Ciro Ferrara

Italian defender who won eight Serie A titles with Napoli and Juventus, later managed Juventus and the Italy under-21 team.

Ciro Ferrara (Italian pronunciation: [ˈtʃiːro ferˈraːra]; born 11 February 1967) is an Italian former footballer and manager. Ferrara spent his playing career as a defender, initially at Napoli and later on at Juventus, winning eight total Serie A titles as well as other domestic and international trophies. His most recent position was as manager of Wuhan Zall. He had also previously coached Juventus and the Italy national under-21 team. As an assistant coach to Marcello Lippi, he won the 2006 FIFA World Cup with Italy. At international level, he earned 49 caps for the Italian national team and represented the team at the 1988 Summer Olympics, at two UEFA European Championships, in 1988 and 2000, and at the 1990 World Cup.

Quick Facts

Born: 11 February 1967
Birthplace: Naples, Italy
Height: 1.80 m / 5 ft 11 in
Position: Defender
Total caps: 500
Total goals: 27

Lore & Background

A native of Naples, Ferrara began his career with the youth system of hometown club Napoli in 1980. He graduated from the primavera youth squad in 1984 and made 14 total appearances with the club in his first full season. The following season, he became a part of the starting XI. He scored one of Napoli's goals as they won the 1989 UEFA Cup final.

With Napoli he won two Serie A titles (1986–87 and 1989–90), the 1987 Coppa Italia, and the 1990 Supercoppa Italiana. In the summer of 1994, Ferrara transferred to Juventus under coach Marcello Lippi. He captained the team from 1995 to 1996, but his role as captain was taken over by Alessandro Del Piero in 1996. He won six Serie A titles with Juventus, two Coppa Italia titles (one with each team), three Supercoppa Italiana titles (two with Juventus, one with Napoli), and several European competitions including the UEFA Champions League, UEFA Cup, Intercontinental Cup and European Super Cup.

In the 1996–97 season, he scored 4 goals in 32 Serie A matches. He retired from football in May 2005 at age 38, making just four Serie A appearances in his final season. Following Juventus' involvement in the 2006 Calciopoli scandal, Juventus' 2004–05 title was later revoked.

Reader's Guide

Ferrara was known for his composure, anticipation, technical ability, and versatility as a defender. Although primarily a centre-back, he was capable of playing across the back line, including as a man-marker or as a right-back. He is regarded as one of the leading Italian centre-backs of his generation. Welsh former winger Ryan Giggs described Ferrara and his defensive teammate Paolo Montero as '...the toughest defenders [he] played against'.

Polish former midfielder Zbigniew Boniek stated that Ferrara was the best defender that he ever faced. Ferrara was considered to be an experienced, consistent, cautious and successful defender, with good positional sense, quick, athletic, strong in the air, a good tackler, and someone who excelled at reading the game and marking his opponents. He was also known for his offensive contribution as a centre-back and could play as a sweeper. Despite his tenacious playing style, he was known to be a fair and correct player, with professionalism, leadership, strong personality, and commanding presence.