Enzo Bearzot, a legend of Italian coaching, died today. While I can’t say much about what I remember of him, I can say that he is certainly one of the greatest influences on Italian football. Although many coaches focus on drills, tactics, and fitness, Bearzot also made sure he created a tightly-knit group. One of the most human and relatable people to grace the game, Bearzot made sure that people understood his ideas, becoming like an older brother or a father for his players, and ultimately for all of Italy.

As a player Enzo Bearzot was hard-working and versatile. Bearzot had 251 appearances in the Serie A, playing for Inter Milan, Catania, and most notably Torino. He was an important piece in Torino’s side, playing often as a central defender, and helping rebuild the team after the tragic Superga air disaster. In his playing career he also earned one cap for the Italian National team in 1955. He wasn’t a truly fantastic player, but he had great ideas and skills which he utilized in his coaching career.

Bearzot’s greatest moment as a coach was without a doubt when he won the 1982 World Cup at the helm of Italy’s national team. When he first took the job, he was scrutinized by the media due to his, lack of inexperience in big coaching jobs. Italy had a poor start to the 1982 World Cup, and as the Italian media was wildly criticizing Bearzot, the coach issued a “silenzio stampa”, which means “silence to the press”, allowing him and his side to work in temporary silence. Bearzot eventually found the perfect combination with time, and Italy defeated favorites Brazil, then Argentina, and finally West Germany in the final. Enzo Bearzot conquered the 1982 World Cup, Italy’s third, ending 44 years of drought in which the Azzurri hadn’t been crowned as world champions.

There weren’t many other highlights like 1982 in Bearzot’s coaching career, nonetheless he was a man with the right ideals.

“The player profile has also changed, especially regarding loyalty to clubs, which have themselves become profit-making businesses. What’s more, football has now become a science, if not always exact, but for me, it’s

still first and foremost a game.”

I mentioned before that Enzo Bearzot was more than just a coach. He did his best to rid Italy of the tight and defensive catenaccio, instead trying to imprint a more fluid and attacking style, inspired by the Netherlands which played total football in 1974. While the Azzurri didn’t play total football, they became a more attacking side, entertaining crowds with exciting performances. In the end Enzo Bearzot had a simple philosophy regarding how his teams should play,

“For me, football should be played with two wingers, a centre forward and a playmaker. That’s the way I see the game. I select my players and then I let them play the game, without trying to impose tactical plans on them. You can’t tell Maradona, ‘Play the way I tell you.’ You have to leave him free to express himself. The rest will take care of itself,”

A simple yet wonderful idea of football from a true legend of the game. While Bearzot was often criticized at the beginning of the campaign of 1982, every Italian loved him by the end of the tournament. It wasn’t love just because of what he achieved, but it was a love which extends past the fact that many never knew him. Bearzot was a father figure for all of Italy, guiding the country while taking criticism by ones which would ultimately be proven wrong. Not only did Bearzot create a family with his players, he brought all of Italy closer together, winning a tournament which lives in a nation’s hearts.

Enzo Bearzot, born 27 September 1927, died 21 December 2010.

Flickr/Photo by Sergio138

According to numerous Italian sites and Goal.com, former AC Milan manager Alberto Zaccheroni will be named Juventus manager on Friday, replacing embattled Ciro Ferrara.

The tipping point seemingly was Juve’s 2-1 Coppa Italia loss to Inter Thursday, seemingly eliminating the proud club from any chance at any titles this year.  For a club that has a host of Italian national team players, including possibly the best keeper in the world, this was an unacceptable situation.  For a full breakdown of Ferrara’s situation, check out Rami’s excellent posts.

The 56 year-old Zaccheroni reportedly will take over Juventus through the end of the season.  He began his managerial career by guiding Udinese to a UEFA Cup spot in 1998, and won a scudetto with AC Milan in 1999.  He bounced around Italian soccer with stops in Inter and Lazio, but was repeatedly fired for major losses and clashes with owners.  His last stop was with Torino in Serie B, where he was fired in 2007.

Baring a miraculous run at the scudetto, this position could be a chance for Zaccheroni to showcase his managerial skills for his next club.  The Juventus board would then interview all the major names that are unemployed (or, in the case of Rafa Bentitez, tentatively employed) to be the permanent manager.  So stay tuned – the Juventus soap opera will likely continue.

The story has been told a million times before. The greatest team in football, on their flight home from an exhibition game in Lisbon, meet with a premature end when their G-212  plane smashes into the Basilica di Superga. All 31 passengers died, including the entire Torino squad. Sixty years on, the pain felt on 4 May 1949 is still very much in evidence in the city of Turin.

Monday saw the anniversary of the darkest day in Italian football history, with around 1500 people making the arduous trek up to the site of the crash. As the public arrived ahead of a commemorative Mass inside the church, the heavens opened and a thunderstorm raged, recreating the treacherous conditions which had plagued the flight in question and caused the deathly impact at the rear of the building. There now stands a memorial to the victims at that exact spot, and mourners braved the weather to leave floral tributes and pay their respects to I Caduti (the fallen) before making their way to the front of the church. Here a giant TV screen had been erected to allow the public to watch the service.

As members of the Torino club staff arrived, including the entire playing squad, the skies cleared, allowing many fans to emerge from makeshift shelter under trees to greet their modern heroes. The Torino players have been under intense pressure of late as they battle to stay in Serie A, their quest helped by consecutive home wins which have given them a one-point advantage over Bologna, their visitors to the Olimpico next Sunday. But as they made their way into the church under the re-emerging sunlight, they were subject to no pressure, only handshakes and slaps on the back from fans eager to show their thanks for their attendance.

As the crowd watched the service it was difficult not to cast an eye around those gathered and wonder how many were old enough to remember the day itself. Do they remember being told of the demise of their team by a friend or loved one? Maybe even by the special news bulletins which had been broadcast on the radio moments after the crash? Perhaps they used to go down to the Stadio Filadelfia to watch the likes of Ezio Loik, Franco Ossola, Romeo Menti and the inspirational Valentino Mazzola rip opposing teams apart on their march to five successive Italian league titles.

Those who did see Il Grande Torino play were the lucky ones. A team of such style, grace, elegance and raw talent that they were revered around a world which at that time was exposed to very little football outside its own community, let alone its country. A team which would surely have gone on to challenge the great Real Madrid as the game’s superpower in the early days of European club competition in the 1950s. Instead Torino have struggled ever since their great loss, adding only the 1976 league title and three Coppa Italia triumphs. This month they face one of their toughest tests in attempting to stay in Italy’s top flight. But if the club shows the same unity on the pitch as they did at Superga yesterday, La Salvezza should be a formality.

Catania striker Gianvito Plasmati, dropped his shorts at Torino goalkeeper Matteo Sereni, as team-mate Giuseppe Mascara scores on a free-kick during the Southerner’s 3-2 win.  

Dreamed up by former Italian national goalkeeper Walter Zenga, this tactic was employed to great success against the visitors. Chief executive Pietro Lo Monaco speaking yesterday to RAI said, “This is a strategy that (Catania coach Walter) Zenga tries continually in training.”

Former referees coordinator Paolo Casarin called the move “unsportsmanlike and in bad taste. “It’s a trick that should not be tolerated anymore by the referees” 

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(AP photo by Francesco Pecoraro)