Antonio Cabrini
- Simon Basten
- Sep 4
- 2 min read
Antonio Cabrini must be considered one of the first modern left backs in football history. Ahead of his times, he was more of a winger than a defender and became a legend.
Born in Cremona on October 8 1957, he started playing football with Cremonese debuting in Serie C in 1974 and starting in the first eleven the season after. After 29 appearances and two goals, in 1975 he joined Atalanta in Serie B, in joint ownership with Juventus. He stayed one season in Bergamo playing 39 games with one goal, and then left for Turin.
He stayed with Juve for 13 years, 442 appearances and 52 goals, winning 6 titles (1976-77, 1977-78, 1980-81, 1981-82, 1983-84 and 1985-86), twice the Coppa Italia (1979 and 1983), and all of the UEFA titles: European Cup in 1985, Cup Winners Cup in 1984, UEFA Cup in 1977, UEFA Super Cup in 1984 and Intercontinental Cup in 1985. He debuted against Lazio on February 13 1977 at just 19 years of age and became part of the first eleven during the subsequent season.
In 1989 he signed for Bologna. At Juve he had wanted to play at midfield, but Juventus manager Dino Zoff was sceptical so he left. He played two years in Rossoblu before retiring.
He has 73 caps with Italy and has scored 9 goals, the record number for a defender playing for the Nazionale. He debuted in the World Cup of 1978 in Argentina against France. A surprise move from head coach Enzo Bearzot, considering his young age and lack of experience. But in that World Cup Italy played very well and arrived fourth, almost making it to the final. A final that was won four years later in Spain with Cabrini one of the protagonists scoring against Argentina and being the first player ever to miss a penalty in the final. He also played in the 1986 edition.
The World Cup win was one of those incredible footballing moments. After a dull group phase where Italy had qualified second with three draws, in the second group phase they had to play against Argentina, reigning champions, and Brazil, the favourites. The Italian media was having a field day bashing the Azzurri in continuation. When one paper mentioned that Cabrini and Paolo Rossi were having an affair, that was just too much and the team decided to stop speaking to the many journalists present. The only one who could, was captain Dino Zoff. Italy went on to win against Argentina, Brazil, Poland in the semis and Germany in the final.
Once he stopped playing he became a manager. He was head coach at Arezzo, Crotone, Pisa, Novara and the Syrian national team. In 2012 he became manager of the Italy Women and stayed for five years.
Cabrini was also a sex symbol for his good looks, something that did not help his rather shy person. But we must remember him as one of the Italy heroes of 1982 and the great player that he was.
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