Marco Tardelli

Verified Timeline

Lore & Background

Tardelli was born at Capanne di Careggine, in the province of Lucca (Tuscany). He started his career in the Italian Serie C with the club of Pisa in 1972. Two years later he played in the Serie B with Como before joining Serie A giants Juventus the next year, in October 1975. During his decade-long stint at the Turin club, he enjoyed much success, as he became one of the first three players ever to win all the three major European competitions, alongside teammates Antonio Cabrini and Gaetano Scirea: the UEFA Cup in 1977, the Cup Winners' Cup in 1984, and the European Cup in 1985. With Juventus, he also won five Italian Serie A championships, and two Coppa Italia titles, as well as the 1984 European Super Cup. He scored the decisive goal during the first leg of the 1977 UEFA Cup final against Athletic Bilbao, which allowed him and Juventus to win their first ever European title. In total, Tardelli played 376 games with Juventus and scored 51 goals. He left the Turin club in 1985, moving on to rivals Inter Milan, where he remained until 1987, before ending his career in 1988, after a season with Swiss side St. Gallen. Tardelli made his international debut on 7 April 1976 against Portugal. He played at the 1978 World Cup and the 1980 European Championship on home soil, reaching the semi-final and earning fourth-place finishes in both tournaments, and being named as a member of the team of the tournament at Euro 80. He performed especially well during Italy's 1982 World Cup-winning campaign, scoring twice. His first came in a second-round group stage win against Argentina, and his memorable second goal of the tournament was scored in the final against West Germany, with a left footed strike from outside the area. With tears in his eyes, he ran towards the Italian bench, fists clenched in front of his chest, screaming "Gol! Gol!" as he shook his head wildly. This celebration has been called the "Tardelli cry", and was considered one of the defining images of Italy's 1982 World Cup triumph. He won a total of 81 caps for Italy, playing his final game for them against Norway in September 1985, and also served as Italy's captain between 1983 and 1985. He was part of the squad for 1986 FIFA World Cup, but did not play. He retired as a player in 1988.

In Their Own Story

In the first leg of the 1977 UEFA Cup final against Athletic Bilbao, Tardelli scored the decisive goal that secured Juventus's first-ever European title. His most famous moment came later in his career during the 1982 World Cup final for Italy, where he scored a left-footed strike from outside the area against West Germany. After scoring, he ran toward the bench with tears streaming down his face, fists clenched, screaming 'Gol! Gol!' while shaking his head wildly—a celebration later named the fourth greatest World Cup moment of all time by the BBC in 2014.

Reader's Guide

Tardelli started his managing career as head coach of the Under 16 Italy national team in 1988, immediately after his retirement. Two years later, he became the assistant coach of Cesare Maldini for the Under 21 team. In 1993, he switched to Como of Serie C1. He led Como to promotion into Serie B, but was unable to avoid relegation. In 1995, he took over Cesena, another Serie B team. Tardelli would spend three seasons with Cesena before leaving to become head coach of the Italian Under 21 team. He won the Under 21 European Championship, the following year, and also coached the Italian side which took part at the 2000 Summer Olympics, reaching the quarter-finals. His success with the Italian Under 21 side led Tardelli to become the manager of Inter Milan for the 2000–01 season. His tenure with the Nerazzurri would be short; following a string of embarrassing defeats especially a 6–0 defeat to local rivals AC Milan, Tardelli was fired in June 2001. Tardelli did not have much luck in the coaching jobs that followed, which included spells with Bari, the Egyptian national team and Arezzo. Tardelli served for a short time as part of the administrative council of his former club Juventus in 2006, before resigning in 2007 allegedly due to differences with the hierarchy regarding the direction the club was heading towards. In February 2008, he joined the coaching staff of the Republic of Ireland national team as an assistant manager to the recently appointed Giovanni Trapattoni. He was reunited with former Juventus teammate Liam Brady, who was also named as Trapattoni's assistant. Tardelli parted ways with the Republic of Ireland national team on 11 September 2013 by mutual consent, after a defeat by Austria the previous day.

Did You Know?

• Tardelli's iconic goal celebration in the 1982 World Cup final was named the fourth greatest World Cup moment of all time by the BBC in 2014.
• He was one of the first three players ever to win all three major UEFA club competitions, alongside Antonio Cabrini and Gaetano Scirea.
• Tardelli was given the nickname 'Schizzo' by Juventus teammate Luciano Spinosi due to his great pace and slender build.
• He served as Italy's national team captain between 1983 and 1985.