Pyotr Ivanovich Verkhovod is an Italian professional ex-football player who played in the position of central defender. After completing a career, he took up coaching. He played for the Italian national football team and is the 1982 world champion (and bronze medalist of the 1990 World Cup). Winner of the Champions League Cup 1995/1996 in the Turin Juventus. Two-time champion of the Italian “Serie A” in the “Roma” (season 1982/1983) and “Sampdoria” (season 1990/1991). In 1991 he was awarded the Order of Merit for the Italian Republic.
It is considered one of the greatest Italian centerbacks in history. At one time he was the best and greatest defender in Italy, for which he received the nickname Zar (translated as King). Pietro Verhovod is a high-paced football player with high-quality defensive abilities. Due to the persistence of his game and the style of the team in which he played, almost no defeat was known except for the small. The footballer’s height was only 179 centimeters, nevertheless, he could create an “air threat” for the opponent’s goal.
His father is a Ukrainian soldier of the Red Army from the city of Starobelsk (Lugansk region). During the Second World War, a Soviet camp for Polish prisoners of war was located in the Starobelsky district.
Pietro Verhovod: biography
Born April 6, 1959 in the municipality of Calcinata (province of Bergamo, Italy). He was brought up in the family of the Ukrainian soldier of the Red Army Ivan Lukyanovich Verkhovod, a native of the city of Starobelsk. From childhood he began to get involved in football. When the boy was ten years old, his parents took him to the Ortirio Club Academy. Here he played for the youth team for four years, after which he was noticed by coaches from the semi-professional club Romanese, which he subsequently transferred to. At the age of 16 he made his debut for the main team. In the season 1975/1976 he played only three times.
Professional football career
At the age of seventeen, the guy already had excellent defensive skills in football: he boldly and accurately threw himself into the tackle, could push almost every football player out of the attack of the opposing team and had an accurate long-range diagonal pass. Prospects for the young guy were noticed by a club from “Series B” called “Como”, which he joined in 1976. Here he played for 5 years (115 matches, 6 goals) and managed to achieve certain heights: in 1980, the Como team reached the highest level of Italian football - in Serie A.
However, Pietro Verkhovod did not continue to play for the club. The next game season he was taken on lease to Fiorentina (1981/1982 season). He played 28 official matches for the Violet, in which he managed to score twice in scored goals. Together with Fiorentina, Pietro Verhovod won silver in the Italian Serie A.
Champion in the "scudetto" in the "Roma"
In the 1982/1983 season, the defender was leased to FC Roma (city of Rome) for one year. For the “yellow-red” he played 30 matches and gave 14 assists. At the end of the season, the “Romans” took first place in the Italian championship, leaving Juventus (39 points) and Internazionale (38 points) in second and third places respectively. Roma FC scored 43 points and became the champion of the national championship, and Pietro Verkhovod was named the best player in the tournament.
12 year career at Sampdoria: achievements and fame
In 1983, Verkhovod transferred to Dorio and played here until 1995. During this time, he becomes the irreplaceable leader of his team and wins the Italian Cup four times with it (1985, 1988, 1989 and 1994), twice the Italian Super Cup (1991 and 1995), and also becomes the winner of “Series A” in the 1990/1991 season . It was playing for Sampdoria that the defender received the nickname King. He was also called the Gladiator of Sampdoria.
Juventus: Champions League Triumph
In 1995, Pietro Verhovod signed a contract with Turin Juventus at the age of 37. Together with the "old Signora" he won the Champions League in 1996. The final match of this tournament was held in Rome - Juventus played against Ajax and won the penalty shoot-out. He played only one season for the “zebras”: 21 matches and 2 goals scored.
Transition to Milan and retirement at Piacenza
In 1996, Verkhovod moved to Milan. Here he played only one season, having entered the field 16 times and scoring a goal once.
In the period from 1997 to 2000, he played for the Piacenza club. As part of the “wolves” he spent over 80 official matches and scored 6 times. Many were amazed at the stamina and endurance of a football player, regardless of his age: up to 41 years old, he demonstrated the highest class in “scudet”. In 2000, Pietro Verhovod resigned.
During his football career, he played 562 matches in Serie A. This figure was the seventh in the history of Italian football after Paolo Maldini, Gianluigi Buffon, Francesco Totti, Javier Zanetti, Gianluca Pagluca and Dino Zoffa.
Style of play: what did Diego Armando Maradona say about the Master?
Pietro Verkhovod was a tenacious and physically strong central defender, who possessed high speeds. He was considered one of the toughest defenders of “Serie A” in the 1980s and 1990s: he could toughly and cleanly roll into the legs of an attacker, push him out with his body and fight in horse riding. His speed, reaction and ability to calculate the game of the opposing team made it possible to interact perfectly in defense. He intercepted the balls and quickly forwarded them to the opponent's penalty area. Many players who played against him may complain that Pietro played very tough and unprincipled. However, among other things, no one will ever say that Verkhovod was a vile or cunning football player. He was always respected for honesty both on the field and in ordinary life.
In an interview with Argentinean magazine El Grafico, the famous football player Diego Armando Maradona said that Pietro Verhovod is one of the greatest defenders of football in its history. In addition, Maradona called the Italian his sworn football enemy and rival. On the “mundiales” these two more than once clashed on the field, and the “star barrel” could not always beat Verkhovod. Throughout his football career, Maradona has called the Italian quarterback the Hulk.
Coaching career
After completing a playing career, Verkhovod went to become a coach. In 2001, he began with a head coach at the Catania Club (Series C). In the period 2002 to 2005 he worked at Fiorentina. In 2014, he served as head coach at the Honved club from Budapest. However, after 6 months he was fired for failure to fulfill coaching duties.