Today Giuseppe Bergomi, known to all as “Beppe” or “Uncle”, celebrates his 56th birthday. Former captain of Inter and World Champion in an Azzurri shirt in 1982, Beppe entered the Italian Players section of the Italian Football Hall of Fame in 2017.

Born in Milan on 22 December 1963, he remained at Inter throughout his career, with his debut coming against Juventus in the Coppa Italia in the 1979/80 season when he was just 17 years old. Despite never taking to the pitch in the league that campaign, he was part of the squad that won the Scudetto title. The following year, he debuted in both the Italian top tier and the European Cup, but he had to wait until the 1981/82 campaign to net his first goals in professional football. In 20 seasons at Inter, he won two Scudetto titles, one Coppa Italia, one Supercoppa Italiana and three UEFA Cup trophies. In 2004, he was included in FIFA 100, the list of the best 125 living footballers, as the football governing body celebrated the 100th anniversary of its foundation.

As for Italy, he won his first cap in April 1982 against Germany (0-1) in a friendly and thus became the youngest debutant in the history of the National Team at the age of 18. But the Azzurri would get their revenge against the Germans in a much more important match a few months later: the “Uncle” (he was given this nickname due to his adult appearance despite his young age) played as a starter as Italy became Champions of the World for the third time after running out 3-1 winners in Madrid. After this success, Bergomi took part in the 1986 World Cup in Mexico and then the 1988 European Cup and 1990 World Cup (in which the Azzurri finished third) as captain. His Italy career came to an end following the 1998 World Cup in France. His post-playing career has seen him take up leadership roles in various youth sectors, while he has also been one of the most popular television pundits in the last 15 years.