Giuseppe Luigi David "Joe" Bacuzzi (25 September 1916 – 1 February 1995), was an English

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby lea ...

and coach who spent most of his career at

Fulham Fulham () is an area of the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham in West London, England, southwest of Charing Cross. It lies in a loop on the north bank of the River Thames, bordering Hammersmith, Kensington and Chelsea, London, Chelsea ...

. In November 1945, however, he guested for both Chelsea and

Arsenal An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury (British English) or armory (American English) are mostly ...

in their prestige friendlies against a touring

FC Dynamo Moscow FC Dynamo Moscow (''FC Dynamo Moskva'', , ) is a Russian professional association football, football club based in Moscow. Dynamo returned to the Russian Premier League for the 2017–18 season after one season in the second-tier Russian Footba ...

. As an international he also played for

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

Personal life

Bacuzzi was born in

Clerkenwell Clerkenwell ( ) is an area of central London, England. Clerkenwell was an Civil Parish#Ancient parishes, ancient parish from the medieval period onwards, and now forms the south-western part of the London Borough of Islington. The St James's C ...

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

, England into an Anglo-Italian family that had settled in

. His father, Camillo, came from Sorisole (

Bergamo Bergamo ( , ; ) is a city in the Alps, alpine Lombardy region of northern Italy, approximately northeast of Milan, and about from the alpine lakes Lake Como, Como and Lake Iseo, Iseo and 70 km (43 mi) from Lake Garda, Garda and Lake ...

), and his mother, Natalina Clerici, from Precotto, a neighbourhood of

Milan Milan ( , , ; ) is a city in northern Italy, regional capital of Lombardy, the largest city in Italy by urban area and the List of cities in Italy, second-most-populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of nea ...

. His son,

Dave Bacuzzi David Reno Bacuzzi (12 October 1940 – 21 April 2020) was an English footballer and manager who played for Arsenal, Manchester City and Reading. He also represented England as a youth international. After a moderately successful career in the ...

, was also a notable footballer, playing as a defender for both

and

Manchester City Manchester City Football Club is a professional association football, football club based in Manchester, England, that competes in the Premier League, the English football league system, top flight of Football in England, English footbal ...

. Bacuzzi Sr. lived in the

area until he died, aged 78 in 1995.

Playing career

Club career

Bacuzzi began his career with

Tufnell Park Tufnell Park is an area in north London, England, in the London boroughs of London Borough of Islington, Islington and London Borough of Camden, Camden. The neighbourhood is served by Tufnell Park tube station on the Northern Line. History ...

before having trials with

. However, he failed to impress the Gunners and was subsequently signed as an amateur by

in 1935. He turned professional in 1936 and in January 1937 he made his first team debut for Fulham, playing as a

right-back In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield player whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Defenders fall into four main categories: centre-backs, full-backs, sweepers ...

, in a 4–1 defeat away to Chesterfield. However, he only made one other senior appearance that season, playing as a left-back against

Barnsley Barnsley () is a market town in South Yorkshire, England. It is the main settlement of the Metropolitan Borough of Barnsley and the fourth largest settlement in South Yorkshire. The town's population was 71,422 in 2021, while the wider boroug ...

. Bacuzzi scored just two goals during his career and he netted his first during the 1938–39 season when Fulham defeated

Luton Town Luton Town Football Club is a professional association football, football club from Luton, Bedfordshire, England. The club currently competes in EFL League One, the third level of the English football league system. Nicknamed "The Hatters", L ...

4–1. He was an ever-present during the same season and went on to make 70 appearances for the club before the start of the

. During the war Bacuzzi made 104 appearances for Fulham in regional leagues. He was also an active guest player and made a further 14 league appearances for several other clubs, most notably Bury and

Notts County Notts County Football Club is a professional association football, football club in Nottingham, England, which competes in EFL League Two, the fourth tier of Football in England, English football, following promotion and relegation, promotion ...

. Between 1943 and 1944 he also served with the military in

North Africa North Africa (sometimes Northern Africa) is a region encompassing the northern portion of the African continent. There is no singularly accepted scope for the region. However, it is sometimes defined as stretching from the Atlantic shores of t ...

and Italy. His most notable guest appearances came in November 1945 when Bacuzzi played for both Chelsea and

in their prestige friendlies against a touring

. On 13 November at Stamford Bridge he helped Chelsea hold Dynamo to a 3–3 draw. Then on 21 November at

White Hart Lane White Hart Lane was a Association football, football stadium in Tottenham, North London and the home of Tottenham Hotspur F.C., Tottenham Hotspur Football Club from 1899 to 2017. Its capacity varied over the years; when changed to all-seater i ...

, together with

Stanley Matthews Sir Stanley Matthews (1 February 1915 – 23 February 2000) was an English Association football, footballer who played as an Forward (association football)#Outside forward, outside right. Often regarded as one of the greatest players of the Br ...

and

Stan Mortensen Stanley Harding Mortensen (26 May 1921 – 22 May 1991) was an English professional footballer, notable for his part in the 1953 FA Cup final (subsequently known as the " Matthews Final"), in which he became the only player ever to score a hat- ...

