Enzo Scifo facts for kids

Vincenzo "Enzo" Daniele Scifo (born on February 19, 1966) is a famous retired Belgian football player. He used to play as a midfielder, which is a player who helps both attack and defense. Enzo also coached the Belgium national under-21 football team and several Belgian club teams.

He played for many clubs in Belgium, France, and Italy. During his career, he won several important titles. Enzo was also a key player for the Belgium national football team. He played in four FIFA World Cup tournaments, which is a huge achievement. Only two other Belgian players have done this!

Early Life and Young Talent

Enzo Scifo was born in La Louvière, a town in Wallonia, Belgium. His parents were from Sicily, Italy. From a very young age, Enzo showed amazing talent in football. People even called him "Little Pelé" because he was so good.

When he was a junior player at his local team, he scored an incredible 432 goals in just four seasons! At seven years old, in 1973, Enzo joined his local club, R.A.A. Louviéroise. Later, in 1982, he moved to R.S.C. Anderlecht, which was one of Belgium's most successful football clubs.

Club Career Highlights

Enzo Scifo started playing for the main team at R.S.C. Anderlecht in 1983. He was only 17 years old then. He helped Anderlecht win the Belgian First Division championship three times. He also helped them reach the 1984 UEFA Cup final in 1984. They lost that final to Tottenham after a penalty shootout.

Because of his great skills, Enzo became known as one of the most promising young players. In 1987, he moved to Internazionale in Italy. This transfer cost a lot of money, 7.5 billion Lire, which was a record for a football player at that time.

After a challenging time at Inter Milan, he moved to the French club Bordeaux in 1988. He faced some injuries and difficulties there. But his career got back on track when he joined Auxerre in 1989. He was 23 years old and played very well under manager Guy Roux.

This success led him back to Italy in 1991, where he joined Torino. His second time in Italy was much better. He helped Torino reach the 1992 UEFA Cup Final and win the Coppa Italia (Italian Cup) the next season.

In 1993, Enzo moved to AS Monaco in France. He continued to play well and helped Monaco win the French championship in 1997. Later that year, he returned to Anderlecht. He won his fourth Belgian league title with them in the 1999–2000 season.

In 2000, he joined Charleroi. However, he had to retire from playing football later that season. He was 36 years old and had a health condition called chronic arthritis. In total, Enzo Scifo scored 121 goals in 478 official league matches during his career.

International Career for Belgium

Enzo Scifo played his first game for the Belgium national football team on June 6, 1984. It was a friendly match against Hungary that ended in a 2–2 draw. He gained a lot of attention in his first UEFA Euro 1984 match on June 13. He helped Belgium win 2–0 against Yugoslavia. At 18 years and 115 days old, he was the youngest player ever to play in the Euro finals at that time.

Enzo played in all three of Belgium's group matches in that tournament. Belgium finished third in their group and did not move past the first round.

He represented Belgium in four FIFA World Cup tournaments: 1986, 1990, 1994, and 1998. He played 16 games in total across these World Cups. He is one of only 14 players in the world to have played in four World Cups. He is also one of only three Belgian players to achieve this.

In the 1986 World Cup in Mexico, Enzo helped Belgium reach the semi-finals. He played in all seven of his team's matches and scored two goals. Belgium finished in fourth place. For his amazing performances, Enzo was named the best young player of the tournament.

In the 1990 World Cup in Italy, Enzo scored a fantastic long-range goal. This happened in Belgium's 3-1 win against Uruguay on June 17 in Verona. This goal was later voted as the tenth greatest FIFA World Cup goal of the Century in a 2002 poll. Belgium was knocked out in the second round by England. Four years later, at the 1994 World Cup in the USA, Belgium was again eliminated in the second round.

Enzo Scifo stopped playing for the national team after Belgium was eliminated in the first round of the 1998 World Cup in France. In total, he played 84 international games and scored 18 goals for Belgium.

Enzo's Playing Style

Enzo Scifo was a very creative midfielder who could also score goals. He was often called a classic "number 10" playmaker. This means he was the player who controlled the game and set up attacks. He usually played behind the main strikers. He could also play as a central midfielder, helping to start attacks from deeper on the field. Sometimes, he played as a wide midfielder on the right side.

Many people consider him one of Belgium's greatest players ever. His best qualities were his excellent vision, smart tactical thinking, and great technical skills. These skills allowed him to plan and start his team's attacks from the middle of the field. He was also known for his balance with the ball and his ability to dribble while looking up. He had accurate shooting and passing with his right foot, which helped him score goals and create chances for his teammates.

