Tarcisio Burgnich

Football player infobox
playername=Tarcisio Burgnich
fullname =Tarcisio Burgnich
dateofbirth = birth date and age|1939|04|25
cityofbirth =Ruda
countryofbirth = Italy
height = height|m=1.79
currentclub =
clubnumber =
position = Sweeper/Right-back (retired)
youthyears =
youthclubs = Napoli
years =1958-1960
1960-1961
1961-1962
1962-1974
1974-1977
clubs = Udinese
Juventus
Palermo
Inter Milan
Napoli
caps(goals) = 8 (0)
13 (0)
31 (1)
358 (5)
84 (0)
nationalyears = 1963-1974
nationalteam = Italy
nationalcaps(goals) = 66 (2)
pcupdate = April 17, 2008
ntupdate = April 17, 2008

Tarcisio Burgnich (born April 25, 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 once was quoted of saying a quote fairly popular in Italy regarding the famous Brazilian star Pelé, at the 1970 World Cup Finals:

After his retirement, Burgnich tried a managing career with little success, serving as head coach for Catanzaro, Bologna, Como, Livorno, Foggia, Lucchese, Cremonese, Genoa, Ternana and Vicenza.

References