Tarcisio Burgnich

Tarcisio Burgnich

Tarcisio Burgnich (left) with Argentinian midfielder René Houseman at the 1974 FIFA World Cup
Personal information
Date of birth	25 April 1939 (1939-04-25)
Place of birth	Ruda, Italy
Height	1.75 m (5 ft 9 in)
Playing position	Sweeper/Right-back
Youth career
	Napoli
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps†	(Gls)†
1958–1960	Udinese	8	(0)
1960–1961	Juventus	13	(0)
1961–1962	Palermo	31	(1)
1962–1974	Internazionale	358	(5)
1974–1977	Napoli	84	(0)
Total		494	(6)
National team‡
1963–1974	Italy	66	(2)
Teams managed
1978–1980	Livorno
1980–1981	Catanzaro
1981–1982	Bologna
1982–1984	Como
1984–1986	Genoa
1986–1987	Vicenza
1987–1988	Como
1988–1989	Catanzaro
1989–1991	Cremonese
1991–1992	Salernitana
1995–1997	Foggia
1997–1998	Genoa
1998–1999	Lucchese
1999–2000	Ternana
2000–2001	Pescara
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of April 17, 2008. † Appearances (Goals). ‡ National team caps and goals correct as of April 17, 2008

Tarcisio Burgnich (Italian pronunciation: [tarˈtʃiːzjo ˈburɡnitʃ]; born 25 April 1939 in Ruda, Italy) is a former Italian football defender.

After short spells at Udinese, Juventus and Palermo, it was with Internazionale that he found his spiritual home in the 1960s. Burgnich, a sweeper/right-back, played 467 times for the Nerazzurri, scoring 6 goals, and his aggressive, determined style was ideally suited to the catenaccio system operated by Helenio Herrera throughout Inter's glory years. Five Italian championships, two European Cups and two World Club Championships tell the tale of how successful Burgnich was. He was part of the Internazionale lineup of the 1960s still known today as La Grande Inter.

Burgnich was also a pillar of the Italian national team for more than a decade and helped them pick up their one and only European Football Championship title in 1968. He was on Italy's roster for the 1966, 1970 and 1974 FIFA World Cups. He represented the Azzurri 66 times, scoring twice.

He may best be membered for his quote about Brazilian star Pelé, at the 1970 World Cup Finals:

"I told myself before the game, 'he's made of skin and bones just like everyone else' — but I was wrong."

After his retirement, Burgnich worked as a manager on and off for nearly twenty years, with little success. During this time he managed Catanzaro, Bologna, Como, Livorno, Foggia, Lucchese, Cremonese, Genoa, Ternana and Vicenza.

Statistics

Club

Team	Season	Serie A		Coppa Italia		European Competition1		Other Tournaments2		Total
		Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Udinese	1958-59	1	0			-	-	-	-
	1959-60	7	0			-	-	-	-
Juventus	1960-61	13	0
Palermo	1961-62	31	1
Internazionale	1962-63	31	0
	1963-64	33	0
	1964-65	32	1
	1965-66	30	0
	1966-67	30	2
	1967-68	30	0
	1968-69	30	1
	1969-70	26	1
	1970-71	29	0
	1971-72	27	0
	1972-73	30	0
	1973-74	30	0
Napoli	1974-75	30	0
	1975-76	30	0
	1976-77	24	0
Career Total		494	6

¹European competitions include the UEFA European Cup, Inter-Cities Fairs Cup, UEFA Cup, and UEFA Cup Winners' Cup.
²Other tournaments include the Intercontinental Cup.

International goals

Scores and results list Italy's goal tally first.

#	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1	18 June 1966	Stadio Giuseppe Meazza, Milan	Austria	1–0	1–0	Friendly
2	17 June 1970	Estadio Azteca, Mexico City	West Germany	2–2	4–3 (a.e.t.)	1970 World Cup Semi-final