Enzo Scifo – the trailblazer for Belgium’s golden generation
Enzo Scifo was one of Europe’s most mercurial talents
It seems to take an age for the ball to reach him, midway between the centre circle and the penalty box.
Attempting to find the best angle to strike it, he runs backwards and then sideways, and as he does so both feet leave the ground, reflecting the power in the shot. The ball skims across the floor, at no more than knee height, bouncing just before the goal line and nestling in the far corner. T
he Uruguayan keeper lies face down on the ground in despair and most probably shock, whilst the fresh-faced scorer with floppy dark hair raises both arms and is hoisted high by his teammates.
For many years, and certainly, before the likes of Eden Hazard and Kevin de Bruyne came along, the first Belgian player any non-Belgians could name would likely be attacking midfielder and playmaker Enzo Scifo. Rob Francis explores the career of a true baller.
Enzo Scifo - Club Career
The very un-Belgian sounding Scifo grew up the son of Italian immigrants in the former coal-mining town of La Louvière, where he played his youth football before being picked up by Anderlecht, for whom he made his professional debut in 1983 at the tender age of 17
His initial spell at Anderlecht was probably his most successful anywhere. Scifo scored 32 goals in 119 appearances for Les Mauves et Blancs, winning three Belgian titles and getting them to the final of the 1984 UEFA Cup where they lost to Tottenham Hotspur on penalties (Scifo scored in the shootout, to no avail.)
Eventually, he got his dream move to Internazionale in Serie A, at which point – still just 21 – he suffered his first career setback. Perhaps surprisingly for the son of Sicilian parents, he failed to settle in Italy. A case of too much too soon, after just one season he moved across the Alps to Bordeaux in France, where he again appeared restless and fell out with various team members.
This was as low as it got for Scifo however, with a move to Auxerre, then under legendary coach Guy Roux, resulting in an upwards trajectory that would bring him back to Italy with Torino, where he was a driving force for La Granata as they won a Coppa Italia and reached another UEFA Cup final, with Scifo again losing out on away goals to Ajax.
A league title with Monaco in France was followed by another title with Anderlecht in 1999-2000, before finally retiring at the age of 36 at Charleroi, a few miles from his birthplace. His career had come full circle.
Enzo Scifo - 50 Goals
An international phenomenon
Yet it is on the international stage where his fame really took off. At just 18 years of age, Scifo was named in the national squad for Euro 84 in France.
Belgium was in a state of turmoil following the Standard-Waterschei corruption case which had resulted in bans for all Standard players. Scifo, who had to acquire a Belgian passport and become a naturalized citizen just to play international football, took his chance, putting in an excellent performance in the first game against Yugoslavia, in so doing becoming the youngest ever player to appear at the European Championships at that time.
He also played a starring role in the 1986 World Cup in Mexico, where Belgium came 4th, their best performance in the competition until 2018, knocking out the Soviet Union and Spain along the way, only to be undone by the mercurial Diego Maradona in the semifinal.
Enzo Scifo - One of the stars of Italia ‘90
Scifo was named the Best Young Player of the tournament, and although he himself said that this was the “greatest of my four World Cups”, some view his performance at Italia 90 as even better.
Scifo scored one of the goals of the tournament against Uruguay (see above) and hit the post in the second-round match against England, a game which saw the latter go through thanks to a famous last-minute volley from David Platt. For many Belgians, the 1990 team was even better than the one in 1986, and most feel they deserved more than they got.
His career with the Diables Rouges was to end in tears at France 1998. Belgium were knocked out in the group stage, with coach Georges Leekens, in the eyes of many, humiliating Scifo by substituting him in the final group game against South Korea. He would never play for Belgium again.
Despite only being 13th on the all-time Belgian appearance list with 84 caps and 18 goals, Scifo remains one of just two Belgians to play in five major tournaments.
Scifo was a trailblazer that split opinions
His coaching career saw him move around some middling clubs in Belgium with little success, and though he oversaw the Belgium under-21s side for one year, it seems that coaching was not in his forte.
As Scifo himself says, 1986 was for him a career highlight, a “reference point”.
“I realised that football isn't about playing in the best team. You need to have values and humility – and to tell yourself that sometimes you might not be the best, but you can compete with the best. I understood all of that at the age of 20."
Contrary to what non-Belgians may assume, inside the country, Scifo is not regarded as the best Belgian player. Coaches tended to criticize his poor defensive work rate off the ball and for occasionally being selfish with the ball - but for many, he was, and perhaps still is, the most complete player. Midfield, defence, attack, he could do everything.
The precocious boy from the coalmining town became the byword not just for the Belgian glory years of the mid-1980s, but for style and elegance on the field, and helped blaze a trail for future generations of Belgian players from immigrant backgrounds. For that alone, as an adopted Belgian myself, we are perhaps all in his debt.
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