Vittorio Pozzo- Il Vecchio Maestro

The Azzurri have been long known for their extraordinary passion for the game of football. Not only have they produced legendary players and managers but they have also contributed to the tactical aspect of the game with some fundamental tactical systems. It almost seems like the Italians have a congenital knack for it and the likes of Antonio Conte, Carlo Ancelotti and Massimiliano Allegri have only proved it time and again. But to play just 24 years in your senior career and lead the national team to two FIFA World Cup triumphs in your managerial career? It most definitely has to take something very special. No wonder Vittorio Pozzo is regarded as one of the greatest managers ever to have graced the game.

The Turin born manager Vittorio Pozzo started his senior career at Grasshoppers based in Zürich, Switzerland in 1905 and then moved to Torino in 1906. Having played till 1911 for the Toros and making only a meager 5 appearances, Pozzo took up the managerial role for the Italian National Team. in 1912. Losing to Finland 3–2 in extra time in the first round of the their first ever Olympic games, Pozzo stepped down and decided to join Torino as a manager until 1922. Constantly, managing and resigning the Italian nation team Manager position and after a short stint with Milan during 1924–1926, Pozzo finally decided to join long term for the Azzurri in 1929. His tenure is said to be crucial in the development of modern football and hence, he is regarded as the il Vecchio Maestro or the ‘Old Master’.

Metodo:

Pozzo invented the Metodo formation (2–3–2–3), long derived from the old school 2–3–5 all-out attack Pyramid formation. Pozzo realised the shortcomings of the Pyramid on the defensive front. He pulled back the inside forwards into the midfield to balance the defensive and offensive attributes. The centre half (just in front of the centre backs) acts as a deep lying playmaker to account for the creativity along with acting as a screen for the full backs to bolster the defense and can even drop deeper as a third centre-back if required. This allowed the the team to constantly shuffle between a 2–3–2–3 and 3–4–3. The beauty of the system is that you can outnumber the opponents in any area of the pitch at any given time and Pozzo’s austerity ensured that his players worked hard to do so. But the system has it’s own shortcomings and can be broken down by catching the fullbacks upfront, stretch the defense to one side and switch the play to bully the opposition on the other side. Another approach to outwit this system would be relying on fast transitions from midfield to attack and rapid counterattacks.

However, the Metodo (or the ‘WW’ formation) was the driving factor in the Italian side conquering the world in 2 consecutive World Cups. Italy defeated Czechoslovakia 2–1 in the extra-time thriller final with Angelo Schiavio scoring the winning goal in the 95th minute. Although the 1934 edition is said to have been controversial as Italy were benefitted against Spain in the quarter-finals due to refereeing errors, Pozzo ran a rampant show in the 1938 World Cup. Italy were to face the Brazilians in the semi-finals but the Brazilians seem so confident of their victory that they had already booked their tickets to the venue of the final-Paris. However, Pozzo approached them and asked them to handover the tickets in case of Italian victory for which he was mocked by the Brazilians. Italians ended up defeating the Brazilians 2–1 and avenged their gaffer for the humiliation he faced. Italians went on to clinch the title of World Champions once again by overcoming Hungary 4–2 in the final.

Pozzo also won the Central European International Cup twice in his tenure (1927–1930 and 1933–35) with Italy. After having such a promising managerial career, Pozzo finally hung up his boots in 1948 having already achieved the Commendatore in 1934 for the World Cup success. Vittorio Pozzo went down in the Italian Football Hall of Fame in 2011, reminiscent of his great work and also in the World Soccer Magazine as 13th Greatest Manager of All Time in 2013. Despite having limited playing experience, the radicalism in his ideology is a testament to his tactical acumen. ‘The Old Master’ revolutionised Italian football and stands as the only personality in history to have managed two World Cup winning teams.