No Way Past Gentile

If you were a forward playing against Italy in the 1980’s you knew you were in for a rough game. One defender in particular had a mission to inflict pain and suffering on any forward who dared to challenge him. That player was Claudio Gentile. His brutality and cunning were eerily effective. The scene is the 1982 World Cup in Spain. Where Maradona and Zico amongst others found there is no way past Gentile.

The 1980 European Championships would give the footballing world their first real introduction to Gentile’s master of the dark arts. With a back four made in Juventus, the Italians would concede just one goal in the tournament. They would eventually finish 4th in a tournament they were tipped to win on home soil.

World Cup ’82

Just two years later the 1982 World Cup in Spain was promoted as being the biggest festival of attacking football ever. Maradona, Zico, Eder, Rossi and England’s Lineker among others were all expected to lead the way. With a favourable climate on European soil it was all geared up for a festival of attacking play.

What the world wasn’t ready for was a moustached, dark curly-haired brute of a defender named Claudio Gentile. Under-exposure of European football outside the realms of each nation’s TV coverage meant Gentile was relatively unknown. By the time Spain 82 was completed the whole footballing world knew who is was. Tough, brutal, and uncompromising would all be used to describe Gentile come the end of the tournament. A tournament where Maradona and Zico especially would bear the brunt of Gentile’s uncompromising nature.

Italian Slow Start

As with most tournaments, the Italians started the World Cup in 1982. Drawing against Poland, Cameroon and Peru in their Group and scoring just twice in the process. If Italy were going to win the World Cup they would need to show more in their attacking prowess than they were currently doing.

Coming second in their group posed problems for the Italians. It meant they were coupled with two powerhouses in the second round in the ultimate Group of Death. Brazil and Argentina now stood in their way. Zico and Maradona would determine if Gentile and Co. were the real deal or not. Only one nation would progress from the Group of Death.

Who wants to mark Diego?

Defending champions Argentina were first up to test Italy’s Juventus-laden defence. Diego Maradona would need to be marked tightly if they were to contain the Argentine attack. That task fell to Gentile who informed manager Enzo Bearzot the days before the match that he was the man for the task. Gentile would then spend hours watching a video tape of Maradona to make sure he was ready.

“I couldn’t stop him, but I could ‘limit’ him.”

Gentile on marking maradona

Gentile’s performance against Argentina has become an iconic example on the dark arts of defending to gain an upper hand. Maradona quite simply couldn’t shake Gentile off. For Maradona and Argentina there was simply no way past Gentile.

In the first half alone Gentile committed 11 fouls on Maradona. By the end of 90 minutes, this had risen to 23. A foul every 4 minutes. Never had anyone seen such a brutal display of defence and aggression on the World scene. Not all of Gentile’s fouls were the and commonplace in the 80’s game. Shirt pulls, kicks, obstructions and forearm smashes were all used to slow the number 10 of Argentina down. He received just a yellow card for his continuous misdemeanours that day.

“Football is not for ballerinas.” – gentile

Italy would go on to win 2-1 with goals from Tardelli and Cabrini. It was a vital victory with the foundations laid by Bearzot’s defensive line.

Next up for Gentile was the prospect of marking the best player in the world at the time. Brazil’s Zico. Marking Maradona out of game was one thing but could he do it again against the samba style of Brazil?

The World Cup’s Greatest Game

The game with Brazil has gone down as the greatest-ever display of football in a World Cup match. Italy needed a win to progress at Brazil’s expense. Gentile would go into the preparations for the game thinking he was marking Eder. In fact, he didn’t know until the day of the game. For 90 minutes Gentile relentlessly followed Zico. Frustrated by the constant attention Zico drifted deeper and deeper to try and elude Gentile. But Gentile kept following him.

The only time Zico managed to break free from Gentile in the whole match he set up a goal for Socrates. For the rest of the match Zico was anonymous. For all the blocks, trips and shirt-pulling Gentile once again only received a yellow card. An iconic Paolo Rossi hat-trick in an exhilarating 3-2 sent the Italians through to the semi-finals.

No Way Past Gentile

All the world now knew who Claudio Gentile was and the no-nonsense way he defended. In two games marking the two best players in the world he had reduced them to bit-part performers. Either within the rules but more often outside the rules of football. For some, his antics didn’t sit well. Football was not meant to be played this way. Gentile didn’t care. Winning the World Cup for his country was the ultimate goal.

Italy would have to finally break up the Juventus backline for the semi-final against Poland. Gentile’s two yellow cards in the second round meant he was suspended for the match. Two goals from Paolo Rossi saw them comfortably through to the Final where they would meet Germany.

World Cup Winner

The Final against Germany was no different than the games against Brazil and Argentina for the recalled Gentile. The player assigned to nullify this time was the diminutive Pierre Littbarski. A player not in the same category as Maradona or Zico but technical and dangerous nonetheless.

Such was Gentile’s disdain for Littbarski’s ability he managed to break forward and set up Italy’s first goal for Rossi. It was the Claudio Gentile masterclass, played out in front of a global TV audience. Italy would go on to win 3-1 with further goals from Tardelli and Altobelli. Tardelli’s open-mouthed celebration on scoring the second became a lasting image of the whole tournament.

In the course of two weeks, Italy had beaten the favourites, the holders and the European champions. Despite their slow start, they scored 10 goals in their final 4 games.

For all their attacking play Italy’s world cup tournament win was built on Gentile’s brutal defending. Over time the rules have changed which would nullify his game today. However, in 1982, they allowed him to display enough aggression and the dark arts of defending to win a World Cup. For everyone he came up against in World Cup 1982 there was no way past Gentile.