, he was a member of an Arsenal XI that lost 4–3 to Dynamo. After the war Bacuzzi remained Fulham's first choice right-back and he continued playing until he was almost 40, taking his total of league and cup appearances for the club to 299. He only retired when a terrible knee injury ended his playing career at the end of the 1955–56 season. In August 1949 he scored his second goal for the club with a fortunate shot against

Wolves The wolf (''Canis lupus''; : wolves), also known as the grey wolf or gray wolf, is a canine native to Eurasia and North America. More than thirty subspecies of ''Canis lupus'' have been recognized, including the dog and dingo, though gr ...

. It was also the club's first ever goal in the First Division. While still playing, Bacuzzi also seems to have acted as an impromptu scout for the club and was responsible for discovering

Bedford Jezzard Bedford Alfred George Jezzard (19 October 1927 – 21 May 2005) was an English footballer. Jezzard's teenage years coincided with the Second World War, and he began football as an amateur with Croxley Boys and later Watford, for whom he made th ...

England international

Between 1939 and 1946 Bacuzzi played 13 times for

. He made his international debut on 11 November 1939 against

Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...

in a 1–1 draw at

Ninian Park Ninian Park was a association football, football stadium in the Leckwith, Cardiff, Leckwith area of Cardiff, Wales, that was the home of Cardiff City F.C. for 99 years. Opened in 1910 with a single wooden stand, it underwent numerous renovatio ...

. This game saw England use a substitute for the first time after Bacuzzi was injured. On 2 February 1941 at

St James' Park St James' Park is a Association football, football stadium in Newcastle upon Tyne, England. It is the home of Newcastle United F.C., Newcastle United. With a seating capacity of 52,305, it is the List of football stadiums in England, 8th la ...

during his third international he scored an

own goal An own goal occurs in sports when a player performs actions that result in scoring points for the opposition, such as when a Association football, footballer puts a ball into their own net. In some parts of the world, the term has become a met ...

when a misplaced back header gave

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

a 3–2 win. After helping England defeat Wales 5–3 at

Wembley Stadium Wembley Stadium, currently branded as Wembley Stadium connected by EE Limited, EE for sponsorship reasons, is an association football stadium in Wembley, London. It opened in 2007 on the site of the Wembley Stadium (1923), original Wembley Sta ...

on 27 February 1943, he had to wait for over three years before he made his next and final appearance. He made his last appearance for England on 19 May 1946 in a 2–1 defeat against

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

, in a

Victory International The term Victory International or Victory Internationals refers to two series of international association football, football matches played by the national football teams of England national football team, England, Scotland national football team ...

at the

Stade Olympique Olympic Stadium is the name usually given to the main stadium of an Olympic Games. Olympic Stadium may specifically refer to: Stadia used for Olympic Games * Olympic Stadium (Amsterdam), Netherlands * Olympisch Stadion (Antwerp), Belgium * Olymp ...

. Bacuzzi's teammates during his international career included, among others,

Joe Mercer Joseph Mercer (9 August 1914 – 9 August 1990) was an English footballer and manager. Mercer, who played as a defender for Everton and Arsenal in his footballing career, also went on to manage Aston Villa and Manchester City, and was the ...

and

Tommy Lawton Thomas Lawton (6 October 1919 – 6 November 1996) was an English football player and manager. Born in Farnworth and raised in Bolton, he played amateur football at Rossendale United, before he turned professional at Burnley on his 17t ...

. rsssf.org
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Coaching career

After retiring as a player in 1956, he was appointed

reserve team In sports, a reserve team is a team composed of players who are under contract to a club but who do not regularly play in matches for the club's primary team. Reserve teams usually include players who are part of the larger first-team squad but ...

trainer at

and stayed in that post until 1965 when he was sacked by

Vic Buckingham Victor Frederick Buckingham (23 October 1915 – 26 January 1995) was an English football player and manager. He played for Second Division side Tottenham Hotspur. As manager he won the 1954 FA Cup final with West Bromwich Albion and finished ...

Honours

Fulham *

Second Division In sport, the Second Division, also called Division 2 or Division II is usually the second highest division of a league, and will often have promotion and relegation with divisions above and below. Following the rise of Premier League style compet ...

**''Winners'' 1948–49: 1

External links

www.fulhamfc.com
*

Sources

*''Soccer at War – 1939 – 45'' (2005): Jack Rolli

*''Maine Road Favourites – Where Are They Now ?'' (2006): Ian Penney with Fred Eyre

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bacuzzi, Joe 1916 births 1995 deaths English men's footballers England men's wartime international footballers Fulham F.C. players Tufnell Park F.C. players Arsenal F.C. wartime guest players Reading F.C. wartime guest players Manchester City F.C. wartime guest players Bury F.C. wartime guest players Notts County F.C. wartime guest players Derby County F.C. wartime guest players Chelsea F.C. wartime guest players Fulham F.C. non-playing staff People from Clerkenwell Footballers from the London Borough of Islington English people of Italian descent Italian British sportspeople Sportspeople of Italian descent English Football League representative players Men's association football fullbacks English football coaches English Football League players