Marcello Lippi

Marcello Lippi was born in Viareggio (Pisa), on April 12, 1948.

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His youth football days were spent with Stella Rossa Viareggio. At 21 he joined Sampdoria but spent the season on loan at Savona in Serie C, making 21 league appearances with 2 goals. The "Vecchio Delfino" finished 10th under Vincenzo Rigamonti. One of his teammates was future Lazio Vincenzo Zucchini (1979-80).

In 1970 Lippi returned to Sampdoria where he would stay for nine seasons, the first seven in Serie A and the last two in B. He played a total of 272 games with 8 goals. The Blucerchiati finished 12th, 8th, 11th, 13th, 12th, 11th, 14th (relegated), 8th (in B) and 9th (in B). His managers were: Fulvio Bernardini, Heriberto Herrera, Guido Vincenzi, Giulio Corsini, Eugenio Bersellini, Giorgio Canali and Lamberto Giorgis. His teammates included Lazio connections: Mario Maraschi (1961-64), Rosario Di Vincenzo (1967-72), Roberto Badiani (1974-79,1981-83), Claudio Garella (1976-78), Massimo Cacciatori (1978-85) and Vincenzo Chiarenza (1981-82, 1983).

In 1979 he moved back to Tuscany and joined Pistoiese in Serie B. He stayed two seasons, in the first the "Olandesina" was promoted under Enzo Riccomini while in the second they finished 16th (relegated) under Lido Vieri (Edmondo Fabbri T.D). He played 53 games in Pistoia. He played alongside Lazio Scudetto connections Mario Frustalupi (1972-75) and Sergio Borgo (1973-74, 1975-76) plus Andrea Agostinelli (1975-79), Maurizio Moscatelli (1980-83) and Badiani again.

Lippi's last club was Lucchese in 1981-82). The Panthers were in C2 and finished 4th, first under Lino Petrillo and then Paolo Baldi. Lippi played 23 league games and then retired at 34.

He then became a coach. His early experiences were Pontedera (1985-86, C2, 6th place), Siena (1986-Jan '87, C1, sacked), Pistoiese (1987-88, C2, 8th), Carrarese (1988-89, C1, 7th).

In 1989-90 he had his first club in Serie A, Cesena. The Romagnoli finished 13th. His squad included Lazio connections, Fabio Calcaterra (1985-86), Vincenzo Esposito (1986-88) and Sergio Domini (1990-91). Lippi then started the 1990-91 season but was sacked in January after only 2 league wins out of 17.

In 1991-92 he was back at Lucchese in Serie B and finished 8th.

In 1992-1993 he was back in Serie A with Atalanta and finished 8th. His players included future Lazio, Roberto Rambaudi (1994-98).

In 1993-94 he spent a season with Napoli in A. The Partenopei finished 6th. He coached former Lazio Paolo Di Canio (1987-90) and future Lazio Renato Buso (1996-97) but also future World Champion Fabio Cannavaro.

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In 1994 Lippi joined Juventus. He stayed four and a half successful seasons. He won three league titles (1995,1997, 1998), a Coppa Italia, two Italian Supercups, a Champions League (1996 defeating Ajax on penalties), an Intercontinental Cup (1996) and a European Supercup. An exceptional period with players such as Angelo Peruzzi, Ciro Ferrara, Antonio Conte, Vladimir Jugovic, Didier Deschamps, Attilio Lombardo, Edgar Davids, Roberto Baggio, Gianluca Vialli, Fabrizio Ravanelli, Alessandro Del Piero, Alen Boksic, Zinedine Zidane, Filippo Inzaghi to name few. In February of his fifth year, he resigned (due to an under par season with Del Piero injured, friction with some players and the fact that Lippi had already announced he was joining rivals Inter the following season).

His next club was Inter in 1999-2000 and the Nerazzurri finished 4th. The following season he started but was sacked in October. In September Inter lost the Supercoppa 3-4 to Lazio.

In 2001 he returned to Juventus and stayed another three years. He won another 2 league titles (2002, 2003), then came 3rd, plus 2 more Italian Supercoppe.

In June 2004 he became Italy national coach. In 2006 he led the Azzurri to become World Champions in Germany. Italy knocked out the hosts 2-0 in the semi-final and then beat France on penalties after a 1-1 draw. A major feat also considering Italian football was in chaos due to the Calciopoli scandal.

After the triumph he stepped down but then returned in the autumn of 2008. Italy qualified for the South Africa 2010 World Cup but had an extremely disappointing campaign with 2 draws (Paraguay and New Zealand) and a defeat (Slovakia). It is not always a good idea to return somewhere you have enjoyed great success. His final score was 28 wins, 21 draws and 7 defeats

In 2012 he started his Chinese experience. He took on the job at Guangzhou winning three consecutive league titles, a Chinese Cup and the AFC Champions League (2013).

In 2016 he became China national coach. The Dragons failed to qualify for the 2018 World Cup in Russia and in 2019 reached the quarterfinals of the Asia Cup (Iran 0-30). Lippi resigned in 2019 in the middle of the 2022 World Cup Qualifiers. His final record with China was 14 wins, 10 draws and 12 defeats.

Lippi then retired and can spend more time sailing his yacht in Viareggio and beyond.

As a player Lippi was a solid defender. He spent most of his career at Sampdoria where he also became captain. He played a total of 369 professional games (222 in A) with 10 goals (5 in A). He won no silverware but in 1980 won promotion to Serie A with Pistoiese.

Despite a good club career, it is as a manager that he will be remembered best. He won the Scudetto five times and a Champions League plus several other cups as aforementioned.

He then won the biggest prize of all, the World Cup, becoming the third Italian in history to do so after Vittorio Pozzo (1934, 1938) and Enzo Bearzot (1982).

His football as a manager was an intelligent mix of old, aggressive Italian play and the more modern and innovative style introduced in Italy by Arrigo Sacchi. Whatever it was exactly, it served Lippi well.

On a final curious note his son Davide is a top football agent, a fact that caused some controversy over the years when Marcello was a manager.

Source

Wikipedia