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 Burgnich with Inter Milan in 1966 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Date of birth | (1939-04-25)25 April 1939[1] | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Ruda,Kingdom of Italy | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Date of death | 26 May 2021(2021-05-26) (aged 82) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Place of death | Forte dei Marmi, Italy | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.75 m (5 ft 9 in)[1] | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Position | Defender | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Youth career | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Udinese | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Senior career* | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 1958–1960 | Udinese | 8 | (0) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 1960–1961 | Juventus | 13 | (0) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 1961–1962 | Palermo | 31 | (1) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 1962–1974 | Inter Milan | 358 | (5) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 1974–1977 | Napoli | 84 | (0) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Total | 494 | (6) | |||||||||||||||||||||
| International career | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1963–1974 | Italy[1][2] | 66 | (2) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Managerial career | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1978–1980 | Livorno | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1980–1981 | Catanzaro | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1981–1982 | Bologna | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1982–1984 | Como | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1984–1986 | Genoa | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1986–1987 | Vicenza | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1987–1988 | Como | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1988–1989 | Catanzaro | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1989–1991 | Cremonese | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1991–1992 | Salernitana | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1995–1997 | Foggia | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1997–1998 | Genoa | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1998–1999 | Lucchese | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1999–2000 | Ternana | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2000–2001 | Pescara | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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| * Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Tarcisio Burgnich (Italian pronunciation:[tarˈtʃiːzjoˈburɲitʃ]; 25 April 1939 – 26 May 2021) was an Italianfootball manager and player, who played as adefender.
Throughout his career, Burgnich played forUdinese,Juventus,Palermo,Inter Milan, andNapoli; although he won titles with both Juventus and Napoli, he is best known for his time with Inter Milan, where he was a member of managerHelenio Herrera'sGrande Inter side. He partnered with fellow full-backGiacinto Facchetti in the squad's back-line and played a key role in the team's successes in Herrera's defensivecatenaccio system, due to his pace, stamina, offensive capabilities, and defensive work-rate, winning fourSerie A titles, twoEuropean Cups, and twoIntercontinental Cups.
At international level, Burgnich represented theItaly national football team at the1960 Summer Olympics, where they finished in fourth place, and at threeFIFA World Cups, winning a runners-up medal at the1970 FIFA World Cup. He was also a member of the national team that won Italy's first everUEFA European Football Championship on home soil,in 1968.
A versatile player, he was capable of playing in any defensive position, being adept as aright-back, as acentre-back, and also as asweeper. Due to his imposing physique, as well as his tenacious style of play, Inter teammateArmando Picchi (who was thecaptain and sweeper of the side) gave him the nickname "La Roccia" (The Rock).[3]
Burgnich began his career with local sideUdinese, making hisSerie A debut with the club on 2 June 1959, in a 7–0 away defeat toMilan. After short spells at the Friulian side, and subsequentlyJuventus (where he won the1960–61 Serie A title), andPalermo, it was withInternazionale that he found his spiritual home in the 1960s, after being acquired in 1962.[4][5][6][7]
A strong, quick, energetic and versatile defender, he was effective both offensively and defensively, and formed a formidable full-back partnership withGiacinto Facchetti, both withInter and with theItaly national side. He played 467 times for theNerazzurri, scoring 6 goals, where his physical and tenacious playing style was ideally suited to thecatenaccio system operated byHelenio Herrera throughout Inter's glory years, which relied on a strong defence and fast counter-attacks.[8] With Inter, Burgnich enjoyed a highly successful period of domestic, European, and international dominance, winning five Italian championships, twoEuropean Cups and twoIntercontinental Cups. He was notably part of the legendary Inter lineup of the 1960s still known today as theGrande Inter.[4][5][6][7]
Following his 12 seasons with Inter,[4][5][6] he was controversially transferred toNapoli in 1974, as Inter's new president, Fraizzoli, was trying to rejuvenate the squad. Burgnich spent the final three seasons of his career with Napoli, operating as a sweeper inLuís Vinício's side, and finally won theCoppa Italia, as well as theAnglo-Italian League Cup, in 1976, before retiring in 1977. In total, he made 494 appearances inSerie A throughout his career.[4][6][7]
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Burgnich was also a pillar of theItaly national team for more than a decade. He represented Italy at the1960 Summer Olympics in Rome,[9] where they finished in fourth place. He made his senior debut on 10 November 1963, in a 1–1 home draw against theSoviet Union, and subsequently became a permanent fixture in the team's line-up, wearing the number 2 shirt, and later helping the national side win their first everEuropean Football Championship title in1968, on home soil. He was also on Italy's roster for the1966 World Cup, as well at the1970 World Cup, where they reached the final, only to lose 4–1 toBrazil.[4][6][10] In the memorablesemi-final match againstWest Germany, often colloquially known as the "Game of the Century", Burgnich even managed to score a goal, helping his team to overcome the Germans 4–3 following extra time.[4][6][10][11] He also took part in the1974 FIFA World Cup with Italy. In total, herepresented theAzzurri 66 times between 1963 and 1974, scoring twice.[4][6][10]
He may best be remembered for his quote about Brazilian starPelé's headed goal against him, following Italy's 4–1 defeat to Brazil in the1970 World Cup Final (Burgnich had been assigned to man-mark the Brazilian during the final, but was beaten by him in the air):[3][12]
"I told myself before the game, 'he's made of skin and bones just like everyone else' — but I was wrong."[13]
He later said of the same goal:[14]
"The cross came in and we both leapt as high as we could. Then I came down to Earth where I belong. And he stayed up there, where he belongs, and scored."
