Marco Tardelli

Marco Tardelli

Tardelli in 2016
Personal information
Full name	Marco Tardelli
Date of birth	(1954-09-24) 24 September 1954 (age 70)
Place of birth	Capanne di Careggine, Italy
Height	1.78 m (5 ft 10 in)
Position(s)	Midfielder, defender
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
1972–1974	Pisa	41	(4)
1974–1975	Como	36	(2)
1975–1985	Juventus	259	(35)
1985–1987	Internazionale	43	(2)
1987–1988	St. Gallen	14	(0)
Total		393	(43)
International career
1976–1986	Italy	81	(6)
Managerial career
1988–1990	Italy U-16
1990–1993	Italy U-21 (assistant)
1993–1995	Como
1995–1996	Cesena
1997–2000	Italy U-21
2000–2001	Internazionale
2002–2003	Bari
2004	Egypt
2005–2008	Arezzo
2008–2013	Republic of Ireland (assistant)
Medal record Men's football Representing  Italy (as player) FIFA World Cup Winner 1982 Spain Representing  Italy (as manager) UEFA European Under-21 Championship Winner 2000 Slovakia
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Marco Tardelli (Italian pronunciation: [ˈmarko tarˈdɛlli]; born 24 September 1954) is an Italian former football player and manager. At club level, he played as a midfielder for several Italian clubs; he began his career with Pisa, and later played for Como, Juventus, and Internazionale, before retiring with Swiss club St. Gallen. He enjoyed a highly successful career with Juventus, winning five league titles, as well as multiple Coppa Italia titles, and four major UEFA competitions (European Cup, Cup Winner's Cup, UEFA Cup and UEFA Super Cup), becoming one of the first three players ever to win all three major UEFA club competitions, along with Italy and Juventus teammates Antonio Cabrini and Gaetano Scirea.^[1]

Tardelli also achieved success with the Italy national team. He represented his nation at three FIFA World Cups (1978, 1982 and 1986), winning the 1982 edition of the tournament. His goal celebration in the 1982 final – where he ran away shaking his fists, tears pouring down his face, screaming "Gol! Gol!" as he shook his head wildly – is regarded as one of the most iconic moments in World Cup history.^[2][3] He also took part in UEFA Euro 1980, in which he came fourth on home soil, and was named to the team of the tournament.

Regarded as one of Italy's greatest midfielders, and one of the best players of his generation, Tardelli was an energetic and hard-tackling yet technically skilful two-way midfielder, who was known for his ability to contribute both offensively and defensively.^[4][5][6][7] In 2004, Tardelli was named 37th in the UEFA Golden Jubilee Poll; he was inducted into the Italian Football Hall of Fame in 2015.

As a manager, Tardelli initially worked with the Italy U-16 side, and later served as an assistant manager to Cesare Maldini for the U-21 side. He subsequently led several clubs in Italy before serving as head coach of the Italy national under-21 football team, winning the 1997 Mediterranean Games and the 2000 UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship, before returning to coach at club level. Between 2004 and 2005 he also managed the Egypt national football team, while he served as an assistant manager to Giovanni Trapattoni with the Republic of Ireland national football team between 2008 and 2013.

Club career

Tardelli was born at Capanne di Careggine, in the province of Lucca (Tuscany). He started his career in the Italian Serie C with the club of Pisa in 1972. Two years later he played in the Serie B with Como before joining Serie A giants Juventus the next year, in October 1975.^[6][7]

During his decade-long stint at the Turin club, he enjoyed much success, as he became one of the first three players ever to win all the three major European competitions, alongside teammates Antonio Cabrini and Gaetano Scirea: the UEFA Cup in 1977, the Cup Winners' Cup in 1984, and the European Cup in 1985.^[1] With Juventus, he also won five Italian Serie A championships, and two Coppa Italia titles, as well as the 1984 European Super Cup.^[6][7]

He scored the decisive goal during the first leg of the 1977 UEFA Cup final against Athletic Bilbao, which allowed him and Juventus to win their first ever European title.^[6][7]

In total, Tardelli played 376 games with Juventus and scored 51 goals.^[6][7] He left the Turin club in 1985, moving on to rivals Internazionale, where he remained until 1987, before ending his career in 1988, after a season with Swiss side St. Gallen.^[6][7]

International career

Tardelli (center) celebrates with Roberto Bettega and Enzo Bearzot, manager of the Italy national team, after a victory over England in November 1976.

