Riccardo Ferri

Riccardo Ferri (Italian pronunciation: [rikˈkardo ˈfɛrri]; born 20 August 1963) is an Italian former footballer who played as a defender, in the role of centre-back.[2] Despite being a well regarded, attentive, and reliable defender throughout his career,[3] he holds the unusual and unfortunate record of the most own goals in Serie A history, alongside Franco Baresi, scoring in his own net on 8 occasions throughout his thirteen-year Inter career.[4][5] At international level, he represented Italy at the 1984 Summer Olympics, at UEFA Euro 1988, and at the 1990 FIFA World Cup.

Riccardo Ferri
Personal information
Full name Riccardo Ferri[1]
Date of birth (1963-08-20) 20 August 1963
Place of birth Crema, Italy
Height 1.85 m (6 ft 1 in)
Position(s) Defender
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1981–1994 Internazionale 290 (6)
1994–1996 Sampdoria 36 (0)
Total 326 (6)
National team
1986–1992 Italy 45 (4)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only

His older brother Giacomo was also a footballer and is currently a member of the technical staff at Torino.

Playing career

Club

Ferri was born in Crema, in Lombardy, and debuted in Serie A with Internazionale in October 1981. Soon a first-team defender, he became a mainstay of the team's starting eleven, playing for Internazionale for a total of 13 seasons.[2]

With Inter, he won the 1981–82 Coppa Italia, followed by Inter's record breaking Scudetto and 1989 Supercoppa Italiana win during the 1988–89 Serie A season, and two UEFA Cups; the first in 1991, and the second in 1994.[4] In 1994, he went to Sampdoria together with teammate Walter Zenga, in exchange for Gianluca Pagliuca, retiring two seasons later.[3]

International

After representing his country at under-21 level in the 1984 (third place)[6] and 1986 (second place)[7] under-21 European championships, Ferri went on to receive 45 caps for Italy senior national team, scoring 4 goals. He made his senior international debut on 6 December 1986, in a 2–0 away win against Malta, and marking his first international appearance by scoring a goal; he made his final Italy appearance in 1992.[4] He played for Italy in Euro 1988, where Italy reached the semi-finals, and in the 1990 World Cup on home soil, where Italy managed a third-place finish after a penalty shoot-out defeat to defending champions Argentina in the semi-finals.[3] He also competed for Italy at the 1984 Summer Olympics, where Italy finished in fourth place after a semi-final defeat.[8][9]

Style of play

A world-class, tenacious, and combative defender, with excellent man-marking abilities, Ferri usually played in the role of centre-back.[10] Although he possessed good technique,[11] he preferred to mainly focus on the defensive aspect of the game rather than attempting to build plays from the back;[12] however, he occasionally took free-kicks.[13] He also excelled in the air and was known for his ability to anticipate his opponents.[14] The Dutch former Milan striker Marco van Basten named Ferri and Pietro Vierchowod as two of the best defenders he ever faced.[15]

Coaching career

Riccardo Ferri is currently in charge of the Inter Academy Florida based in Broward County, Florida (north of Miami).

Honours

Club

Inter[3]

International

Italy[3]

Individual
  • Pirata d'Oro (Internazionale Player Of The Year): 1988[16]

Orders
5th Class/Knight: Cavaliere Ordine al Merito della Repubblica Italiana: 1991[17]

References
  1. "Ferri Sig. Riccardo" [Ferri Mr. Riccardo]. Quirinale (in Italian). Presidenza della Repubblica Italiana. Retrieved 13 December 2020.
  2. "FERRI Riccardo" (in Italian). Inter F.C. Archived from the original on 1 January 2015. Retrieved 1 January 2015.
  3. "Riccardo Ferri" (in Italian). Il Corriere della Sera. Retrieved 1 January 2015.
  4. "Grandi Storie" (in Italian). Storie di Calcio. Retrieved 1 January 2015.
  5. "chi detiene il record di autoreti nella storia della serie a ?". La Gazzetta dello Sport (in Italian). 10 January 2004. Retrieved 2 September 2019.
  6. "1984: Hateley mantiene l'Inghilterra al vertice" (in Italian). 1 January 1984. Retrieved 22 April 2015.
  7. "Vicini alla Coppa". Retrieved 1 January 2015.
  8. "Riccardo Ferri Biography and Statistics". Sports Reference. Archived from the original on 18 April 2020. Retrieved 28 October 2009.
  9. "Nazionale in cifre: Ferri, Riccardo". figc.it (in Italian). FIGC. Retrieved 22 April 2015.
  10. Nino Sormani (17 March 1990). "È il derby dei Paperoni". Stampa Sera (in Italian). p. 19.
  11. Fabrizio Bocca (19 June 1988). "E Mancini tremò parlando di staffetta" (in Italian). la Repubblica. p. 45.
  12. Giovanni Trapattoni (2015). Bruno Longhi (ed.). Non dire gatto. La mia vita sempre in campo, tra calci e fischi (in Italian). Milano: Rizzoli. ISBN 978-8817081092.
  13. "Ferri: "Ho baciato una sola maglia, quella dell'Inter"". inter.it (in Italian). Football Club Internazionale Milano. 28 March 2016. Retrieved 10 June 2017.
  14. Perucca, Bruno (9 July 1990). "Carnevale e Vialli i due insufficienti". La Stampa Sera (in Italian). p. 5. Retrieved 2 September 2019.
  15. Sormani, Nino (17 March 1990). "È il derby dei Paperoni". La Stampa Sera (in Italian). p. 19. Retrieved 2 September 2019.
  16. Inter.it staff, inter(a t)inter.it (17 November 2006). "F.C. Internazionale Milano". Inter.it. Retrieved 14 October 2017.
  17. "Onoreficenze". quirinale.it (in Italian). 30 September 1991. Archived from the original on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 19 March 2015.
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