After his retirement, Burgnich worked as amanager on and off for nearly twenty years, with little success. During this time he managedCatanzaro,Bologna,Como,Livorno,Foggia,Lucchese,Cremonese,Genoa,Ternana andVicenza.[4]
Burgnich died on 26 May 2021 at the age of 82. He died at the San Camillo hospital inForte dei Marmi, where he had been taken following a stroke.[15][16]
A strong, large, quick, and energetic player, Burgnich is regarded as one of the greatest Italian defenders of all-time; his ability in the air, imposing physique, consistency, and his aggressive yet fair, and efficient playing style earned him the nickname "La Roccia" (The Rock), despite not being particularly tall. A formeroffensive,central midfielder, he was a tactically versatile, intelligent, and hard-working footballer who was adept at aiding his team both offensively and defensively; he was capable of playing in several defensive positions, and throughout his career, he was deployed as a man-marking centre-back (or "stopper"), as a sweeper (in particular in his later career), and in particular as a right-sided full-back orwing-back, where he particularly excelled in Herrera's catenaccio system, due to his pace, stamina, physicality, and tenacity. He formed an important partnership with the more offensive minded left-back Facchetti during his career, which is regarded as one of the greatest full-back pairings in football history; although he was less adept at starting attacking plays from the back-line than Facchetti, and initially less likely to push forward during his time at Inter, the more defensive minded Burgnich was an "old-fashioned defender", being an excellent man-marker and a hard tackler, who was difficult to beat in one on one situations. He was also known for his anticipation and reactions, as well as his concentration, leadership, and discipline both on and off the pitch, despite his reserved character.[3][4][5][6][7][8][17][18] However, he was also known for his experience and organisational abilities as a defender, as well as his ability to play theoffside trap, and even excelled as an offensive sweeper or central defender at Napoli during his later career in managerLuís Vinício'szonal marking system, where he was also tasked with advancing into midfield to start offensive plays, and to push forward and contribute to his team's attacks, in addition to his defensive duties.[4][19][20]
| Team | Season | Serie A | Coppa Italia | European Competition[a] | Other Tournaments[b] | Total | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Udinese | 1958–59 | 1 | 0 | – | – | ||||||
| 1959–60 | 7 | 0 | – | – | |||||||
| Total | 8 | 0 | |||||||||
| Juventus | 1960–61 | 13 | 0 | ||||||||
| Palermo | 1961–62 | 31 | 1 | ||||||||
| Internazionale | 1962–63 | 31 | 0 | ||||||||
| 1963–64 | 33 | 0 | |||||||||
| 1964–65 | 32 | 1 | |||||||||
| 1965–66 | 30 | 0 | |||||||||
| 1966–67 | 30 | 2 | |||||||||
| 1967–68 | 30 | 0 | |||||||||
| 1968–69 | 30 | 1 | |||||||||
| 1969–70 | 26 | 1 | |||||||||
| 1970–71 | 29 | 0 | |||||||||
| 1971–72 | 27 | 0 | |||||||||
| 1972–73 | 30 | 0 | |||||||||
| 1973–74 | 30 | 0 | |||||||||
| Total | 358 | 5 | |||||||||
| Napoli | 1974–75 | 30 | 0 | ||||||||
| 1975–76 | 30 | 0 | |||||||||
| 1976–77 | 24 | 0 | |||||||||
| Total | 84 | 0 | |||||||||
| Career total | 494 | 6 | |||||||||
| No. | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 18 June 1966 | Stadio Giuseppe Meazza,Milan |  Austria | 1–0 | 1–0 | Friendly |
| 2 | 17 June 1970 | Estadio Azteca,Mexico City |  West Germany | 2–2 | 4–3 (a.e.t.) | 1970 World Cup Semi-final |
Inter[4]
Napoli[4]
Juventus[4]
Italy[4]
Individual
Tarcisio Burgnich died last night at the San Camillo hospital in Forte di Marmi, after he had been hospitalized for a stroke
Media related toTarcisio Burgnich at Wikimedia Commons
Quotations related toTarcisio Burgnich at WikiquoteItaly squads | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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