Ciro Ferrara Facts for Kids

Quick facts for kids
Ciro Ferrara

Ferrara in 2012

Personal information

Full name

Ciro Ferrara

Date of birth

11 February 1967 (age 58)

Place of birth

Naples, Italy

Height

1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)

Position(s)

Defender

Youth career

1980–1984

Napoli

Senior career*

Years

Team

Apps

(Gls)

1984–1994

Napoli

247

(12)

1994–2005

Juventus

253

(15)

Total

500

(27)

International career

1985–1987

Italy U21

(1)

1988

Italy Olympic

(1)

1987–2000

Italy

(0)

Managerial career

2005–2006

Italy (assistant)

2008–2009

Italy (assistant)

2009–2010

Juventus

2010–2012

Italy U21

2012

Sampdoria

2016–2017

Wuhan Zall

Medal record

Men's Football

Representing Italy
UEFA European Championship
Third	1988
FIFA World Cup
Third	1990 Italy
UEFA European Championship
Runner-up	2000

*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Ciro Ferrara (born 11 February 1967) is a famous Italian former footballer and manager. He was a strong defender during his playing days. Ferrara played for two big Italian clubs: Napoli and Juventus. He won many important trophies, including seven Serie A titles.

After retiring as a player, Ferrara became a coach. He coached Juventus and the Italy national under-21 team. He also helped the Italian national team win the 2006 FIFA World Cup as an assistant coach. Ferrara played 49 games for the Italian national team. He represented Italy in the 1988 Summer Olympics, two UEFA European Championships (in 1988 and 2000), and the 1990 World Cup.

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Playing Career: A Top Defender

Starting at Napoli

Ferrara with Napoli during the 1987–88 season

Ciro Ferrara was born in Naples, Italy. He started playing football in the youth system of his hometown club, Napoli, in 1980. By 1984, he was playing for the first team. In his first full season, he played 14 games.

Ferrara quickly became a regular starter for Napoli. He even got called up to the Italian national team for the 1990 FIFA World Cup. He helped Napoli win the 1989 UEFA Cup final, scoring one of the goals. With Napoli, he also won two Serie A titles (in 1986–87 and 1989–90). They also won the 1987 Coppa Italia and the 1990 Supercoppa Italiana.

Moving to Juventus

In 1994, Ferrara moved to Turin to play for Juventus. He quickly became a key player for the team. He played over 40 games in his first season. Ferrara was known as one of the best central defenders of his time. He kept his starting spot for ten years.

He was even captain of Juventus from 1995 to 1996. Ferrara won many more trophies with Juventus. These included six more Serie A championships, making it eight in total for his career. He also won another Coppa Italia, two more Supercoppa Italiana titles, and the UEFA Champions League. Other European trophies he won were the UEFA Cup, Intercontinental Cup, and European Super Cup.

Ferrara was a very important part of Juventus's defense. He played alongside other great defenders like Mark Iuliano and Paolo Montero. Juventus had one of the best defenses in the world during this time. It was very hard for other teams to score against them. In the 1996–97 season, he scored 4 goals in 32 league games.

Ferrara retired from football in May 2005 at the age of 38. He had a long and successful career.

Playing for Italy

In June 1987, Ciro Ferrara played his first game for the Italian national team. It was a friendly match against Argentina. In 1988, he was part of the Italian team that finished fourth at the 1988 Summer Olympics. They reached the semi-finals of the tournament.

How Ciro Ferrara Played

Ferrara was a very skilled and strong defender. He was known for being calm and smart on the field. He could play anywhere in the defense, either in the middle or on the side as a full-back. This made him very useful in different team setups.

Many people thought he was one of the best Italian centre-backs of his generation. Famous player Ryan Giggs said Ferrara and his teammate Paolo Montero were the toughest defenders he ever played against. Ferrara was quick, strong in the air, and good at tackling. He was also great at understanding the game and marking his opponents. Even though he played tough, he was also known for being fair. Besides his skills, he was a great leader on the field and in the locker room.

Coaching Career

After retiring as a player, Ferrara joined the Italian national team's coaching staff. He was an assistant coach when Italy won the 2006 FIFA World Cup. After that, he worked for Juventus, helping with their youth teams.

In May 2009, Ferrara became the temporary head coach of Juventus. He took over for the last two weeks of the season. He led Juventus to two wins, helping them finish second in the league. Because of this success, he was appointed as the full-time manager for the 2009–10 season.

Juventus signed some big players that summer, like Diego and Felipe Melo. The team started well, winning their first four league games. However, things changed when Juventus was knocked out of the 2009–10 UEFA Champions League. They lost to Bayern Munich at home. Juventus then had a tough losing streak in the winter.

In January 2010, Juventus was knocked out of the Coppa Italia. Because of these results, Ferrara was replaced as coach.

In October 2010, Ferrara became the new head coach of the Italy under-21 team. His former teammate Angelo Peruzzi was his assistant. Under Ferrara, the team did very well in the 2013 UEFA European U21 Championship qualifiers.

In July 2012, he left the U-21 team to coach Sampdoria, a team that had just been promoted to Serie A. However, he was sacked in December 2012. His most recent coaching job was with Wuhan Zall in China from 2016 to 2017.

Personal Life and Charity Work

Ciro Ferrara is good friends with fellow Neapolitan and former teammate Fabio Cannavaro. Together, they started a charity foundation called Fondazione Cannavaro Ferrara. This foundation helps hospitals in their hometown of Naples get equipment for cancer research and surgery. It also aims to help young people in Naples who are at risk.