Claudio Gentile

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Claudio Gentile
Claudio Gentile (footballer).jpg
Gentile lining up for Italy
Personal information
Date of birth (1953-09-27) 27 September 1953 (age 67)
Place of birth Tripoli,[1] Kingdom of Libya
Height 1.78 m (5 ft 10 in)
Position(s) Defender
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1971–1972 Arona 34 (4)
1972–1973 Varese 34 (1)
1973–1984 Juventus 283 (9)
1984–1987 Fiorentina 70 (0)
1987–1988 Piacenza 20 (0)
Total 441 (14)
National team
1975–1984 Italy 71 (1)
Teams managed
2000–2006 Italy U-21
2014 FC Sion
Honours
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only

Claudio Gentile (Italian pronunciation: [ˈklaudjo dʒenˈtiːle]; born 27 September 1953)[2] is an Italian association football manager and former defender of the 1970s and 1980s. Gentile appeared for Italy in two World Cup tournaments, and played for the winning Italian team in the 1982 final. His club career was notably spent with Juventus for whom he made almost 300 league appearances, winning six national titles and two major European trophies.

Club career[]

He was born in Tripoli, Libya, but came to Italy as a child. After beginning his career with Arona, Gentile played in Serie B with Varese during the 1972–73 season.[2]

Gentile playing for Juventus in 1975

He then moved to Juventus and first played for them in a Coppa Italia match against Ascoli Calcio on 29 August 1973, with his Serie A debut following on 2 December 1973 against Verona.[1] In all he played 414 senior matches for Juventus, including 283 in Serie A.[1] In over a decade with Juventus, Gentile won two major European club competitions (1976–77 UEFA Cup and 1983–84 European Cup Winners' Cup), six Serie A championships, and two Coppa Italias.[2][3] He also reached the final of the 1982–83 European Cup with the Turin club, only to suffer a 1–0 defeat against Hamburg in Athens.[4]

In 1984, he moved to rivals Fiorentina where he spent three further seasons in Serie A, making over 60 appearances for the club. He then played a final season with Piacenza, in Serie B, retiring at the end of the 1987–88 season.[2][3]

International career[]

Gentile was capped on 71 occasions by Italy between 1975 and 1984, scoring a single goal during his international career.[5] He played in all of Italy's matches at the 1978 World Cup, where Italy finished in fourth place, after reaching second place in the final group stage of the tournament and then losing the 3rd place playoff to Brazil. Gentile also played in the 1980 European Championship, and he was named in the team of the tournament.[6]

In the 1982 World Cup, Gentile was once again a permanent member of the starting line-up as Italy went on to win the World Cup that year.[7] He gained notoriety for his aggressive man-marking of Diego Maradona in a 2–1 second-round victory against Argentina at the 1982 World Cup, where he fouled the Argentine star 11 times in the first half,[8][9] and 23 in total,[10] after which Gentile famously quipped, "Football is not for ballerinas!"[9][11] Italy ended up defeating the defending champions Argentina 2–1. Italy then faced tournament favorites Brazil in the next second-round group match and won 3–2. Paolo Rossi had a hat trick. Italy defeated Poland 2–0 in the semi-final, and Gentile returned for the final against West Germany where Italy won 3–1. Gentile was once again in the team of the tournament for his performances during the 1982 World Cup.[12]

Style of play[]

A tough, strong, tenacious, ruthless, and uncompromising defender, Gentile was regarded as one of the best defenders of his generation, one of the toughest ever players in his position, and as one of the greatest Italian defenders of all time.[13] A hard-tackling and versatile defender, he was capable of playing both as a man-marking centre-back or "stopper", and as a full-back on either flank, and was particularly known for his tight, heavy, physical marking of opponents, as well as his work-rate, and aggressive challenges.[14][15][16][17] He was also capable of playing as a sweeper, a role which he occupied towards the end of his career, as he lost some of his pace,[18] or in the centre of the pitch as a defensive midfielder.[16][19][20] He also stood out for his ability in the air.[21] Although he was not initially known to be the most naturally talented footballer from a skilful standpoint, and was seen as more of a defensive-minded right-back, who mainly sought to break down opposing attacks, he was known for his discipline in training, and showed significant technical improvements throughout his career. Indeed, he was a mobile and hard-working player, who was also capable of contributing offensively as an attacking full-back in a zonal-marking system, by getting up the flank and providing deliveries into the box for his teammates.[15][16][17][19][22] Alongside Juventus and Italy teammates Dino Zoff, Brio, Cabrini, and Scirea, he formed one of the most formidable defensive lines in football history.[23] In 2007, The Times placed Gentile at number 8 in their list of the 50 hardest footballers in history.[24] However, despite his infamous reputation, Gentile considered himself to be a hard yet fair player. He was only sent off once in his career, with Juventus, in a 2–0 away loss to Club Brugge in a European Cup semi-final match in April 1978, for a double booking following a hand ball.[18][25][26] Due to his aggressive playing style and country of birth, Gentile was given the nickname Gaddafi in the Italian media.[9]

Coaching career[]

Gentile later coached the Italy national under-21 football team which won the 2004 UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship,[27] and the under-23 team which won a bronze at the 2004 Olympics in Athens.[28]

