JFA Hall of Fame Inductee

Alberto ZACCHERONI

Special Selection: 20th Japan Football Hall of Fame in 2024

Born in Italy on 1 April 1953

Alberto ZACCHERONI coached prestigious Italian clubs such as AC Milan and Juventus, before being appointed manager of the SAMURAI BLUE (Japan National Team) in 2010. At his first match after being appointed to this position, in October of the same year in the Kirin Challenge Cup 2010, he led Japan to their first ever victory over Argentina, against a team that included Lionel MESSI. At the AFC Asian Cup Qatar 2011 held three months later, the team had to deal with a series of challenges, including players having to be withdrawn due to injuries and a player being sent off, but with skillful management, he led the team to the championship.

While Japanese players were increasingly expanding their activities to professional leagues in Europe, ZACCHERONI strengthened the team in the limited time he had to work with them by playing attacking football that fully utilized the players' abilities. In the Asian qualifying round for the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil, the team became the fastest in the world to earn a ticket to the main tournament. Although the final competition did not produce the results he had envisioned, during his nearly four-year tenure he developed SAMURAI BLUE into a team that could compete with the best teams in South America and Europe, and put them on a stage where they could aim for the top spots in international competitions. He is highly regarded as having dramatically improved the ability of Japanese football.

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  TAKAHASHI Yoichi