Pietro Vierchowod

Pietro Vierchowod
Personal information
Date of birth (1959-04-06) 6 April 1959
Place of birth Calcinate, Italy
Height 1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)
Playing position Centre-back
Youth career
1973–1976 Romanese
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1976–1981 Como 115 (6)
1981–1982 Fiorentina 28 (2)
1982–1983 Roma 30 (0)
1983–1995 Sampdoria 358 (25)
1995–1996 Juventus 21 (2)
1996–1997 Milan 16 (1)
1997–2000 Piacenza 79 (6)
Total 647 (42)
National team
1981–1993 Italy 45 (2)
Teams managed
2001 Catania
2002 Florentia Viola
2005 Triestina
2014 Budapest Honvéd

* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only.


Pietro Vierchowod (Italian pronunciation: [ˈpjɛtro ˈvjɛrkovud]; born 6 April 1959) is an Italian former footballer who played as a defender, and a current manager. He also represented the Italian national side during his career, and was most notably a member of the Italian squad that won the 1982 FIFA World Cup.

Widely regarded as one of the greatest Italian centre-backs of all-time, and one of the best of his generation, during his playing career he was nicknamed lo Zar ("the Tsar") because of his pace, defensive ability, physicality, tenacious playing style, and Ukrainian descent; he was the son of a Ukrainian Red Army soldier.[1][2]

Club сareer

Vierchowod was initially a man-marking centre-back, who also later excelled in a zonal-marking system. He started his professional football career for Como, before moving to Fiorentina. However, his first successes came when he moved to Roma, winning a Serie A scudetto in 1983. Then he moved to Sampdoria, with whom he won four Italian Cups, one European Cup Winners' Cup and another scudetto in 1991. In 1995 he signed for Juventus, where he acted as an experienced defender and won his only UEFA Champions League in 1996 at the age of 37. He played the final in Rome against Ajax which Juve won on penalties. He then moved on to Milan and Piacenza, for whom he continued to play regularly despite being 41 years of age. He eventually retired in 2000. Vierchowod played 562 Serie A matches, being fifth only to Paolo Maldini, Gianluca Pagliuca, Dino Zoff and Javier Zanetti.[1][2]

International career

Vierchowod was capped 45 times with the Italy national team between 1981 and 1993, scoring two goals. He made his international debut on 6 January 1981, at the age of 21, during a 1–1 friendly draw against the Netherlands in Montevideo, in the 1981 "Mundialito" tournament. He was one of the players in the Italian squad, although he did not play, that won the 1982 FIFA World Cup, under manager Enzo Bearzot. Verchowod was a member of the Italian squad that took part at the 1986 FIFA World Cup, and he also made three appearances at the 1990 FIFA World Cup, as Italy finished in third place on home soil, under manager Azeglio Vicini, after reaching the semi-finals. He is also the oldest goalscorer in the history of the Italy national team: he scored in a 1994 FIFA World Cup qualification match against Malta on 24 March 1993, which ended in a 6–1 win for the Azzurri, under manager Arrigo Sacchi. Vierchowod also competed for Italy at the 1984 Summer Olympic Games, where Italy managed a fourth-place finish, after reaching the semi-finals of the tournament, although he has never played for Italy in an UEFA European Championship.[3][4]

Style of play

Nicknamed lo Zar, Vierchowod was a tenacious and physical centre-back, who possessed great pace; he was considered one of the toughest Serie A defenders of the 1980s and the 1990s, due to his immense strength, tight marking of opponents, and hard tackling style of play. His speed, anticipation, and ability to read the game enabled him to break down opposing plays, win back possession, and intercept loose balls; these attributes also allowed him to excel in the zonal marking defensive system during his later career. Despite his aggressive playing style, he was also regarded as a fair player both on and off the pitch.[1][2][5][6][7]

In an interview with Argentine magazine El Gráfico, Argentine footballer Diego Maradona, widely regarded as one of the greatest players of all time, dubbed Vierchowod his toughest opponent,[8] stating that "[Vierchowod] was an animal, he had muscles to the eyelashes. It was easy to pass by him, but then when I raised my head, he was in front of me again. I would have to pass him two or three more times and then I would pass the ball because I couldn't stand him anymore". Throughout his career, Maradona gave Vierchowod the nickname Hulk.[1]

Gary Lineker also revealed in an interview with FourFourTwo that Vierchowod was "the hardest defender he ever faced" adding "he was absolutely brutal and lightning quick. He gave me one or two digs."[9]

Coaching career

After his playing career, Vierchowod coached Catania of Serie C1, Florentia Viola (now Fiorentina) of Serie C2 and Triestina of Serie B. In all of the circumstances, he was fired before the end of the season.

On 13 June 2014, Vierchowod was announced as the new coach of the Hungarian club, Budapest Honvéd,[10] but after the team's poor performance on 6 October he was fired.[11]

Honours

Club

Roma[12]
Sampdoria[12]
Juventus[12]

International

Italy[12]

Individual

Orders

5th Class/Knight: Cavaliere Ordine al Merito della Repubblica Italiana: 1991[14]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 "Pietro Vierchowod: l'ultimo zar" (in Italian). Storie di Calcio. Retrieved 9 November 2014.
  2. 1 2 3 Stefano Bedeschi (19 April 2013). "Gli eroi in bianconero: Pietro VIERCHOWOD" (in Italian). Tutto Juve. Retrieved 4 August 2016.
  3. ↑ "Pietro Vierchowod Biography and Statistics". Sports Reference. Retrieved 2009-10-28.
  4. ↑ "Nazionale in cifre: Vierchowod, Pietro". figc.it (in Italian). FIGC. Retrieved 27 April 2015.
  5. ↑ "Vierchowod: E adesso mi dedico a Balbo" (in Italian). Il Corriere della Sera. 15 January 1998. Retrieved 9 November 2014.
  6. ↑ "Profilo: Pietro VIERCHOWOD" (in Italian). magliarossonera.it. Retrieved 9 November 2014.
  7. ↑ Tony Damascelli (19 August 2006). "Brio, 50 anni e un rimpianto "Ora in azzurro giocano tutti"". ilgiornale.it (in Italian). Il Giornale. Retrieved 26 April 2015.
  8. ↑ http://www.elgrafico.com.ar/2008/09/10/C-120-basile-se-olvido-de-los-codigos.php?vv=1&vote=2
  9. ↑ "Gary Lineker on his England career". FourFourTwo. 4 February 2008. Retrieved 22 September 2014.
  10. ↑ "Vierchowod az új edző" (in Hungarian). Budapest Honved. 13 June 2014. Retrieved 13 June 2014.
  11. ↑ "Kirúgták a Honvéd edzőjét" (in Hungarian). index.hu. 6 October 2014. Retrieved 6 October 2014.
  12. 1 2 3 4 "Pietro Vierchowod". Eurosport.com. Retrieved 20 December 2015.
  13. ↑ "Premio Nazionale Carriera Esemplare Gaetano Scirea" (in Italian). Retrieved 21 January 2015.
  14. ↑ "Onoreficenze". quirinale.it (in Italian). 30 September 1991. Retrieved 19 March 2015.
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