Tarcisio Burgnich (; 25 April 1939 – 26 May 2021) was an Italian

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 ...

manager and player, who played as a defender. Throughout his career, Burgnich played for Udinese,

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 ...

Palermo Palermo ( ; ; , locally also or ) is a city in southern Italy, the capital (political), capital of both the autonomous area, autonomous region of Sicily and the Metropolitan City of Palermo, the city's surrounding metropolitan province. The ...

Inter Milan Football Club Internazionale Milano, commonly referred to as Internazionale () or simply Inter, and colloquially known as Inter Milan in English-speaking countries, is an Italian professional Association football, football List of football ...

, and

Napoli Naples ( ; ; ) is the regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 908,082 within the city's administrative limits as of 2025, while its province-level municipality is the thir ...

; although he won titles with both Juventus and Napoli, he is best known for his time with Inter Milan, where he was a member of manager

Helenio Herrera Helenio Herrera Gavilán (; 10 April 1910 – 9 November 1997) was an Argentina, Argentine and naturalised France, French association football, football player and Manager (association football), manager. He is best remembered for his success ...

's '' Grande Inter'' side. He partnered with fellow full-back

Giacinto Facchetti Giacinto Facchetti (; 18 July 1942 – 4 September 2006) was an Italian footballer who played as a left-back for Inter Milan from 1960 to 1978. He later served as Inter chairman from January 2004 until his death in 2006. He played 634 official ga ...

in the squad's back-line and played a key role in the team's successes in Herrera's defensive

catenaccio ''Catenaccio'' () or The Chain is a tactical system in football with a strong emphasis on defence. In Italian, ''catenaccio'' means "door-bolt", which implies a highly organised and effective backline defence focused on nullifying opponents ...

system, due to his pace, stamina, offensive capabilities, and defensive work-rate, winning 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 ...

titles, two European Cups, and two Intercontinental Cups. At international level, Burgnich represented 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 ...

at the

1960 Summer Olympics The 1960 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XVII Olympiad () and commonly known as Rome 1960 (), were an international multi-sport event held from 25 August to 11 September 1960 in Rome, Italy. Rome had previously been awar ...

, where they finished in fourth place, and 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, winning a runners-up medal at the

1970 FIFA World Cup The 1970 FIFA World Cup was the 9th edition of the FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international Association football, football championship for List of men's national association football teams, men's senior national teams. Held from 31 May to ...

. He was also a member of the national team that won Italy's first ever

UEFA European Football Championship The UEFA European Football Championship, less formally the European Championship and informally the Euro or Euros, is the primary association football tournament organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA). The competition ...

on home soil, in 1968. A versatile player, he was capable of playing in any defensive position, being adept 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 ...

, 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 ...

, and also as a sweeper. Due to his imposing physique, as well as his tenacious style of play, Inter teammate Armando Picchi (who was the

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 ...

and sweeper of the side) gave him the nickname "La Roccia" (The Rock).

Club career

Burgnich began his career with local side Udinese, making his

debut with the club on 2 June 1959, in a 7–0 away defeat to

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 ...

. After short spells at the Friulian side, and subsequently

(where he won the

1960–61 Serie A The 1960–61 Serie A season was won by Juventus. Teams Torino, Lecco and Catania had been promoted from Serie B. Final classification Results Relegation tie-breaker ---- ---- Bari relegated to Serie B. Top goalscorers References ...

title), and

, it was with Internazionale that he found his spiritual home in the 1960s, after being acquired in 1962. A strong, quick, energetic and versatile defender, he was effective both offensively and defensively, and formed a formidable full-back partnership with

, both with Inter and with the Italy national side. He played 467 times for the ''Nerazzurri'', scoring 6 goals, where his physical and tenacious playing style was ideally suited to the ''

'' system operated by

throughout Inter's glory years, which relied on a strong defence and fast counter-attacks. With Inter, Burgnich enjoyed a highly successful period of domestic, European, and international dominance, winning five Italian championships, two

European Cup The UEFA Champions League (UCL) is an annual club association football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) that is contested by top-division European clubs. The competition begins with a round robi ...

s and two Intercontinental Cups. He was notably part of the legendary Inter lineup of the 1960s still known today as the '' Grande Inter''. Following his 12 seasons with Inter, he was controversially transferred to

in 1974, as Inter's new president, Fraizzoli, was trying to rejuvenate the squad. Burgnich spent the final three seasons of his career with Napoli, operating as a sweeper in Luís Vinício's side, and finally won the

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 ...

