Enzo Francescoli

Francescoli in 2007
Personal information
Full name	Enzo Francescoli Uriarte
Date of birth	(1961-11-12) 12 November 1961
Place of birth	Montevideo, Uruguay
Height	5 ft 11+1⁄4 in (1.81 m)
Position(s)	Attacking midfielder
Youth career
	Wanderers
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
1980–1982	Wanderers	74	(20)
1983–1986	River Plate	113	(68)
1986–1989	RC Paris	89	(32)
1989–1990	Marseille	28	(11)
1990–1993	Cagliari	98	(17)
1993–1994	Torino	24	(3)
1994–1997	River Plate	84	(47)
Total		510	(198)
International career
1982–1997	Uruguay	73	(17)
Medal record Representing  Uruguay Copa América Winner 1983 Winner 1987 Argentina Winner 1995 Uruguay Runner-up 1989 Brazil CONMEBOL–UEFA Cup of Champions Runner-up 1985 France
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Enzo Francescoli Uriarte (Spanish pronunciation: [ˈenso fɾanseˈskoljuˈɾjaɾte]; born 12 November 1961), nicknamed "El Príncipe" ("The Prince"), is a Uruguayan former footballer who played as an attacking midfielder. He is regarded as one of the best playmakers of his generation and as one of Uruguay's and South America's greatest ever players. He represented his nation at two FIFA World Cups, in 1986 and 1990, also winning the Copa América in 1983, 1987 and 1995.

At club level, Francescoli began his career with Uruguayan club Wanderers. In neighbouring Argentina, he played for River Plate. He was the leading scorer and a key player for the club's second Copa Libertadores title. Francescoli won a total of five Argentine titles in the six years in which he played for the club. He also enjoyed success in France with Racing Paris and Marseille, where his performances proved decisive as the team won the 1989–90 French Division 1.^[1][2] He later also had spells in Italy with Cagliari and Torino, before returning to River Plate, where he ended his career.

He was considered an elite playmaker in the Uruguay national team. He played 73 times for the Celeste between 1982 and his retirement in 1997, making him the most capped outfield player in Uruguayan international football at the time.^[3]

Francescoli was the only Uruguayan included by Pelé in the FIFA 100 list of the world's greatest living footballers in 2004, and he was also elected by the International Federation of Football History & Statistics as the sixth-greatest Uruguayan player and the 24th greatest South American player of the 20th century.^[4]

Early life

Francescoli was born in Montevideo into a family of Italian and Basque origin. Since childhood, he was known as a shy and reserved person who spoke little and, in what he regarded as a virtue, was very observant, being regarded by those who knew him as very kind inside and outside football. Due to his slender frame, he was nicknamed "El Flaco" ("The Skinny One").

Club career

Montevideo Wanderers

Francescoli's identity card at Montevideo Wanderers

As a young fan of Peñarol, Francescoli passed a try-out but did not join, unimpressed by the lack of playing time.^[5] Despite another successful try-out with South American powerhouse River Plate, which he would later join in 1983, he chose to stay at his high school football team while completing his studies, winning five championships.^[2]

In his last year of high school, he received an offer from his hometown club Montevideo Wanderers and joined after graduating. In 1980, he debuted with the Wanderers first team, achieving their best position since their fourth and last national title in 1931, a second-place finish. His elegant behaviour and playing style earned him the nickname "El Príncipe" ("The Prince"), a nickname inherited from Hannibal Ciocca, a former Wanderers player. He developed the habit of chewing gum during games in order to avoid dryness in his mouth. He stated he became so dependent on the habit that he did not feel right when he did not have any gum before games.^[2]

In the Uruguayan Primera División in 1981, Francescoli performed well for the team, which finished only behind Peñarol and Nacional. In February 1982, he made his debut for the Uruguay national team. Later that year, he made his Copa Libertadores debut, ironically after his worst result with the Wanderers in the national championship, a fifth-place finish.^[6]

Vying for a place with his team in the 1983 Copa Libertadores, Francescoli and his team, which included other notable players such as Jorge Barrios, Luis Alberto Acosta, Raúl Esnal and Ariel Krasouski, had a respectable season, finishing first in their group, tied with Nacional, and were only eliminated from the tournament in the quarterfinal play-off match.^[7]

