Evaristo Beccalossi

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) 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.

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 seaasons with S.S. Barletta Calcio, and Pordenone Calcio S.S.D., before finishing his career after a season with Breno in 1991. Following his retirement, he worked as a pundit.

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.

Style of play

Nicknamed "Beck", "Becca", and "Il Genio" (the genius), 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 also played 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, or physical attributes, he possessed a fairly sturdy build and powerful legs, and was highly regarded in particular for his creativity, eye for the final pass, dribbling skills, and excellent technical ability, in a time in which defensive football dominated in Italy. Despite his ability, he also drew criticism, however, for his inconsistency, poor work-rate, selfishness, and lack of discipline as a footballer; 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. Although he was a predominantly left-footed player, he was capable of scoring or passing with his right foot on occasion; he was also an accurate penalty taker.

Honours