Tardelli made his international debut on 7 April 1976 against Portugal.^[8] He played at the 1978 World Cup and the 1980 European Football Championship on home soil, reaching the semi-final and earning fourth-place finishes in both tournaments, and being named as a member of the team of the tournament at Euro 80. He performed especially well during Italy's 1982 World Cup-winning campaign, scoring twice. His first came in a second-round group stage win against Argentina, and his memorable second goal of the tournament was scored in the final against West Germany, with a left footed strike from outside the area. With tears in his eyes, he ran towards the Italian bench, fists clenched in front of his chest, screaming "Gol! Gol!" as he shook his head wildly. This celebration has been called the "Tardelli cry", and was considered one of the defining images of Italy's 1982 World Cup triumph;^[6][7][9] Tardelli later reflected:

"After I scored, my whole life passed before me – the same feeling they say you have when you are about to die, the joy of scoring in a World Cup final was immense, something I dreamed about as a kid, and my celebration was a release after realising that dream. I was born with that scream inside me, that was just the moment it came out."^[9]

In 2014, his iconic 1982 FIFA World Cup Final goal celebration was named the fourth greatest World Cup moment of all time by the BBC.^[10] He won a total of 81 caps for Italy, playing his final game for them against Norway in September 1985, and also served as Italy's captain between 1983 and 1985.^[8] He was part of the squad for 1986 FIFA World Cup, but did not play. He retired as a player in 1988.^[6][7]

Style of play

Tardelli in action with Bianconeri in the summer 1975

During an era when Italy was known for its defensive prowess (catenaccio), Tardelli made his name as a hard-tackling yet technically skilful and elegant defensive midfielder, with an ability to get forward and contribute offensively; a well-rounded footballer, he was regarded as one of the finest midfielders in the world during the early 1980s.^{[4][5][11][12]} A quick, tenacious, and energetic player, with good feet, he is regarded as one of the greatest Italian midfielders of all time, and was a two-way midfielder who was known for his tactical intelligence, versatility and work-rate as a footballer, which enabled him to play anywhere in midfield. Although he was usually deployed in the centre in a more offensive midfield role, in particular under managers Giovanni Trapattoni and Enzo Bearzot, with Juventus and Italy respectively (known in Italian as the "mezzala" position), he also played in several other positions throughout his career, and was capable of playing as a winger on either flank, or even as a defender; indeed in his early career, he played as a full-back on either side of the pitch, and also as a centre-back (or "stopper" in Italian), due to his man-marking skills and ball-winning abilities.^{[5][6][11][12][13][14][15][16][17]} Although Tardelli was mainly renowned for his speed, stamina and defensive skills,^[4][5][7] he also possessed a powerful shot, and was capable of striking and passing the ball with either foot, despite being naturally right footed; he refined his ability with his weaker foot in his youth as his idol Gigi Riva was left-footed.^[7][18] Due to his great pace and slender build, Tardelli's Juventus teammate Luciano Spinosi gave him the nickname Schizzo.^[13][19][20] In addition to his footballing abilities, he was also stood out for his leadership throughout his career, and was known for being a decisive player.^[11][21] In 2007, The Times placed Tardelli at number 10 in their list of the 50 hardest footballers in history.^[22] Jonathan Wilson, when writing for The Guardian in 2013, labelled Tardelli as a type of holding midfielder he described as a "destroyer," a player who is primarily tasked with running, winning back possession, and distributing the ball to other players.^[23]

Coaching career

Tardelli started his managing career as head coach of the Under 16 Italy national team in 1988, immediately after his retirement. Two years later, he became the assistant coach of Cesare Maldini for the Under 21 team. In 1993, he switched to Como of Serie C1. He led Como to promotion into Serie B, but was unable to avoid relegation.

Tardelli (left) in his role as Republic of Ireland assistant manager, near Giovanni Trapattoni, in September 2013.

