Gaetano Scirea – A Forgotten Juventus Legend

By Joseph Solomon
10 years Ago

The epitome of decency, chivalry, courage, skill, talent and even personality, Gaetano Scirea has been long forgotten in the footballing world. A silent guardian, Scirea single-handedly constructed the back four of the World Cup winning Italian side in 1982. He also played crucial and vital roles for his club side Juventus. Operating as a Sweeper, who plays behind the Center Back, Scirea kept arguably world’s best defender, Franco Baresi, out of the National Team. In his 16 year career, Scirea has won almost every trophy there is to win, including a World Cup. Scirea is one of only five players in European football history to have won all international trophies for football clubs recognized by UEFA and FIFA. Scirea is also one of only nine players in the history of the European football to win all three major UEFA football competitions. It can be said the Gaetano Scirea wrote poetry in football .

Il Giocatore (The Player)

Scirea was a defender of skill and tactical ability. In contrast to the ruthless tactics often employed by other defenders, including his paired partner, Claudio Gentile, Scirea was renowned for his class, fair play and sportsmanship. Scirea never earned a red card in his career.

He played the sweeper, or libero, role for most of his career, and contributed to the development of the position. Thus, Scirea would detach himself from the defensive line and contribute to the attacking potential of his team, frequently being involved in the build-up of goals, and sometimes even scoring himself. In the latter part of his career, Scirea played a more defensive central-defender role.

During the ’80s Juventus was full of stars. Although there were players such as Bettega, Zoff, Tardelli, Platini, Brady, Boniek, Gentile, and Furino, to name a few, one stood above them allai??i??captain Gaetano Scirea. He was a clean fighter, capable of transmitting confidence and strength at the same time.

Il Campione ( The Champ )

Starting his career with Atalanta, Scirea played with the Orobici for two long seasons, crafting his talent to take roots in the tough annals of Italian football. Initially he was used as a midfielder but gradually he shifted to sweeper, a position that would later make him legendary. Solid performances for Atalanta saw Scirea move to Italian giants, Juventus. At first there was a lot of criticsim with the Turin based club as they were accustomed to Sandro Salvatore, but then after couple of matches his class was there for all to see. Later his commitment and professionalism would make him a Legend for the bianconeri.

During a game against lower Italian sides, Scirea’s foot was regularly stamped upon, the opponents trying to cut it open, constantly harming him. A champ as he was, he played without fear throughout the match, using only his right foot’s instep to control the ball, the rest was done by the left foot, and in the words of Giuseppe Furino “He did it so naturally, that I was amazed”.

Il Compagno ( The Team mate )

Giuseppe Furino in his interview with Juventus TV, captures the true essence of Gaetano Scirea as a team mate, he concludes “You could always find Scirea, it was very hard not to find him. Wherever you were, he was never far away and he was an important figure. You could always lay it off to him and he would give the ball back. You could always find him, he’d be near you”.

Gaetano Scirea knew how to score, when to assist, when to pass. He would often take the blame of others upon him, calming the situation. Legendary Juventus midfielder Sergio Brio, loved playing infront of Scirea and even credited him for his illustrious career, as Scirea mopped up the mistakes made by Brio, also assisting him along the way. Brio says ” If I made a mistake, you could hear vaffanculo, even from him, its not like he was a saint, but yes I must say that it was always constructive and never insulting”

Even foreign players such as Michel Platini had never met such a selfless player, who would think about the team apart from his own instincts. In a league game, Juventus were behind and the opposition only had one striker up the field, in a brilliant tactical move by Scirea, he told Brio to go infront of the player, whereas he would drop deep, sandwiching the opponent in the process. Incidences like these sum up Scirea, as a pillar of motivation that he was.

L’uomo ( The man )

Scirea enjoying a game of pool with his Juventus Teammates

Scirea was born on 25th May, 1963 in Cernusco sul Naviglio in Lombardy, Northern Italy. Scirea was born into a modest family with his father working for Pirelli. Football, the game which would later give him world-wide fame, was soon introduced in his life as he started participating in seven-a-side matches in Cinisello Balsamo in his locality.

As a man, Scirea was shy and introvert but regardless of these attributes he was known for his great character and his ability to get-on with team mates. He was capable of cracking jokes and socializing with every body. In fact, he would bring a lot of people together in his personal life. Injected with calmness, Scirea was known to bring with himself a positive aura. In a hilarious incident, Scirea dressed as an old hag to scare his two kids, implementing that he also knew how to be fun.

His friendship with Dino Zoff was built throughout his time in Juventus. As Zoff puts it, ” What I remember most is not the laughs we had, it was after the World Cup and we were savouring this joy without laughing about victory. We talked very little that evening”. Marco Tardelli dubbed Zoff and Scirea’s room as Switzerland as it was so calm, when every body was off the edge. A man who always took time out for his friends and family, Scirea was a man of few words, but was respected and loved by everyone.

Suo Legato e decoro( His Legacy and Honours )

Scirea’s name has become attached to various youth tournaments and fair-play awards as a role model for sportsmanship and sporting excellence. In 2005, former Italian national team coach Enzo Bearzot proposed the retirement of the number six jersey of the national team and Juventus in recognition of Scirea’s career.The north stand in Juventus’ former home ground Stadio Olimpico di Torino was also known as the Curva Scirea and was occupied by the ultras.

In his 16 year career, Scirea won almost every trophy there was to win. His accolades includes, 7 League Championship (1974ai??i??75, 1976ai??i??77, 1977ai??i??78, 1980ai??i??81, 1981ai??i??82, 1983ai??i??84, 1985ai??i??86) , 2 Italian Cup (1978ai??i??79, 1982ai??i??83) , 1 UEFA Cup ( 1976ai??i??77) , 1 UEFA Cup Winners’ Cup (1983ai??i??84) , 1 European Cup (1984ai??i??85) , 1 UEFA Super Cup (1984) and 1 Intercontinental Cup (1985), with Juventus. He also won the World Cup with Italy in 1982.

Two decades have passed since Gaetano Scireaai??i??s death but he still remains one of the most respected Juventus legends. An epitome of professionalism on and off the pitch, Scirea was an ideal example for many , including kids. Nobody in the modern football game comes close to the class and chivalry of this modest man. A long forgotten hero, Gaetano Scirea is certainly one of of the top defenders the world has ever witnessed, if not The Top Defender.

Categories: Features, Italia Serie A, Juventus
Tags: Gaetano Scirea Juventus

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