Giuseppe Beppe Bergomi OMRI (Italian pronunciation: ; born 22 December 1963) is an Italian former professional footballer who spent his entire career at Inter Milan.
He is regarded as one of the greatest Italian defenders of all time, and as one of the best of his generation, being elected by Pelé to be part of the FIFA 100 in 2004.
A one-club man, Bergomi held the record of most appearances for the club for several years, while also being the side's longtime captain. He was affectionately referred to as "Lo zio" ("the uncle") because of his bushy eyebrows and the impressive moustache he wore even as a youngster, which reminded teammate Gianpiero Marini of his own uncle's appearance.
Bergomi works as a pundit at Sky Sports Italia and frequently co-commentates on Serie A matches alongside Fabio Caressa.
Born in Milan, Bergomi began training with Inter Milan's first team at the age of only 16, and made his professional debut in the 1979–80 Coppa Italia against rivals Juventus in Turin, on 30 January 1980. During the 1980–81 season, at the age of 17, he made his first Serie A appearance in a 2–1 home win over Como on 22 February 1981. After winning the Coppa Italia the following year, also reaching the semifinals of the European Cup whilst putting on consistent performances, he soon was part of Italy's senior squad choices.
Bergomi would go on to spend his entire career with Inter, later becoming team captain. The twenty Serie A campaigns in which he competed were often in the shadow of A.C. Milan, as he only won the Scudetto once, during a record-breaking campaign in 1988–89; he did, however, conquer the UEFA Cup on three occasions (1990–91, 1993–94, and 1997–98, also reaching the final for a fourth time in 1997). For a time, he held the records for both the most appearances in European competition by an Italian player and the most Milan derbies played, both later broken by Paolo Maldini.
Bergomi retired in 1999 at the age of almost 36, holding the record of most appearances for Inter (758) until late September 2011, when he was overtaken by Javier Zanetti. He also scored 28 goals for the club. With 96 appearances, he currently holds the record for most appearances in the UEFA Cup. In total, he made 117 appearances in UEFA club competitions, without scoring a goal. In March 2004 he was named by Pelé as one of the top 125 greatest living footballers.
International career
With Italy Bergomi won the 1982 FIFA World Cup. He also played in the 1986 and 1990 campaigns (acting as captain in the latter), as well as UEFA Euro 1988, with the nation reaching the semi-finals of the latter two tournaments. His final international tournament was the 1998 World Cup.
Alongside the likes of Inter's Giuseppe Baresi, his younger brother Franco of A.C. Milan and Juventus trio of Antonio Cabrini, Claudio Gentile and Gaetano Scirea, he formed the backbone of the national team's defence for much of the 1980s, making his debut on 14 April 1982 in a 0–1 friendly loss in East Germany, aged only 18 years and 3 months, making him the youngest player to feature in a match for Italy post-World War II. He was included in the Italy team for the World Cup in Spain later that year, becoming the youngest Italian player ever to be called up for a World Cup. In the victorious tournament, he appeared in three games, including Italy's 3–2 second round victory against Brazil in their final group match, where he put in a strong performance after coming on for the injured defender Fulvio Collovati, marking opposing striker Serginho Chulapa, despite later deflecting Paulo Roberto Falcão's shot into his own net; the result allowed Italy to advance to the semi-final ahead of Brazil and Argentina in the so-called "Group of Death." At the age of 18 years and 195 days, Bergomi was the youngest Italian player ever to have appeared at a World Cup. Although he was initially not in manager Enzo Bearzot's plans to feature in the knock-out rounds, Bergomi also went on to play the full 180 minutes in the last two matches of the tournament. Due to Gentile's suspension ahead of the semi-final against Poland, coupled with an injury to goalkeeper Dino Zoff, which impeded him from taking goal kicks, Bergomi started the match, keeping a clean sheet in the 2–0 victory. An injury to playmaker Giancarlo Antognoni also allowed Bergomi to start in the 3–1 final victory over West Germany, where he effectively marked German forward Karl-Heinz Rummenigge, despite picking up a minor injury in the first half, and even participated in the lead-up to the second goal of the match, scored by Marco Tardelli. Aged 18 years and 201 days, at the time, he was the second youngest player ever to win the title, after Brazil's Pelé, who won the tournament at the age of 17 years and 249 days in 1958.
Bergomi also appeared in the 1986 edition of the tournament, where Italy were eliminated in the round-of-16 by eventual semi-finalists France following a 2–0 loss.
During the first match under Bearzot's successor, Azeglio Vicini, Bergomi scored his first two goals for Italy in a 2–0 friendly win against Greece in Bologna on 8 October 1986, becoming the first Italian defender to score a brace at international level; he also wore the captain's armband for the first time, following striker Alessandro Altobelli's substitution. On 20 February 1988, Bergomi was named Italy captain ahead of Italy's 4–1 friendly win over the USSR in Bari, a role he held for 33 games, until 1991. As captain, Bergomi was part of Italy's Euro 88 squad under Vicini, where the nation reached the semi-finals, before suffering a 2–0 defeat to the Soviet Union; Bergomi was elected part of the team of the tournament.
