Marcello Lippi facts for kids
Lippi as China manager in 2019
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| Personal information | ||||||||||||||||
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| Full name | Marcello Romeo Lippi | |||||||||||||||
| Date of birth | 12 April 1948 | |||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Viareggio, Italy | |||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.82 m | |||||||||||||||
| Playing position | Sweeper | |||||||||||||||
| Youth career | ||||||||||||||||
| 1963–1969 | Viareggio | |||||||||||||||
| Senior career* | ||||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | Apps† | (Gls)† | |||||||||||||
| 1969–1979 | Sampdoria | 274 | (5) | |||||||||||||
| 1969–1970 | → Savona (loan) | 21 | (2) | |||||||||||||
| 1979–1981 | Pistoiese | 45 | (0) | |||||||||||||
| 1981–1982 | Lucchese | 23 | (0) | |||||||||||||
| Total | 363 | (7) | ||||||||||||||
| National team | ||||||||||||||||
| 1971 | Italy U23 | 2 | (0) | |||||||||||||
| Teams managed | ||||||||||||||||
| 1982–1985 | Sampdoria (youth team) | |||||||||||||||
| 1985–1986 | Pontedera | |||||||||||||||
| 1986–1987 | Siena | |||||||||||||||
| 1987–1988 | Pistoiese | |||||||||||||||
| 1988–1989 | Carrarese | |||||||||||||||
| 1989–1991 | Cesena | |||||||||||||||
| 1991–1992 | Lucchese | |||||||||||||||
| 1992–1993 | Atalanta | |||||||||||||||
| 1993–1994 | Napoli | |||||||||||||||
| 1994–1999 | Juventus | |||||||||||||||
| 1999–2000 | Inter Milan | |||||||||||||||
| 2001–2004 | Juventus | |||||||||||||||
| 2004–2006 | Italy | |||||||||||||||
| 2008–2010 | Italy | |||||||||||||||
| 2012–2014 | Guangzhou Evergrande | |||||||||||||||
| 2016–2019 | China | |||||||||||||||
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Honours
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Marcello Romeo Lippi (born 12 April 1948) is a famous Italian former professional football player and manager. He is best known for leading the Italian national team to win the 2006 FIFA World Cup.
Throughout his amazing career as a manager, he won many important titles. These include one World Cup, five Serie A titles (Italy's top league), and three Chinese Super League titles. He also won the UEFA Champions League and the AFC Champions League. Lippi is the first and only coach to win both the UEFA Champions League (Europe's top club competition) and the AFC Champions League (Asia's top club competition). He is also the first coach to win the biggest club competitions on different continents and the World Cup with a national team.
Many people consider Lippi to be one of the greatest and most successful football managers ever. In 2007, The Times newspaper put him on their list of the top 50 managers of all time. He was named the world's best football manager by the International Federation of Football History & Statistics (IFFHS) in 1996 and 1998. He was also named the world's best national team coach in 2006.
Contents
Playing Career: A Defender's Journey
Marcello Lippi was born in Viareggio, Italy. He started his professional football career as a defender in 1969. He played most of his years as a player for Sampdoria from 1969 to 1978. He also spent a year on loan at Savona. In 1979, he joined Pistoiese and helped them get promoted to Serie A, Italy's top league. He finished his playing career with Lucchese.
Coaching Career: From Youth Teams to World Champions
Starting Out as a Coach
Lippi stopped playing football in 1982 when he was 34 years old. He then decided to become a coach. He started by coaching youth teams at Genoa's club, Sampdoria. After coaching in Italy's lower leagues, he became a head coach in Serie A in 1989 with Cesena. Later, he coached Lucchese and Atalanta. A big moment for Lippi came in the 1993–94 season when he led Napoli to qualify for the UEFA Cup.
Leading Juventus to Glory
Because of his success at Napoli, top clubs in Serie A wanted Lippi as their manager. Juventus was the club that signed him. In his very first season, he won the Serie A title and the Coppa Italia. He also reached the 1995 UEFA Cup final. His team included future stars like Alessandro Del Piero and experienced players like Gianluca Vialli.
The next season, Lippi guided Juventus to win the 1995 Supercoppa Italiana and the 1995–96 UEFA Champions League titles. With new key players like Zinedine Zidane joining, Juventus continued to win. They won two more league titles, the 1996 UEFA Super Cup, and the 1996 Intercontinental Cup. They also reached two more Champions League finals.
A Short Time at Inter Milan
After five very successful seasons at Juventus, Lippi moved to Inter Milan in 1999. He led the club to a fourth-place finish in the league and the 2000 Coppa Italia final. However, he was let go early in the next season after a disappointing start.
Returning to Juventus for More Wins
Lippi returned to Juventus as head coach for the 2001–02 season. Even though some key players left, the club brought in new talents like Pavel Nedvěd and Gianluigi Buffon. Under Lippi, Juventus won two more Serie A titles and two more Italian Supercup titles. They also reached the 2003 UEFA Champions League final. Juventus lost that final to Milan in a penalty shootout.
Coaching the Italian National Team
In July 2004, Lippi became the coach of the Italian national team. The team easily qualified for the FIFA World Cup finals. Friendly match victories against strong teams like the Netherlands and Germany made people hopeful. During the 2006 season, Lippi faced some challenges due to events happening in Italian football.
