Italian association football manager
Arrigo Sacchi (born 1 April 1946) is an Italian former professional football coach. He has twice managed 👍 AC Milan (1987–1991, 1996–1997), with great success. He won the Serie A title in his 1987–88 debut season and then 👍 dominated European football by winning back to back European Cups in 1989 and 1990. From 1991 to 1996, he was 👍 head coach of the Italy national team and led them to the 1994 FIFA World Cup Final, where they lost 👍 to Brazil in a penalty shoot-out.
Sacchi is regarded as one of the greatest managers of all time[2] and his Milan 👍 side (1987–1991) is widely regarded to be one of the greatest club sides to ever play the game, and by 👍 some to be the greatest of all time.[3][4][5]
Sacchi was never a professional football player and for many years worked as 👍 a shoe salesman. This led to his famous quote directed at those who questioned his qualifications: "I never realised that 👍 in order to become a jockey you have to have been a horse first."[6] Another famous Sacchi quote is that 👍 "football is the most important of the least important things in life."[7]
Career [ edit ]
Early career [ edit ]
Sacchi had 👍 grown up watching attacking sides, such as Budapest Honvéd, Real Madrid, Brazil and the Netherlands. He started his career managing 👍 his local club, Baracca Lugo, because he was not good enough to play for them. Of the challenge he faced, 👍 Sacchi said, "I was twenty-six, my goalkeeper was thirty-nine and my centre-forward was thirty-two. I had to win them over." 👍 He next coached at Bellaria before joining Cesena, who were in the Serie B, as a youth team coach. He 👍 then took over at Rimini who were playing in the Serie C1, and almost led them to a title.
He received 👍 his breakthrough when he moved to Fiorentina as a youth coach. His achievements with the youth team earned interest from 👍 Parma, who were then playing in Serie C1. He led Parma to promotion in his first season, and in the 👍 following season took them to within 3 points of promotion to Serie A. Of greater importance to his time at 👍 Parma, however, was the team's performance in the Coppa Italia; they beat AC Milan 1–0 in the group stages, and 👍 beat them again 1–0 on aggregate in the first knockout round. This was enough to attract interest from Milan club 👍 owner Silvio Berlusconi, who promptly appointed Sacchi as manager.[8]
AC Milan [ edit ]
At Milan, Sacchi again faced problems of credibility. 👍 The press argued that such an inadequate player could never go on to be a successful coach, and that even 👍 Berlusconi – who had played football at amateur level – was probably a better player. Sacchi wittily replied "I never 👍 realised that in order to become a jockey you have to have been a horse first."[6] Sacchi was an instant 👍 success at the San Siro, leading Milan to its first Serie A title in nine years in his debut season, 👍 following up the league title with a Supercoppa Italiana in 1988.[4][9]
Sacchi's success at Milan gained him two back-to-back European Cups.[4][9] 👍 The success he gained was largely attributed to the Dutch trio he had purchased: Marco van Basten, Ruud Gullit and 👍 Frank Rijkaard. However, other great players such as Roberto Donadoni, as well as the defensive back four of Franco Baresi, 👍 Alessandro Costacurta, Mauro Tassotti and Paolo Maldini, were also a key to his success.[4]
The first European Cup final in 1989 👍 was against Steaua București, who were beaten 4–0. Gullit and Van Basten scored two goals each and Milan lifted the 👍 European Cup for the first time in over 20 years. En route to the final, Milan had dispatched Real Madrid 👍 6–1 on aggregate in the semi-final. The quarter-final against Werder Bremen was a tight affair; Milan only went through 1–0 👍 on aggregate thanks to a Van Basten penalty. The second round was shrouded in controversy. Donadoni had his life saved 👍 only through the quick-thinking of the Red Star Belgrade physio, who broke his jaw to make a passage for oxygen 👍 to reach his lungs after he had suffered a bad foul and lay unconscious. The first leg ended in a 👍 1–1 draw and the second leg got called off in 64th minute and rescheduled to be replayed the next day 👍 due to the thick fog (Milan was losing 0–1 at the moment). Milan eventually progressed following a penalty shoot-out.
