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Zona mista

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Zona mista (Italian for 'Mixed Zone'; Italian pronunciation: [ˈdzɔːna ˈmista]), often referred as Mixed Plan (Modulo misto)[1] and, in the English-speaking world, to as The Game in Italian Style (Gioco all'italiana); is a tactic used in Italian association football mainly from the second half of 1970s to the mid-1990s. The introduction of this system has been attributed to Luigi Radice and Giovanni Trapattoni, then coaches of Torino and Juventus, respectively.[2] The tactic reached the highest sporting level with Juventus headcoached by Trapattoni becoming the first club in history to reach the European Treble having won the then three seasonal UEFA competitions and, in 1985, the first European side to win the Intercontinental Cup since it was restructured five years before, becoming world champion,[3] and the Italy national team, managed by Enzo Bearzot, which won the FIFA World Cup in 1982, for the first time since 1938, with notable participation from the Blocco-Juve;[4] making both teams acclaimed as among the greatest in sports history.[5]

Regarded as the tactical evolution of catenaccio,[6] zona mista requires each outfield player to perform, systematically and simultaneously, the zonal marking, the changing of positions and continuous attack on the spaces characteristic of Total Football, but also engaging in the defensive individual marking characteristic at the time of Italian football. In this system, a player who moves out of his position is replaced by another from his team, thus retaining the team's intended organisational structure, and each player performs a different function. Also, the effectiveness and speed of the transition between the defensive and offensive phases, in order to put the opponent's rearguard in difficulty, plays a more important role in the match score than maintaining greater ball possession.[7] Several players, such as the sweeper (libero), the attacking full-back (terzino fluidificante), the returning winger (ala tornante) and the inside forward (mezzala) simultaneously play roles in both defence and attack, while the playmaker (regista) (e.g. Michel Platini, Lothar Matthäus or Roberto Baggio) regularly runs to the opponents' box to try to score. This flexibility made it much more versatile, fluid and offensive than the rigid standard scheme used in Italy at the time.[6][8] Although it is one of the first to use four defenders, Zona mista is aesthetically more related to formations which succeeded it: 3–5–2 and an asymmetric 4–3–3 system.[9][10]

Zona mista proved highly successful at national and international level: with it, Torino won the 1975–76 Serie A, its first after the Superga air disaster; Juventus performed some of its finest football ever, setting the most enduring dynasty in the history of Italian football by winning six league titles and two cups in ten years.[11] Juventus then extended this success to the international arena, starting in 1977 when the club won the UEFA Cup without using any foreign players, an unprecedented achievement for any country's team.[12] Subsequently, it lifted the Cup Winners' Cup, the European Champions Cup, the UEFA Super Cup and the Intercontinental Cup, making it the first club to have won all possible official international competitions.[3] These achievements lifted the Serie A for the first time to the top of the confederation ranking at the end of the 1985–86 season, a position maintained for the following three seasons.[13]

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English-speaking world

English-speaking world

The English-speaking world includes over 2 billion people globally who speak the English language as of the 2000s, making English the largest language by number of speakers, and the third largest language by number of native speakers. The regions where English is natively spoken by the majority of the population, due to cultural connections to England, are termed "the Anglosphere". Speakers of English are called Anglophones.

1985 Intercontinental Cup

1985 Intercontinental Cup

The 1985 Intercontinental Cup was an Association football match played on 8 December 1985, between Juventus, winners of the 1984–85 European Cup, and Argentinos Juniors, winners of the 1985 Copa Libertadores. Recognised as the best edition in the history of the tournament for technical and agonistic level, the match was played at the National Stadium in Tokyo. It was Juventus' second appearance into the competition, after replacing Ajax in 1973.

Enzo Bearzot

Enzo Bearzot

Enzo Bearzot was an Italian professional football player and manager. A defender and midfielder, he led the Italy national team to victory in the 1982 FIFA World Cup.

1982 FIFA World Cup

1982 FIFA World Cup

The 1982 FIFA World Cup was the 12th FIFA World Cup, a quadrennial football tournament for men's senior national teams, and was played in Spain between 13 June and 11 July 1982. The tournament was won by Italy, who defeated West Germany 3–1 in the final, held in the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium in the capital, Madrid. It was Italy's third World Cup title, but their first since 1938. The defending champions, Argentina, were eliminated in the second round. Algeria, Cameroon, Honduras, Kuwait and New Zealand made their first appearances in the finals.

