons, they were not able to beat the dominantMilan andJuventus sides to the Serie A title, with their best finish coming during the1996–97 season, where they finished the league in second place, qualifying for the1997–98 UEFA Champions League; they also managed a third-place finish during the1994–95 season, as well as several fourth-place finishes during this time, usually achieving European qualification.[1]
Benarrivo experienced another successful year with the club during the1998–99 season. Parma finished fourth place in the league, but Benarrivo finished the season with the conquest of his secondUEFA Cup andItalian Cup titles, following these successes up with the1999 Supercoppa Italiana, a title which had evaded him in1995. This would be his final season as an indisputable starter, however, and the following seasons would see him play with less regularity.[1]
During the1999–2000 season, Parma finished in fourth place yet again, and narrowly missed out on qualifying for theUEFA Champions League after losing out toInter in the playoff match. Parma managed their third consecutive fourth-place finish in the league during the2000–01 season, also reaching anotherCoppa Italia final, only to be defeated byFiorentina. Benarrivo managed to add another trophy to his club silverware, however, with a thirdItalian Cup in2002. Benarrivo retired from professional football in2004. With the Emilian club, he collected 257 appearances inSerie A, scoring 5 goals, and is the club's record appearance holder in the top-tier of Italian football.[2] Following his retirement, he worked as a coach.[1][3]
Benarrivo played with thenational team a total of 23 times, and for a period, he was the starting right-back for the Italians. He made his debut on 22 September 1993 under managerArrigo Sacchi, in a1994 FIFA World Cup qualifying match againstEstonia. He took part in the1994 FIFA World Cup with Italy, where they reached thefinal only to lose out toBrazil on penalties. Benarrivo was a key member of the starting line-up for the 1994 World Cup, also featuring in the final defeat, and demonstrating his tactical versatility as he alternated between playing on the right and the left flanks. During the tournament, he notably won a penalty in extra time during the round of 16 match againstNigeria, from whichRoberto Baggio subsequently scored, sending the Italians to the quarter-finals.[4] Benarrivo played with the national side until 1997, making his final appearance on 29 October, againstRussia.[1][5]
Although he was usually deployed on the right, Benarrivo was comfortable playing on both flanks. An energetic offensivefull-back, he was known for his attacking prowess, despite rarely scoring, and was sometimes employed as awing-back, or as a makeshiftwide midfielder, due to his pace, stamina, offensive capabilities, technique,crossing accuracy and ability to cover the flank both offensively and defensively. These attributes led him to be considered one of the best players in his position during the 1990s.[1][6]
Parma[1][citation needed]
Italy
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