View source for Umberto Caligaris

{{short description|Italian footballer}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2021}}
{{Infobox football biography
| name = Umberto Caligaris
| image = Foot-Ball Club Juventus - Umberto Caligaris.jpg
| image_size = 
| caption = Caligaris with Juventus in the 1930s
| fullname = 
| birth_date = {{birth date|1901|6|26|df=yes}}
| birth_place = [[Casale Monferrato]], Italy
| death_date = {{death date and age|1940|10|19|1901|6|26|df=yes}}
| death_place = [[Torino]], Italy
| height = 1.75 m
| position = [[Left-back]]
| years1 = 1919–1928
| clubs1 = [[A.S. Casale|Casale]]
| caps1 = 182
| goals1 = 18
| years2 = 1928–1935
| clubs2 = [[Juventus FC|Juventus]]
| caps2 = 178
| goals2 = 0
| years3 = 1935–1937
| clubs3 = [[Brescia Calcio|Brescia]]
| caps3 = 40
| goals3 = 0
| totalcaps = 400
| totalgoals = 18
| nationalyears1 = 1922–1934
| nationalteam1 = [[Italian national football team|Italy]]
| nationalcaps1 = 59
| nationalgoals1 = 0
| manageryears1 = 1935–1937
| managerclubs1 = [[Brescia Calcio|Brescia]]
| manageryears2 = 1939–1940
| managerclubs2 = [[Juventus FC|Juventus]]
| medaltemplates = {{Medal|Team|{{fb|Italy|1861}}}}
{{MedalCompetition |[[Football at the Summer Olympics|Summer Olympics]]}}
{{Medal|Bronze|[[1928 Summer Olympics|1928 Amsterdam]]|}}
{{MedalCompetition|[[Central European International Cup]]}}
{{MedalGold|[[1927–30 Central European International Cup]]|}}
{{MedalCompetition|[[Central European International Cup]]}}
{{MedalSilver|[[1931–32 Central European International Cup]]|}}
{{MedalCompetition|[[FIFA World Cup]]}}
{{Medal|Gold|[[1934 FIFA World Cup|1934 Italy]]|}}
{{MedalCompetition|[[Central European International Cup]]}}
{{MedalGold|[[1933–35 Central European International Cup]]|}}
}}

'''Umberto Caligaris''' ({{IPA|it|umˈbɛrto kaliˈɡaːris}}; 26 July 1901 – 19 October 1940) was an Italian international [[association football|footballer]] who played, normally at [[left-back]], for [[A.S. Casale]] and [[Juventus FC|Juventus]], before ending his career with [[Brescia Calcio|Brescia]]. With Juventus, he won an Italian record of five consecutive [[Serie A]] League titles between 1930 and 1935. He also managed to have a successful career with the [[Italy national football team|Italy national team]], notably winning a bronze medal at the [[Football at the 1928 Summer Olympic Games|1928 Summer Olympic Games]];<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.olympedia.org/athletes/26015 |title=Umberto Caligaris |work=Olympedia |access-date=20 August 2021}}</ref> he was also a member of the Italian side that won the [[1934 FIFA World Cup]]. His 59 caps for Italy stood as a record for many years.<ref name="http://www.tuttojuve.com">{{cite web|url=http://www.tuttojuve.com/gli-eroi-bianconeri/gli-eroi-in-bianconero-umberto-caligaris-56774|title=Gli eroi in bianconero: Umberto CALIGARIS|website=tuttojuve.com|language=it|author1=Stefano Bedeschi|date=26 July 2013|access-date=26 April 2015}}</ref> Following his retirement he worked as a [[Association football manager|manager]], coaching his former clubs Brescia and Juventus.