On 5 June 2014 he signed two-year deal with FC Sion.[29]

Honours[]

Player[]

Club[]

Juventus[30]

International[]

Italy[30]

Individual[]

  • UEFA European Championship Team of the Tournament: 1980[6]
  • FIFA World Cup All-star Team: 1982[12]

Coach[]

International[]

Italy under-21

References[]

  1. ^ Jump up to: a b c "Claudio Gentile". Statistics by season. myjuve.it. Retrieved 24 April 2011.
  2. ^ Jump up to: a b c d "Claudio Gentile". soccer-europe.com. Retrieved 10 April 2016.
  3. ^ Jump up to: a b "Legend of Calcio: Claudio Gentile". forzaitalianfootball.com. Retrieved 25 May 2016.
  4. ^ "Coppa dei Campioni 1982/83: Amburgo" [1982/83 European Cup: Hamburg] (in Italian). Storie di Calcio. Retrieved 25 May 2016.
  5. ^ Claudio Gentile at National-Football-Teams.com
  6. ^ Jump up to: a b "1980 UEFA European Championship". UEFA. Retrieved 19 April 2015.
  7. ^ "Claudio Gentile: Spain 1982". Classic Football. FIFA. Archived from the original on 28 February 2009. Retrieved 4 August 2012.
  8. ^ "World Cup 1982". PlanetWorldCup.com. Retrieved 19 May 2020.
  9. ^ Jump up to: a b c Hirshey, David; Bennett, Roger (29 April 2010). "Soccer isn't for ballerinas". ESPN FC. Retrieved 20 May 2020.
  10. ^ "Bearzot's Blues of '82 in numbers". FIFA.com. 18 July 2017. Retrieved 20 May 2020.
  11. ^ "Claudio Gentile". Soccer Quotes: Italian. ExpertFootball. Archived from the original on 2 August 2012. Retrieved 4 August 2012.
  12. ^ Jump up to: a b "FIFA World Cup Awards: All-Star Team". Archived from the original on 30 June 2016. Retrieved 22 March 2015.
  13. ^ "Italy's greatest defenders". Sky Sports. 31 May 2010. Retrieved 26 January 2016.
  14. ^ "Lessons in Calcio - Claudio Gentile". www.footballitaliano.co.uk. Archived from the original on 7 November 2017. Retrieved 2 December 2014.
  15. ^ Jump up to: a b Stefano Bedeschi (27 September 2017). "Gli eroi in bianconero: Claudio GENTILE" (in Italian). Tutto Juve. Retrieved 13 September 2018.
  16. ^ Jump up to: a b c "Gentile, l'anti-personaggio" (in Italian). La Stampa Sera. 28 March 1981. p. 36. Retrieved 13 September 2018.
  17. ^ Jump up to: a b "Gentile sembra sicuro: "Juve in progresso"" (in Italian). La Stampa Sera. 27 August 1980. p. 8. Retrieved 13 September 2018.
  18. ^ Jump up to: a b LUCA ARGENTIERI (23 March 1988). "'L' ULTIMO SVINCOLO NON MI FA SOFFRIRE'" (in Italian). La Repubblica. Retrieved 13 September 2018.
  19. ^ Jump up to: a b GIUSEPPE SMORTO (18 September 1984). "RITROVATO SOCRATES LA FIORENTINA CERCA IL 'SI' ' PIU' LONTANO" (in Italian). La Repubblica. Retrieved 13 September 2018.
  20. ^ "Torna Cabrini, Gentile al centro" (in Italian). La Stampa. 29 October 1978. p. 21. Retrieved 13 September 2018.
  21. ^ Angelo Carotenuto (2 March 2017). "Se ti viene la pelle d'oca hai scovato un campione" (in Italian). La Repubblica. Retrieved 13 September 2018.
  22. ^ MAURIZIO CROSETTI (29 January 2011). "Tardelli: Una ex grande Né qualità né carisma" (in Italian). La Repubblica. Retrieved 13 September 2018.
  23. ^ "GENTILE, Claudio" (in Italian). Treccani: Enciclopedia dello Sport (2002). Retrieved 2 December 2014.
  24. ^ "Top 50 Hardest Footballers". empireonline.com. The Times. 13 August 2007. Archived from the original on 19 October 2015. Retrieved 22 April 2015.
  25. ^ Fabio Licari (22 September 2013). "Calcio, Gentile: "Chiedete a Zico e a Maradona se ero cattivo "" (in Italian). La Gazzetta dello Sport. Retrieved 13 September 2018.
  26. ^ Bruno Perucca (13 April 1978). "Juve beffata a Bruges dopo 115 minuti: 2-0" (in Italian). La Stampa. p. 15. Retrieved 13 September 2018.
  27. ^ Jump up to: a b "2004: Italy save best for last". UEFA.com. 1 June 2004. Retrieved 10 October 2010.
  28. ^ Jump up to: a b "Italy end Iraq medal hopes". BBC. 27 August 2004. Retrieved 29 December 2015.
  29. ^ "Italy great Gentile to coach Swiss club Sion". SI.com. 5 June 2014. Retrieved 5 June 2014.
  30. ^ Jump up to: a b "Claudio Gentile". Eurosport. Retrieved 29 December 2015.

External links[]

Retrieved from ""