 Facchetti with Inter Milan in the 1966–67 season | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Giacinto Facchetti[1] | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Date of birth | 18 July 1942 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Treviglio, Italy | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Date of death | 4 September 2006 (aged 64) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Place of death | Milan, Italy | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.91 m (6 ft 3 in) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Position(s) | Left-back | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Youth career | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1956 | GSD Mario Zanconti | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1957–1960 | Trevigliese | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Senior career* | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 1960–1978 | Inter Milan | 476 | (59) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| International career | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1964 | Italy U21 | 1 | (0) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 1963–1977 | Italy | 94 | (3) | ||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
| |||||||||||||||||||||||
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Giacinto Facchetti (Italian pronunciation: [dʒaˈtʃinto fakˈketti]; 18 July 1942 – 4 September 2006) was an Italian footballer who played as a left-back for Inter Milan from 1960 to 1978. He later served as Inter chairman from January 2004 until his death in 2006. He played 634 official games for the club, scoring 75 goals, and was a member of "Grande Inter" team under manager Helenio Herrera which won four Serie A titles, a Coppa Italia, two European Cups, and two Intercontinental Cups. He placed second for the Ballon d'Or in 1965.
Facchetti represented Italy internationally on 94 occasions, including three FIFA World Cups. He was also elected to the 1970 World Cup All-Star Team, in which Italy were runners-up. He was also captain of the national side that won Italy's first ever UEFA European Championship on home soil in 1968, where he was also elected to the team of the tournament.
Facchetti is remembered as one of the first truly great attacking full-backs. He is regarded as one of the best football players ever at his position, due to his pace, technique, intelligence, physique, and stamina. He formed a formidable defensive partnership with fellow full-back Tarcisio Burgnich in Inter's defensive catenaccio system and with the Italy national side. In addition to his ability on the pitch, Facchetti was lauded for his discipline and leadership and captained both Inter Milan and Italy for several years.[2][3][4][5][6]
In March 2004, Pelé named him one of the Top 125 greatest living footballers as part of FIFA's 100th anniversary celebrations.[7] In 2015, he was posthumously inducted into the Italian Football Hall of Fame.
- ^ "Comunicato Ufficiale N. 249" [Official Press Release No. 249] (PDF) (in Italian). Lega Serie A. 13 February 2004. p. 3. Archived from the original (PDF) on 14 December 2020. Retrieved 14 December 2020.
- ^ "Italy's greatest defenders". Sky Sports. 31 May 2010. Retrieved 26 January 2016.
- ^ "Inter and Italy's pioneering fullback". FIFA. Archived from the original on 2 January 2015. Retrieved 2 January 2015.
- ^ "Treccani: Facchétti, Giacinto" (in Italian). Treccani: Enciclopedie on line. Retrieved 16 September 2014.
- ^ "Giacinto Facchetti" (in Italian). Archived from the original on 27 December 2017. Retrieved 2 January 2015.
- ^ "Giacinto Facchetti". Storie di Calcio (in Italian). Retrieved 16 September 2014.
- ^ "Pele's list of the greatest". BBC Sport. 4 March 2004. Retrieved 15 June 2013.