Alberto Zaccheroni is an Italian football manager, currently in charge of the Japan national team, which he led to the final victory in the most recent Asian Cup.
He is best known for having managed a number of top clubs in Serie A namely Udinese, Milan, Lazio, Internationale, Torino and Juventus, and won a scudetto with A.C. Milan in 1999. He is renowned also for his unconventional and trademark 3-4-3 tactical system.
Zaccheroni's playing career was cut short by injury, and he became a manager at the relatively young age of 30 with amateurs Cesenatico. His managerial career took off during the 1997-98 season with Udinese, guiding them to third place in the league and qualification for the UEFA Cup. In 30 August 2010 it was revealed that Zaccheroni would become new manager of the Japan national team via an announcement from the Japan Football Association.
However, due to a visa problem, he was not able to take charge in the first two matches against Paraguay (1–0) and Guatemala (2–1), in which former Japan striker and JFA technical director Hiromi Hara took charge. The first match he took charge, Japan had a historic 1–0 win over Argentina.
His first major competition with Japan was the 2011 AFC Asian Cup hosted in Qatar. He led the team to their record fourth Asian Cup title winning 1–0 in the final against Australia. He led Japan to become the first nation to qualify for the World Cup finals in Brazil after their 2014 World Cup qualifying football match against Australia in Saitama, June 4, 2013.
Zaccheroni has instead chosen a trusted, road-tested group of players whose characteristics he knows inside-out, with loyalty being rewarded and form coming second to proven track records. A pledge to blood new players in the aftermath of last summer’s poor showing at the Confederations Cup turned out to be more than just lip service, with no fewer than six players who made their debuts at last Asian Cup forcing their way into the World Cup squad. “Now I want us to keep going and believe in the things that got us here,” he said.