River Plate

Francescoli during his first year in River Plate, 1983

After Francescoli won the 1983 Copa América with Uruguay, River Plate signed him later that year for $310,000.^[8] The following year, Francescoli was unable to show his potential, splitting time with other players. He saw more playing time towards the end of the season when the team reached the Argentine final, but was defeated 3–0 by Ferro Carril Oeste.^[9] Nevertheless, Francescoli, was voted the best South American footballer of 1984 for his performances for River Plate and the Uruguay national team, featuring alongside players such as Nelson Gutiérrez and Antonio Alzamendi, among others. Eager to excel with River Plate, Francescoli rejected an offer from América de Cali (later found to be funded by the Cali Cartel) which was doing well that year and would go on to become the Copa Libertadores runners-up between 1985 and 1987.^[2]

Although the team did not win the championship in 1985, Francescoli was voted Argentina's best player, the first foreign player to be given the honour. He finally won the Argentine title with River Plate the next season, claiming the 1985–86 Championship which had been re-established as a single tournament. He ended the season as top scorer with 25 goals, three of which came in a 5–4 victory against Argentinos Juniors for the championship match and qualified for the Copa Libertadores. In January 1986, he scored his most famous goal: a decisive bicycle kick which gave River Plate a victory over the Poland national team in a friendly tournament organized by the five largest Argentine clubs.^[10]

After winning the Argentine title, Francescoli moved to Europe, where he was signed by Racing Paris, who had just been promoted from the French Second Division. Nantes was willing to pay $2.5 million for his contract, but River Plate's president at the time, Hugo Santilli, believed Francescoli could fetch a better price.^[11]

Exhibition matches

Francescoli and then Chief of Government of Buenos Aires, Mauricio Macri, in an exhibition match in 2012

Since his retirement, Francescoli has only returned to the pitch for festive games, such as those commemorating the retirement of Juan Pablo Sorín, Víctor Aristizábal and Diego Maradona, considered by him to be the greatest player he has seen, and other friends. Maradona almost did not participate in the match since the River Plate fans were strongly opposed to it. "There was no problem for me. There are three things I do not discuss nor with my best friends: Religion, politics and football...things in that person, mistaken or not, advocates a cause," Francescoli said. He added, "[Y]ou'll never hear me saying 'I live and die for River Plate', though I may be much more of a fan than others." After Maradona, the second greatest player he stated he had seen was Zinedine Zidane, an opinion he admits was heavily influenced by emotional reasons, as Zidane was a big fan of Francescoli.

In July 2012, in Ariel Ortega's testimonial, Francescoli scored four goals at the age of 50, the last of which was a bicycle kick in the penalty area.^[23]

International career

In 1981, one year after his professional debut, Francescoli joined the Uruguayan team that won the South American Under-20 Championship. He was named one of the best young players in the world that year, also making three appearances in the 1981 FIFA World Youth Championship.^[24] He made his debut for the senior team in 1982, competing in a friendly tournament in India. The following year, as a member of the Uruguay squad in the 1983 Copa América, he scored his first international goal in a 2–0 victory over Brazil.^[25]

Uruguay qualified for the 1986 World Cup after a close match against Chile, in a qualifying group that also included Peru. Francescoli's ability was questioned by critics. However, Uruguayan coach Omar Borrás said, "Everyone talks about Platini, Maradona, of Elkjær ... but our Francescoli has everything to be the highlight of the World Cup."^[25]

Francescoli being tackled by Scotland's David Narey at the 1986 FIFA World Cup

However, Uruguay's performance in the tournament were less than stellar. The team earned two draws and two defeats, advancing to the second round only as one of the best third-placed teams, while Francescoli only scored once throughout the entire tournament, in an infamous 1–6 defeat to Denmark in the first round.^[26] This tournament was seen by Francescoli as his worst performance in his entire career. He stated in an interview, "[T]he only thing I ask is forgiveness from all Uruguayans." Uruguay ultimately fell in the round of 16, to the eventual champions Argentina, led by eventual Golden Ball winner Diego Maradona.

Francescoli and Antonio Alzamendi with Uruguay in the 1987 Copa América

The disappointment was assuaged the next year with the victory of the 1987 Copa América as defending champions. Francescoli shone for Uruguay in the semi-final against hosts and defending World Cup champions Argentina in the Estadio Monumental de Núñez (the stadium of his former club, River Plate). A win against Chile in the final of the tournament followed, and the victory gave Uruguay their record 13th continental title.

Two years later in the 1989 Copa América, Francescoli played in four of five matches, winning three and helping Uruguay to reach the final round for the third consecutive time.^[25] The final match was played against hosts and favourites Brazil, coincidentally in similar circumstances to the last round of the final round of the 1950 World Cup. The match was also played on the same date, 16 July, and at the same stadium, the Maracanã. As in 1950, the Brazilians took the lead, although they were the winners on this occasion.