==Career==
Born in [[Casale Monferrato]] ([[Piedmont]]), Caligaris spent the first nine years of his career with the local team, [[A.S. Casale]]. He made his debut for them on 12 October 1919 in a match against local rivals [[Valenzana Calcio]] which Casale won 3–1. Casale was then in the Italian [[Serie A|First division]] (the predecessor to Serie A) and had won the [[scudetto|championship]] in 1914. However they were never to repeat that success and although during Caligaris's career with the club they twice qualified for the inter-regional semi-final of North Italy, they were unable to get further.<ref name=enciclopediadelcalcio.it>{{cite web|url=http://www.enciclopediadelcalcio.it/Caligaris.html|title=Caligaris, Umbero|website=enciclopediadelcalcio.it|publisher=Enciclopedia del Calcio|language=it|access-date=26 April 2015}}</ref>
[[File:FBC Juventus - 'Trio of Accountants' (Rosetta, Combi, Caligaris).jpg|thumb|left|The legendary ''Bianconeri''<nowiki>'</nowiki>s defensive line in the [[Interwar period]]: right-back [[Virginio Rosetta|Rosetta]], goalkeeper [[Gianpiero Combi|Combi]] and left-back Caligaris]]

The [[Italy national football team|Italy national team]], however, did provide scope for his talents. He received his first cap on 15 January 1922 against a strong [[Austria national football team|Austria]] side, in Milan; he was selected in place of [[Virginio Rosetta]] as right-back flanking the great [[Genoa C.F.C.|Genoese]] left-back [[Renzo De Vecchi]] ("Son of God" to the fans), who had been playing for Italy since 1910. From then until De Vecchi's retirement from international football in March 1925, Rosetta and Caligaris were in competition for the right-back position. He played for Italy in the [[1924 Summer Olympics|1924 Olympics]], the match against Spain being the first in which he played alongside Rosetta, also winning the [[Central European International Cup]] with Italy between 1927 and 1930.<ref name="http://www.tuttojuve.com"/>

After winning a bronze medal at the [[1928 Summer Olympics]], Caligaris left Casale to join Rosetta at [[Juventus]], making his [[Serie A]] debut with the club on 6 October 1929, in a 3–2 home victory over [[S.S.C. Napoli|Napoli]]. Here the two full-backs, backed by Italian international [[Goalkeeper (association football)|goalkeeper]] [[Gianpiero Combi]], and with [[Midfielder#Centre-half|centre-half]] [[Luis Monti]] in front of them, formed a formidable and successful defensive combination. Juventus won five [[Serie A|scudetti]] in a row between 1930 and 1935.<ref name="http://www.tuttojuve.com"/><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.juventus.com/it/news/speciali/scudetto-2015-2016/i-due-quinquenni-juventus-1935-2016-scudetto.php |title=I due quinquenni |publisher=Juventus.com |language=it |access-date=27 June 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160429145351/http://www.juventus.com/it/news/speciali/scudetto-2015-2016/i-due-quinquenni-juventus-1935-2016-scudetto.php |archive-date=29 April 2016 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

Caligaris served as Italy's [[Captain (association football)|captain]] between 1931 and 1934. His final game for Italy on 11 February 1934 was, like his first, against Austria. (Although a member of the Italian squad, he did not play in any of the [[1934 World Cup]] matches, as Italy went on to win the tournament on home soil.)<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.storiedicalcio.altervista.org/1934-7_ritratto_campioni.html|title=Mondiali Calcio 1934, Capitolo VII: Ritratti dei Campioni del Mondo|website=storiedicalcio.altervista.org|language=it|access-date=26 April 2015|archive-date=20 April 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160420185120/http://www.storiedicalcio.altervista.org/1934-7_ritratto_campioni.html|url-status=dead}}</ref> His record of 59 caps for Italy was only surpassed in 1971 by [[Giacinto Facchetti]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.figc.it/nazionali/DettaglioConvocato?codiceConvocato=247&squadra=1|title=Nazionale in cifre: Caligaris, Umberto|website=figc.it|publisher=FIGC|language=it|access-date=26 April 2015|archive-date=29 September 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180929155718/http://www.figc.it/nazionali/DettaglioConvocato?codiceConvocato=247&squadra=1|url-status=dead}}</ref>

Caligaris coached Juventus from 1939 until his death. On 19 October 1940 in [[Turin]], Caligaris returned to the field in a match between old Juventus stars, together with his old teammates Gianpiero Combi and Virginio Rosetta, but after a few minutes of play he was forced to leave the field: taken to hospital, he was struck down by an [[aneurysm]].