In 1995, he took over Cesena, another Serie B team. Tardelli would spend three seasons with Cesena before leaving to become head coach of the Italian Under 21 team. He won the Under 21 European Championship,^[24] the following year, and also coached the Italian side which took part at the 2000 Summer Olympics, reaching the quarter-finals. His success with the Italian Under 21 side led Tardelli to become the manager of Internazionale for the 2000–01 season. His tenure with the Nerazzurri would be short; following a string of embarrassing defeats especially a 6–0 defeat to local rivals A.C. Milan, Tardelli was fired in June 2001. Tardelli did not have much luck in the coaching jobs that followed, which included spells with Bari, the Egyptian national team and Arezzo.

Tardelli served for a short time as part of the administrative council of his former club Juventus in 2006, before resigning in 2007 allegedly due to differences with the hierarchy regarding the direction the club was heading towards.^[25] In February 2008, he joined the coaching staff of the Republic of Ireland national team as an assistant manager to the recently appointed Giovanni Trapattoni. He was reunited with former Juventus teammate Liam Brady, who was also named as Trapattoni's assistant.

Tardelli parted ways with the Republic of Ireland national team on 11 September 2013 by mutual consent, after a defeat by Austria the previous day.^[26]

Personal life

Tardelli came from a working-class family, and was the youngest of four children. His father was a factory worker for Anas and his mother was a housewife. Known for his left-wing political views, he described himself in his youth and his father as communists.^[27][28] In his highschool years, he earned money working during the summers as a waiter in the piazza dei Miracoli in Pisa. He obtained a highschool diploma in surveying.^[29]

In her 1991 autobiography, La filosofia di Moana ("Moana's philosophy," in Italian), Italian adult film actress Moana Pozzi claimed to have had an affair with Tardelli.^[30]

Tardelli has two children: a daughter, Sara (a journalist), from his first marriage,^[31] and a son Nicola (a model), from his relationship with reporter Stella Pende.^[32]

Since 2016, Tardelli has been in a relationship with journalist Myrta Merlino.^[33] Tardelli was one of over 80 Italian celebrities to sign a petition in favour of the 2016 referendum on constitutional reform.^[34]

Career statistics

Club

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition^[35]

Club	Season	League			National Cup		Europe		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Pisa S.C.	1972–73	Serie C	8	2	–		–		8	2
	1973–74		33	2	–		–		33	2
	Total		41	4	–		–		41	4
Como	1974–75	Serie B	36	2			–		36	2
Juventus	1975–76	Serie A	26	2	4	0	3[a]	0	33	2
	1976–77		28	4	4	1	12[b]	2	44	7
	1977–78		26	4	4	1	6[a]	1	36	6
	1978–79		29	4	9	3	2[a]	0	40	7
	1979–80		18	4	2	0	7[c]	0	27	4
	1980–81		28	7	6	0	3[b]	1	37	8
	1981–82		22	3	4	1	3[a]	0	29	4
	1982–83		26	5	10	1	8[a]	3	44	9
	1983–84		28	0	6	1	8[c]	1	42	2
	1984–85		28	2	6	0	9[d]	1	43	3
	Total		259	35	55	8	61	9	375	52
Internazionale	1985–86	Serie A	19	2	7	2	9[b]	3	34	7
	1986–87		24	0	7	1	6[b]	0	37	1
	Total		43	2	14	3	14	3	71	8
St. Gallen	1987–88	Nationalliga A	14	0			–		14	0
Career total			393	43	69	11	75	12	537	66

1. Appearances in European Cup
2. Appearances in UEFA Cup
3. Appearances in UEFA Cup Winners' Cup
4. Eight appearances and one goal in European Cup, one appearance in UEFA Super Cup

International

Tardelli's No.14 Italy shirt

Appearances and goals by national team and year

National team	Year	Apps	Goals
Italy[8]	1976	8	0
	1977	7	0
	1978	13	1
	1979	4	2
	1980	12	1
	1981	6	0
	1982	13	2
	1983	4	0
	1984	7	0
	1985	6	0
Total		81	6

