Il Capitano of La Grande Inter side of the 1960’s which swept all before them, Giacinto Facchetti is one of the greatest players Italy have ever produced.
The first attacking full-back of his kind, he showed the football world that defenders could do more than simply just defend. As respected for his humility and personality off the pitch as he was for his exploits on it. Facchetti will be always be remembered as the true Interista.
Born in the small town of Trevilgio, in the province of Bergamo, a young Facchetti began his career as a forward for his hometown club, Trevigliese. He soon came to the attention of Inter boss Helenio Herrera, who deployed him as full-back, clearly seeing something special in Facchetti, Herrera’s decision was justified as he went onto become one of the greatest full backs the game has ever seen.
In just his second game in the league the 19 year-old netted against Napoli, quickly making the no.3 shirt his own with his elegant and assured displays on the left hand side of the Herrera’s defence. Within three years he had made his debut for la Nazionale, going onto make a then record breaking 94 appearances, in 70 of those games he skippered the side. Perhaps, the only tragedy is that Inter’s legendary capitano never secured a World Cup winners medal.
Winning the European Championship’s with the Azzuri in 1968 was the only international honour he received, despite being part of three World Cup campaigns, the closest he came to lifting the famous Jules Rimet Trophy was in the 1970 final where Italy were defeated 4-1 by a magnificent Brazilian side.
Facchetti gave a memorable performance in spite of the sides capitulation at the hands of the South American’s, one of the few Italian players to do so, containing Jarzinho’s scorching wing play. He continued to perform with distinction for La Azzuri, captaining the side in an age of big names and bigger personalities. Playing his last game in the Azzuri shirt in 1977 at Wembley as a 36 year-old, Facchetti slotted effortlessly into playing as a libero during his latter years.
A one man club, a dying breed in the modern era. Facchetti spent 18 illustrious years in Milan with the blue and black of Inter. Two years after joining the Nerazzuri, La Grande Inter were on the march, sweeping all before them, with Herrara’s distinct brand of catenaccio.
Facchetti won four scudetti, back to back European Cups, a pair of Intercontinental cup honours and a Coppa Italia. His career consisted of over 600 appearances for the Nerazzuri, scoring an extraordinary 75 goals. In the 65/66 season alone, he netted on 12 occasions.
Perhaps the first European defender to push forward, Facchetti’s speed and impressive technique, was fully utilised by Herrera. Full-backs of the time were confined to specific areas and were encouraged to play the ball simply to the more attack minded players ahead of them.
Herrera Il Mago (the Magician) used Facchetti’s ability and attacking instinct in his innovative fast counter-attacking moves, in this system he encouraged his full-backs to break quickly and join in on the attacking play. This notion of using defenders as ‘first forwards’ was simply unheard of in a time where catennaccio was at it’s most rigid.
Facchetti stayed on at Inter in various capacities behind the scenes, including sporting director, worldwide ambassador and vice-president. In 2004, Facchetti was elected Inter’s President, a position he held till his death in 2006 after losing his battle to pancreatic cancer. There was huge outpouring of grief for one of the greatest men to ever lace a pair of football boots.
Many modern day full-backs have spoke of their awe for Facchetti’s style of play. None other than A.C Milan’s Paolo Maldini has spoke of his admiration for Inter’s beloved captain, stating how he based his game on Facchetti’s marauding runs. A born winner on the pitch, off the pitch Facchetti was a true gentlemen who was respected for his humility and warm approachable nature.
Former Inter and Italy team mate Sandro Mazzola speaking after his death, said “He was a great figure on the field and off it”. A sentiment echoed by another legend of Italian football, Milan’s fantasista Gigi Riveria “He was a great person, much greater on the human level than the sporting one. We passed many years together and saw each other regularly when we had both finished playing. There was a very strong rapport between us”.
Never has an Italian player drawn such admiration and respect from all quarters of the Italian public and thus Inter retired the number 3 shirt in his honour.
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