Roberto Bettega (Italian pronunciation: [roˈbɛrto ˈbɛtteɡa]; born 27 December 1950) is an Italian former footballer who played as a forward.

A prolific and athletic player, Bettega is mostly remembered for his successful time at his hometown club Juventus, where he won several titles and established himself as one of Italy's greatest ever players due to his strength, skill, goalscoring ability, and creativity. He was nicknamed La penna bianca ("White Feather") due to his appearance,^[1][2][3][4] and Bobby Gol! due to his eye for goal.^[4]

At international level, he represented Italy at the 1978 FIFA World Cup, and at the 1980 European Championships, helping his team to fourth-place finishes on both occasions; he was unable to take part at the 1982 World Cup, which Italy won, due to injury.^[2][5]

In December 2009, Bettega was officially appointed deputy director-general of Juventus. His role was to act as an intermediary between the players and coaching staff and the upper echelons of the club, as well as taking an active involvement in all of the Old Lady's transfer dealings.^[2] Bettega left the role a short time later in 2010 after the appointment of Luigi Del Neri as manager.^[6]

Bettega played 42 times for Italy national team, scoring 19 goals between 1975 and 1983. In 1975, Bettega got his first call-up for a match against Finland. He went on to play in the 1978 FIFA World Cup where he scored two goals to help Italy reach the second round, where they were defeated by the Netherlands, which denied them a spot in the final. Italy finished fourth after losing the third place play-off to Brazil at Estadio Monumental Antonio Vespuci, Buenos Aires.^[12] Bettega was named in the Team of the Tournament for his performances. Bettega also helped Italy to a fourth-place finish at the 1980 European Championship, a tournament played on home soil.^[13]

He was set to represent Italy at the 1982 FIFA World Cup, but suffered a knee ligament injury in a collision with an opposing goalkeeper during a 1981 European Cup match against Anderlecht, missing out on the '82 tournament, in which Italy were victorious.^{[2][3][5][14]}

Bettega was regarded as a player of noteworthy tactical intelligence, and in his prime, he was one of the most feared Italian strikers, due to his physical strength and prolific goalscoring ability. A tall, quick, agile, and athletic player, Bettega excelled in the air, and was known for scoring acrobatic goals, due to his elevation, coordination, opportunism, and timing, as well as his ability to make attacking runs to get on the end of crosses, and was an accurate and a clinical finisher with either foot.^[1][15] His elegance, aerial strength, and prematurely greying hair earned him the nickname Cabeza Blanca ("white head," in Spanish).^[15]

Considered one of the greatest Italian footballers of all-time, Bettega was also regarded as a complete and modern team player, as he was capable of playing both as a midfielder and as a forward, courtesy of his stamina, vision, passing ability, and outstanding technical skills, which led him to be compared to former Juventus legend John Charles. He was usually used as a centre-forward earlier on in his career, but was also able to play in several other attacking roles, including as a left winger, and was even deployed in a more creative role, as a supporting striker, or as an attacking midfielder, during his later career, in particular after losing some of his natural pace, agility, and mobility. In addition to his ability as a footballer, Bettega also stood out for his personality, determination, and leadership throughout his career. Despite his playing ability, his career is thought to have been affected by his injuries, in particular during the later part of his career.^{[2][3][16][17]}

Bettega later returned to Juventus at the request of the club's chairman at the time, Umberto Agnelli, who asked him to be vice-chairman of the board of directors. He served the position from 1994 to 2006. He returned to Juventus again in 2009 as vice general manager.^[18][19] However, his return was short lived, after Andrea Agnelli became chairman and Giuseppe Marotta became CEO and general manager of the club in 2010.

Bettega has a son named Alessandro who also started his career in the Juventus system and was the captain of the Primavera team.^[20]

Juventus^[2]

• Serie A: 1971–72, 1972–73, 1974–75, 1976–77, 1977–78, 1980–81, 1981–82
• Coppa Italia: 1978–79
• UEFA Cup: 1976–77
• Intercontinental Cup: Runner-up: 1973^[22]
• European Cup: Runner-up: 1972–73,^[23] 1982–83^[24]
• Inter-Cities Fairs Cup Runner-up: 1970-71^[25]

Varese

• Serie B: 1969–70

Italy

• FIFA World Cup: Semi-finals: 1978^[26]
• UEFA European Football Championship: Semi-finals: 1980^[27]

Individual

• Serie A top scorer: 1979–80^[28]
• Serie B top scorer: 1969–70^[29]
• FIFA World Cup All-star Team: 1978^[30]