Manager

Team	Nat	From	To	Record
				G	W	D	L	Win %
Como		26 June 1993	13 June 1995	79	23	26	30	029.11
Cesena		13 June 1995	25 October 1996	48	15	13	20	031.25
Italy U-21		18 December 1997	10 October 2000	25	18	5	2	072.00
Internazionale		7 October 2000	19 June 2001	41	15	14	12	036.59
Bari		29 December 2002	11 November 2003	39	11	15	13	028.21
Egypt		25 March 2004	11 October 2004	8	5	1	2	062.50
Arezzo		28 February 2005	21 April 2005	6	2	1	3	033.33
Total				246	89	75	82	036.18

Honours

Player

Juventus

• Serie A: 1976–77, 1977–78, 1980–81, 1981–82, 1983–84^[7]
• Coppa Italia: 1978–79, 1982–83^[7]
• European Cup: 1984–85^[7]
• UEFA Cup: 1976–77^[7]
• UEFA Cup Winners' Cup: 1983–84^[7]
• UEFA Super Cup: 1984^[7]

Tardelli's FIFA XI kit, on display at the Museo del Calcio in Florence.

Italy

• FIFA World Cup: 1982^[7]

Individual

• UEFA Golden Jubilee Poll: #37^[36]
• FIFA XI: 1979^[37]
• UEFA European Championship Team of the Tournament: 1980^[38]
• Italian Football Hall of Fame: 2015^[39]

Coach

Italy under-21^[40]

