Arrigo Sacchi

Arrigo Sacchi (born 1 April 1946) is an Italian former football manager and executive, most famous for his time in charge of AC Milan and the Italy national team. He is considered one of the sport's finest managers, and his Milan team from 1987 to 1991 is often ranked among the greatest club sides ever. Sacchi won the Serie A title in his first season and then conquered Europe, securing consecutive European Cup victories in 1989 and 1990. He later managed Italy from 1991 to 1996, guiding them to the 1994 World Cup final, where they fell to Brazil on penalties.

Sacchi never played professional football and spent years working as a shoe salesman. This background prompted his famous retort to critics: "I never realised that in order to become a jockey you have to have been a horse first." Another well-known Sacchi quote is that "football is the most important of the least important things in life." Sacchi grew up watching attacking teams like Budapest Honvéd, Real Madrid, Brazil, and the Netherlands.

He began managing his local club, Baracca Lugo, after realizing he wasn't good enough to play for them. He later coached at Bellaria, then became a youth coach at Cesena in Serie B. After that, he took over Rimini in Serie C1, nearly winning the title. His big break came as a youth coach at Fiorentina, which led to a job at Parma in Serie C1. He got Parma promoted in his first season and nearly took them to Serie A the next year.

More importantly, Parma knocked AC Milan out of the Coppa Italia, catching the attention of Milan owner Silvio Berlusconi, who hired him. At Milan, Sacchi faced more doubts about his credentials. The press argued that a poor player couldn't become a successful coach, and that even Berlusconi—an amateur player—was probably better. Sacchi's witty reply was his jockey-and-horse remark.

He was an instant success, winning Milan's first Serie A title in nine years in his debut season, followed by the Supercoppa Italiana in 1988. His success was built on the Dutch trio of Marco van Basten, Ruud Gullit, and Frank Rijkaard, along with key players like Roberto Donadoni and the defensive line of Franco Baresi, Alessandro Costacurta, Mauro Tassotti, and Paolo Maldini. Sacchi won back-to-back European Cups. In 1989, Milan beat Steaua București 4–0 in the final, with two goals each from Gullit and Van Basten.

They had crushed Real Madrid 6–1 on aggregate in the semi-final. The quarter-final against Werder Bremen was tight, decided by a Van Basten penalty. The second round was controversial: Donadoni's life was saved by a Red Star Belgrade physio who broke his jaw to let him breathe after a bad foul. The first leg ended 1–1, and the second leg was abandoned in thick fog (Milan trailing 1–0) and replayed the next day, with Milan advancing on penalties.

In 1990, Milan beat HJK Helsinki, Real Madrid, and KV Mechelen, then eliminated Bayern Munich on away goals in the semi-final. In the final, Rijkaard scored the only goal from a Van Basten assist to beat Benfica. Milan became the first team to retain the trophy since 1980, a feat unmatched until Real Madrid did it 27 years later. Sacchi also won consecutive European Super Cups and Intercontinental Cups in 1989 and 1990.

He led Milan to the 1990 Coppa Italia final, where they lost to Juventus. His final season saw Milan lose to eventual runners-up Marseille in the European Cup quarter-final, finish second in Serie A behind Sampdoria, and exit the Coppa Italia semi-finals to eventual winners Roma. In November 1991, Sacchi replaced Azeglio Vicini as Italy's head coach. He built the team around Milan players, especially in defense with Maldini and Baresi, while the attack featured 1993 Ballon d'Or winner Roberto Baggio of Juventus.

Notable omissions from his squads included Gianluca Vialli, Roberto Mancini, Giuseppe Bergomi, and Walter Zenga. Sacchi guided Italy through qualification for the 1994 World Cup. Despite losing their opening match 1–0 to the Republic of Ireland and finishing third in their group, Italy reached the final—their first since 1982—where they lost to Brazil on penalties, the first shootout in a World Cup final.