Giacinto Facchetti

Giacinto Facchetti

Facchetti in 2002
Personal information
Full nameGiacinto Facchetti
Date of birth18 July 1942
Place of birthTreviglio, Italy
Date of death4 September 2006 (aged 64)
Place of deathMilan, Italy
Height1.91 m (6 ft 3 in)
Playing positionLeft Back
Youth career
1956–1960Trevigliese
Senior career*
YearsTeamApps†(Gls)†
1960–1978Internazionale476(59)
National team
1963–1977Italy94(3)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only.
† Appearances (Goals).

Giacinto Facchetti (Italian pronunciation: [dʒaˈtʃinto fakˈketti]; 18 July 1942 – 4 September 2006) was an Italian football player. From January 2004 until his death, he was President of Internazionale, the club for which he played for his whole career during the 1960s and 1970s, playing 634 official games and scoring 75 goals. He played for the Internazionale team remembered as “Grande Inter”. Facchetti is remembered as one of the first truly great attacking full-backs, and one of the best ever in his position; he also excelled defensively, playing as a sweeper later in his career due to his ability to read the game, man-marking, positioning, anticipation and tackling.[1] His excellent physical and technical traits, as well as his ability with both feet, his elegance, strength, pace, stamina, distribution, and ball skills, allowed him to excel in this position, where he notably scored 10 goals in Serie A during the 1965-66 Season.[2][3] He was also known for his correct behaviour on the pitch, as well as his leadership.[4] In March 2004, Pelé named him one of the Top 125 greatest living footballers as part of FIFA's 100th anniversary celebrations.[5]

Biography and career

Club

Born at Treviglio, in the Province of Bergamo (Lombardy), Facchetti began his career with his hometown club, Trevigliese, as a forward, due to his pace, elegance on the ball, crossing ability, powerful shot, and technique. He was soon noticed by Helenio Herrera, then manager of Inter Milan, who launched him in Serie A in the late 1960–61 season as an attacking full back due to his size, physique, and tackling ability, in addition to his offensive attributes.[3] The change of role proved to be an effective choice, and eventually Facchetti developed into one of the most effective defenders in Italian football, forming a notable partnership in defence with fellow Italian full-back Burgnich. Facchetti's innovative playing style as one of the first European overlapping full-backs, combining hard defending with offensive prowess, played a key role in the defensive, yet counter-attacking "catenaccio" system of Herrera's "Grande Inter" side that dominated Italian, European, and World Football in the 60s; whilst conceding few goals defensively, Facchetti was also able to contribute offensively with numerous goals and assists.[2][1][6] He held the record for most goals in a single Serie A season by a defender, with 10 goals scored during the 1965-66 season, until it was broken by Marco Materazzi during the 2000-01 season.[7]

Facchetti spent his entire professional career with Inter, later captaining the side, after Armando Picchi, Mario Corso, and Sandro Mazzola, during his final season with the club, between 1977-78. With his club, Facchetti won four scudetti in 1963, 1965, 1966 and 1971; one Italian Cup in 1978; two European Cups in 1964 and 1965; and two Intercontinental Cups in 1964 and 1965.[2][6] Due to his performances for Inter, Facchetti also narrowly missed the opportunity to become the first defender to win the Ballon d'or, placing second in 1965, after narrowly missing out on a treble winning season with Inter that year; Inter won the Serie A and the European Cup, but were defeated in the 1965 Coppa Italia final by Juventus.

International

Facchetti made his debut for Italy on 23 March 1963. He was capped 94 times (a record at the time, since overtaken only by Dino Zoff, Paolo Maldini, Andrea Pirlo and Fabio Cannavaro), wearing the captain's armband 70 times and scoring three goals between 1963-1977. He played for his country at the 1966, 1970 (where his team was runner-up to Brazil losing the final by 4–1 - Facchetti was named to the Team of the Tournament), and 1974 FIFA World Cups. Facchetti also captained the Italian squad to victory at Euro 68, also being named as part of the Team of the Tournament.[2][6]

A correct player, Giacinto was sent off only once throughout his career, for sarcastically applauding the referee.[1]

After retirement

Over the years Facchetti held various managerial positions at Inter, including technical director, board member, worldwide ambassador and vice president. Facchetti was elected president of Inter on 19 January 2004. After a long illness, he died of pancreatic cancer in Milan on 4 September 2006. He is survived by his wife, Giovanna, and four children.[1][6]

His former club, Inter, posthumously retired the number 3 shirt in his honour.[6]

On 22 September 2008, a square in the town of Cesano Maderno, Milan was renamed in honor of Giacinto Facchetti.[6][8]

Facchetti is featured in the football video game FIFA 14's Classic XI – a multi-national all-star team, along with compatriots Bruno Conti, Gianni Rivera, and Franco Baresi.[9]

Career statistics

International goals

# Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition
1. 4 November 1964 Stadio Luigi Ferraris, Genoa, Italy  Finland 6–1 Win 1966 FIFA World Cup Q.
2. 7 December 1965 Stadio San Paolo, Naples, Italy  Scotland 3–0 Win 1966 FIFA World Cup Q.
3. 22 March 1967 GSP Stadium, Nicosia, Cyprus  Cyprus 0–2 Win Euro 1968 Q.
Correct as of 13 January 2013[10]

National team statistics

Club performance League Cup Continental Total
Season Club League Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Italy League Coppa Italia Europe Total
1960–61Internazionale MilanoSerie A31-1041
1961–62150-60210
1962–6331420-334
1963–64334-90424
1964–653223061413
1965–66321010523812
1966–6734420102466
1967–6828792-379
1968–6930631-337
1969–702856180426
1970–713053020355
1971–722748191446
1972–7329110350444
1973–742827020372
1974–752308130341
1975–76283100-383
1976–772719110372
1977–781804010230
Total Italy 47659851068662975
Career total 47659851068662975

Honours

Player

Club

Inter

International

Italy

Individual

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 "Giacinto Facchetti". Retrieved 2 January 2015.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 "Inter and Italy’s pioneering fullback". Retrieved 2 January 2015.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 "Treccani: Facchétti, Giacinto". Retrieved 16 September 2014.
  4. ↑ "Giacinto Facchetti". Retrieved 16 September 2014.
  5. ↑ "Pele's list of the greatest". BBC Sport. 4 March 2004. Retrieved 22 November 2013.
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 6.4 6.5 "Giacinto Facchetti". Retrieved 2 January 2015.
  7. ↑ "I difensori e il vizio del gol Facchetti il top, poi Matrix". Retrieved 2 January 2015.
  8. ↑
  9. ↑ "FIFA 14 Classic XI". Retrieved 17 March 2015.
  10. ↑ Football PLAYER: Giacinto Facchetti
  11. ↑ "Golden Foot Legends". http://www.goldenfoot.com''. Retrieved 27 March 2015.
  12. ↑ "FIFA.com – Presidential Award for Giacinto Facchetti". FIFA. Retrieved 27 March 2015.
  13. ↑ "1968 team of the tournament". UEFA. 1 April 2011. Retrieved 29 April 2015.

External links