• Mediterranean Games: 1997
• UEFA European Under-21 Championship: 2000

See also

• List of players to have won the three main European club competitions

References

1. Hugo Pietra (21 May 2004). "Treble chance for Vítor Baía". UEFA.com. Retrieved 6 July 2016.
2. Jon Carter (26 May 2010). "First XI: World Cup celebrations". ESPN. Archived from the original on 3 June 2010.
3. John F. Molinaro (13 May 2010). "World Cup memories: Tardelli's celebration, 1982". CBC Sports.
4. "Italy's greatest midfielders". Sky Sports. Retrieved 6 July 2016.
5. Walter Veltroni (17 October 2015). "Veltroni intervista Tardelli: "Inter e Milan mi scartarono..."" (in Italian). Il Corriere dello Sport. Retrieved 4 July 2016.
6. "Marco Tardelli" (in Italian). Storie di Calcio. Retrieved 27 March 2015.
7. Stefano Bedeschi (24 September 2014). "Gli eroi in bianconero: Marco TARDELLI" (in Italian). Tutto Juve.com. Retrieved 31 March 2015.
8. "Tardelli, Marco" (in Italian). FIGC. Retrieved 20 November 2015.
9. Chris Bevan (20 May 2010). "The story of the 1982 World Cup". BBC. Retrieved 6 July 2016.
10. "World Cup 2014: 100 World Cup moments". BBC.com. 5 March 2014. Retrieved 6 July 2016.
11. Mario Sconcerti (28 March 2016). "Riva il migliore per i lettori di CM. Sconcerti: 'Ma Rivera era al suo livello'" (in Italian). Calciomercato.com. Retrieved 13 February 2017.
12. "Modric, Xavi, Pirlo and the top 20 central midfielders in history". Goal.com. 14 November 2018. Retrieved 12 December 2018.
13. Fabrizio Del Pivo (12 October 2000). "Un tandem col destino nerazzurro Una storia nata in serie C a Pisa, quasi trent'anni fa..." (in Italian). Il Tirreno. Retrieved 12 December 2018.
14. Andrea Chiavacci (6 June 2014). "Pisa Mondiale, l'urlo di schizzo" (in Italian). Tutto Pisa. Retrieved 12 December 2018.
15. ANDREA COCCHI (8 July 2012). "Bearzot, un genio della tattica" (in Italian). Mediaset. Retrieved 9 March 2017.
16. Fabio Licari; Andrea Masala; Claudio Gregori (27 September 2002). "Uno Zico davanti alla difesa" (in Italian). La Gazzetta dello Sport. Retrieved 12 December 2018.
17. Wayne Girard (16 December 2016). "Three to Watch: Juventus have quality in every department". www.asroma.com. Retrieved 12 December 2018.
18. Daniele Alfieri (30 October 2014). "Tardelli: "Da piccolo interista. E quando Fraizzoli..."" (in Italian). tuttomercatoweb.com. Retrieved 22 April 2015.
19. Calzaretta, Nicola (24 September 2018). "Dossier stranieri: I nuovi – Marco Tardelli". Guerin Sportivo (in Italian). No. October 2012. Retrieved 12 December 2018.
20. Gianni Piva (14 October 2000). "Marco e l'Inter luci a San Siro" (in Italian). La Repubblica. Retrieved 12 December 2018.
21. Mario Sconcerti (11 January 2017). "Da Buffon a Riva, il gioco infinito della squadra ideale" (in Italian). Il Corriere della Sera. Retrieved 13 February 2017.
22. "Top 50 Hardest Footballers". empireonline.com. The Times. 13 August 2007. Archived from the original on 19 October 2015. Retrieved 22 April 2015.
23. Wilson, Jonathan (18 December 2013). "The Question: what does the changing role of holding midfielders tell us?". The Guardian. Retrieved 31 October 2014.
24. 2000 UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship squads
25. "Resignation of Tardelli". juventus.com. 15 June 2007. Archived from the original on 26 November 2008.
26. "Giovanni Trapattoni stands down as Republic of Ireland manager". BBC Sport. 11 September 2013. Retrieved 11 September 2013.
27. Spigno, Gregorio (24 September 2023). "Tardelli ha 69 anni: il lavoro da cameriere, Myrta Merlino, l'urlo '82. Cosa fa adesso: Il padre, la religione, il comunismo" [Tardelli turns 69 years old: his job as a waiter, Myrta Merlino, the '82 cry. What he does now: His father, religion, and communism]. Corriere della Sera (in Italian). Retrieved 20 November 2023.
28. "Marco Tardelli, da 'Schizzo' a tuttocampista e icona del Mundial '82" (in Italian). www.goal.com. 24 September 2022. Retrieved 20 November 2023.
29. Spigno, Gregorio (24 September 2023). "Tardelli ha 69 anni: il lavoro da cameriere, Myrta Merlino, l'urlo '82. Cosa fa adesso: Tutto iniziò a Pisa: da cameriere a campione del mondo" [Tardelli turns 69 years old: his job as a waiter, Myrta Merlino, the '82 cry. What he does now: Everything began in Pisa: from waiter to world champion]. Corriere della Sera (in Italian). Retrieved 20 November 2023.
30. "I voti di Moana «Tardelli da 8 Falcao da 5»". La Gazzetta dello Sport (in Italian). 10 October 2006. Retrieved 20 November 2023.
31. Spigno, Gregorio (24 September 2023). "Tardelli ha 69 anni: il lavoro da cameriere, Myrta Merlino, l'urlo '82. Cosa fa adesso". Corriere della Sera (in Italian). Retrieved 20 November 2023.
32. Marchetti, Simone (21 June 2011). "Nicola Tardelli: modello per caso". la Repubblica (in Italian). Retrieved 20 November 2023.
33. "Marco Tardelli: "Myrta Merlino è l'amore della mia vita. L'urlo Mundial? Da lì rinacque il Paese"". HuffPost Italia (in Italian). 5 October 2020. Retrieved 20 November 2023.
34. "Italy's top chef threatens to emigrate if 'No' side wins referendum". The Local. 21 November 2016. Retrieved 21 November 2016.
35. Marco Tardelli at National-Football-Teams.com
36. "Zinedine Zidane voted top player by fans" (PDF). uefa.com. Retrieved 24 July 2014.
37. FIFA XI´s Matches - Full Info
38. "UEFA Euro 1980 team of the tournament". Uefa.com. UEFA. 1 July 2011. Retrieved 27 March 2015.
39. "Hall of fame, 10 new entry: con Vialli e Mancini anche Facchetti e Ronaldo" [Hall of fame, 10 new entries: with Vialli and Mancini also Facchetti and Ronaldo] (in Italian). La Gazzetta dello Sport. 27 October 2015. Retrieved 27 October 2015.
40. "Happy Birthday to Marco Tardelli, who turns 60 today!". vivoazzurro.it. 24 September 2014. Retrieved 31 March 2015.

External links

• Tardelli's biography as coach until 1999 at the Wayback Machine (archived 13 May 2006) (in Italian)