Vincenzo "Enzo" Daniele Scifo (; born 19 February 1966) is a Belgian former professional footballer who played as an attacking midfielder. He has also managed the Belgium national under-21 football team and several Belgian club sides. He played for clubs in Belgium, France and Italy, where he won several domestic titles. At international level, he was a member of the Belgium national team, for which he played in four FIFA World Cups, being one of four Belgian players ever to do so.
Early life Scifo was born in La Louvière, Wallonia, to Italian parents from Sicily. He proved himself a highly promising talent in youth football and was nicknamed "Little Pelé" at his local team, where he scored 432 goals in only four seasons as a junior. Scifo joined his local club R.A.A. Louviéroise as a seven-year-old in 1973. He transferred to Belgium's most successful club, R.S.C. Anderlecht, in 1982.
Club career Scifo made his first team debut with R.S.C. Anderlecht in 1983, at the age of 17. After winning three Belgian First Division championships with the club, and helping the team to the 1984 UEFA Cup Final, only to lose out to Tottenham on penalties, Scifo earned a reputation as one of the most promising young stars of his generation, and moved to his ancestral country for Internazionale in 1987 for a fee of 7.5 billion Lire. At the time, this was the record amount for a football transfer. After an unsuccessful spell in Inter Milan, which saw him manage only four league goals in 28 appearances, he moved to French club Bordeaux in 1988 where he again disappointed, and faced injuries and conflict with senior squad members. His career was revived by a successful move to Auxerre in 1989, at the age of 23, under manager Guy Roux, which led to a return to Italy with Torino in 1991; his second spell in Serie A was more successful, as he reached the 1992 UEFA Cup Final in his first season with Torino, and won the Coppa Italia the following season. Scifo then moved to AS Monaco in 1993, where he enjoyed a similar level of success and won the French championship in 1997. He returned to Anderlecht later that year and won his fourth Belgian league title in the 1999–2000 season. He joined Charleroi in 2000, but retired later in the same season, at the age of 36, after being diagnosed with chronic arthritis. In total, Scifo scored 121 league goals in 478 official matches.
International career
Scifo made his senior international debut on 6 June 1984 for Belgium, in a 2–2 friendly draw against Hungary. In Belgium's opening group match of UEFA Euro 1984, on 13 June, he attracted much publicity when he helped his team to a 2–0 victory over Yugoslavia; at the age of 18 years and 115 days, he was the youngest player ever to appear in the finals at the time.
Scifo featured in all three of Belgium's group matches in the tournament, as they placed third in their group and suffered a first round elimination.
He appeared for Belgium in the 1986, 1990, 1994, and 1998 World Cups, playing sixteen games in total;World Football Legends | Players | Enzo Scifo he is one of only 14 players to have participated in four World Cups, and one of only three Belgian players ever to do so. Scifo helped his nation to the semi-finals of the 1986 edition of the tournament in Mexico, playing in all seven of his team's matches and scoring two goals as Belgium finished the tournament in fourth place; he was named the best young player of the tournament for his performances throughout the competition. In the 1990 edition of the tournament, held in Italy, Scifo scored a notable goal from long range in Belgium's 3-1 first round victory over Uruguay, on 17 June, held in Verona; the goal was later elected as the tenth greatest FIFA World Cup goal of the Century in a 2002 poll, with 2,935 votes. Belgium were eventually eliminated in the second round against England; four years later, at U.S.A. '94, the Belgian side were once again eliminated in the second round. Scifo retired from international football after Belgium's first round elimination in the 1998 World Cup held in France; in total he gained eighty-four international caps and scored eighteen goals.
Style of play A highly creative midfielder with an eye for goal, Scifo was a classic number 10 playmaker who usually played as an attacking midfielder behind the strikers; he was also capable of playing as a central midfielder, where he functioned as a deep-lying playmaker, or as a wide midfielder along the right flank. Considered one of Belgium's greatest ever players, his primary traits as a footballer were his excellent vision, tactical intelligence, and technical skills, which allowed him to orchestrate his team's attacking moves from midfield; he was also highly regarded for his balance on the ball, and his ability to dribble with his head up, as well as his accurate shooting and passing ability with his right foot, which enabled him both to score goals or create chances for his teammates. However, despite his talent, he was also criticised by his managers at times for his poor defensive work-rate off the ball, his introverted character, and for being selfish and inefficient at times, in particular in his youth, as he attempted too many individual dribbling runs, rather than looking to provide a simpler pass to an open teammate. Throughout his career, his unique playing style drew comparisons with Gianni Rivera, Giancarlo Antognoni, and his idol Michel Platini.