==Legacy==
During the 1970s, an annual under-21 football tournament was named in the Italian's honour. The "Caligaris" International Tournament took place  in the player's hometown of Casale Monferrato.<ref name=caligaris>{{cite web|url=http://www.blackpool-mad.co.uk/news/loadfeat.asp?cid=EDX1&id=439645|title=The Forgotten Italian Job of 1974|publisher=Blackpool-mad.co.uk|access-date=3 January 2016|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110209055319/http://www.blackpool-mad.co.uk/news/loadfeat.asp?cid=EDX1|archive-date=9 February 2011}}</ref>

==Style of play==
A highly successful [[left-back]], Caligaris is regarded as one of the best Italian [[Defender (association football)|defenders]] of his generation. A strong, hard-tackling, and tenacious player, he was known for his pace, work-rate, stamina, and his ability in the air, which he combined with an excellent technique.<ref name="http://www.tuttojuve.com"/>

==Honours==
===Club===
'''Juventus'''<ref name="http://www.tuttojuve.com"/><ref name=enciclopediadelcalcio.it/>
* [[Serie A]]: [[1930–31 Serie A|1930–31]], [[1931–32 Serie A|1931–32]], [[1932–33 Serie A|1932–33]], [[1933–34 Serie A|1933–34]], [[1934–35 Serie A|1934–35]]

[[File:Umberto Caligaris.jpg|thumb|upright|Caligaris with [[Italy national football team|Italy]]]]

===International===
'''Italy'''
* [[FIFA World Cup]]: [[1934 FIFA World Cup|1934]]
* [[Central European International Cup]]: [[1927–30 Central European International Cup|1927–30]], [[1933–35 Central European International Cup|1933–35]]; Runner-up: [[1931–32 Central European International Cup|1931–32]]
* [[Football at the Summer Olympics#Results|Summer Olympics]]: Bronze Medal [[Football at the 1928 Summer Olympics|1928]]

==References==
{{reflist}}
{{clear}}

==External links==
* [https://www.rsssf.org/miscellaneous/caligaris-intl.html Umberto Caligaris – International Appearances] from [[RSSSF]]
** And the corresponding entries for [https://www.rsssf.org/miscellaneous/rosetta-intl.html Rosetta] and [https://www.rsssf.org/miscellaneous/devecchi-intl.html De Vecchi]
* The article on [[:it:Umberto Caligaris|Umberto Caligaris]] from the Italian Wikipedia.
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20121012115940/http://www.databaseolympics.com/players/playerpage.htm?ilkid=CALIGUMB01 DatabaseOlympics.com profile]

{{Italy Squad 1924 Summer Olympics}}
{{Italy Squad 1928 Summer Olympics}}
{{Italy Squad 1934 World Cup}}
{{Juventus F.C. managers}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Caligaris, Umberto}}
[[Category:1901 births]]
[[Category:1940 deaths]]
[[Category:Sportspeople from Casale Monferrato]]
[[Category:Italian men's footballers]]
[[Category:Italy men's international footballers]]
[[Category:Casale FBC players]]
[[Category:Juventus FC players]]
[[Category:Juventus FC managers]]
[[Category:Serie A managers]]
[[Category:1934 FIFA World Cup players]]
[[Category:FIFA World Cup–winning players]]
[[Category:Olympic footballers for Italy]]
[[Category:Olympic bronze medalists for Italy]]
[[Category:Footballers at the 1924 Summer Olympics]]
[[Category:Footballers at the 1928 Summer Olympics]]
[[Category:Olympic medalists in football]]
[[Category:Medalists at the 1928 Summer Olympics]]
[[Category:Men's association football defenders]]
[[Category:Italian football managers]]
[[Category:Deaths from aneurysm]]
[[Category:Footballers from the Province of Alessandria]]
[[Category:20th-century Italian sportsmen]]