During the qualifiers for the 1990 World Cup, the Uruguayans once again needed to overcome several obstacles in order to seal qualification: Bolivia proved to be the toughest opponent in the group, alongside Peru. Francescoli and his teammates had the task of defeating both teams in the final two games of the qualification campaign, and succeeded, ensuring their place in the World Cup play-offs, in which they overcame Bolivia to qualify for the upcoming tournament.

In his second World Cup, Francescoli did not perform much better than in the previous tournament. Although many analysts regarded him as one of the potential stars of the tournament due to his talent and ability to be decisive for his team, Uruguay again did not fare very well, earning only one win in a 1–0 group stage victory over South Korea, once again advancing to the second round as one of the best third-placed teams. The team were eliminated in the round of 16, suffering a 2–0 defeat against hosts Italy, on this occasion, who went on to finish the tournament in third place. This was Francescoli's final World Cup. In total, he made eight World Cup appearances, scoring once and appearing in each of Uruguay's matches in both the 1986 and 1990 tournaments.^[24] Altogether, he played in eight World Cup matches, losing four, tying three and winning one.^{[25][27][28][29][30]}

After the 1990 World Cup, national team coach Óscar Tabárez was replaced by Luis Cubilla, who had trained the under-used Francescoli at River Plate, when Francescoli had first arrived at the club years before. Cubilla brought a strong feeling of nationalism among Uruguayan fans at the time, specifically of resentment against the country's athletes who played in Europe, and even hinted that Francescoli, and also Rubén Sosa, Carlos Aguilera and Oscar Herrera, were "dinheiristas" ("mercenaries"). Appalled, they refused to play if Cubilla did not recant his comments and these players were left out of the 1991 Copa América. Without the "European" stars, Uruguay collapsed in the first round. By the time the 1993 tournament came around, the players had already been called back to the team. Although he had been called up by Cubilla, Francescoli was benched throughout the tournament, and Uruguay once again disappointed, suffering a quarter-final elimination. In a friendly match later that year, Francescoli made his first appearance for the Celeste in many years. Meanwhile, South American rivals Argentina won both the 1991 and 1993 editions of the tournament, overtaking Uruguay as the team with the most Copa América titles (14).

Although Francescoli's role in the team was disputed during a low point in his international career, he showed he was still an important player for the national team, and appeared for Uruguay in the qualifying rounds for the 1994 World Cup.^[24] Uruguay reached the CONMEBOL Group 2 final round of the South American qualifiers, along with Bolivia, Brazil and the two wildcard teams Ecuador and Venezuela. Uruguay, Bolivia and Brazil each had ten points in the group, and Brazil and Uruguay faced each other at the Maracanã on 19 September 1993. Uruguay lost the match 2–0, as Brazil topped the group to qualify for the upcoming tournament. As Bolivia was able to earn a draw in their fixture, the Uruguayans came third in the group, failing to qualify for the competition. Although the team failed to qualify for the upcoming World Cup in the United States, Francescoli overcame one of his biggest struggles throughout his career as after two years, national team's coach Cubilla was relieved of his position. After the defeat against Brazil at the Maracanã in Uruguay's final qualification match, Cubilla had said of Francescoli, "That man is a traitor to his country, so take away his passport!" Francescoli later stated in a 2008 interview that this was a low point in his career, and that his coach's comment caused him sit in a corner of the Maracanã and cry.^[31]

The 1995 Copa América on home soil under Uruguay's new head coach, Héctor Núñez, was a breath of fresh air for Francescoli. After not featuring in the previous two editions of the tournament (although he was named to the squad in 1993, he did not play a single match), Francescoli carried his team to the Copa América final against Brazil, at the Estadio Centenario in Montevideo. Uruguay won a hard-fought final 5–3 on penalties, after a 1–1 draw, with Francescoli converting his team's first penalty, as he lifted the title for the last time.^[32] As a result, Uruguay equalled Argentina as the South American national team with the most Copa América titles (14). Uruguay later broke the record in 2011, with the victory of their 15th Copa América title. Francescoli was once again named player of the tournament, and was also elected the best player in South America, at age 34, 11 years after first receiving the honour.^[33] In the tournament, he also scored his final goal for the national team, which came in the group stage in a 1–0 win against Paraguay.^[34] In total, Francescoli made 16 appearances over four editions of the Copa América, scoring five goals, and reaching the final on all four occasions in which he played.^[35]

Francescoli announced his retirement from international football after winning the Copa América for the third time. However, he briefly came out of international retirement during Uruguay's qualifying campaign for the 1998 World Cup, after his teammates had persuaded him to return, with President of Uruguay Julio María Sanguinetti also asking him personally. In October 1996, Francescoli returned to play for the national team, although he did not take part in the 1997 Copa América. He played in eight matches in June of that year,^[24] after the continental tournament. His last two matches with the Celeste came in July and August 1997. The Uruguayans still had three World Cup South American qualifying matches remaining, but reached the last match with no mathematical chance of qualifying for the tournament and finishing seventh in their group.