After retirement Scifo tried his hand at coaching with R. Charleroi S.C., joining them for the 2000–01 season. Indifferent results led to his resignation in June 2002. He later coached Tubize between 2004 and 2006, and later became head trainer of R.E. Mouscron, another Belgian League team, in 2007. On 6 June 2009, Scifo quit Mouscron due to the club's difficult financial situation.
Scifo returned to club football with Mons between 2012 and 2013. Between 2015 and 2016, he served as the manager of the Belgium U21 national team. Scifo was appointed manager of Mouscron in 2021, but was dismissed from his position after a poor start to the season. In 2024, Enzo Scifo was appointed talent manager of RAAL La Louvière, the successor club to Louviéroise where he started as a youth player.
Career statistics Club + Appearances and goals by club, season and competitionClubSeasonLeagueNational cupLeague CupEuropeTotalDivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAnderlecht1983–84Belgian League25520–813561984–85301462–4140171985–8631520–523871986–8733860–51449Total11932162–22515739Inter Milan1987–88Serie A284100–61445Girondins Bordeaux1988–89Division 124700–61308Auxerre1989–90Division 1331120–11546161990–9134143000–3714Total672550001158330TorinoArchiviotoro.it 1991–92Serie A30950–11246111992–9332762–40429Total6216112–1528820Monaco1993–94Division 131620001124481994–951120021–1331995–9634733302042101996–97155102020205Total9120637115211926Anderlecht1997–98Belgian League30421–723971998–992781120403491999–2000172102110213Total741442411229419Charleroi2000–01Belgian League12310––133Career total4771215391128718628150
International + Appearances and goals by national team and yearNational teamYearAppsGoalsBelgium1984811985311986123198740198840198950199092199163199261199354199460199532199640199740199851Total8418
Scores and results list Belgium's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Scifo goal.
+ List of international goals scored by Enzo ScifoNo.DateVenueOpponentScoreResultCompetition1 17 October 1984 Heysel Stadium, Brussels 2–1 1986 World Cup qualifier2 27 March 1985 Heysel Stadium, Brussels 2–0 1986 World Cup qualifier3 8 June 1986 Nemesio Diez Stadium, Toluca 1–0 1986 World Cup4 15 June 1986 Estadio Nou Camp, León 1–1 1986 World Cup5 10 September 1986 Heysel Stadium, Brussels 2–1 Euro 1988 qualifier6 26 May 1990 Heysel Stadium, Brussels 1–0 Friendly7 17 June 1990 Stadio Marc'Antonio Bentegodi, Verona 2–0 1990 World Cup8 27 February 1991 Constant Vanden Stock Stadium, Brussels 3–0 Euro 1992 qualifier9 11 September 1991 Stade Josy Barthel, Luxembourg 1–0 Euro 1992 qualifier10 9 October 1991 Sóstói Stadion, Székesfehérvár 2–0 Friendly11 25 March 1992 Parc des Princes, Paris 2–1 Friendly12.13 February 1993 Makario Stadium, Nicosia 1–0 rowspan="2" 1994 World Cup qualifier13 2–014 22 May 1993 Constant Vanden Stock Stadium, Brussels 2–0 1994 World Cup qualifier15 13 October 1993 Stadionul Steaua, Bucharest 1–2 1994 World Cup qualifier16.7 June 1995 Philip II Arena, Skopje 2–0 rowspan="2" Euro 1996 qualifier17 5–018 6 June 1998 King Baudouin Stadium, Brussels 1–0 Friendly
Honours Anderlecht Belgian First Division: 1984–85, 1985–86, 1986–87, 1999–2000 Belgian Supercup: 1985 Belgian League Cup: 2000 Jules Pappaert Cup: 1983, 1985, 2000 Bruges Matins: 1985 Belgian Sports Team of the Year: 2000 UEFA Cup runner-up: 1983–84
Monaco Division 1: 1996–97
Torino Coppa Italia: 1992–93 UEFA Cup runner-up: 1991–92
Belgium FIFA World Cup fourth place: 1986
Individual Belgian Golden Shoe: 1984 Ballon d'Or nominations: 1984, 1990, 1992, 1993 4 FIFA World Cup participations: 1986, 1990, 1994, 1998 FIFA World Cup Best Young Player: 1986 FIFA World Cup All-Star Team: 1990 La Gazzetta dello Sport + Associated Press + Match World Cup All-Star Team: 1990 Division 1 Foreign Player of the Year: 1990 Belgian Professional Footballer of the Year: 1990–91 Onze Mondial: 1993 Platina 11 (Best Team in 50 Years Golden Shoe Winners): 2003 The Best Golden Shoe Team Ever: 2011 RBFA 125 Years Icons Team: 2020 IFFHS All Time Belgium Dream Team: 2021 Pro League Hall of Fame: 2026
References
External links