Although the 👍 team was not as strong as they had been in the previous season, they were victorious again in 1990. After 👍 victories against HJK Helsinki, Real Madrid and KV Mechelen, Milan defeated German Bayern Munich in the semi-final, thanks to an 👍 away goal. In the final Frank Rijkaard scored the only goal of the game through a Van Basten assist to 👍 conquer Sven-Göran Eriksson's Benfica. By winning the final, Milan became the first team which retained the title since 1980, and 👍 the last team to do so until Real Madrid would manage to achieve this feat 27 years later. Sacchi would 👍 also capture back to back European Super Cups and Intercontinental Cups in 1989 and 1990, and would lead Milan to 👍 the final of the 1989–90 Coppa Italia, where they were defeated by Juventus. The following season saw them defeated by 👍 eventual runners-up Marseille in the quarter-final, and finish second in Serie A behind Sampdoria, while they were eliminated in the 👍 semi-finals of the Coppa Italia by eventual champions Roma. This was Sacchi's last season with i Rossoneri.[4][9]
Italy national team [ 👍 edit ]
In November 1991, Sacchi was appointed manager of the Italy national team, replacing Azeglio Vicini. Sacchi based his Italian 👍 selection predominantly on Milan players, especially in the defensive line which featured Paolo Maldini and Franco Baresi; the attacking line 👍 was led by 1993 Ballon d'or winner Roberto Baggio of Juventus. Exclusions from Sacchi's Azzurri selections included Gianluca Vialli, Roberto 👍 Mancini, Giuseppe Bergomi and Walter Zenga.[10]
Sacchi led Italy through the qualification campaign to reach the 1994 FIFA World Cup. Despite 👍 not being among the favourites and losing their first match 1–0 to the Republic of Ireland, Italy reached the final 👍 (their first since 1982), where they were defeated by Brazil in a penalty shoot-out, the first ever shootout in a 👍 World Cup final. Under Sacchi, Italy qualified for UEFA Euro 1996, but were eliminated from a group which included the 👍 eventual finalists, Germany and the Czech Republic.[9]
Later coaching and executive career [ edit ]
After leaving his position with the national 👍 team, Sacchi returned to Milan to replace Óscar Tabárez in December 1996. However, the second spell was unsuccessful with Milan 👍 finishing 11th in the league and suffering its worst ever Serie A defeat, losing 6–1 at home to eventual champions 👍 Juventus.[9]
Sacchi had brief spells in the Spanish La Liga, taking charge of Atlético Madrid in 1998 after his second spell 👍 with the Rossoneri, where he left his post in March of that season, with them languishing in the bottom half 👍 of the table. He also briefly returned to Parma in 2001, replacing Alberto Malesani,[9] but resigned after only 3 matches 👍 (2 draws, 1 victory) for stress reasons, to be replaced by Renzo Ulivieri.[11] He later returned to Madrid, this time 👍 at the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium as director of football at Real Madrid for the 2004–05 season.[12]
Management style, reception, and influence 👍 [ edit ]
Nicknamed "The Prophet of Fusignano",[13] Sacchi is regarded as one of the greatest managers of all-time.[2] He favored 👍 a fluid, yet highly organised attacking 4–4–2 formation,[4][14][15] discarding the traditional libero[16] in an era where Italian football was mainly 👍 focussed on strong defensive play,[15][17] and Helenio Herrera's Catenaccio tactics were still a strong influence.[4][16] Defensively, Sacchi's teams adopted a 👍 zonal marking system, which had already been introduced by his predecessor Nils Liedholm, and were known for their defensive strength, 👍 conceding few goals;[16][18] indeed, the defensive quartet of Maldini, Baresi, Costacurta, and Tassotti, which Sacchi deployed both at Milan and 👍 with the Italy national team, is regarded as one of the greatest defences of all-time.[18][19][20][21][22]
Sacchi believes in the Dutch concept 👍 of Total Football,[14] insisting that young players should be coached in all aspects of football rather than into specialist positions, 👍 helping the team both with or without the ball.[23] He was also a firm believer in team ethic and treating 👍 all players as equals,[24] once saying, "The only way you can build a side is by getting players who speak 👍 the same language and can play a team game. You can’t achieve anything on your own, and if you do, 👍 it doesn’t last long. I often quote what Michelangelo said: 'The spirit guides the hand.'"[25] To perfect his team's cohesion, 👍 Sacchi introduced "shadow play", where his players would simulate a match in training without a football.[16] As a coach, he 👍 also attracted controversy, as he was known for implementing a strict and rigorous training regime upon his players, and his 👍 teams were often known for their work ethic and discipline. Sacchi is also remembered for his outspokenness, stubbornness and his 👍 meticulous, obsessive attention to detail when preparing tactical solutions and perfecting plays, which his players were then expected to memorise 👍 and implement consistently during matches.[26]
Sacchi is also credited as an innovator, popularising high pressing from his teams, the offside trap, 👍 and a high defensive line with no more than 25 metres between defence and attack.[4][14][17][18][23][27][28] This style of pressing has 👍 been emulated successfully by José Mourinho's Porto,[17] Pep Guardiola's Barcelona,[14] Jürgen Klopp's Borussia Dortmund[29] and Jupp Heynckes's Bayern Munich.[30] His 👍 successor at Milan, Fabio Capello, retained aspects of Sacchi's tactics and went on to win four Scudetti in five seasons 👍 and the 1993–94 Champions League.[15] Spanish coach Rafael Benítez cites Sacchi as his role model and "the coach who has 👍 revolutionised football in the past 50 years".[31]
Sacchi has been frequently imitated in television by Italian comedian Maurizio Crozza.
Career statistics [ 👍 edit ]
Managerial record by team and tenure Team From To Record GF GA GD Rimini 1982 1983 43 15 13 👍 15 39 39 +0 0 34.88 Rimini 1984 1985 42 15 19 8 46 36 +10 0 35.71 Parma June 👍 1985 July 1987 88 34 38 16 80 46 +34 0 38.64 AC Milan July 1987 June 1991 196 109 👍 58 29 307 114 +193 0 55.61 Italy June 1991 November 1996 53 34 11 8 90 35 +55 0 👍 64.15 Milan December 1996 June 1997 25 7 7 11 29 36 −7 0 28.00 Atlético Madrid June 1998 February 👍 1999 30 15 5 10 52 32 +20 0 50.00 Parma January 2001 January 2001 3 1 2 0 4 👍 2 +2 0 33.33 Total 480 230 153 97 647 340 +307 0 47.92
Honours [ edit ]
Parma[8]
Milan[32]
Italy[2]
Individual
