Inter Milan's Giuseppe Bergomi is the 2024 One-Club Man

FC Internazionale Milan's Giuseppe Bergomi is the 2024 One-Club Man Award. The legendary Italian defender, who made a total of 756 official appearances for the Nerazzurri between 1979 and 1999, will receive this award honouring his loyalty to the Inter badge at San Mames during our LaLiga clash with Real Madrid on December 3 or 4.

Surpassed only by the Argentinian Javier Zanetti (858), Bergomi is the second highest appearance maker in Inter Milan history, ahead of icons such as Giacinto Facchetti, Sandro Mazzola, Giuseppe Baresi, Mario Corso, Walter Zenga, Tarsicio Burnich, Alessandro Altobelli and Giuseppe Meazza.

Bergomi's trophy cabinet includes the 1989 Serie A title, three UEFA Cups (1991, 1994 and 1998), the 1982 Coppa and the 1989 Supercoppa.

He also enjoyed a long career with the Italian national team, earning 81 caps and winning the World Cup in 1982.
 

A lifetime at Inter

Born on 22 December 1963 in the Lombardy town of Settala, which has a population of around 7,000 and is just over 20 kilometres from Milan, ‘Beppe’ took his first steps in football with his home town, but signed for the Nerazzurri at the age of 14. Thereafter, Bergomi lived for Inter, practically guiding the club into the new millennium.

An international at youth level, he was a precocious talent, making his first-team debut on 30 January 1980 in a Coppa quarter-final against Juventus at the old Comunale in Turin, becoming the youngest player ever to line up for FC Internazionale. However, despite being called up to the occasional matchday squad, it was not until February 1981 that he made his first senior Serie A appearance, lining up against Como at the Giuseppe Meazza in Milan.

From that moment on, his excellent football skills and his maturity, both on the pitch and in terms of his looks thanks to the distinctive moustache he sported at the time, which earned him the nickname ‘Lo Zio’ (‘the uncle’), enabled him to establish himself in the starting eleven, both in the league and in European competitions.

 

During his two decades at Inter, Bergomi showed his versatility, featuring in all defensive positions, both at full-back and in the centre of defence, even playing as a sweeper at times. His physical strength, aerial power and long shots made him a serious threat, and he scored a total of 21 goals in his career.

He shared a dressing room with internationally renowned figures such as Karl-Heinz Rummenigge, Liam Brady - who attended Athletic Club's 2023 Thinking Football festival - Daniel Passarella, Lothar Matthaus, Andreas Brehme, Jurgen Klinsmann, Matthias Sammer, Dennis Bergkamp, Rubén Sosa, Roberto Carlos, Javier Zanetti, Paul Ince, Youri Djorkaeff, Iván Zamorano, Ronaldo Nazario, Diego  Simeone, Aron Winter and Álvaro Recoba. However, while the foreign stars moved on, Bergomi remained loyal to his team.

In April 1982, at just 18 years old, he made his debut for the senior Italian national team in a friendly match against the German Democratic Republic in Leipzig. Shortly afterwards, he was called up to play in the 1982 World Cup in Spain. Curiously, Bergomi's first official appearance for the Azzurri was one of the most memorable matches in the history of the World Cup, which Italy beating the 'jogo bonito' of Brazil 3-2 in Barcelona.

Paolo Rossi was the hero who put the Canarinha to the sword on a scorching afternoon in the Catalan capital, while Bergomi was the ‘bambino’ deployed by coach Enzo Bearzot to quell Brazil's second-half onslaught. His good performances and reliability earned him a starting place in the semi-final against Poland and the final against West Germany. Italy were crowned world champions again after a 44-year wait in a match that was remembered for the way in which the then Italian president Sandro Pertini celebrated in the Santiago Bernabéu's box.

After the 1982 World Cup, Bergomi also played in the 1986, 1990 and 1998 World Cups, as well as the 1988 European Championship. During his 81 international appearances, Beppe shared the shirt with legends of different generations such as Dino Zoff, Franco Baresi, Antonio Cabrini, Claudio Gentile, Giancarlo Antognoni, Bruno Conti, Francesco Graziani, Fernando de Napoli, Carlo Ancelotti, Ciro Ferrara, Roberto Donadoni, Roberto Mancini, Pietro Vierchowood, Giuseppe Giannini, Paolo Maldini, Francesco Toldo, Fabio Cannavaro, Alessandro Costacurta, Dino Baggio, Alessandro Nesta, Demetrio Albertini, Alessandro Del Piero, Filippo Inzaghi, Christian Vieri and Gianluigi Buffon

He also turned out for Italy alongside Inter teammates like Gabriele Oriali, Giampiero Marini, Ivano Bordon, Alessandro Altobelli, Fulvio Collovatti, Giuseppe Baresi, Franco Causio, Marco Tardelli, Walter Zenga, Ricardo Ferri, Aldo Serena, Nicola Berti and Roberto Baggio, as well as other sadly missed stars such as Paolo Rossi, Gaetano Scirea, Gianluca Vialli and Salvatore Schillaci.

In 2004, FIFA named him one of the ‘100 best footballers in history’ and in 1991 he was awarded the Order of Merit of the Republic of Italy, the country's highest distinction, and now Giuseppe Bergomi will become Athletic Club's 2024 One-Club Man. Today he is one of the most popular football commentators in Italy, and on the microphone he exhibits the same qualities that made him an outstanding footballer: precision, a moral compass, analytical skills and, above all, a passion for the game. 

The defender from Lombardy follows in the footsteps of some huge figures in winning the award: Matthew LeTissier (Southampton FC, 2015), Paolo Maldini (AC Milan, 2016), Sepp Maier (Bayern München, 2017), Carles Puyol (FC Barcelona, 2018), Billy McNeill (Celtic FC, 2019), Ryan Giggs (Manchester United, 2020), Ricardo Bochini (Club Atlético Independiente, 2022) and João Pinto (FC Porto, 2023).