1938 FIFA World Cup

1938 FIFA World Cup

The 1938 FIFA World Cup was the third edition of the World Cup, the quadrennial international football championship for senior men's national teams and was held in France from 4 June until 19 June 1938. Italy defended its title in the final, beating Hungary 4–2. Italy's 1934 and 1938 teams hold the distinction of being the only men's national team to win the World Cup multiple times under the same coach, Vittorio Pozzo. It would be the last World Cup until 1950 due to World War II.

Blocco-Juve

Blocco-Juve

Blocco-Juve, also known as Blocco Juventus, was the nickname of the group of Juventus F.C. players called up to have been the backbone to the Italy national football team managed by Enzo Bearzot to win the 1982 FIFA World Cup Final and reached the semifinals of the 1978 FIFA World Cup and in the 1980 European Championship.

Catenaccio

Catenaccio

Catenaccio or The Chain is a tactical system in football with a strong emphasis on defence. In Italian, catenaccio means "door-bolt", which implies a highly organised and effective backline defence focused on nullifying opponents' attacks and preventing goal-scoring opportunities.

Asymmetry

Asymmetry

Asymmetry is the absence of, or a violation of, symmetry. Symmetry is an important property of both physical and abstract systems and it may be displayed in precise terms or in more aesthetic terms. The absence of or violation of symmetry that are either expected or desired can have important consequences for a system.

1975–76 Serie A

1975–76 Serie A

The 1975–76 Serie A season was won by Torino.

Coppa Italia

Coppa Italia

The Coppa Italia is an annual knockout cup competition in Italian football organized by the FIGC until the 2009–10 season and the Lega Serie A ever since.

1983–84 European Cup Winners' Cup

1983–84 European Cup Winners' Cup

The 1983–84 season of the European Cup Winners' Cup was won by Juventus in a final against Porto. The next year, the club went on to complete a full complement of European trophies with the European Cup. Aberdeen were the defending champions, but were eliminated in the semi-finals by Porto.

1984–85 European Cup

1984–85 European Cup

The 1984–85 season of the European Cup club football tournament was overshadowed by the Heysel Stadium disaster that happened prior to the final match. That edition was won for the first time by Juventus in a 1–0 win against defending champions Liverpool. At sporting level, with this result they became the first club to have won all three major European trophies, as well a posteriori as the one that needed the shortest amount of time to complete this.

History

In pure zonal defence, every midfielder and defender is given a particular zone on the field to cover. When a player moves outside his zone, his teammate expands his zone to cover the unmarked area. However, the Catenaccio philosophy called for double-marking when dealing with strong players. Zona Mista combined the strength of zonal marking with that of Catenaccio.

In Zona Mista, there are four defenders. A sweeper is free to roam and assist other defenders. A fullback plays in both defensive and advanced position, typically on the left flank. The two stoppers, who started then to be called "centre back", mark their zones. In the midfield, there are a defensive midfielder, centre midfielder and the playmaker (#10) and a winger who covers typically the right flank and sometimes acts as an additional striker. Zona Mista employs a two-prong attack. A centre forward plays upfront. A second striker plays wide to the left (a derivation of Catenaccio's left winger) and drifts inside to act as a striker or to cover the playmaker when the playmaker drops into a defensive position.

The new Italian tactic came to dominate national football in the late 1970s and early 1980s and reached its height with the highly successful Giovanni Trapattoni's Juventus and the Italy national team coached by Enzo Bearzot,[14] mostly in their victory in the 1982 FIFA World Cup.[15] Classy and skilful Gaetano Scirea was the libero, Fulvio Collovati and tough tackling Claudio Gentile the centre backs, Antonio Cabrini the left wingback. Gabriele Oriali played as a holding midfielder, Marco Tardelli centre midfielder and Giancarlo Antognoni as playmaker.

Its popularity, however, eventually led to its undoing as Italian teams became predictable. Ernst Happel's Hamburg would expose some of the predictability of the style against Juventus with a defensive approach in the 1983 European Champions' Cup Final.[15] However, the Torinese side continued to employ this tactic system with great success over the next decade under the management of Trapattoni and his former goalkeeper Dino Zoff, winning two Italian Championships, two national cups, one Intercontinental Cup, one European Champions' Cup, one Cup Winners' Cup, two UEFA Cups and one UEFA Super Cup.[16]

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Football in Italy

Football in Italy

Football is the most popular sport in Italy. The Italy national football team is considered to be one of the best national teams in the world. They have won the FIFA World Cup four times, trailing only Brazil, runners-up in two finals and reaching a third place (1990) and a fourth place (1978). They have also won two European Championships, also appearing in two finals, finished third at the Confederations Cup (2013), won one Olympic football tournament (1936) and two Central European International Cups.

