Roberto Bettega

Roberto Bettega

Personal information
Full name	Roberto Bettega
Date of birth	27 December 1950 (1950-12-27)
Place of birth	Turin, Italy
Playing position	Striker
Youth career
	Juventus
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps†	(Gls)†
1969–1983	Juventus	326	(129)
1969–1970	→ Varese (loan)	30	(13)
1983–1984	Toronto Blizzard	48	(11)
National team
1975–1983	Italy	42	(19)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. † Appearances (Goals).

Roberto Bettega (Italian pronunciation: [roˈbɛrto ˈbetteɡa]; born 27 December 1950 in Turin, Piedmont) is an Italian former footballer. Bettega was regarded as a player of noteworthy intelligence and at his prime was one of the most feared strikers . Bettega is mostly remembered for his time at his hometown club Juventus. He was nicknamed La penna bianca ("White Feather") for his appearance and technical skills.

In December 2009 Bettega was officially appointed deputy director-general of Juventus. His role will be to act as an intermediate between the players and coaching staff and the upper echelons of the club, as well as taking an active involvement in all of the Old Lady's transfer dealings.

Early career

Born in Turin, Bettega joined the Juventus' Primavera squad in 1961 as a midfielder. Bettega spent the 1968-69 campaign on the bench. At the age of 19 Bettega was loaned to the Varese F.C. in Serie B. Under Nils Liedholm, the coach of Varese, Bettega hit 13 goals to help the side finish top and gain promotion to Serie A.

Nils Liedholm said of Bettega, "He allies tremendous athletic strength with impressive technical skills. He is particularly strong in the air, and can kick the ball with either foot. All he needs is to build up experience, and then he will certainly be a force to be reckoned with."

Back at Juventus, Bettega made his Serie A debut away to Catania on 27 September 1970. He scored the winning goal. Bettega ended the season with 13 goals in 28 matches. The following season, he scored 10 goals in only 14 matches.

He scored a goal against Fiorentina on 16 January 1972, but this was to be his last for a while because he was forced out of the game with a lung infection and the initial stages of tuberculosis. However, he wasn't out for long, returning on 24 September of the same year. He led the team to their second successive league title that season. With the arrival of Giovanni Trapattoni in 1976 as coach, Bettega found himself becoming the main frontman of the bianconeri; the former player to take this position, Pietro Anastasi, moved to Internazionale in the summer of that year.

Professional career

In 1975, Bettega got his first call-up to the Italian national team for a match against Finland. He went on to play in the 1978 FIFA World Cup. He would surely have led the team into the 1982 tournament, but that dream came to an end when Bettega suffered knee ligament damage in a collision with an opposing goalkeeper during a 1981 European Cup match against Anderlecht. Missing out on the '82 tournament was even more painful for Bettega, since Italy won the tournament that year.

Bettega finally regained full fitness and took to the pitch for the 1982-83 season. He retired from playing in Europe after Juventus lost the 1983 European Cup Final against Hamburg in Athens.

Bettega played two summers in the NASL with the Toronto Blizzard, helping the team finish runner-ups both seasons.

In total, Bettega made 326 league appearances for Juventus and scored 129 goals and enjoyed a highly successful career, winning seven league titles between 1972 and 1982, the 1977 UEFA Cup and two Coppa Italia. He also won the Capocannoniere (Serie A top scorer) in the 1979-80 season.

International career

He played 42 times for Italy, scoring 19 goals.

Coaching career

However, he later returned to the club on the request of Umberto Agnelli, who asked him to be vice-president. In late December 2009 Juventus have communicated through their official website that Bettega is their new general vice-chaiman.

Statistics

Club performance			League		Cup		Continental		Total
Season	Club	League	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Italy			League		Coppa Italia		Europe		Total
1969/70	Varese	Serie B	30	13	0	0	-		30	13
1970/71	Juventus	Serie A	28	13	3	2	11	6	42	21
1971/72			14	10	4	1	5	4	23	15
1972/73			27	8	8	1	7	2	42	11
1973/74			24	8	5	2	2	0	31	10
1974/75			27	6	10	3	10	1	47	10
1975/76			29	15	3	2	4	1	36	18
1976/77			30	17	4	1	12	5	46	23
1977/78			30	11	4	2	7	2	41	15
1978/79			30	9	9	2	2	0	41	11
1979/80			28	16	4	0	8	1	40	17
1980/81			25	5	8	3	4	3	37	11
1981/82			7	5	4	2	3	1	14	8
1982/83			27	6	7	1	6	1	40	8
Canada			League		Cup		Continental		Total
1983	Toronto Blizzard	NASL	16	2	-		-		16	2
1984			23	8	-		-		23	8
Country	Italy		356	142	73	22	81	27	510	191
	Canada		39	10	-		-		39	10
Total			395	152	73	22	81	27	549	201

Italy national team
Year	Apps	Goals
1975	2	0
1976	7	8
1977	5	6
1978	12	3
1979	2	0
1980	10	1
1981	3	1
1982	0	0
1983	1	0
Total	42	19

Personal life

Roberto has a son named Alessandro who also started his career in the Juventus system and was the captain of the Primavera team. He is now playing in the Serie C1.

References

Sporting positions
Preceded by Bruno Giordano	Serie A Top Scorer 1979-80	Succeeded by Roberto Pruzzo