Marco Tardelli
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Marco Tardelli (; born 24 September 1954) is an Italian former
football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...
player and manager. At club level, he 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 ...
for several Italian clubs; he began his career with
Pisa Pisa ( ; ) is a city and ''comune'' (municipality) in Tuscany, Central Italy, straddling the Arno just before it empties into the Ligurian Sea. It is the capital city of the Province of Pisa. Although Pisa is known worldwide for the Leaning Tow ...
, and later played for Como,
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 ...
, 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 Coppa Italia () is the annual domestic cup of Italian football. The knockout competition was organized by the DDS and the Lega Calcio until the 2009–10 season and by Lega Serie A ever since. Juventus is the competition's most successf ...
titles, and four major
UEFA The Union of European Football Associations (UEFA ; ; ) is one of six continental bodies of governance in association football. It governs football, futsal and beach soccer, beach football in Europe and the List of transcontinental countries#A ...
competitions ( European Cup, Cup Winner's Cup,
UEFA Cup The asterisk ( ), from Late Latin , from Ancient Greek , , "little star", is a Typography, typographical symbol. It is so called because it resembles a conventional image of a star (heraldry), heraldic star. Computer scientists and Mathematici ...
and
UEFA Super Cup The UEFA Super Cup is an annual super cup Association football, football match organised by UEFA and contested by the winners of the two main European club competitions: the UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League. The competition's offic ...
), 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. Tardelli also achieved success with the Italy national team. He represented his nation at three
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 ...
s (
1978 Events January * January 1 – Air India Flight 855, a Boeing 747 passenger jet, crashes off the coast of Bombay, killing 213. * January 5 – Bülent Ecevit, of Republican People's Party, CHP, forms the new government of Turkey (42nd ...
, 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. He also took part in
UEFA Euro 1980 The 1980 UEFA European Football Championship finals tournament was held in Italy. This was the sixth UEFA European Championship, which is held every four years and endorsed by UEFA. It was the first European Championship to feature eight teams ...
, 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. 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 The Italy national under-21 football team is the national under-21 Association football, football team of Italy and is controlled by the Italian Football Federation. The team competes in the UEFA European Under-21 Championship, held every two ...
, winning the 1997 Mediterranean Games and the 2000 UEFA European Under-21 Championship, before returning to coach at club level. Between 2004 and 2005 he also managed the
Egypt national football team The Egypt national football team (), nicknamed Pharaohs (), represents Egypt in men's FIFA, international Association football, football, and is governed by the Egyptian Football Association (EFA), the governing body of football in Egypt. Egypt ...
, while he served as an assistant manager to
Giovanni Trapattoni Giovanni Trapattoni (; born 17 March 1939), popularly nicknamed "Trap" or "Il Trap", is an Italian former Association football, football manager and former player, considered the most successful club coach of Football in Italy, Italian football ...
with the
Republic of Ireland national football team The Republic of Ireland Men's national football team () represents the Republic of Ireland in men's international Association football, football. It is governed by the Football Association of Ireland (FAI). The team made their debut at the Ir ...
between 2008 and 2013.


Club career

Tardelli was born at Capanne di Careggine, in the
province of Lucca The province of Lucca () is a province in the Tuscany region of Italy. Its capital is the city of Lucca. It has an area of and a population of about 390,000. The province contains 33 ''comuni'' (: ''comune''). Geography Situated in northwester ...
(
Tuscany Tuscany ( ; ) is a Regions of Italy, region in central Italy with an area of about and a population of 3,660,834 inhabitants as of 2025. The capital city is Florence. Tuscany is known for its landscapes, history, artistic legacy, and its in ...
). He started his career in the Italian Serie C with the club of
Pisa Pisa ( ; ) is a city and ''comune'' (municipality) in Tuscany, Central Italy, straddling the Arno just before it empties into the Ligurian Sea. It is the capital city of the Province of Pisa. Although Pisa is known worldwide for the Leaning Tow ...
in 1972. Two years later he played in the
Serie B The Serie B (), officially known as Serie BKT for sponsorship reasons, is the second-highest division in the Italian football league system after the Serie A. It has been operating for over ninety years since the 1929–30 season. It had b ...
with Como before joining Serie A giants
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 ...
the next year, in October 1975. 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 The asterisk ( ), from Late Latin , from Ancient Greek , , "little star", is a Typography, typographical symbol. It is so called because it resembles a conventional image of a star (heraldry), heraldic star. Computer scientists and Mathematici ...
in 1977, the Cup Winners' Cup in 1984, and the European Cup in 1985. With Juventus, he also won five Italian Serie A championships, and two
Coppa Italia Coppa Italia () is the annual domestic cup of Italian football. The knockout competition was organized by the DDS and the Lega Calcio until the 2009–10 season and by Lega Serie A ever since. Juventus is the competition's most successf ...
titles, as well as the 1984 European Super Cup. He scored the decisive goal during the first leg of the 1977
UEFA Cup The asterisk ( ), from Late Latin , from Ancient Greek , , "little star", is a Typography, typographical symbol. It is so called because it resembles a conventional image of a star (heraldry), heraldic star. Computer scientists and Mathematici ...
final Final, Finals or The Final may refer to: *Final examination or finals, a test given at the end of a course of study or training *Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which d ...
against
Athletic Bilbao Athletic Club (; ), commonly known as Athletic Bilbao (), or simply Athletic, is a professional Football club (association football), football club based in the city of Bilbao in the Southern Basque Country, Basque Country, Spain. They are known ...
, which allowed him 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 ...
to win their first ever European title. In total, Tardelli played 376 games with
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 ...
and scored 51 goals. He left the Turin club in 1985, moving on to
rivals A rivalry is the state of two people or Social group, groups engaging in a lasting competitive relationship. Rivalry is the "against each other" spirit between two competing sides. The relationship itself may also be called "a rivalry", and each ...
Internazionale, where he remained until 1987, before ending his career in 1988, after a season with Swiss side St. Gallen.


