Renzo De Vecchi (; 3 February 1894 – 14 May 1967) was an Italian football player and coach who played as a defender. He competed in the

1912 Summer Olympics The 1912 Summer Olympics ( sv, Olympiska sommarspelen 1912), officially known as the Games of the V Olympiad ( sv, Den V olympiadens spel) and commonly known as Stockholm 1912, were an international multi-sport event held in Stockholm, Sweden, be ...

with

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

, and is officially the youngest player to have ever played a match for the Italy national side. Regarded as one of Italy's greatest ever players, he was known for his excellent technique,

dribbling In sports, dribbling is maneuvering a ball by one player while moving in a given direction, avoiding defenders' attempts to intercept the ball. A successful dribble will bring the ball past defenders legally and create opportunities to score. A ...

skills, and his accuracy from

penalty kick A penalty shot or penalty kick is a play used in several sports whereby a goal is attempted during untimed play. Depending on the sport, when a player commits certain types of penalties, the opposition is awarded a penalty shot or kick attempt. ...

s, despite being a defender. As a ball-winning full-back, he was known for his strength, tackling ability, anticipation, and his organisational skills on the left flank, and was also capable of playing in the centre or in

midfield Midfield is the part of a sports field that lies approximately in the center. In American football, association football (soccer) and field hockey, it is the area in and around the center circle, as well as the players who occupy that region. In ...

Club career

Born in

Milan Milan ( , , Lombard language, Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the List of cities in Italy, second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 ...

, Renzo De Vecchi is the youngest player to play in a

Serie A The Serie A (), also called Serie A TIM for national sponsorship with TIM, is a professional league competition for football clubs located at the top of the Italian football league system and the winner is awarded the Scudetto and the Copp ...

game for A.C. Milan, making his debut at 15 years and 284 days, on 14 November 1909, in a 2–1 home win over Ausonia. He soon becoming a member of the starting line-up on the left side of the back-line, although he was also capable of playing in the centre or even in

. Due to his class and playing ability, he was given the nickname "Il Figlio di Dio" (''The Son of God'') by the Milan fans. He later moved to

Genoa Genoa ( ; it, Genova ; lij, Zêna ). is the capital of the Regions of Italy, Italian region of Liguria and the List of cities in Italy, sixth-largest city in Italy. In 2015, 594,733 people lived within the city's administrative limits. As of t ...

in 1913, winning three Italian League titles during his time with the club, before retiring in 1929. Between 1927 and 1929, he worked as a player-manager for Genoa, and during the 1929–30 season, after retiring as a player, he became the club's manager for a season, temporarily moving to Rapallo in 1930, for three seasons. He returned to Genoa in 1933, and he helped the club to gain

promotion, winning the 1934–35 Serie B title, before retiring, after which he pursued a coaching career.

International career

De Vecchi is the youngest official player to feature in a match for the

Italian national team The Italy national football team ( it, Nazionale di calcio dell'Italia) has represented Italy in international Association football, football since its first match in 1910. The national team is controlled by the Italian Football Federation (FIG ...

at 16 years, three months and 23 days, making his international debut as a substitute on 26 May 1910, in a 6–1 away defeat to

Hungary Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croa ...

. As a member of the Italian Olympic squad in 1912, he played one match in the main tournament as well as two matches in the consolation tournament; he also represented Italy at the

1920 Events January * January 1 ** Polish–Soviet War in 1920: The Russian Red Army increases its troops along the Polish border from 4 divisions to 20. ** Kauniainen, completely surrounded by the city of Espoo, secedes from Espoo as its own m ...

and 1924 Summer Olympic Games. He served as Italy's

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

between 1920 and 1925. In total, he made 43 appearances for Italy between 1910 and 1925.

After retirement

Following his retirement as a manager, De Vecchi worked as a journalist for ''

La Gazzetta dello Sport ''La Gazzetta dello Sport'' (; "The Sports Gazette") is an Italian daily newspaper dedicated to coverage of various sports. Founded in 1896, it is the most widely read daily newspaper of any kind in Italy (in 2018). History and profile ''La ...

''.

Honours

Player

Genoa * Italian Football Championship: 1914–15, 1922–23, 1923–24

Coach

Genoa *

Serie B The Serie B (), currently named 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 been ...

: 1934–35

References

External links

*
Profile at Italia 1910
{{DEFAULTSORT:De Vecchi, Renzo 1894 births 1967 deaths Association football fullbacks Italian footballers A.C. Milan players Italy international footballers Olympic footballers of Italy Footballers at the 1912 Summer Olympics Footballers at the 1920 Summer Olympics Footballers at the 1924 Summer Olympics Italian football managers Genoa C.F.C. managers Genoa C.F.C. players Italian sports journalists