Giovanni Trapattoni

Giovanni Trapattoni

Giovanni Trapattoni, sometimes popularly known as "Trap" or "Il Trap", is an Italian football manager and former player, considered the most successful club coach of Italian football. A former defensive midfielder, as a player he spent almost his entire club career with AC Milan, where he won two Serie A league titles, and two European Cups, in 1962–63 and 1968–69. Internationally, he played for Italy, earning 17 caps and being part of the squad at the 1962 FIFA World Cup in Chile.

Juventus F.C.

Juventus F.C.

Juventus Football Club, colloquially known as Juve, is a professional football club based in Turin, Piedmont, Italy, that competes in the Serie A, the top tier of the Italian football league system. Founded in 1897 by a group of Torinese students, the club has worn a black and white striped home kit since 1903 and has played home matches in different grounds around its city, the latest being the 41,507-capacity Juventus Stadium. Nicknamed la Vecchia Signora, the club has won 36 official league titles, 14 Coppa Italia titles and nine Supercoppa Italiana titles, being the record holder for all these competitions; two Intercontinental Cups, two European Cups / UEFA Champions Leagues, one European Cup Winners' Cup, a joint national record of three UEFA Cups, two UEFA Super Cups and a joint national record of one UEFA Intertoto Cup. Consequently, the side leads the historical Federazione Italiana Giuoco Calcio (FIGC) classification, whilst on the international stage the club occupies the sixth position in Europe and the twelfth in the world for most confederation titles won with eleven trophies, as well as the fourth in the all-time Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) competitions ranking, having obtained the highest coefficient score during seven seasons since its introduction in 1979, the most for an Italian team in both cases and joint second overall in the last cited.

Italy national football team

Italy national football team

The Italy national football team has represented Italy in international football since its first match in 1910. The national team is controlled by the Italian Football Federation (FIGC), the governing body for football in Italy, which is a co-founder and member of UEFA. Italy's home matches are played at various stadiums throughout Italy, and its primary training ground and technical headquarters, Centro Tecnico Federale di Coverciano, is located in Florence. Italy are the reigning European champions, having won UEFA Euro 2020.

Enzo Bearzot

Enzo Bearzot

Enzo Bearzot was an Italian professional football player and manager. A defender and midfielder, he led the Italy national team to victory in the 1982 FIFA World Cup.

1982 FIFA World Cup

1982 FIFA World Cup

The 1982 FIFA World Cup was the 12th FIFA World Cup, a quadrennial football tournament for men's senior national teams, and was played in Spain between 13 June and 11 July 1982. The tournament was won by Italy, who defeated West Germany 3–1 in the final, held in the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium in the capital, Madrid. It was Italy's third World Cup title, but their first since 1938. The defending champions, Argentina, were eliminated in the second round. Algeria, Cameroon, Honduras, Kuwait and New Zealand made their first appearances in the finals.

Gaetano Scirea

Gaetano Scirea

Gaetano Scirea was an Italian professional footballer who is considered one of the greatest defenders of his generation and one of the greatest defenders of all time. He spent most of his career with Juventus F.C.

Fulvio Collovati

Fulvio Collovati

Fulvio Collovati is an Italian professional footballer who played as a defender. He was a stopper and also played for Italy at international level, winning the 1982 FIFA World Cup. As a player, he was regarded as one of Italy's best defenders during the 1970s and 1980s. An elegant, physically strong, and dynamic player, he was gifted with good technique and distribution, as well as excellent anticipation, movement, marking ability, heading, and aerial prowess; because of his many defensive attributes, he was considered Roberto Rosato's heir at Milan.

Claudio Gentile

Claudio Gentile

Claudio Gentile is an Italian football manager and former player who played as a defender in the 1970s and 1980s.

Antonio Cabrini

Antonio Cabrini

Antonio Cabrini is an Italian professional football manager and a former player. He played left-back, mainly with Juventus. He won the 1982 FIFA World Cup with the Italy national team. Cabrini was nicknamed Bell'Antonio, because of his popularity as a charismatic and good-looking football player. On the field, he made a name for himself as one of Italy's greatest defenders ever, and is remembered in particular for forming one of the most formidable defensive units of all time with Italy and Juventus, alongside goalkeeper Dino Zoff, as well as defenders Claudio Gentile and Gaetano Scirea. Cabrini won the Best Young Player Award at the 1978 World Cup, after helping Italy manage a fourth-place finish, and also represented Italy at Euro 1980, once again finishing in fourth place. He is one of the few players to have won all UEFA Club competitions, an achievement he managed with Juventus. In 2021, he was inducted into the Italian Football Hall of Fame.