, as well as the Anglo-Italian League Cup, in 1976, before retiring in 1977. In total, he made 494 appearances in

throughout his career.

International career

Burgnich was also a pillar of the Italy national team for more than a decade. He represented Italy at the

in Rome, where they finished in fourth place. He made his senior debut on 10 November 1963, in a 1–1 home draw against the

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

, and subsequently became a permanent fixture in the team's line-up, wearing the number 2 shirt, and later helping the national side win their first ever European Football Championship title in

1968 Events January–February * January 1968, January – The I'm Backing Britain, I'm Backing Britain campaign starts spontaneously. * January 5 – Prague Spring: Alexander Dubček is chosen as leader of the Communist Party of Cze ...

, on home soil. He was also on Italy's roster for the 1966 World Cup, as well at the 1970 World Cup, where they reached the final, only to lose 4–1 to

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

. In the memorable semi-final match 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 ...

, often colloquially known as the " Game of the Century", Burgnich even managed to score a goal, helping his team to overcome the Germans 4–3 following extra time. He also took part in the

1974 FIFA World Cup The 1974 FIFA World Cup was the 10th FIFA World Cup, a quadrennial Association football, football tournament for men's senior national teams, and was played in West Germany (and West Berlin) between 13 June and 7 July. The tournament marked the ...

with Italy. In total, he represented the ''Azzurri'' 66 times between 1963 and 1974, scoring twice. He may best be remembered for his quote about Brazilian star

Pelé Edson Arantes do Nascimento (; 23 October 1940 – 29 December 2022), better known by his nickname Pelé (), was a Brazilian professional Association football, footballer who played as a Forward (association football), forward. Widely reg ...

's headed goal against him, following Italy's 4–1 defeat to Brazil in the 1970 World Cup Final (Burgnich had been assigned to man-mark the Brazilian during the final, but was beaten by him in the air): He later said of the same goal:

"The cross came in and we both leapt as high as we could. Then I came down to Earth where I belong. And he stayed up there, where he belongs, and scored."

After retirement

After his retirement, Burgnich worked as a

manager Management (or managing) is the administration of organizations, whether businesses, nonprofit organizations, or a government bodies through business administration, nonprofit management, or the political science sub-field of public administra ...

on and off for nearly twenty years, with little success. During this time he managed

Catanzaro Catanzaro (; or ; ), also known as the "City of the two Seas" (), is an Italian city of 86,183 inhabitants (2020), the capital of the Calabria region and of its province and the second most populated comune of the region, behind Reggio Calabr ...

Bologna Bologna ( , , ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the Emilia-Romagna region in northern Italy. It is the List of cities in Italy, seventh most populous city in Italy, with about 400,000 inhabitants and 150 different nationalities. Its M ...

Como Como (, ; , or ; ) is a city and (municipality) in Lombardy, Italy. It is the administrative capital of the Province of Como. Nestled at the southwestern branch of the picturesque Lake Como, the city is a renowned tourist destination, ce ...

Livorno Livorno () is a port city on the Ligurian Sea on the western coast of the Tuscany region of Italy. It is the capital of the Province of Livorno, having a population of 152,916 residents as of 2025. It is traditionally known in English as Leghorn ...

Foggia Foggia (, ; ; ) is a city and ''comune'' (municipality) of Apulia, in Southern Italy, capital of the province of Foggia. In 2013, its population was 153,143. Foggia is the main city of a plain called Tavoliere delle Puglie, Tavoliere, also know ...

, Lucchese, Cremonese,

Genoa Genoa ( ; ; ) is a city in and the capital of the Italian region of Liguria, and the sixth-largest city in Italy. As of 2025, 563,947 people live within the city's administrative limits. While its metropolitan city has 818,651 inhabitan ...

, Ternana and

Vicenza Vicenza ( , ; or , archaically ) is a city in northeastern Italy. It is in the Veneto region, at the northern base of the Monte Berico, where it straddles the Bacchiglione, River Bacchiglione. Vicenza is approximately west of Venice and e ...

. Burgnich died on 26 May 2021 at the age of 82. He died at the San Camillo hospital in

Forte dei Marmi Forte dei Marmi () is an Italian sea town and ''comune'' located in the province of Lucca, in northern Tuscany, overlooking the Ligurian Sea. Tourism is the principal activity of Forte dei Marmi's citizens. The population of the town, amounting to ...

, where he had been taken following a stroke.

