Giuseppe Bergomi

Verified Timeline

Lore & Background

A one-club man, Bergomi held the record of most appearances for the club for several years, while also being the side's longtime captain. He was affectionately referred to as "Lo zio" ("the uncle") because of his bushy eyebrows and the impressive moustache he wore even as a youngster, which reminded teammate Gianpiero Marini of his own uncle's appearance. Bergomi works as a pundit at Sky Sports Italia and frequently co-commentates on Serie A matches alongside Fabio Caressa.

In Their Own Story

With Italy, Bergomi won the 1982 FIFA World Cup. He made his debut on 14 April 1982 in a 0–1 friendly loss in East Germany, aged only 18 years and 3 months, making him the youngest player to feature in a match for Italy post-World War II. He was included in the Italy team for the World Cup in Spain later that year, becoming the youngest Italian player ever to be called up for a World Cup. In the victorious tournament, he appeared in three games, including Italy's 3–2 second round victory against Brazil in their final group match, where he put in a strong performance after coming on for the injured defender Fulvio Collovati, marking opposing striker Serginho Chulapa, despite later deflecting Paulo Roberto Falcão's shot into his own net; the result allowed Italy to advance to the semi-final ahead of Brazil and Argentina in the so-called "Group of Death." At the age of 18 years and 195 days, Bergomi was the youngest Italian player ever to have appeared at a World Cup. Due to Gentile's suspension ahead of the semi-final against Poland, coupled with an injury to goalkeeper Dino Zoff, Bergomi started the match, keeping a clean sheet in the 2–0 victory. An injury to playmaker Giancarlo Antognoni also allowed Bergomi to start in the 3–1 final victory over West Germany, where he effectively marked German forward Karl-Heinz Rummenigge, despite picking up a minor injury in the first half, and even participated in the lead-up to the second goal of the match, scored by Marco Tardelli. Aged 18 years and 201 days, at the time, he was the second youngest player ever to win the title, after Brazil's Pelé, who won the tournament at the age of 17 years and 249 days in 1958.

Reader's Guide

Bergomi made his professional debut at age 16 in the 1979–80 Coppa Italia against Juventus. He won the Coppa Italia in 1981–82, the Scudetto in 1988–89, and the UEFA Cup three times (1990–91, 1993–94, 1997–98). He retired in 1999 with 758 appearances for Inter, a club record until overtaken by Javier Zanetti in September 2011. He scored 28 goals for Inter. With 96 appearances, he holds the record for most appearances in the UEFA Cup. He made 117 appearances in UEFA club competitions without scoring. With Italy, he won the 1982 FIFA World Cup, played in the 1986 and 1990 World Cups (captaining in 1990), UEFA Euro 1988, and the 1998 World Cup. He earned 81 caps and scored 6 goals for Italy.

Did You Know?

• Bergomi is one of only five Italian players to have appeared in four FIFA World Cups.
• He was the youngest Italian player ever to appear at a World Cup, debuting at age 18 years and 195 days in 1982.
• He scored his first two international goals in a 2–0 friendly win against Greece on 8 October 1986, becoming the first Italian defender to score a brace at international level.
• He was named to the FIFA World Cup All-Star Team in 1990.