International career

Tardelli made his international debut on 7 April 1976 against
Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. Featuring Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point in continental Europe, Portugal borders Spain to its north and east, with which it share ...
. He played at the 1978 World Cup and the 1980 European 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 Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...
, and his memorable second goal of the tournament was scored in the final against
West Germany West Germany was the common English name for the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) from its formation on 23 May 1949 until German reunification, its reunification with East Germany on 3 October 1990. It is sometimes known as the Bonn Republi ...
, 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; Tardelli later reflected: 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 The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...
. He won a total of 81 caps for Italy, playing his final game for them against
Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...
in September 1985, and also served as Italy's
captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...
between 1983 and 1985. He was part of the squad for
1986 FIFA World Cup The 1986 FIFA World Cup was the 13th FIFA World Cup, a quadrennial Association football, football tournament for men's senior national teams. It was played in Mexico from 31 May to 29 June 1986. The tournament was the second to feature a 24-tea ...
, but did not play. He retired as a player in 1988.


Style of play

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
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 ...
s in the world during the early 1980s. 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 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 ...
(or "stopper" in Italian), due to his man-marking skills and ball-winning abilities. Although Tardelli was mainly renowned for his speed, stamina and defensive skills, 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. Due to his great pace and slender build, Tardelli's Juventus teammate Luciano Spinosi gave him the nickname ''Schizzo''. 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. In 2007, ''
The Times ''The Times'' is a British Newspaper#Daily, daily Newspaper#National, national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its modern name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its si ...
'' placed Tardelli at number 10 in their list of the 50 hardest footballers in history. Jonathan Wilson, when writing for ''
The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...
'' 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.


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 Serie C1 was the third highest football league in Italy. It consisted of 36 teams, divided geographically into two divisions. History Before the 1978–79 season, there were only three professional football leagues in Italy, the third being Se ...
. He led Como to promotion into
Serie B The Serie B (), officially known as Serie BKT for sponsorship reasons, is the second-highest division in the Italian football league system after the Serie A. It has been operating for over ninety years since the 1929–30 season. It had b ...
, but was unable to avoid relegation. In 1995, he took over
Cesena Cesena (; ) is a city and ''comune'' (municipality) in the Emilia-Romagna region of Italy; and - with Forlì - is the capital of the Province of Forlì-Cesena. Served by Autostrada A14 (Italy), Autostrada A14, and located near the Apennine M ...
, 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, the following year, and also coached the Italian side which took part at the
2000 Summer Olympics The 2000 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXVII Olympiad, officially branded as Sydney 2000, and also known as the Games of the New Millennium, were an international multi-sport event held from 15 September to 1 October ...
, 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 AC Milan, Tardelli was fired in June 2001. Tardelli did not have much luck in the coaching jobs that followed, which included spells with
Bari Bari ( ; ; ; ) is the capital city of the Metropolitan City of Bari and of the Apulia Regions of Italy, region, on the Adriatic Sea in southern Italy. It is the first most important economic centre of mainland Southern Italy. It is a port and ...
, the Egyptian national team and
Arezzo Arezzo ( , ; ) is a city and ''comune'' in Italy and the capital of the Province of Arezzo, province of the same name located in Tuscany. Arezzo is about southeast of Florence at an elevation of Above mean sea level, above sea level. As of 2 ...
. Tardelli served for a short time as part of the administrative council of his former club
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 ...
in 2006, before resigning in 2007 allegedly due to differences with the hierarchy regarding the direction the club was heading towards. 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 Giovanni Trapattoni (; born 17 March 1939), popularly nicknamed "Trap" or "Il Trap", is an Italian former Association football, football manager and former player, considered the most successful club coach of Football in Italy, Italian football ...
. 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 Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...
the previous day.