Francescoli made 73 official appearances for his country, with 37 wins, 18 draws and 18 defeats, and scoring 17 goals.^[36] He was praised for his performances in a difficult period for the national team, retiring as the player with the second most appearances for Uruguay, only four games behind the record holder at the time, goalkeeper Rodolfo Rodríguez, despite the three years in which he had been disowned by the national side, and another in which he had voluntarily retired. Later, his record would be broken by goalkeeper Fabián Carini and also by striker Diego Forlán.

Style of play and legacy

Francescoli in action v Ferro Carril Oeste, 1984

A quick, elegant, creative and technically gifted attacking midfielder who was also capable of playing in the centre as a second striker, Francescoli was noted in particular for his control, grace, fluidity, dribbling skills and ability on the ball, despite his lack of notable pace.^[37][38] A two-footed playmaker with excellent vision, passing ability, and an eye for goal from midfield, he was also known for his ability from set-pieces, and also had a penchant for scoring acrobatic goals from overhead kicks.^[38][39] These qualities would later influence the style of French creative offensive midfielder Zinedine Zidane, who has stated that, along with compatriot Michel Platini, Francescoli was one of his favourite players as a young boy, and that he would often watch him train with Marseille. Zidane even named one of his sons, Enzo, in homage to him.^[37] Francescoli learned of this fact just before the Intercontinental Cup final match of 1996, and so the two players swapped jerseys at the end of the match. The piece became a favourite of Zidane's to wear. Subsequently, the two presented television show Football Cracks, a reality show that sought new football talent in Spain. Francescoli's admiration for Zidane extended to other French players and he has stated he felt more respect from French fans than he had while playing there.

Other players to have been named after him are Argentine internationals Enzo Pérez and Enzo Fernández,^[40] both of whom have also played for River Plate. Argentine striker Diego Milito has also been given the nickname "Il Principe" during Milito's tenure with Inter Milan due to his elegant style of play and physical resemblance to Francescoli.^[41] Francescoli has joked saying that neither of his sons resemble him as much as Milito, both in physical appearance and in their walk. Furthermore, Argentine attacking midfielder Javier Pastore, who was also a fan of Francescoli as a youngster, was given the Uruguayan's other nickname "El Flaco", because of their similar style of play as well as their slender build.^[42]

In recognition of his talent, Francescoli was the only Uruguayan footballer to be named by Pelé as one of the top 125 greatest living footballers in March 2004.^[43]

Media career

Francescoli went to live with his family in Miami, where he would create TV station GOL TV with former manager Paco Casal. Francescoli returned to Buenos Aires five years later, although he still travelled monthly to the United States because of his activities there. For the 2010 World Cup, he led the team of Channel 7 Argentina, Argentina's state broadcaster.

Coaching career

Since leaving television, Francescoli was asked several times to coach River Plate, but he never accepted, stating instead that if asked to be manager of the club, he might accept, since he could employ the lessons that had learned as an entrepreneur.

However, one factor that prevented him from having more acceptance in Uruguay was his relationship with Paco Casal. There was controversy in Uruguay over his buying football television rights through his company Tenfield SA. A known critic said, "The contract with Tenfield SA... has been detrimental to Uruguayan football. Players earn ever lower wages, clubs are bankrupt, but entrepreneurs are getting richer. Only journalists who support the contractual relationship between the AUF and Tenfield are those who work for the company, which has a monopoly in the country." Francescoli said of Casal, "He is the most important businessman in my country, and built [his power] from nothing. He is involved in things that generate passion for football and carnival, and this creates divisions [of opinions]... he is a good person. The man helps more than people believe. Paco did not get up one day and said, 'I want to be owner of Uruguayan football.' Paco was given ownership because the leaders were not able to sell the players that they developed."

Personal life

Francescoli is married to Mariela Yern since 1984 and has two sons with her, Bruno and Marco. His wife is a psychologist, which he stated was of great value to their marriage. As a footballer, he required emotional sympathy, he stated in an interview program in 2000. Bruno studied law, while Marco tried to follow in his father's footsteps, eventually playing for Cagliari, where he played for three years, and then Estudiantes de La Plata, but did not get much further. One factor for his retirement from football was his desire to be closer to his two sons. Francescoli has two brothers: Luis Ernesto, two years older; and Pablo, 13 years younger. Outside of football, he also enjoys smoking, a habit that he has had since age 16, and playing golf.

