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BLAST FROM THE PAST – GIUSEPPE BERGOMI

The Uncle

Unlike Franco Baresi, Beppe Bergomi enjoyed little success on the domestic front, winning just one Scudetto in 20 years of top-flight football

Defenders are usually the unsung heroes of great football teams. Over the years Italy has produced some of the greatest stoppers to have ever played the game – and Giuseppe Bergomi falls into that category. The centreback made his competitive Inter debut in the Derby d’Italia against Juventus on January 30, 1980 at the tender age of 17. Little did he know that just two years later he would be marking Karl-Heinz Rummenigge in the 1982 World Cup Final. His consistent performances in the early stages of his Nerazzurri career were rewarded with a call-up to the Azzurri squad which set off for Spain. Having started the tournament on the bench, it wasn’t long before his services were called upon. After coming on as a substitute in the match of the tournament against Brazil, Bergomi went on to play in the semi-final with Poland. He impressed Enzo Bearzot so much that the master tactician included the Beneamata stopper in the starting XI against West Germany. Rummenigge hit the net five times in the tournament, but he failed to score against Italy – this was down to Beppe. “Bergomi is one of the best defenders that I have played against – had he not been on the pitch I probably would have scored,” revealed the German hitman. ‘Lo Zio’ – The Uncle, as he is known to the Nerazzurri faithful – quickly became a central figure for Il Biscione. His Inter career lasted two decades, but during that time he didn’t enjoy much success as the Nerazzurri failed to follow in the footsteps of Il Grande Inter of the 1960s and ‘70s. The versatile stopper - who could also play full-back - won the Coppa Italia in 1982, but for several years Inter’s trophy drought continued, mainly due to the dominance of Milan.

Giuseppe Bergomi Born: Milan, 22/12/63 Position: Defender Ht/Wt: 1.84m/74kg Serie A debut: Como 1-2 INTER, 22/2/81 Season Club Div Apps Gls 1979-80 Inter A - - 1980-81 Inter A 12 1981-82 Inter A 24 2 1982-83 Inter A 28 1 1983-84 Inter A 25 1984-85 Inter A 29 2 1985-86 Inter A 30 5 1986-87 Inter A 28 2 1987-88 Inter A 28 1 1988-89 Inter A 32 1 1989-90 Inter A 33 2 1990-91 Inter A 30 3 1991-92 Inter A 29 1992-93 Inter A 31 2 1993-94 Inter A 31 1994-95 Inter A 32 1 1995-96 Inter A 27 1996-97 Inter A 19 - 1997-98 Inter A 28 - 1998-99 Inter A 23 1 International debut: East Germany 1-0 ITALY, 14/4/82 International apps/gls: 81/6

It was in 1989 when Bergomi won his first and the club’s 13th Scudetto under the expert guidance of Giovanni Trapattoni. The Lombardy outfit only conceded 19 goals throughout their championship winning campaign as a result of the Milan native’s consistent performances at the back. “I can’t describe this feeling, I’m so happy,” he stated at the time. “Winning the Scudetto with the team I love feels as good as winning the World Cup – it’s been a tough season, but we deserve it.” In 1991 Bergomi led his team to glory in the UEFA Cup, emerging victorious from an all-Italian Final against Roma. They repeated the feat in 1994 after beating Austrian outfit Casino Salzburg, but Marcello Lippi’s Juventus side largely dominated the mid ‘90s. However, in 1998 Inter were involved in another peninsula-focused UEFA Cup Final against Lazio. Lo Zio & Co strolled to a 3-0 victory in Paris as the Biancocelesti found it just a little too hard to breach a Serpenti rearguard led by a resilient Bergomi. Many have compared the Inter stopper with the legendary Franco Baresi. The Nerazzurri defender was the complete player, his positional sense second to none and his innate ability to read the game meant that players like Diego Maradona, Marco Van Basten and Roberto Baggio found it hard to slip past him. By the time Bergomi retired in 1999, he had made a club record 758 appearances, scoring 26 goals – not bad going for a centre-back. After spending a few years away from the public eye, Bergomi is back in the limelight as a football pundit for Sky Italia, still reading the game as well as he ever did. SALVATORE LANDOLINA

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