Arrigo Sacchi

Arrigo Sacchi (born 1 April 1946) is an Italian former football executive and manager, best known for having managed AC Milan and the Italy national team. Regarded as one of the greatest managers of all time, his Milan side (1987–1991) is widely regarded to be one of the greatest club squads of all time.

Sacchi won the Serie A title in his debut season and then dominated European football by winning back to back European Cups in 1989 and 1990. From 1991 to 1996, he was head coach of Italy and 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 and, for many years, worked as a shoe salesman. This led to his famous quote directed at those who questioned his qualifications: "I never realised that in order to become a jockey you have to have been a horse first." Another famous Sacchi quote is that "football is the most important of the least important things in life".

Career

Early career Sacchi had grown up watching attacking sides, such as Budapest Honvéd, Real Madrid, Brazil and the Netherlands. He started his career managing his local club, Baracca Lugo, because he was not good enough to play for them. Of the challenge he faced, Sacchi said, "I was twenty-six, my goalkeeper was thirty-nine and my centre-forward was thirty-two. I had to win them over." He next coached at Bellaria before joining Cesena, who were in the Serie B, as a youth team coach. He then took over at Rimini, who were playing in the Serie C1, and almost led them to a title.

He received his breakthrough when he moved to Fiorentina as a youth coach. His achievements with the youth team earned interest from Parma, who were then playing in Serie C1. He led Parma to promotion in his first season, and in the following season took them to within 3 points of promotion to Serie A. Of greater importance to his time at Parma, however, was the team's performance in the Coppa Italia; they beat AC Milan 1–0 in the group stages, and beat them again 1–0 on aggregate in the first knockout round. This was enough to attract interest from Milan club owner Silvio Berlusconi, who promptly appointed Sacchi as manager.

AC Milan In Milan, Sacchi again faced problems of credibility. The press argued that such an inadequate player could never go on to be a successful coach, and that even Berlusconi – who had played football at amateur level – was probably a better player. Sacchi wittily replied, "I never realised that in order to become a jockey you have to have been a horse first."

Sacchi's success at Milan gained him two back-to-back European Cups.

Sacchi led Italy through the qualification campaign to reach the 1994 FIFA World Cup. Despite losing their first match 1–0 to the Republic of Ireland and finishing third in their group, Italy reached the final (their first since 1982), where they were defeated by Brazil in a penalty shoot-out, the first ever shootout in a World Cup final. Under Sacchi, Italy qualified for UEFA Euro 1996, but were eliminated in the group stage from a group which included the eventual finalists, Germany and the Czech Republic.

Later coaching and executive career After leaving his position with the national team, Sacchi returned to Milan to replace Óscar Tabárez in December 1996. However, the second spell was unsuccessful with Milan finishing 11th in the league and suffering its worst ever Serie A defeat, losing 6–1 at home to eventual champions Juventus. He later returned to Madrid, this time at the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium as director of football at Real Madrid for the 2004–05 season.

Management style, reception, and influence Nicknamed "The Prophet of Fusignano", Sacchi is regarded as one of the greatest managers of all time. discarding the traditional libero in an era where Italian football was mainly focussed on strong defensive play, and Helenio Herrera's Catenaccio tactics were still a strong influence. indeed, the defensive quartet of Maldini, Baresi, Costacurta, and Tassotti, which Sacchi deployed both at Milan and with the Italy national team, is regarded as one of the greatest defences of all-time.

Sacchi believes in the Dutch concept of Total Football, This style of pressing has been emulated successfully by José Mourinho's Porto, and Jupp Heynckes's Bayern Munich. His successor at Milan, Fabio Capello, retained aspects of Sacchi's tactics and went on to win four Scudetti in five seasons and the 1993–94 Champions League.

Sacchi was a firm believer in team ethic, work ethic, discipline and treating all players as equals, once saying, "The only way you can build a side is by getting players who speak the same language and can play a team game. You can't achieve anything on your own, and if you do, it doesn't last long. I often quote what Michelangelo said: 'The spirit guides the hand.'" To perfect his team's cohesion, Sacchi introduced "shadow play", where his players would simulate a match in training without a football. Throughout his career, he clashed with several of his players, including Marco Van Basten, Gianluca Vialli, and Roberto Baggio, as well as manager Fabio Capello.

Sacchi has been frequently imitated in television by Italian comedian Maurizio Crozza.

Career statistics

Honours Parma Serie A: 1987–88 Supercoppa Italiana: 1988 European Cup: 1988–89, 1989–90 European Super Cup: 1989, 1990 Intercontinental Cup: 1989, 1990 Coppa Italia runner-up: 1989–90

Italy Greatest Manager of All Time – one of 5 managers ranked top 10 by France Football, World Soccer and ESPN 3rd place (France Football): 2019 6th place (World Soccer): 2013 6th place (ESPN): 2013 6th place (FourFourTwo): 2023 Sports Illustrated Greatest Manager of All Time: 2nd place (2019) Italian Football Hall of Fame: 2011 UEFA President's Award: 2022