Who was... Azeglio Vicini: the man who gave Maldini and Baggio their debuts with the Italian national team
Two weeks ago I told you about one of the coaches of Italy 90, and this Sunday we're going to talk about another, the coach of the host team: Azeglio Vicini.
Azeglio Vicini was born on March 20, 1933, in Cesena, Italy. After playing for his hometown club, Vicini, a defensive midfielder, made his professional debut at the age of 20 with Vicenza, where he won promotion to Serie A in 1955.
A year later, he was hired by Sampdoria , where he spent seven seasons. In 1963, he signed for the recently relegated Brescia, where he hung up his boots in 1966. He immediately made his coaching debut with Brescia.
After a brief spell at the club and a few years of inactivity, Azeglio Vicini joined the Italian Football Federation 's coaching staff in 1975, initially taking charge of the U-23 national team.
Two years later, he took charge of the U-21 team, where he achieved his first successes. At the U-21 European Championship, he qualified for the quarter-finals three times (1978, 1980, and 1982), reaching the semi-finals in 1984. In the 1986 edition, he led Italy to a runners-up finish, but they lost the final on penalties to Spain , following a superb performance by Asturian goalkeeper Juan Carlos Ablanedo.
This strong result gave him the position of national team coach, replacing the legendary Enzo Bearzot, world champion in 1982. Under Vicini, some of the U-21 runners-up from 1986 were promoted to the A team, such as goalkeeper Zenga, forwards Vialli and Mancino, Roma's Giannini, and Milan's Donadoni. He was also responsible for giving Paolo Maldini a place in the national team and bringing back Franco Baresi.
His first major tournament was the 1988 European Championship, where the Azzurri reached the semifinals, only to lose to the Soviet Union. But the big challenge came two years later, at the World Cup in Italy. Vicini had brought into the national team players of the caliber of Roberto Baggio and the recently deceased Salvatore Schillaci, who emerged as the tournament's top scorer.
Italy were drawn in Group A, along with Czechoslovakia, Austria, and the United States. After finishing that round with three wins, Vicini's men eliminated Uruguay in the round of 16 (2-0) and Ireland in the quarterfinals (1-0), before facing Maradona's Argentina in a match played in Naples, where both teams were arguably playing at home, with the Neapolitan city being the nerve center of devotion to the Argentine number 10.
The match ended 1-1 and was decided on penalties, where the Argentines made no mistakes and where the Albiceleste goalkeeper Goycochea saved shots from Roberto Donadoni and Aldo Serena, eliminating Italy, who bowed out of the tournament in Bari by beating England 2-1 in the consolation final.
Vicini remained as coach, but failed to qualify Italy for Euro 1992, which led to his departure from the national team. Arrigo Sacchi took his place.
In the 92/93 season he coached his hometown team, Cesena, and the following year Udinese, where he retired from coaching in 1994. He then took over as head of the FIGC technical sector , a post he would not leave until 2010, when he was replaced by the star he had given his debut with the Azzurri , Roberto Baggio.
Retired in Brescia, Azeglio Vicini died on January 30, 2018. He was 84 years old.
I hope you enjoyed the article. See you next week.
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