Giacinto Facchetti was born in Treviglio, Bergamo province on 18 July 1942. A gifted all-round sportsman in his youth, he played football for his local team and achieved good results in youth athletics championships. At the age of sixteen he was already a promising young player courted by Bergamo-based side Atalanta and Inter. Facchetti chose the Milanese Nerazzurri, and would go on to become a legend.
Facchetti made his Italian top-flight debut on 21 May 1961 at the Stadio Olimpico in Rome. Inter beat Roma 2-0. The following Sunday in Milan he scored the first of his 59 goals for Inter in a match against Napoli. It was Helenio Herrera, coach of the strongest Inter side of all time, who combined Facchetti attacking and defending abilities and invented the role of wing-back.
During his playing career Facchetti won 4 Italian league titles, 2 European Cups, 2 Intercontinental Cups and a Coppa Italia. He collected a total of 476 Serie A appearances for Inter. His international career was just as extraordinary: 94 Italy caps including 70 as captain, a European championship winner in Italy in 1968 and a World Cup finalist in Mexico in 1970.
After hanging up his boots, Facchetti took up various managerial positions at the club, including technical director, board member, worldwide ambassador and vice president. On 30 January 2004 Massimo Moratti handed him the highest office: Facchetti was the first player in Inter's history to become president. Under his administration, Inter won a Scudetto, two Italian Cups and two Italian Super Cups.
Considered an icon of world football, Facchetti held a number of institutional roles within FIFA and UEFA along with the great champions who have written the history of the sport.
Juventus shares in the sadness for the passing away of Facchetti
Juventus F.C. has received the news of the loss of Giacinto Facchetti with infinite sadness and offers its condolences to his family, to Inter and its fans and to all the sportsmen and women of Italy for the loss of both a symbol and a legend of world football. 作者: Kian76 時間: 2006-9-4 11:30 PM