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 Communism () is a sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology within the socialist movement, whose goal is the creation of a communist society, a socioeconomic order centered on common ownership of the means of production, d ...
. In his highschool years, he earned money working during the summers as a waiter in the
piazza dei Miracoli The Piazza dei Miracoli (; 'Square of Miracles'), formally known as Piazza del Duomo ('Cathedral Square'), is a walled compound in central Pisa, Tuscany, Italy, recognized as an important center of European medieval art and one of the finest ...
in
Pisa Pisa ( ; ) is a city and ''comune'' (municipality) in Tuscany, Central Italy, straddling the Arno just before it empties into the Ligurian Sea. It is the capital city of the Province of Pisa. Although Pisa is known worldwide for the Leaning Tow ...
. He obtained a highschool diploma in
surveying Surveying or land surveying is the technique, profession, art, and science of determining the land, terrestrial Plane (mathematics), two-dimensional or Three-dimensional space#In Euclidean geometry, three-dimensional positions of Point (geom ...
. In her 1991 autobiography, ''La filosofia di Moana'' ("Moana's philosophy," in Italian), Italian adult film
actress An actor (masculine/gender-neutral), or actress (feminine), is a person who portrays a character in a production. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. ...
Moana Pozzi claimed to have had an affair with Tardelli. Tardelli has two children: a daughter, Sara (a journalist), from his first marriage, and a son Nicola (a model), from his relationship with reporter Stella Pende. Since 2016, Tardelli has been in a relationship with journalist Myrta Merlino. Tardelli was one of over 80 Italian celebrities to sign a petition in favour of the 2016 referendum on constitutional reform.


Career statistics


Club


International


Manager


Honours


Player

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 ...
: 1976–77, 1977–78, 1980–81, 1981–82, 1983–84 *
Coppa Italia Coppa Italia () is the annual domestic cup of Italian football. The knockout competition was organized by the DDS and the Lega Calcio until the 2009–10 season and by Lega Serie A ever since. Juventus is the competition's most successf ...
: 1978–79, 1982–83 * European Cup: 1984–85 *
UEFA Cup The asterisk ( ), from Late Latin , from Ancient Greek , , "little star", is a Typography, typographical symbol. It is so called because it resembles a conventional image of a star (heraldry), heraldic star. Computer scientists and Mathematici ...
: 1976–77 * UEFA Cup Winners' Cup: 1983–84 *
UEFA Super Cup The UEFA Super Cup is an annual super cup Association football, football match organised by UEFA and contested by the winners of the two main European club competitions: the UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League. The competition's offic ...
:
1984 Events January * January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888. * January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeas ...
Italy *
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 ...
: 1982 Individual * UEFA Golden Jubilee Poll: #37 * FIFA XI: 1979FIFA XI´s Matches - Full Info
/ref> * UEFA European Championship Team of the Tournament: 1980 * Italian Football Hall of Fame: 2015


Coach

Italy U21 *
Mediterranean Games The Mediterranean Games is a multi-sport event organised by the International Committee of Mediterranean Games (CIJM). It is held every four years among athletes from countries bordering the Mediterranean Sea in Africa, Asia and Europe. The fi ...
: Football at the 1997 Mediterranean Games, 1997 * UEFA European Under-21 Championship: 2000 UEFA European Under-21 Championship, 2000


See also

* UEFA competition records#List of players to have won the three main European club competitions, List of players to have won the three main European club competitions


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Tardelli, Marco 1954 births Living people Footballers from the Province of Lucca Pisa SC players Como 1907 players Inter Milan players Italian football managers Italian men's footballers Italy men's international footballers Juventus FC players UEFA Champions League–winning players Serie A players Serie B players Serie C players Swiss Super League players Egypt national football team managers Como 1907 managers AC Cesena managers Inter Milan managers SSC Bari managers SS Arezzo managers Serie A managers 1978 FIFA World Cup players 1982 FIFA World Cup players 1986 FIFA World Cup players FIFA World Cup–winning players UEFA Euro 1980 players FC St. Gallen players Italian expatriate men's footballers Italian expatriate sportspeople in Switzerland Italian expatriate football managers Men's association football midfielders UEFA Europa League–winning players Italian expatriate sportspeople in Egypt Italian expatriate sportspeople in Ireland Expatriate football managers in Egypt Expatriate men's footballers in Switzerland 20th-century Italian sportsmen