Gabriele Oriali

Gabriele Oriali

Gabriele "Lele" Oriali is an Italian former footballer who primarily played as a defensive midfielder but could also play in defence. As a player, he was known in particular for his stamina, work-rate, ball-winning ability, and for his adeptness at breaking down opposition plays.

Marco Tardelli

Marco Tardelli

Marco Tardelli is an Italian former football player and manager. At club level, he played as a midfielder for several Italian clubs; he began his career with Pisa, and later played for Como, Juventus, and Internazionale, before retiring with Swiss club St. Gallen. He enjoyed a highly successful career with Juventus, winning five league titles, as well as multiple Coppa Italia titles, and four major UEFA competitions, becoming one of the first three players ever to win all three major UEFA club competitions, along with Italy and Juventus teammates Antonio Cabrini and Gaetano Scirea.

Skill

Tactical layout

In pure zonal defence, each player covers an area of the field; when a player moves outside that area, and when you move outside of this area, even fellow department shake to keep your team pretty short, and usually sided with the flexible and suitable for 4–4–2. However, if you have to deal with very skilled players, according to the Italian school, you'd rather have a man who acts in the area and one ready to fix any errors. Zona mista faithfully reproduces the defensive techniques and most of the formation of Catenaccio.

There is a sweeper, but because of the change in the offside rule, he must be very careful to move at the right time. At this stage, the sweeper can sometimes also become a playmaker, and lend a hand in the building phase. There are four defenders: clarification of the role of the free, it must be said that this is the fluidising left-back, having at its disposal the entire band, as it is the only cursor (over half the wing, which he controlled) . The other two markers were first called stoppers, later called centre backs; one is sometimes deployed back to even out the areas of the field covered.

In midfield, there was a half-back (mediano), a central midfielder (mediano avanzato) and a playmaker (regista), often called "the number 10", a concept which then spread, in practice a median-called "push", as it was not uncommon for advancing and would mark. Also in this department should be noted hairpin wing, wing to wing somewhere between offensive and an exterior; was in control of the other end (right), although, in some cases, it was considered an offensive player, often marked on the scoresheet, and then added a striker, who often changing of positions with the wing. In two-pronged attack, one usually used as support, the other added opposite wing (derivation of the left wing of the bolt), with a dash movement, regarded as a second striker, when a #10 half-toe when the playmaker became a defensive halfback (leaving the #10 the invention of the game, and stay longer covered in center field).

Positions and functions in field

As zona mista evolved from Catenaccio, the numbers for each position were closely linked to British numbering.

The table below exposes the squad positions and its numbers according to the British style often used in national league and cups as long as in international club competitions, including variant numbering.

One of the tactical positions in the Zona Mista formation.
One of the tactical positions in the Zona Mista formation.
Positions Number Variant
Goalkeeper (Portiere)[10] 1 n.c.
Sweeper (Libero)[10] 6 5/10
Centre-back or Stopper (Difensore centrale)[10] 5 4/3
Pure man-marker (Marcatore puro)[17] 2 n.c.
Attacking full-back (Terzino fluidificante)[10][18] 3 6
Half-back (Mediano)[10] 4 6/8
Inside forward or Centre midfielder (Mezzala)[10] 8 n.c.
Playmaker (Regista)[10] 10 n.c.
Returning winger (Ala tornante)[10][19] 7 n.c.
Second striker (Seconda punta or "Fantasista")[10] 11 7/9
First striker or Centre Forward (Prima punta)[10] 9 11

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Association football positions

Association football positions

In the sport of association football, each of the 11 players on a team is assigned to a particular position on the field of play. A team is made up of one goalkeeper and ten outfield players who fill various defensive, midfield, and attacking positions depending on the formation deployed. These positions describe both the player's main role and their area of operation on the pitch.

Squad number (association football)

Squad number (association football)

Squad numbers are used in association football to identify and distinguish players that are on the field. Numbers very soon became a way to also indicate position, with starting players being assigned numbers 1–11, although in the modern game they are often influenced by the players' favourite numbers and other less technical reasons, as well as using "surrogates" for a number that is already in use. However, numbers 1–11 are often still worn by players of the previously associated position.