Bergomi went on to captain his country in the 1990 World Cup – held on home soil – to a third-place finish, playing in all seven matches, which included five consecutive wins and as many clean sheets, for a total of 518 minutes without conceding a goal, and the best defensive record overall in the history of the competition, conceding only two goals in total. Italy were eliminated in the semi-finals by defending champions Argentina on penalties, following a 1–1 draw, the only match that Italy did not win throughout the competition. Italy went on to win the bronze medal match 2–1 over England.
After being sent off in a 2–1 away defeat against Norway for the Euro 1992 qualifiers on 5 June 1991 (Vicini's second-last match as Italy coach), following a clash with Erik Pedersen and an ensuing altercation with Gøran Sørloth, resulting in a six-match ban, Bergomi spent years without being called up to the Azzurri; this was in part due to subsequent Italy manager Arrigo Sacchi's preference for a zonal rather than man-marking defensive system, following Italy's failure to qualify for UEFA Euro 1992.
However, Bergomi was surprisingly selected by Cesare Maldini for the 1998 World Cup at age 34, due to an injury to Ciro Ferrara, after playing 28 times in the league and leading the Nerazzurri to the UEFA Cup – his third and last edition of the tournament. After appearing in a pre-tournament friendly against Sweden, which ended in a 1–0 defeat, in France, Bergomi started off as a reserve, but was substituted in during the last group stage match against Austria, when Alessandro Nesta suffered a tournament-ending injury, with Italy winning the match 2–1. He partnered for the rest of the tournament with Fabio Cannavaro, Alessandro Costacurta and Maldini, playing three games in total, starting in the 1–0 win over Norway in the round of 16, and leading Italy to a quarter-final finish, where they would be eliminated by hosts and eventual champions France 4–3 on penalties on 3 July, following a goalless draw; this would be his 81st and final international appearance, to which he added six goals in total. At the time, he was Italy's fourth–most capped player of all time, alongside Franco Baresi and Tardelli.
Along with Gianluigi Buffon, Fabio Cannavaro, Paolo Maldini, and Gianni Rivera, Bergomi is one of only five Italian players to have appeared in four editions of the FIFA World Cup. However, despite playing in four editions of the tournament, Bergomi failed to make one single appearance in the qualifying stages.
Style of play
Bergomi was an extremely versatile defender, who was capable of playing anywhere along the backline and adapting to any formation: although he was primarily a right-back, he was equally capable of playing on the left, as a central defender, or even as a sweeper, positions in which he was often deployed both at club and international level. A quick, athletic, consistent and hard-working player, who was also strong in the air, in addition to his defensive ability, as a full-back he was also known for his strength, stamina and his ability to make attacking runs up the flank, and was also capable of contributing to his team's offensive plays with goals and assists, courtesy of his good right foot, crossing ability and powerful shot from outside the area. Above all, however, Bergomi was known for his excellent man-marking skills as a "stopper", although he was later also able to excel in a zonal marking system; he was also highly regarded for his timing of his challenges and his anticipation.
Despite having a strong temper and being a hard tackler − he was sent off 12 times in his career − Bergomi also distinguished himself by his fairness, professionalism and discipline, which made him well-respected among teammates, opponents and coaches; he was also regarded for his 'silent leadership' throughout his career. Because of his physical and tenacious playing style, in 2007, The Times placed him at number nine in their list of the 50 hardest football players in history.
A precocious talent in his youth (when he had initially started out as a forward), Bergomi later also stood out for his longevity throughout his extensive career; indeed, his experience, tactical intelligence and positional sense, as well as his confidence on the ball, balance, technique and his ability to play the ball out from the back-line enabled him to excel as a sweeper towards the end of his career, and maintain a high level of performance, in spite of his loss of pace as a result of his physical decline.
Post-playing career
A licensed football coach, Bergomi became youth coach of the Esordienti at Inter in 2008. In July 2009 he was appointed youth coach of Allievi Nazionali (under-17) at Monza, being promoted as head of the Berretti under-19 team, in co-operation with Giuseppe Chieppa, one year later.
In July 2011, Bergomi left Monza to accept the same position at Atalanta. Additionally, he also worked as a football pundit and commentator for Italian satellite television Sky Italia, often commentating with Fabio Caressa, including in Italy's victorious run at the 2006 World Cup.
Personal life
Bergomi is married to Daniela; they have two children: Andrea and Sara.
In May 2020, Bergomi revealed that he had recovered from COVID-19, after contracting it following its outbreak in Italy.
Career statistics
Club
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
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