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Giacinto Facchetti

Facchetti with Inter Milan in the 1966–67 season

Personal information

Full name

Giacinto Facchetti

Date of birth

18 July 1942

Place of birth

Treviglio, Bergamo, Italy

Date of death

4 September 2006 (aged 64)

Place of death

Milan, Italy

Height

1.91 m

Playing position

Left-back

Youth career

1956

GSD Mario Zanconti

1957–1960

Trevigliese

Senior career*

Years

Team

Apps^†

(Gls)^†

1960–1978

Inter Milan

476

(59)

National team

1964

Italy U21

(0)

1963–1977

Italy

(3)

Honours

Men's football

Representing Italy
UEFA European Championship
Winner	1968 Italy
FIFA World Cup
Runner-up	1970 Mexico

Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only.

† Appearances (Goals).

Giacinto Facchetti (born 18 July 1942 – died 4 September 2006) was a famous Italian football player. He played as a left-back for Inter Milan from 1960 to 1978. After he stopped playing, he became the chairman of Inter Milan from 2004 until he passed away in 2006.

Facchetti played 634 official games for Inter Milan and scored 75 goals. He was a key part of the "Grande Inter" team. This team was led by manager Helenio Herrera and won many titles. They won four Serie A titles, one Coppa Italia, two European Cups, and two Intercontinental Cups. In 1965, he was voted the second-best player in Europe for the Ballon d'Or award.

He also played for the Italian national team 94 times. He played in three FIFA World Cups. In 1970, Italy reached the World Cup final, and Facchetti was chosen for the All-Star Team. He was also the captain when Italy won their first ever UEFA European Championship in 1968. He was named to the team of the tournament for that competition too.

Facchetti is remembered as one of the first great attacking defenders. He was known for his speed, skill, smart play, and strength. He was also praised for his good behavior and leadership on the field. In 2004, the legendary player Pelé named him one of the Top 125 greatest living footballers. In 2015, he was added to the Italian Football Hall of Fame.

Playing for Inter Milan
Playing for Italy
How he played
After his playing career
- Debate about Calciopoli
Legacy and Awards
Career statistics
- Club
- International
Honours and Achievements
See also

Playing for Inter Milan

Facchetti (standing, first from left) with the 1970–71 Inter Milan team.

Giacinto Facchetti was born in Treviglio, Italy. He started his football journey as a forward because he was fast and had a powerful shot. While playing for a team called Trevigliese, he was noticed by Helenio Herrera. Herrera was the manager of Inter Milan.

Herrera saw Facchetti's potential and moved him to play as an attacking full-back on the left side. This was a big change, but it worked out very well. Facchetti became one of the best defenders in Italian football. He played alongside another great defender, Tarcisio Burgnich.

Facchetti's new style was special. He was one of the first defenders who would run forward to join attacks. This was new for defenders at the time. His style was perfect for Herrera's "Grande Inter" team. This team used a strong defensive system called catenaccio, but they also launched quick attacks. Facchetti helped defend well and also scored many goals and made assists. He once held the record for the most goals scored by a defender in a single Serie A season, with 10 goals in 1965–66.

Facchetti played his whole professional career with Inter Milan. He later became the team's captain. With Inter, he won four Italian league titles (called scudetti) in 1963, 1965, 1966, and 1971. He also won one Italian Cup in 1978. On top of that, he won two European Cups in 1964 and 1965, and two Intercontinental Cups in 1964 and 1965.

In 1965, Facchetti almost won the Ballon d'Or, finishing second. He scored 59 goals in Serie A, which makes him the defender with the most goals in the history of the Italian league.

Playing for Italy

Italian captain Facchetti lifts the Euro 1968 trophy.

Facchetti played his first game for the Italian national team on 23 March 1963. He played 94 times for Italy, which was a record at the time. He was captain for 70 of those games and scored three goals. He is currently the ninth player with the most appearances for Italy.

He played for Italy in the 1966, 1970, and 1974 FIFA World Cups. He was the captain in the 1970 and 1974 World Cups. Facchetti also led the Italian team to win the European Championship in 1968. He was chosen for the Team of the Tournament in that competition.

In the 1970 World Cup, he helped Italy reach the final. However, they lost to Brazil. He was also named to the Team of the Tournament for the 1970 World Cup.