Style of play

A strong, large, quick, and energetic player, Burgnich is regarded as one of the greatest Italian defenders of his time; his ability in the air, imposing physique, consistency, and his aggressive yet fair, and efficient playing style earned him the nickname "La Roccia" (The Rock), despite not being particularly tall. A former offensive,

central 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 ...

, he was a tactically versatile, intelligent, and hard-working footballer who was adept at aiding his team both offensively and defensively; he was capable of playing in several defensive positions, and throughout his career, he was deployed as a man-marking centre-back (or "stopper"), as a sweeper (in particular in his later career), and in particular as a right-sided full-back or wing-back, where he particularly excelled in Herrera's catenaccio system, due to his pace, stamina, physicality, and tenacity. He formed an important partnership with the more offensive minded left-back Facchetti during his career, which is regarded as one of the greatest full-back pairings in football history; although he was less adept at starting attacking plays from the back-line than Facchetti, and initially less likely to push forward during his time at Inter, the more defensive minded Burgnich was an "old-fashioned defender", being an excellent man-marker and a hard tackler, who was difficult to beat in one on one situations. He was also known for his anticipation and reactions, as well as his concentration, leadership, and discipline both on and off the pitch, despite his reserved character. However, he was also known for his experience and organisational abilities as a defender, as well as his ability to play the

offside trap Offside is one of the laws in association football, codified in Law 11 of the Laws of the Game. The law states that a player is in an offside position if any of their body parts, except the hands and arms, are in the opponents' half of the ...

, and even excelled as an offensive sweeper or central defender at Napoli during his later career in manager Luís Vinício's

zonal marking In association football, marking is an organized defensive tactic which aims to prevent a member of the opposing team (usually a striker) from taking control of the ball. Several marking strategies exist in football, and they mostly differ from e ...

system, where he was also tasked with advancing into midfield to start offensive plays, and to push forward and contribute to his team's attacks, in addition to his defensive duties.

Career statistics

Club

International

:''Scores and results list Italy's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Burgnich goal''.

Honours

Inter *

: 1962–63, 1964–65, 1965–66, 1970–71 *

1964 Events January * January 1 – The Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland is dissolved. * January 5 – In the first meeting between leaders of the Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches since the fifteenth century, Pope Paul VI and Patria ...

1965 Events January–February * January 14 – The First Minister of Northern Ireland and the Taoiseach of the Republic of Ireland meet for the first time in 43 years. * January 20 ** Lyndon B. Johnson is Second inauguration of Lynd ...

* Intercontinental Cup:

Napoli *

Anglo-Italian Cup The Anglo-Italian Cup (, also known as the Anglo-Italian Inter-League Clubs Competition and from 1976 to 1986 as the Alitalia Challenge Cup, Talbot Challenge Cup or Gigi Peronace Memorial) was a European football competition. The competition was ...

: 1976 *

: 1975–76 Juventus *

: 1960–61 Italy *

UEFA European Championship The UEFA European Football Championship, less formally the European Championship and informally the Euro or Euros, is the primary association football tournament organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA). The competition ...

Runner-up:

1970 Events January * January 1 – Unix time epoch reached at 00:00:00 UTC. * January 5 – The 7.1 1970 Tonghai earthquake, Tonghai earthquake shakes Tonghai County, Yunnan province, China, with a maximum Mercalli intensity scale, Mercalli ...

Individual * World Soccer World XI: 1964 *''FUWO European Team of the Season'': 1970

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Burgnich, Tarcisio 1939 births 2021 deaths People from Ruda, Friuli Footballers from the Province of Udine Italian people of Austrian descent Italian men's footballers Italy men's international footballers Udinese Calcio players Juventus FC players Palermo FC players Inter Milan players SSC Napoli players Serie A players US Livorno 1915 managers US Catanzaro 1929 managers Bologna FC 1909 managers Como 1907 managers LR Vicenza managers Genoa CFC managers US Cremonese managers US Salernitana 1919 managers Calcio Foggia 1920 managers Lucchese 1905 managers Ternana Calcio managers Delfino Pescara 1936 managers Serie A managers 1966 FIFA World Cup players 1970 FIFA World Cup players 1974 FIFA World Cup players Footballers at the 1960 Summer Olympics Olympic footballers for Italy UEFA Euro 1968 players European champions for Italy UEFA European Championship–winning players Italian football managers Men's association football defenders UEFA Champions League–winning players 20th-century Italian sportsmen