Francescoli was made the Uruguayan ambassador for UNICEF after Diego Forlán in 2002.

Career statistics

International

Appearances and goals by national team and year^[25]

National team	Year	Apps	Goals
Uruguay	1982	4	0
	1983	4	1
	1984	1	0
	1985	11	5
	1986	6	1
	1987	4	0
	1988	1	2
	1989	9	3
	1990	6	0
	1991	–	–
	1992	–	–
	1993	9	2
	1994	–	–
	1995	9	3
	1996	3	0
	1997	6	0
Total		73	17

Scores and results list Uruguay's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Francescoli goal.

List of international goals scored by Enzo Francescoli

No.	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
–	17 February 1982	Eden Gardens, Calcutta, India	Yugoslavia	1–0	1–0	Unofficial match (Nehru Cup)
–	28 February 1982	Eden Gardens, Calcutta, India	Italy	2–0	3–2	Unofficial match (Nehru Cup)
1	27 October 1983	Estadio Centenario, Montevideo, Uruguay	Brazil	1–0	2–0	1983 Copa América
2	29 January 1985	Estadio Centenario, Montevideo, Uruguay	East Germany	1–0	3–0	Friendly
3	3 February 1985	Estadio Centenario, Montevideo, Uruguay	Paraguay	1–0	1–0	Artigas Cup
4	6 February 1985	Estadio Félix Capriles, Cochabamba, Bolivia	Bolivia	1–0	1–0	Friendly
5	24 February 1985	Estadio Centenario, Montevideo, Uruguay	Colombia	2–0	3–0	Friendly
6	31 March 1985	Estadio Olímpico Atahualpa, Quito, Ecuador	Ecuador	2–0	2–0	1986 World Cup qualification
7	8 June 1986	Estadio Neza 86, Nezahualcóyotl, Mexico	Denmark	1–2	1–6	1986 FIFA World Cup
8.	14 December 1988	Estadio Centenario, Montevideo, Uruguay	Peru	1–0	3–0	MUFP Cup
9				2–0
10	6 July 1989	Estádio Serra Dourada, Goiânia, Brazil	Chile	3–0	3–0	1989 Copa América
11	12 July 1989	Estádio do Maracanã, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil	Paraguay	1–0	3–0	1989 Copa América
12	17 September 1989	Estadio Centenario, Montevideo, Uruguay	Bolivia	2–0	2–0	1990 World Cup qualification
13	8 August 1993	Estadio Hernando Siles, La Paz, Bolivia	Bolivia	1–3	1–3	1994 World Cup qualification
14	12 September 1993	Estadio Centenario, Montevideo, Uruguay	Bolivia	1–0	2–1	1994 World Cup qualification
15	28 June 1995	Estadio Atilio Paiva Olivera, Rivera, Uruguay	New Zealand	1–1	2–2	Friendly
16	5 July 1995	Estadio Centenario, Montevideo, Uruguay	Venezuela	3–1	4–1	1995 Copa América
17	9 July 1995	Estadio Centenario, Montevideo, Uruguay	Paraguay	1–0	1–0	1995 Copa América

Honours

Source:^[44]

River Plate

• Primera División: 1985–86, 1994 Apertura, 1996 Apertura, 1997 Clausura, 1997 Apertura
• Copa Libertadores: 1996
• Supercopa Sudamericana: 1997

Marseille

• French Division 1: 1989–90

Uruguay

• South American Youth Football Championship: 1981
• Copa América: 1983, 1987, 1995

Individual

• Copa América player of the tournament: 1983, 1995
• South American Footballer of the Year: 1984, 1995
• Argentine Primera División top scorers: 1984 Metropolitano, 1985–86, 1994 Apertura
• Player of the Year of Argentina: 1985, 1995
• France Foreign Player of the Year: 1990
• South American Team of the Year: 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997^[45]
• FIFA 100^[46]
• World Soccer: The 100 Greatest Footballers of All Time^[47]
• Cagliari Hall of Fame^[18]
• Cagliari Greatest All-time Starting XI^[18]
• IFFHS Uruguayan Men's Dream Team^[48]

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Enzo Francescoli.

• International statistics at RSSSF
• Profile at Tenfield (in Spanish)
• Midfield Dynamo's 10 Heroes of the Copa América Enzo Francescoli listed in the top 10
• Enzo Francescoli – FIFA competition record (archived)