During the 2006 World Cup, Lippi was praised for using many different players and changing his tactics. This allowed his star players, Francesco Totti and Andrea Pirlo, to play well together. Italy's team was strong both in attack and defense. They scored 12 goals with 10 different players finding the net. Their defense was also very strong, only letting in two goals throughout the whole tournament.
Lippi led Italy all the way to the final. They beat France 5-3 in a penalty shootout after a 1-1 draw. After winning the World Cup, Lippi said it was his "most satisfying moment as a coach." He left his role as Italy's coach three days after the final.
Lippi returned to coach Italy again in June 2008. Italy qualified for the 2010 FIFA World Cup. However, their performance in the 2010 World Cup was very poor. They drew with Paraguay and New Zealand, and then lost to Slovakia. Italy finished last in their group. Lippi resigned after this disappointing result.
Success in China with Guangzhou Evergrande
On 17 May 2012, Lippi became the manager of the Chinese club Guangzhou Evergrande. He signed a two-and-a-half-year deal. In his first season, he won both the league and the domestic cup titles.
In 2013, Lippi led Guangzhou Evergrande to the 2013 AFC Champions League final for the first time. They also won their third straight Chinese Super League title. In the AFC Champions League final, his team defeated FC Seoul to win the club's first Asian title. This was the first continental title for a Chinese club in 23 years. Lippi also led the club to a fourth-place finish in the 2013 FIFA Club World Cup. He announced his retirement from coaching in November 2014 after winning his fourth league title with Guangzhou.
Coaching the China National Team
On 22 October 2016, Lippi was appointed manager of the China national team. He coached the team in the 2019 AFC Asian Cup. China won two group matches before losing to South Korea. They then beat Thailand to reach the quarter-finals. China was knocked out by Iran after a 3-0 defeat. Lippi then left his role as head coach.
He was re-appointed as China's head coach in May 2019. However, he resigned again in November of the same year after a 2-1 defeat to Syria. On 22 October 2020, Lippi officially announced his retirement from coaching.
Coaching Style: Teamwork and Smart Tactics
Marcello Lippi is known for his smart coaching style. He believes that team spirit and unity are very important. He thinks a team that works well together is like a healthy family. For him, players must follow the same plan and play for each other, not just for themselves.
Lippi always said that a group of the best players doesn't always make the best team. What matters more is that the team's plan allows each player to use their skills to help their teammates and show their full potential. He also believed that the best tactical plan depends on the players you have. So, he would choose the right players for a formation, and also the right formation for his players.
Many experts see Lippi as one of the best managers ever. He was good at combining older and newer football ideas. His teams knew how to defend well and also how to attack strongly. They could let opponents come to them and then quickly counterattack. But they could also take the game to the other team and pressure them high up the pitch. Balance was key for Lippi. He often changed his starting lineup and adapted his tactics based on the opponent.
Lippi was also known for his ability to change formations during a game. For example, during the 2006 World Cup, he often changed Italy's formation to make sure his star players, Totti and Pirlo, could play together effectively. His teams were flexible and hard-working.
Many players who played for Lippi, like Didier Deschamps and Antonio Conte, later became successful managers themselves. They have said that Lippi was a big influence on them. They praised his ability to motivate players and clearly share his ideas. He made sure his teams had a strong winning mindset.
Honours and Achievements
Manager
- Juventus
- Serie A: 1994–95, 1996–97, 1997–98, 2001–02, 2002–03
- Coppa Italia: 1994–95
- Supercoppa Italiana: 1995, 1997, 2002, 2003
- UEFA Champions League: 1995–96; runner-up: 1996–97, 1997–98, 2002–03
- UEFA Super Cup: 1996
- Intercontinental Cup: 1996
- Guangzhou Evergrande
- Chinese Super League: 2012, 2013, 2014
- Chinese FA Cup: 2012
- Chinese FA Super Cup: 2012
- AFC Champions League: 2013
- Italy
- FIFA World Cup: 2006
Individual Awards
- UEFA Club Coach of the Year: 1997–98
- Serie A Coach of the Year: 1997, 1998, 2003
- IFFHS World's Best National Coach: 2006
- IFFHS World's Best Club Coach: 1996, 1998
- World Soccer World Manager of the Year: 2006
- Italian Football Hall of Fame: 2011
- Chinese Football Association Coach of the Year: 2013
- World Soccer 13th Greatest Manager of All Time: 2013
- ESPN 15th Greatest Manager of All Time: 2013
- France Football 16th Greatest Manager of All Time: 2019
- Golden Foot Award Legends: 2018
Orders
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CONI: Golden Palm of Technical Merit: Palma d'oro al Merito Tecnico: 2006
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3rd Class / Commander: Commendatore Ordine al Merito della Repubblica Italiana: 2006
Records
- First Coach to win both UEFA Champions League and World Cup
- First Coach to win both UEFA Champions League and AFC Champions League
- Lippi and Vicente del Bosque are the only two Coaches to have won both World Cup and UEFA Champions League
- Coach with the most runner-up medals in UEFA Champions League (tied with Jurgen Klopp): 3 (all with Juventus)
- Coach with the most runner-up medals in European Competitions: 4 (all with Juventus)
- Coach with second most Serie A titles: 5 (all with Juventus)
- Second longest serving coach for Juventus: 405 matches
- Second longest serving coach for a single club in Serie A: 405 matches with Juventus
Images for kids
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Lippi at the 2010 International Journalism Festival
See also
In Spanish: Marcello Lippi para niños
