Pietro Vierchowod
Pietro Vierchowod was born in Calcinate (Bergamo), on April 6, 1959.
His mother was Italian while his father was from Kyiv and while serving in the Red Army in the second world war was made prisoner in Italy. At the end of the war he decided to stay in Italy.
Vierchowod was nicknamed Zar throughout his career.
He first started playing at the Oratorio Spirano (BG) and then joined Romanese (BG).
In 1975-75 he played 3 league games for Romanese in Serie D.
In 1976 he joined Como and stayed five seasons. He made his debut in 1977 and played 136 games and scored 8 goals. The Lariani were in Serie B and finished 6th, 19th (relegated), 1st (promoted), 1st (promoted) and 13th in A. His managers were Osvaldo Bagnoli, Gennaro Rambone, Luis Suarez, Narciso Pezzotti and Giuseppe Marchioro (three seasons). The various squads included Lazio connections; Ernesto Apuzzo (1974-76, 1977-78) and Enrico Todesco (1979-80).
In 1981-82 he played for Fiorentina on loan. He played 34 games and scored 2 goals (Catanzaro, Como). La Viola finished 2nd under Giancarlo De Sisti. The squad included Lazio connections; Roberto Galbiati (1985-86), Paolo Monelli (1987-88) and Marco Baroni (manager 2024-25).
In 1982 he moved to Roma on loan for a season. He played 43 games and the Giallorossi won the Scudetto under Nils Liedholm.
In 1983 he signed for Sampdoria and stayed 11 seasons. He played 493 games and scored 39 goals. The Blucerchiati won a Scudetto (1991), the Coppa Italia 4 times (1985, '88, '89, '94), the Supercoppa (1991) and the Cup Winners Cup (1990). In 1992 they reached the European Cup final but lost 0-1 to Barcelona at Wembley. His managers were; Renzo Ulivieri, Eugenio Bersellini (2 seasons) Vujadin Boškov (6 seasons) Sven-Göran Eriksson (3 seasons). He played alongside numerous Lazio connections: Renato Buso (1996-97), Vladimir Jugovic (1997-98), Roberto Mancini (1997-2000, manager 2002-04), Sinisa Mihajlovic (1998-2004), Attilio Lombardo (1999-2001), Enrico Chiesa (2002-03) and Fabrizio Casazza (2003-05)
In 1995 he joined Juventus for a season. It was a successful one as the Bianconeri won the European Cup (Ajax on pens) and the Supercoppa (Parma 1-0) under Marcello Lippi while in Serie A they finished 2nd behind Milan. He played 31 games with 2 goals (Cremonese, Udinese). His teammates included Lazio connections; Jugovic and Lombardo again, Fabrizio Ravanelli (1999-2001) and Angelo Peruzzi (2000-07).
In July 1996 he joined Perugia in Serie A but left in September before making his debut.
In September 1996 he signed for Milan. He played 18 games with 1 goal (Roma) and the Rossoneri finished 11th, under Óscar Tabárez (1-11) and then Arrigo Sacchi. He played alongside former Lazio, Mauro Tassotti (1978-80) and future Lazio, Demetrio Albertini (2003-04).
In 1997 he joined his last club Piacenza and stayed three seasons. He played 83 games with 6 goals. Piacenza finished 13th twice and 18th (relegated). His managers were Vincenzo Guerini, Beppe Materazzi, Gigi Simoni and Daniele Bernazzani. His teammates included Lazio connections; Valerio Fiori (1986-93), Flavio Roma (1991-93, 1994-95), Giovanni Stroppa (1991-93), Marco Piovanelli (1995-97), Renato Buso (1996-97), Simone Inzaghi (1999-2010, manager 2016-21) and Matteo Sereni (2003-06, 2006-07).
He then retired at 41.
He won 45 caps for Italy with 2 goals (Cyprus, Malta). He was in the squad that won the World Cup in 1982 (with no appearances) and then played in the 1986 and 1990 World Cups. He also played 6 times for the Italy Olympic team (1984).
On retiring he had some experiences as a manager. From December 2001 to April 2002 he was with Catania in C1.
From August 2002-October 2002 with Florentia Viola (Fiorentina) in C2.
He was with Triestina in Serie B from September to November 2005.
His next job was in Hungary with Honvéd from August 2014 to November 2014.
His last experience was with Kamza in Albania in 2018.
A highly successful playing career but not as a coach.
As a player Vierchowod was a central defender. He is considered one of the best in Italian history. He was tough, very tough, as hard as nails as they say. He was a gritty man-marker who was incredibly quick in open play. As a boy he did Athletics as a sport and as a player he could run 100 metres in less than 11 seconds. It was difficult to get past him and even if you did it was likely he would catch you again. Maradona used to call him Hulk.
Over the years he kept his physical prowess but improved his skills and managed to adapt to various styles of play including Arrigo Sacchi's.
He was also a prolific defender, scoring 58 goals (42 in A).
He had a long and successful career winning trophies with three different clubs; the Scudetto twice, the Coppa Italia 4 times, the Supercoppa twice, a European Cup and a Cup Winners Cup.
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