Goalkeeper (association football)

Goalkeeper (association football)

The goalkeeper is a position in association football. It is the most specialised position in the sport. The goalkeeper's main role is to stop the opposing team from scoring. This is accomplished by having the goalkeeper move into the trajectory of the ball to either catch it or direct it further from the vicinity of the goal line. Within the penalty area goalkeepers are allowed to use their hands, giving them the sole rights on the field to handle the ball. The goalkeeper is indicated by wearing a different coloured kit from their teammates and opposition.

Playmaker

Playmaker

In association football, a playmaker is a player who controls the flow of the team's play, and is often involved in offensively and defensively playing passing moves which lead to goals, through their vision, technique, ball control, creativity and passing ability.

Source: "Zona mista", Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, (2023, March 13th), https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zona_mista.

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Notes
  1. ^ Chiesa, Carlo Felice (December 1999). "Le tattiche: La zona (3º parte)". Calcio 2000 (in Italian). No. 12 [25]. pp. 121–122. ISSN 1126-1056.
  2. ^ Francesco Camerani (22 February 2014). "Trap l'africano sarà CT della Costa d'Avorio Entrerà in carica dopo i Mondiali, fino al 2018 La nuova avventura dell'allenatore infinito, in panchina a 75 anni Manca l'ufficialità, ma sembra tutto fatto". L'Unità (in Italian). p. 23. Archived from the original on 29 November 2014. Retrieved 20 November 2014.
  3. ^ a b "1985: Juventus end European drought". Union des Associations Européennes de Football. 8 December 1985. Archived from the original on 8 December 2013. Retrieved 1 November 2014.
  4. ^ Garanzini, Gigi (2002). "BEARZOT, Enzo". Enciclopedia dello Sport Treccani (in Italian). Rome: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana. Retrieved 15 November 2014.
  5. ^ "Juventus". Football's Greatest Teams. Episode 10. Pitch International. 18 October 2014. Event occurs at 23:41. SKY Sports 5 HD.
  6. ^ a b "3-5-2, che passione!!" (in Italian). 16 October 2013. Archived from the original on 16 November 2014. Retrieved 15 November 2014.
  7. ^ Zucchelli, Nicola (28 June 2019). "Analisi tattica: La Juventus di Giovanni Trapattoni" (in Italian).
  8. ^ Chiesa, Carlo F. (2010). Il secolo azzurro: 1910-2010 (in Italian). Minerva. p. 82. ISBN 978-8873-81310-1.
  9. ^ Wilson, Jonathan (2013). "The Return of the Back 3". Inverting The Pyramid: The History of Soccer Tactics. News York: Nation Books. ISBN 978-156858-96-33.
  10. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k "Zona mista" (in Italian). Retrieved 15 November 2014.
  11. ^ Bruno Colombero (6 March 1994). "Cicli d'oro firmati da grandi campioni" (in Italian). La Stampa. p. 5. Retrieved 13 December 2011.
  12. ^ Sergio Di Cesare (1 April 2008). "Hard work pays off for Zoff". Union des Associations Européennes de Football. Retrieved 8 February 2010.
  13. ^ "UEFA Country Coefficients 1985/1986". Retrieved 16 November 2014.
  14. ^ Maurício Oliveira, Rodrigo Cerqueira e Thiago Correia (27 June 2013). "Escolas renovadas! Espanha e Itália mudaram estilos e fazem sucesso". Lance! (in Portuguese). Archived from the original on 29 November 2014. Retrieved 10 February 2014.
  15. ^ a b Wilson, Jonathan (2012-07-25). "Italy 3-2 Brazil, 1982: the day naivety, not football itself, died". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 2012-07-25.
  16. ^ Before that date, the Bianconeri won four national championships, one Italian Cup and one UEFA Cup using Zona Mista, cf. Bruno Bernardi (1989-04-10). "Trap, settimo sigillo?" (PDF). Stampa Sera (in Italian). p. 21. Retrieved 2014-09-16.
  17. ^ The player in charge of the man-to-man marking, mainly on the opposite team playmaker, cf. Rizzo, Sergio (2002). "GENTILE, Claudio". Enciclopedia dello Sport Treccani (in Italian). Rome: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana. Retrieved 18 February 2014.
  18. ^ Usually located on the left flank.
  19. ^ Usually located on the right flank.
Further reading
  • Trapattoni, Giovanni (2000). Coaching High Performance Soccer. Spring City: Reedswain Inc. ISBN 1-890946-37-0.
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