Giacinto Facchetti was a legendary player who spent his entire professional club career at Inter Milan. The former Italian Left-back was a part of the Nerazzurri for an astonishing 18 years, during which he won it all with the club. He played 634 official games for the club, scoring 75 goals in the process.
We will now be looking back at his career, and which gives us a glimpse of why he was one of the greatest defenders in football history.
Early career
Giacinto Facchetti began his football career with hometown club GSD Mario Zanconti, surprisingly as a forward. The player stood out for his pace, powerful shooting, and technique at the time.
It was while playing for Trevigliese that he caught the attention of then Inter manager Helenio Herrera, who eventually launched the player in the late 1960–61 Serie A campaign. It was Herrera who converted Facchetti into a left-back, as the player's physique, energy, and tackling ability impressed the manager to initiate the position switch.
Thriving at left-back
The Italian left-back made his club and top-flight debut on 21 May 1961, in a 2–0 away win over Roma. Herrera's positional tweak proved to be a masterstroke, as Facchetti eventually established himself as one of the most effective defenders in Italian football. He also formed a solid partnership with fellow Italian full-back Burgnich.
Facchetti's exquisite playing style saw him become one of Europe's first ever overlapping full-backs, as he combined aggressive defending with offensive prowess. Those qualities made him a key cog in Herrera's defensive, yet counter-attacking catenaccio tactical system of their legendary "Grande Inter" side.
A symbol of Inter's era of dominance
Inter were one of the most dominant forces in world football at the time, as they wreaked havoc in both Italy and Europe during the 60's. Not only was Facchetti vital in helping Inter concede a few goals, but he was a huge offensive threat as well. He also held the record for most goals in a single Serie A season by a defender, with 10 goals scored during the 1965–66 season, until it was broken by Marco Materazzi during the 2000–01 season.
His final season at Inter saw him be named a club captain between 1977-78, thus succeeding the likes of Armando Picchi, Mario Corso and Sandro Mazzola. Facchetti won 9 major titles during his Inter reign, which included 4 Serie A titles and 2 consecutive European Cups.
The year of 1965 saw Facchetti almost make history as the first defender to have won the Ballon d'Or. However, he narrowly missed out by finishing in second place. It was ultimately won by Eusébio of Portugal.
Inter were on course to achieve a historic treble that season, but their 1965 Coppa Italia final defeat by Juventus shattered those dreams.
Facchetti's 59 goals in Serie A make him the most prolific defender in the history of the Italian league as well, thus immortalizing himself in Italian football's history books.
The excellence that extended to the international stage
Facchetti's brilliance for Inter was extended to the Italian national side as well. He was capped a then record 94 times, and had also captained the Italian side for 70 games. The left-back played for his country at the 1966, 1970, and 1974 FIFA World Cups, captaining Italy in the latter two editions of the tournament.
His greatest achievement came in 1968, as Italy won that year's Euro cup under his captaincy. Facchetti was instrumental throughout the tournament, as evident by his inclusion in Team of the Tournament. He was equally outstanding in the 1970 World Cup, helping Italy reach all the way till the finals. However, they ultimately lost to Brazil 4-1 in the cup decider.
The Italian bid farewell to the national side in 1977, and to Inter as well a year later in 1978. Facchetti left the beautiful game as one of the finest ever defenders in Italian football history.