Sometimes, his coaches felt he could improve his defensive work. Also, when he was younger, he sometimes tried to dribble too much on his own instead of passing to an open teammate. Throughout his career, his unique way of playing reminded people of famous players like Gianni Rivera, Giancarlo Antognoni, and his hero Michel Platini.

After Retirement: Coaching and More

After retiring as a player, Enzo Scifo became a coach. He started with Charleroi for the 2000–01 season. He left in June 2002. He then coached Tubize from 2004 to 2006. In 2007, he became the head coach of R.E. Mouscron, another Belgian team. On June 6, 2009, Enzo left Mouscron because the club was having financial problems.

In May 2006, he was part of the first-ever European Selection team. This team was led by former England manager Terry Venables.

Enzo Scifo returned to club coaching with Mons between 2012 and 2013. From 2015 to 2016, he was the manager of the Belgium U21 national team. In 2021, Enzo was appointed manager of Mouscron again. However, he was dismissed after a difficult start to the season. In 2024, Enzo Scifo took on a new role as talent manager for Louviéroise. This is the same club where he started as a young player!

Career Statistics

Club

International

Scores and results list Belgium's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Scifo goal.

List of international goals scored by Enzo Scifo

No.	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1	17 October 1984	Heysel Stadium, Brussels	Albania	2–1	3–1	1986 World Cup qualifier
2	27 March 1985	Heysel Stadium, Brussels	Greece	2–0	2–0	1986 World Cup qualifier
3	8 June 1986	Estadio Nemesio Díez, Toluca	Iraq	1–0	2–1	1986 World Cup
4	15 June 1986	Estadio Nou Camp, León	Soviet Union	1–1	4–3	1986 World Cup
5	10 September 1986	Heysel Stadium, Brussels	Republic of Ireland	2–1	2–2	Euro 1988 qualifier
6	26 May 1990	Heysel Stadium, Brussels	Romania	1–0	2–2	Friendly
7	17 June 1990	Stadio Marc'Antonio Bentegodi, Verona	Uruguay	2–0	3–1	1990 World Cup
8	27 February 1991	Constant Vanden Stock Stadium, Brussels	Luxembourg	3–0	3–0	Euro 1992 qualifier
9	11 September 1991	Stade Josy Barthel, Luxembourg	Luxembourg	1–0	2–0	Euro 1992 qualifier
10	9 October 1991	Sóstói Stadion, Székesfehérvár	Hungary	2–0	2–0	Friendly
11	25 March 1992	Parc des Princes, Paris	France	2–1	3–3	Friendly
12.	13 February 1993	Makario Stadium, Nicosia	Cyprus	1–0	3–0	1994 World Cup qualifier
13				2–0
14	22 May 1993	Constant Vanden Stock Stadium, Brussels	Faroe Islands	2–0	3–0	1994 World Cup qualifier
15	13 October 1993	Stadionul Steaua, Bucharest	Romania	1–2	1–2	1994 World Cup qualifier
16.	7 June 1995	Philip II Arena, Skopje	Macedonia	2–0	5–0	Euro 1996 qualifier
17				5–0
18	6 June 1998	King Baudouin Stadium, Brussels	Paraguay	1–0	1–0	Friendly

Honours

Anderlecht

• Belgian First Division: 1984–85, 1985–86, 1986–87, 1999–2000
• Belgian Supercup: 1985
• Belgian League Cup: 2000
• UEFA Cup: runners-up 1983–84
• Jules Pappaert Cup: 1983, 1985, 2000
• Bruges Matins: 1985'
• Belgian Sports Team of the Year: 2000'

Monaco

• Division 1: 1996–97

Torino

• Coppa Italia: 1992–93
• UEFA Cup: runners-up 1991–92

Belgium

• FIFA World Cup: fourth place 1986

Individual

• Belgian Golden Shoe: 1984
• Ballon d'Or nominations: 1984, 1990, 1992, 1993
• 4 FIFA World Cup participations: 1986, 1990, 1994, 1998
• FIFA World Cup Best Young Player: 1986
• FIFA World Cup All-Star Team: 1990
• La Gazzetta dello Sport + Associated Press + Match World Cup All-Star Team: 1990
• French Division 1 Foreign Player of the Year: 1990
• Belgian Professional Footballer of the Year: 1990–91
• Onze Mondial: 1993
• Platina 11 (Best Team in 50 Years Golden Shoe Winners): 2003
• The Best Golden Shoe Team Ever: 2011
• RBFA 125 Years Icons Team: 2020
• IFFHS All Time Belgium Dream Team: 2021

See also

In Spanish: Enzo Scifo para niños