Mauro Tassotti (born 19 January 1960) is a former Italian footballer.

He played for seventeen years with A.C. Milan, mostly at right back but could also fill in at centre back if required, thanks to his versatility and commitment.

[edit] Football career

Born in Rome, Tassotti played his first professional seasons with local S.S. Lazio. Subsequently, he was part of A.C. Milan's legendary and all-conquering team of the late 80's and early 90's. During the team's peak, he was a key component of an almost insurmountable defence, playing alongside other club greats: Franco Baresi, Paolo Maldini and Alessandro Costacurta. He won the European Cup with the club in 1989, 1990 and 1994.^[1]

For Italy, Tassotti did not win his first cap until the age of 32, under Arrigo Sacchi. This is partly because of an abundance of other world class Italian defenders at the time, as he was constantly overlooked by Sacchi's predecessor, Azeglio Vicini, despite the player's excellent club performances. He competed for Italy at the 1988 Summer Olympics.^[2]

Tassotti played in one FIFA World Cup, the 1994 edition in the United States. In the 2–1 quarterfinal win against Spain he viciously elbowed Luis Enrique in the face in the second half's injury time. The referee did not award Spain a penalty and Italy won the match, but FIFA officials banned Tassotti for eight games, after reviewing the game. The elbowing was so bad that Enrique reportedly lost a pint of blood from his face as a result.^[3] Tassotti did not play for the national team after that.

In 2001–02, Tassotti joined Milan's coaching staff, under former teammate Carlo Ancelotti, and conserved his post after his departure.^[4][5]

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• National team data (Italian)
• NationalFootballTeams data

v • d • e Italy squad – 1994 FIFA World Cup Runners-up 1 Pagliuca • 2 Apolloni • 3 Benarrivo • 4 Costacurta • 5 Maldini • 6 Baresi • 7 Minotti • 8 Mussi • 9 Tassotti • 10 R. Baggio • 11 Albertini • 12 Marchegiani • 13 D. Baggio • 14 Berti • 15 Conte • 16 Donadoni • 17 Evani • 18 Casiraghi • 19 Massaro • 20 Signori • 21 Zola • 22 Bucci • Coach: Sacchi

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