Evaristo Beccalossi

Evaristo Beccalossi (born 12 May 1956) is a former Italian footballer who played as a midfielder. He played for several Italian clubs throughout his career, and is best known for his time at Inter Milan, where he won a Serie A title and a Coppa Italia.

Evaristo Beccalossi
Beccalossi in a TV transmission in 2012
Personal information
Date of birth (1956-05-12) 12 May 1956
Place of birth Brescia, Italy
Height 1.76 m (5 ft 9 in)[1]
Position(s) Midfielder
Youth career
1972–1975 Brescia Calcio
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1972–1978 Brescia 94 (14)
1978–1984 Inter Milan 216 (30)
1984–1985 Sampdoria 9 (0)
1985–1986 Monza 14 (3)
1986–1988 Brescia 48 (0)
1988–1989 Barletta 26 (6)
1989–1990 Pordenone 24 (4)
1990–1991 Breno ? (?)
International career
1976–1980 Italy U21 4 (0)
1979–1980 Italy Olympic 3 (1)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 2 January 2012

Club career

Originally from Brescia, Beccalossi started his football career with his hometown club in 1972, and later became a favorite of the Inter Milan fans, where he spent the majority of his career, from 1978–79 to 1983–84, frequently wearing the number 10 shirt. He donned the Inter jersey in 216 games, scored 37 goals and helped the team win a Serie A Championship (1979–80, scoring 7 goals) and a Coppa Italia (1981–82). Together with Inter centre-forward Alessandro Altobelli, Beccalossi formed one of the longest standing offensive partnerships of Serie A's recent history. They initially played together at Brescia and later became the team's leaders at Inter from the late 1970s to the mid-1980s, while they were supported defensively by Gianpiero Marini, Gabriele Oriali, and Giuseppe Baresi.[2][3]

In the late summer of 1984, Beccalossi moved to Sampdoria for a season, around the same time Hansi Müller joined Inter Milan; he won another Coppa Italia title that year and helped the team to a fourth-place finish in Serie A. He later played for Monza for a season, before returning to Brescia for two more seasons; he subsequently spent single seasons with Barletta, and Pordenone, before finishing his career after a season with Breno in 1991. Following his retirement, he worked as a pundit.[2]

International career

Despite his talent, Beccalossi was never called up for the Italy national football team at senior level throughout his career due to his inconsistency and poor work-rate, and was infamously excluded from the 1982 FIFA World Cup-winning side by manager Enzo Bearzot. He obtained 7 caps for Italy at youth level, scoring 1 goal.[2][4][5]

Style of play

Nicknamed "Beck", "Becca", "Il Genio" (the genius), and "Driblossi" (by Italian sports journalist Gianni Brera, due to his dribbling ability and individualistic playing style), Beccalossi was a quick and talented attacking midfield playmaker, who was capable of both scoring and creating goals, and made a name for himself as an excellent assist provider throughout his career; he was also able to play in several midfield positions, and was also deployed as a deep-lying playmaker in midfield, or even in a more advanced role as a second striker. Although he was not known for his athleticism, strength, exceptional pace, or physical attributes, he possessed a fairly sturdy build and powerful legs, which aided him in short bursts of acceleration, and was highly regarded in particular for his creativity, eye for the final pass, dribbling skills, flair, and excellent technical ability, in a time in which defensive football dominated in Italy. Despite his ability, he also drew criticism in the media, however, for his inconsistency and poor work-rate; because of this, he often divided public opinion, and even his teammates often quipped that with Beccalossi on the pitch it was either like playing with a man down, or an additional player. He was also an accurate penalty taker; however, despite his record from the spot, he became known for missing two penalties in a single match with Inter; this incident occurred on 15 September 1982, in a 2–0 home win over Slovan Bratislava, in the first leg of the first round of the European Cup Winners' Cup.[2][4][6][7][8] Although he was initially a naturally right-footed player, due to his admiration for the left-footed Italian-Argentine footballer Omar Sívori, Beccalossi became two-footed as a youngster while playing football at school and at the youth centre of his local oratory in San Polo, Brescia; because of this, he predominantly used his left foot throughout his career, although he was capable of using either foot indifferently, and could both score goals and pass with his right foot as well as his left.[6][8][9][10] Throughout his career, his skill, left-footedness, and creative playing style drew comparisons with that of former Inter player Mario Corso, whom Beccalossi described as a point of reference.[11][12]

Honours
Inter Milan[2]
Sampdoria[2]

References
  1. "Evaristo Beccalossi" (in Italian). TuttoCalciatori. Retrieved 13 July 2016.
  2. Claudio Colombo. "BECCALOSSI Evaristo: scusate se insisto…" (in Italian). Storie di Calcio. Retrieved 13 July 2016.
  3. "Evaristo Beccalossi" (in Italian). Inter F.C. Retrieved 13 July 2016.
  4. "Dieci italiani più uno che avrebbero meritato la nazionale" (in Italian). La Repubblica. Retrieved 26 February 2017.
  5. "Bearzot: 'Football is first and foremost a game'". FIFA.com. Archived from the original on March 12, 2017. Retrieved 9 March 2017.
  6. Nicola Cecere (31 May 2008). "Mi chiamo Evaristo, il genio" (in Italian). La Gazzetta dello Sport. Retrieved 13 July 2016.
  7. "BECCALOSSI: "IO E MULLER NON CI POTEVAMO VEDERE, ECCO PERCHÉ. ORIALI MI DICEVA…"" (in Italian). F.C. Inter 1908. 5 March 2016. Retrieved 13 July 2016.
  8. Vincenzo Corbetta (12 May 2016). "Beccalossi, i 60 anni di un genio bresciano «Il mio calcio è poesia»" (in Italian). Brescia Oggi. Retrieved 26 March 2019.
  9. "Beccalossi: fantasia al potere" (in Italian). Il Corriere dello Sport. 23 January 2019. Retrieved 26 March 2019.
  10. Filippo Nassetti (15 May 2017). "Beccalossi: "Viva le teste dispari come me, Sivori, Villeneuve e McEnroe"" (in Italian). www.panorama.it. Retrieved 26 March 2019.
  11. BRUNO LONGHI (12 May 2016). "Sono Evaristo, festeggio i 60. Scusate se insisto" (in Italian). Sport Mediaset. Retrieved 19 December 2017.
  12. Marco Astori (29 September 2018). "Inter, Beccalossi: "San Siro ti dà il 30% in più, in un altro stadio non rimontavamo il Tottenham"" (in Italian). F.C. Inter 1908. Retrieved 26 March 2019.
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