Ciro Ferrara

For Italy, Ferrara was capped 49 times and played 1 match each at the 1990 FIFA World Cup on home soil (where Italy finished in third place after a semi-final penalty shootout defeat to Argentina) and at UEFA Euro 2000 (where Italy reached the final, losing to France on a golden goal). Ferrara took part at Euro 1988, where Italy reached the semi-finals, although he did not appear during the tournament. The same year, he was a member of the Italy team that finished in fourth place at the 1988 Summer Olympics after reaching the semi-final.[3][4]

An elegant yet powerful and aggressive defender, Ferrara was known throughout his career for his composure, anticipation, technical skills, ball-playing ability, versatility, and class, which enabled him to play anywhere along the back-line, both in the centre, as a man-marker ("stopper"), or as a full-back, usually on the right flank, and allowed him to adapt to various formations and systems.[3][5] A world-class defender, who is regarded as one of the best Italian centre-backs of his generation,[3][5][6][7][8][9][10][11] Welsh former winger Ryan Giggs described Ferrara and his defensive teammate at Juventus Paolo Montero as "...the toughest defenders [he] played against", also adding that they were often very hard in their challenges,[12] while Polish former midfielder Zbigniew Boniek has stated that Ferrara was the best defender he ever faced.[13] A precocious talent in his youth, Ferrara later established himself as one of the best centre-backs in the world in his prime. He was considered to be a complete, experienced, consistent, cautious and successful defender, with a good positional sense, who was quick, athletic, strong in the air, a good tackler, and who excelled at reading the game and marking his opponents;[3][5][6][14][8][9][11][15] these skills enabled him to be effective in both a man-marking and a zonal marking defensive system.[9] In addition to his defensive skills, he was also known for his offensive contribution as a centre-back,[15] and was also capable of playing as a sweeper.[16] In spite of his tenacious playing style, he was also known to be a fair and correct player.[8][15] In addition to his ability as a defender, he was also known for his professionalism, leadership, strong personality, and his commanding presence both on the pitch and in the dressing room.[9][17]

Ferrara was part of the Italian technical staff for the 2006 World Cup. After winning the World Cup, he became part of Juventus' staff, joining former club and national teammate Gianluca Pessotto, with Ferrara being named youth system chief (responsabile settore giovanile), dealing mostly with organisational aspects of the Juve academy. In July 2008, Ferrara took the UEFA Pro License coaching badges following training at Coverciano, Florence.[18] After Juventus fired Claudio Ranieri following a string of seven league games without a win in the 2008–09 season, Ferrara was named interim head coach of Juventus on 18 May 2009 for the remaining two weeks of the season, with the goal of maintaining second place in the league table, and the possibility of being appointed on a full-time basis for a longer period. In his two games as caretaker manager, he led Juventus to 3–0 and 2–0 wins over Siena and Lazio respectively, thus ensuring a second-place finish over rivals Milan. Following these results, he emerged as a strong candidate for to take the job permanently for the next season. On 5 June 2009, Juventus formally announced his appointment as manager for 2009–10 season.[19][20]

During the summer, the team was then strengthened with high-profile signings such as Brazilian internationals Diego and Felipe Melo; 2006 World Cup champions Fabio Cannavaro and Fabio Grosso in defence; and young Uruguayan international Martín Cáceres, on loan. After winning his first four league matches, Ferrara's fortunes changed after Juve failed to make the knockout stage of the 2009–10 UEFA Champions League following a 4–1 defeat by Bayern Munich at home in a match where a draw would have awarded Juve the qualification to the following phase, despite a promising start to the campaign. Despite a win over Derby d'Italia rivals Internazionale, Juve embarked on a losing streak over the winter, notably against minor teams such as Sicilian side Catania and recently promoted Bari. He came under intense scrutiny from the media and there was much speculation about who would succeed him as manager, especially after he was absent at the traditional meeting of all Serie A managers, coaches and referees in Rome during mid-season and was instead represented by then-Juventus director of sport Alessio Secco and 23-year-old midfielder Claudio Marchisio at the press conference.[21]

Six days later, Juventus were knocked out of the Coppa Italia by Inter 2–1 at the San Siro, leading the board of directors to ultimately sack Ferrara after weeks of speculation regarding his position, replacing him with Alberto Zaccheroni until the end of the season.[22]

On 22 October 2010, Ferrara was announced as new head coach of the Italy under-21 team, with former teammate Angelo Peruzzi his assistant.[23] Under Ferrara, the Azzurrini remain unbeaten in the 2013 UEFA European U21 Championship qualifiers as of June 2012. On 2 July 2012, he left the country's U-21 side to coach newly promoted Serie A side Sampdoria for the 2012–13 season. However, he was sacked on 17 December 2012.[24][25]

With his fellow Neapolitan friend and former defensive teammate Fabio Cannavaro, Ferrara has helped establish a charity foundation, Fondazione Cannavaro Ferrara, specialising in the procurement of cancer research equipment and surgery for special cases of cancer for a hospital in their native Naples. The foundation also aims to help at risk youth in Naples.[26]

• Ciro Ferrara – FIFA competition record
• Profile on Italian FA website (in Italian)