How he played

Facchetti is known as one of the best full-backs ever. He was fast, strong, and had great skill. These qualities allowed him to be an excellent attacking full-back. He used to be a forward and midfielder, so he knew how to run down the left side of the field. He would get into good positions to score goals or help his teammates score. This was very unusual for defenders back then.

He was a strong, elegant, and hard-working player. He was good at heading the ball and could use both feet well. He was also great at passing and controlling the ball. Even when he got older and lost some speed, he was still a strong defender. He could play as a sweeper because he was smart and could read the game well. He was also known for his good behavior on the field. He was only sent off (given a red card) once in his whole career.

After his playing career

Facchetti in 2002.

After retiring from playing, Facchetti held many important jobs at Inter Milan. He was a technical director, a board member, and a vice-chairman. On 19 January 2004, he became the chairman of Inter Milan.

Sadly, Giacinto Facchetti passed away on 4 September 2006, after a long illness. He is remembered as a true legend of football.

Debate about Calciopoli

After his death, there was some discussion about Facchetti's role in the Calciopoli events. This was a big football scandal in Italy. Some people accused him of having special relationships that could have helped Inter Milan.

However, the official investigation could not prove these claims. The time limit for these accusations had passed. Many people, including Inter Milan's former president Massimo Moratti, strongly defended Facchetti. They said the accusations were unfair and wrong.

Later, in 2010, another person made similar accusations against Facchetti. Facchetti's son sued this person for making false statements. The court decided that the person was not guilty of making false statements. The judge said there was some truth to the idea that Facchetti had a "friendly and special" relationship with referees. However, it's important to remember that these were discussions and not proven criminal charges against Facchetti.

Legacy and Awards

Facchetti in 1969 with his famous number 3 shirt. Inter Milan later retired this number in his honor.

In March 2004, the famous football player Pelé chose Facchetti as one of the Top 125 greatest living footballers.

After Facchetti passed away in 2006, he was honored in many ways. He was named a Golden Foot "Football Legend". He also received the FIFA Presidential Award. Because he was known for his good behavior and honesty, a special award was created in his name. It's called the Premio internazionale Giacinto Facchetti. This award is given every year to a football person who shows honesty and good sportsmanship.

His old club, Inter Milan, also honored him by retiring his number 3 shirt. This means no other player at Inter Milan can wear the number 3 shirt again. In 2008, a square in the town of Cesano Maderno was named after him. Facchetti is also featured in the video game FIFA 14 as part of an all-star team. In 2015, he was added to the Italian Football Hall of Fame.

Career statistics

Club

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club	Season	League			Coppa Italia		Europe		Total
Club	Season	Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Inter Milan	1960–61	Serie A	3	1	–		1	0	4	1
	1961–62		15	0	–		6	0	21	0
	1962–63		31	4	2	0	–		33	4
	1963–64		33	4	–		9	0	42	4
	1964–65		32	2	3	0	6	1	41	3
	1965–66		32	10	1	0	5	2	38	12
	1966–67		34	4	2	0	10	2	46	6
	1967–68		28	7	9	2	–		37	9
	1968–69		30	6	3	1	–		33	7
	1969–70		28	5	6	1	8	0	42	6
	1970–71		30	5	3	0	2	0	35	5
	1971–72		27	4	8	1	9	1	44	6
	1972–73		29	1	10	3	5	0	44	4
	1973–74		28	2	7	0	2	0	37	2
	1974–75		23	0	8	1	3	0	34	1
	1975–76		28	3	10	0	–		38	3
	1976–77		27	1	9	1	1	0	37	2
	1977–78		18	0	4	0	1	0	23	0
Career total			476	59	85	10	68	6	629	75

International

Appearances and goals by national team and year
National team	Year	Apps	Goals
Italy	1963	5	0
	1964	4	1
	1965	7	1
	1966	10	0
	1967	6	1
	1968	6	0
	1969	6	0
	1970	11	0
	1971	6	0
	1972	3	0
	1973	7	0
	1974	6	0
	1975	6	0
	1976	7	0
	1977	4	0
Total		94	3

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

List of international goals scored by Giacinto Facchetti
No.	Date	Venue	Opponent	Result	Competition
1	4 November 1964	Stadio Luigi Ferraris, Genoa, Italy	Finland	6–1	1966 FIFA World Cup qualification
2	7 December 1965	Stadio San Paolo, Naples, Italy	Scotland	3–0	1966 FIFA World Cup qualification
3	22 March 1967	GSP Stadium, Nicosia, Cyprus	Cyprus	2–0	Euro 1968 qualification