Tuesday 20 March 2018, 08:40

86 days to go: Pozzo enters the stage

The 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia™ is getting closer – 86 days to go!

In less than three months' time – on 14 June, to be precise – the 21st FIFA World Cup™ kicks off at Moscow's Luzhniki Stadium, as the hosts take on Saudi Arabia.

That leaves us plenty of time to enjoy a countdown. Between now and the start of the World Cup, we will take a closer look at a different statistic from the history of the tournament each day.

86 - As in 1886, the year when the most decorated coach in World Cup history was born in Turin, Italy. His name was Vittorio Pozzo and he led the Azzurri to back-to-back triumphs at the tournament, in 1934 and 1938. An outstanding tactician, he developed a new style of play, the so-called metodo. Pozzo was also excellent at gauging his players’ mental states and motivating them accordingly. In many ways, Il Vecchio Maestro established the defining traits of Italian football that endure to this day: tactical awareness, strong discipline and total commitment.

If Germany win the World Cup in Russia, their head coach Joachim Low will be the first to match Pozzo’s unique achievement of successive world titles.