 Scirea with Juventus in 1975 | |||||||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | (1953-05-25)25 May 1953 | ||||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Cernusco sul Naviglio,Lombardy, Italy | ||||||||||||||||
| Date of death | 3 September 1989(1989-09-03) (aged 36) | ||||||||||||||||
| Place of death | Babsk,Skierniewice, Poland | ||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.78 m (5 ft 10 in) | ||||||||||||||||
| Position | Defender | ||||||||||||||||
| Youth career | |||||||||||||||||
| 1970–1972 | Atalanta | ||||||||||||||||
| Senior career* | |||||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) | ||||||||||||||
| 1972–1974 | Atalanta | 58 | (1) | ||||||||||||||
| 1974–1988 | Juventus | 377 | (24) | ||||||||||||||
| Total | 435 | (25) | |||||||||||||||
| International career | |||||||||||||||||
| 1975–1986 | Italy | 78 | (2) | ||||||||||||||
Medal record
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| * Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||||||||||||||||
Gaetano Scirea (Italian pronunciation:[ɡaeˈtaːnoʃʃiˈrɛːa]; 25 May 1953 – 3 September 1989) was an Italian professionalfootballer who is considered one of the greatestdefenders in football history.[1][2][3][4][5][6][7] He spent most of his career withJuventus.
Scirea is one of only six players inEuropean football history to have wonall international trophies for football clubs recognized byUEFA andFIFA. Scirea is also one of only nine players in the history of European football that won all threemajor UEFA football competitions,[8] a feat he managed while playing withJuventus, the Italian club with which he spent the majority of his career, aside from two seasons withAtalanta. At international level, he played for theItaly national team for more than a decade, during which he was an undisputed member of Italy's defensive line-up, keepingFranco Baresi out of the national team for four years, until he retired in 1986. Scirea became a World Champion with the1982 FIFA World Cup winning team, which defeatedBrazil 3–2 in a decisive second round match andGermany 3–1 in the final;[9] he also represented Italy in two more World Cups, finishing in fourth-place in1978, andUEFA Euro 1980, where Italy once again managed a fourth-place finish.
Scirea was born atCernusco sul Naviglio, in theprovince of Milan, but was of Sicilian origin.
Scirea made hisSerie A debut forAtalanta againstCagliari on 24 September 1972. He remained with Atalanta for two seasons, before transferring toJuventus, with whom he would stay until the end of his playing career. In all, he made 397 appearances in Serie A, scoring 24 goals. Scirea saw great success with Juventus, playing alongside Antonio Cabrini, and the hard-hitting Claudio Gentile as well as goalkeeper Dino Zoff. He managed the impressive feat of winning every UEFA Club and domestic competition during his time at the club (sevenSerie A titles, twoCoppa Italias, oneUEFA Cup, oneCup Winners' Cup, oneEuropean Cup, oneUEFA Super Cup and oneIntercontinental Cup).[10]
He retired from club football at the end of the1987–88 season.[11] He took up the role of scout at Juventus,[11] later working as a coach.[12]
Scirea's debut for theItaly national team was on 30 December 1975, againstGreece. He immediately became an irreplaceable pillar of the team managed byEnzo Bearzot,[5] and played in threeWorld Cups, and oneEuropean Championship on home soil in1980, where Italy finished in fourth place after reaching the semi-final, and Scirea was named part of the team of the tournament.[13]
Scirea, alongside clubmatesAntonio Cabrini andClaudio Gentile, right-backGiuseppe Bergomi and goalkeeperDino Zoff, formed the defensive backbone of perhaps the strongest Italian side of the post-war period as theAzzurri dominated international and club football during the late 1970s to early 80s.
Scirea impressed in the1978 World Cup where Italy finished in fourth place. At the1982 World Cup, after a quiet start in the first round group stage, Italy beatArgentina and thenBrazil in the second round, later overcomingPoland 2–0 in the semi-final. A 3–1 victory overWest Germany in the final earned Scirea a lasting place in World Cup history. By1986 World Cup, however, the team was in transition, and went out toFrance in the second round. This was to be Scirea's last match for Italy, having won 78 caps and scored 2 goals.[10][14]
Scirea was a modern and highly talented defender, gifted with excellent technical skills and tactical ability, who was known for his pace, elegance on the ball, and innate capacity to read the game.[5][11] In contrast to the ruthless tactics often employed by other defenders, including his paired partner,Claudio Gentile, Scirea was renowned for his class, fair play andsportsmanship. Scirea never earned a red card in his career.[3][5][10][15] He was also known for his leadership, serving ascaptain of both Juventus and the Italy national side.[10]
A formermidfielder, he played thesweeper, or libero, role for most of his career, and contributed to the development of the position, due to his vision, composure on the ball and passing ability. Thus, in addition to aiding his team defensively, Scirea would detach himself from the defensive line and contribute to the attacking potential of his team, frequently being involved in the build-up of goals, and sometimes even scoring himself.[5][11][16] In the latter part of his career, as he lost his pace, Scirea played a more defensive role as acentre-back.[10]
Scirea was married to Mariella Cavanna; together they had a son, Riccardo.[17] Mariella has become a politician after her husband's death.[12]
In summer 1989, Scirea visited Poland as an observer to watchGórnik Zabrze, against whom Juventus were to play in theUEFA Cup. On 3 September 1989, a car carrying him collided head-on with a truck nearBabsk. The car carried four canisters of gasoline in the trunk (a common practice in Poland at that time due to frequent gas shortages), which exploded upon impact, killing Scirea along with two fellow passengers (just two days after another fatal car accident claimed the life of another international football star, thePolishKazimierz Deyna).[10]
Due to his own defensive skill and sportsmanship, Scirea's name has become attached to various youth tournaments and fair-play awards as a role model for sportsmanship and sporting excellence, including thePremio Nazionale Carriera Esemplare "Gaetano Scirea", which is awarded to a legendary Serie A footballer for their career achievements, talent, and personality.[12][18] In 2005, former Italy national team coachEnzo Bearzot proposed the retirement of thejersey number six of that national team and Juventus in recognition of Scirea's career.[19] The south stand in Juventus' home groundJuventus Stadium, as well as the one in the formerStadio delle Alpi, is known as theCurva Scirea and it is occupied by theJuventus Ultras.
Juventus[11]
Italy[11]
Individual
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Italy squads | |||||||||||||||||||
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| International | |
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| National | |
| People | |
