Luigi Bertolini
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Luigi Bertolini (; 13 September 1904 – 11 February 1977) was an Italian
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 ...
who played as a
midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in t ...
.


Club career

Born in
Busalla Busalla is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Metropolitan City of Genoa in the Italian region Liguria, located about north of Genoa. Its territory is crossed by the upper valley of the Scrivia river. Nearby is the artificial Lake Busalletta. ...
,
province of Genoa The province of Genoa () was a province in the Liguria region of Italy. Its capital was the city of Genoa. It was replaced by Metropolitan City of Genoa. Overview It has an area of and a total population of about 0.9 million (2009). There are ...
, Bertolini played in the 1920s for Savona,
Alessandria Alessandria (; ) is a city and commune in Piedmont, Italy, and the capital of the Province of Alessandria. It is also the largest municipality of the region. The city is sited on the alluvial plain between the Tanaro and the Bormida rivers, ...
and
Juventus Juventus Football Club (; from , ), commonly known as Juventus or colloquially as Juve (), is an Italian professional Association football, football List of football clubs in Italy, club based in Turin, Piedmont, who compete in Serie A, the ...
. He moved from Alessandria to Juventus in 1931, becoming an integral part of the remainder of their five-year championship run. In total, he played 137 matches for Juventus, scoring five goals, helping the team to win four
Serie A The Serie A (), officially known as Serie A Enilive in Italy and Serie A Made in Italy abroad for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Italy and the highest tier of the Italian football league system. Establish ...
tournaments. He retired from playing football in 1940.


International career

With the
Italy national football team The Italy national football team () has represented Italy in men's international Association football, football since its first match in 1910. The national team is controlled by the Italian Football Federation (FIGC), the governing body for fo ...
, Bertolini made his debut in 1929, and was a member of the teams that was runner-up at the 1931-32 Central European International Cup & winner at the 1933–35 Central European International Cup but most notably he was also a member of the team that won the
1934 FIFA World Cup The 1934 FIFA World Cup was the 2nd edition of the FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international Association football, football championship for List of men's national association football teams, senior men's national teams. It took place in Kin ...
. Alongside Luisito Monti and
Attilio Ferraris Attilio Ferraris (; 26 March 1904 – 8 May 1947) was an Italian footballer who played as a defensive midfielder. Club career Ferraris played ten seasons (254 games, two goals) in the Serie A, for AS Roma, SS Lazio and AS Bari. Internation ...
, Luigi Bertolini made up the legendary Italian midfield established at the 1934 World Cup. In that tournament he started every game and was only rested by Pozzo in the first quarter-final encounter against
Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...
. Bertolini is very recognisable in the photos of the 1934 Italian World Cup-winning team by virtue of his big white bandana which he used to protect his head from the seams of the ball when attempting headers. He was also one of the 'Lions of Highbury' in the narrow loss to
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 ...
in November 1934 known as the Battle of Highbury. As the story goes, during the second half he was disoriented from fatigue and with the English constantly in attack, he kept calling out for Luisito not realising that Monti was not on the field (due to a broken bone) and the midline was just himself and Ferraris.


Managerial career

Following his retirement, Bertolini began his coaching career with Tigullia in 1938.


Honours


Club

;Juventus *
Serie A The Serie A (), officially known as Serie A Enilive in Italy and Serie A Made in Italy abroad for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Italy and the highest tier of the Italian football league system. Establish ...
: 1931–32, 1932–33, 1933–34, 1934–35 ;Tigullia *
Prima Divisione Prima Divisione (''First Division'') was the name of the first level of the Italian Football Championship from 1921 to 1926. The competition was initially founded in opposition to the FIGC by the richest clubs of Northern Italy, which disagreed the ...
: 1937–38


International

;
Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...
*
FIFA World Cup The FIFA World Cup, often called the World Cup, is an international association football competition among the senior List of men's national association football teams, men's national teams of the members of the FIFA, Fédération Internatio ...
:
1934 Events January–February * January 1 – The International Telecommunication Union, a specialist agency of the League of Nations, is established. * January 15 – The 8.0 1934 Nepal–Bihar earthquake, Nepal–Bihar earthquake strik ...
* Central European International Cup: 1933–35; Runner-up: 1931–32


References


La Gazzetta dello Sport
1904 births 1977 deaths Footballers from the Province of Genoa Italian men's footballers Italy men's international footballers Men's association football midfielders Serie A players US Alessandria Calcio 1912 players Juventus FC players Juventus FC managers Serie A managers 1934 FIFA World Cup players FIFA World Cup–winning players Brescia Calcio managers AC Cuneo 1905 managers Italian football managers 20th-century Italian sportsmen {{Italy-footy-midfielder-1900s-stub