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Farewell to Tarcisio Burgnich, the “rock” of Italian football

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Burgnich-Muller duel in the legendary Italy-Germany 4-3 of 1970 in which the blue scored Italy’s second goal

The ace of Inter and the national team died at 82: he was champion of Europe and vice-world champion with Italy

MILAN. They called it the ‘rock’. It was Armando Picchi who gave him that nickname. For Tarcisio Burgnich, who passed away today at 82, it was basically a middle name. In fact, he was one of the best defenders in the history of Italian football, very tough against his rivals, never really bad, but certainly unsurpassed. Humble in sport and in life, yet shrewd and when it was needed very cunning, Burgnich made his own the teachings of the first coach in Udine, Comuzzi: with one eye and a half he looks at the man, with the other half eye the ball. On the field he was a carabiniere, nothing escaped him.

He made his debut in Udinese, twenty years old, there was also Dino Zoff, a sign of destiny. He played stopper and full-back, a life in defense, he put patches in the gaps left by his teammates, above all he always put his leg. At the 1970 World Cup he tried to stop Pele when òrei jumped into the sky to hit his head and bag into the blue goal, “but I couldn’t do it – he’ll say later – because in reality I was just getting to mark him and I wasn’t in position yet, because Valcareggi had changed the markings in the race ».

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With the blue shirt he was European champion in 1968 and vice-world champion in 1970. In his career, the striker who put him most in difficulty was not the Brazilian emperor, but by his own admission Ezio Pascutti of Bologna, and then he Yugoslav Dragan Dzajic, he hated them both as a football player, they escaped him like eels. Burgnich played with many teams, his debut with Udinese in 1958, a meteoric year in Juventus, then another year at Palermo, then twelve seasons with Inter from 1962 to 1974, the meeting with Helenio Herrera, a character that he adored and that opened the doors of the world to him, “being with him was like being on a spaceship. It was always one step ahead. Sober, serious man, he had been poor, he urged us not to throw away the money we earned, he taught us to do yoga to concentrate ».

With the Nerazzurri he made 467 appearances in official matches, winning 4 league titles, two European Cups and two Intercontinental Cups. He was disappointed when at one point they considered him old, he ended up at Napoli and touched the Scudetto in 1975. Then his coaching career, he was on the bench of many teams, the last time in 2001 with breaking latest news. Burgnich is one of the monuments of Italian football. A career built with a life as a rocky, fair and loyal defender, but also with great seriousness in life. He always remained tied to his world, indeed it can be said that Burgnich was one of the purest interpreters of that football of the past, like his partner Giacinto Facchetti, like his friend Gigi Riva. (HANDLE).

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