Arrigo Sacchi facts for kids
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Sacchi in 2007
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| Personal information | ||||||||||||||||
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| Full name | Arrigo Sacchi | |||||||||||||||
| Date of birth | 1 April 1946 | |||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Fusignano, Italy | |||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.70 m | |||||||||||||||
| Teams managed | ||||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | |||||||||||||||
| 1973–1976 | Fusignano | |||||||||||||||
| 1976–1977 | Alfonsine | |||||||||||||||
| 1977–1978 | Bellaria | |||||||||||||||
| 1978–1982 | Cesena (youth) | |||||||||||||||
| 1982–1983 | Rimini | |||||||||||||||
| 1983–1984 | Fiorentina (youth) | |||||||||||||||
| 1984–1985 | Rimini | |||||||||||||||
| 1985–1987 | Parma | |||||||||||||||
| 1987–1991 | AC Milan | |||||||||||||||
| 1991–1996 | Italy | |||||||||||||||
| 1996–1997 | AC Milan | |||||||||||||||
| 1998–1999 | Atlético Madrid | |||||||||||||||
| 2001 | Parma | |||||||||||||||
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Honours
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Arrigo Sacchi (born 1 April 1946) is a famous Italian football coach. He is best known for leading AC Milan to amazing success twice. Many people think Sacchi is one of the greatest football managers ever. His AC Milan team from 1987 to 1991 is seen as one of the best club teams in history.
Sacchi won the Serie A title in his first season with Milan (1987–88). After that, he became a champion in European football. He won the European Cup two years in a row, in 1989 and 1990. From 1991 to 1996, he was the coach of the Italian national team. He led them to the 1994 FIFA World Cup Final, where they lost to Brazil in a penalty shoot-out.
Sacchi was never a professional football player. For many years, he worked as a shoe salesman. When people questioned how he could be a coach without playing professionally, he famously said: "I never realised that in order to become a jockey you have to have been a horse first." Another famous quote from Sacchi is: "football is the most important of the least important things in life."
Contents
Arrigo Sacchi's Coaching Journey
Starting His Coaching Career
Arrigo Sacchi grew up watching exciting football teams. These included teams like Budapest Honvéd, Real Madrid, Brazil, and the Netherlands. He began his coaching career at his local club, Baracca Lugo. He coached there because he wasn't good enough to play for them. Sacchi said about this challenge: "I was twenty-six, my goalkeeper was thirty-nine and my centre-forward was thirty-two. I had to win them over."
After Baracca Lugo, he coached at Bellaria. Then he joined Cesena as a youth team coach. Cesena was in Serie B, a lower division. Next, he took over at Rimini, who played in Serie C1. He almost led them to win the league title.
Big Break with Parma
Sacchi got his big chance when he moved to Fiorentina as a youth coach. His success with the youth team caught the eye of Parma. Parma was playing in Serie C1 at the time. He led Parma to get promoted to a higher league in his first season. The next season, they almost got promoted to Serie A, the top league.
Even more important was Parma's performance in the Coppa Italia, a cup competition. They beat AC Milan 1–0 in the group stages. Then, they beat Milan again 1–0 over two games in the knockout round. This was enough to get the attention of Milan's owner, Silvio Berlusconi. Berlusconi quickly hired Sacchi as Milan's new manager.
Leading AC Milan to Glory
When Sacchi arrived at Milan, some people still doubted him. The press argued that someone who wasn't a great player could not be a successful coach. Sacchi famously replied: "I never realised that in order to become a jockey you have to have been a horse first."
Sacchi was an instant success at Milan. He led the team to win their first Serie A title in nine years in his very first season (1987–88). After winning the league, they also won the Supercoppa Italiana in 1988.
Sacchi's biggest success at Milan was winning two European Cups in a row. This success was largely thanks to three Dutch players he bought: Marco van Basten, Ruud Gullit, and Frank Rijkaard. But other great players were also key. These included Roberto Donadoni and the strong defensive line of Franco Baresi, Alessandro Costacurta, Mauro Tassotti, and Paolo Maldini.
Winning the European Cup
The first European Cup final in 1989 was against Steaua București. Milan won easily, 4–0. Gullit and Van Basten each scored two goals. Milan lifted the European Cup for the first time in over 20 years. On their way to the final, Milan had beaten Real Madrid 6–1 over two games in the semi-final.
Even though the team was not as strong the next season, they won again in 1990. After beating teams like HJK Helsinki, Real Madrid, and KV Mechelen, Milan defeated German team Bayern Munich in the semi-final. In the final, Frank Rijkaard scored the only goal. This goal came from a pass by Van Basten, and Milan beat Benfica. By winning, Milan became the first team to win the title two years in a row since 1980. They were also the last team to do so until Real Madrid did it 27 years later.
Sacchi also won the European Super Cup and Intercontinental Cup two times each, in 1989 and 1990. He led Milan to the final of the 1989–90 Coppa Italia, but they lost to Juventus. The next season was Sacchi's last with Milan.
Coaching the Italian National Team
In November 1991, Sacchi became the manager of the Italian national team. He chose many Milan players for his Italian team, especially in defense. These included Paolo Maldini and Franco Baresi. The attack was led by Roberto Baggio of Juventus, who won the Ballon d'Or in 1993.
Sacchi led Italy through the qualifying games to reach the 1994 FIFA World Cup. They lost their first match 1–0 to the Republic of Ireland and finished third in their group. However, Italy still reached the final. This was their first final since 1982. They lost to Brazil in a penalty shoot-out. This was the first ever penalty shoot-out in a World Cup final.
Under Sacchi, Italy also qualified for UEFA Euro 1996. But they were knocked out in the group stage. They were in a tough group with the teams that ended up in the final, Germany and the Czech Republic. Sacchi later said that his Euro 96 team was his best Italian team ever.
Later Coaching Roles
After leaving the national team, Sacchi returned to Milan in December 1996. However, his second time at Milan was not successful. Milan finished 11th in the league and had their worst ever Serie A defeat, losing 6–1 at home to Juventus.
Sacchi also had short coaching periods in Spain. He took charge of Atlético Madrid in 1998 but left in March of that season. He briefly returned to Parma in 2001. He resigned after only three matches because of stress. Later, he returned to Madrid, this time at Real Madrid. He worked as the director of football for the 2004–05 season.
Arrigo Sacchi's Achievements
Parma
- Serie C1: 1985–86
Milan
- Serie A: 1987–88
- Supercoppa Italiana: 1988
- European Cup: 1988–89, 1989–90
- European Super Cup: 1989, 1990
- Intercontinental Cup: 1989, 1990
- Coppa Italia Runners-up: 1989–90
Italy
- FIFA World Cup Runners-up: 1994
Individual Awards
- Seminatore d'Oro: 1988, 1989
- World Soccer Awards Manager of the Year: 1989
- Ranked among the Greatest Managers of All Time by France Football, World Soccer, and ESPN
- Italian Football Hall of Fame: 2011
- UEFA President's Award: 2022
See also
In Spanish: Arrigo Sacchi para niños
