1.
FIGC
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The Italian Football Federation, also known as Federcalcio, is the governing body of football in Italy. It organises the Italian football league, Coppa Italia, Italian national football team, and it is based in Rome, and technical department in Florence, and is a founding member of UEFA and a member of FIFA. The Federation was founded in 1898 when the sport was picking up in the country and it needed a structure to take football. The first presidency was decided in the Piedmontese capital of Turin, when created, this football federation was given a different name, Federazione Italiana Football because all play terms and rules were the same as the official FA rules. In the few years before and after the introduction of the Federation, clubs all over the country from Genoa, Turin, Milan, Naples, Rome, Palermo, and others were forming. The new name approved was Federazione Italiana Giuoco del Calcio and since then this has been the name of the Italian Football Federation, the debut of the Mens National Team was on 15 May 1910, at Arena Civica, wearing a white jersey where Italy defeated France 6–2. The following year, the jersey was introduced on the occasion of the match against Hungary. This Italian Federation was an amateur federation respecting FIFA rules when it became a member in 1905, at the end of World War 1, the federation had seen impressive development and several footballers were judged to be professional players and banned according to FIFA agreements. Foreigners had to live in the country in order to get a residence visa and they had to sign the declaration not being professional players so that FIFA rules were respected because for FIGC they were appearing as amateurs receiving just refunds. It was the beginning of the professionalism in Italy, the Carta di Viareggio reduced the number of foreign players to be fielded to just one per match so that the majority of Hungarians remained jobless and got back to their country. Commissioner Bruno Zauli led the FIGC renovation process, with the establishment of three Leagues and the creation of the Technical and the Youth Sectors, between 1964 and 1980, foreign players were banned from the Italian league, primarily to revive the national team. In December 1998, the FIGC celebrated its centenary at the Stadio Olimpico in a match featuring Italy vs World XI, the FIGC was placed in administration in May 2006 as a result of the 2006 Italian football scandal and was put under the management of Guido Rossi. In May 2006, Rossi was chosen and accepted the role of President of Telecom Italia and this appointment caused angry reactions from club presidents in Italy. On September 19, Rossi resigned his position as Commissioner of FIGC, on September 21, Luca Pancalli, head of the Italian Paralympic Committee, was chosen to replace Rossi. On April 2,2007, a new President was elected, following the 2014 FIFA World Cup Abete resigned and Carlo Tavecchio was elected President of the Federation and Michele Uva as general manager. In support of the activity and with a view of maximum transparency, World Cup,4 times European Football Championship, once Olympics, once Central European International Cup, twice Official site Italy at FIFA site Italy at UEFA site Italian calcio glossary
2.
Roberto Baggio
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Roberto Baggio is an Italian former professional footballer who mainly played as a second striker, or as an attacking midfielder, although he was capable of playing in several offensive positions. He is the former President of the sector of the Italian Football Federation. A technically gifted, creative playmaker and a set piece specialist renowned for his free kicks and goalscoring. In 1999 he came fourth in the FIFA Player of the Century internet poll, in 1993, he was named FIFA World Player of the Year and won the Ballon dOr. In 2004, he was named by Pelé in the FIFA100, Baggio played for Italy in 56 matches, scoring 27 goals, and is the fourth highest goalscorer for his national team. He starred in the Italian team that finished third in the 1990 FIFA World Cup, at the 1994 FIFA World Cup he led Italy to the final, scoring five goals, received the World Cup Silver Ball and was named in the World Cup All-Star Team. Although he was the performer for Italy at the tournament. At the 1998 FIFA World Cup he scored twice, before Italy were eliminated to eventual champions France in the quarter-finals. Baggio is the only Italian to score in three World Cups, and with nine goals holds the record for most goals scored in World Cup tournaments for Italy, along with Paolo Rossi and Christian Vieri. In 2002, he became the first Italian player in over 50 years to more than 300 career goals. In 1990, he moved from Fiorentina to Juventus for a record transfer fee. Baggio is known as Il Divin Codino, for the hairstyle he wore for most of his career, for his talent, in 2002, Baggio was nominated Goodwill Ambassador of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. In 2003, he was the winner of the Golden Foot award. In recognition of his human rights activism, he received the Man of Peace award from the Nobel Peace Prize Laureates in 2010 and he was inducted into the Italian Football Hall of Fame in 2011. Roberto Baggio was born in Caldogno, Veneto, son of Matilde and Fiorindo Baggio and his younger brother, Eddy Baggio, was also a footballer who played 86 games in Serie B. Baggio began his career after being noticed by his hometown youth team, Caldogno. By the time he had turned 11, he had scored 45 goals and provided 20 assists in 26 matches and his talent was recognised by scout Antonio Mora, and he was acquired by the Vicenza youth team at the age of 13 for £300. After scoring 110 goals in 120 matches, Baggio began his career with the Vicenza senior side in 1983
3.
Marcello Lippi
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Marcello Lippi, Commendatore OMRI is an Italian former professional football player and current manager of the China national team. He served as Italian national team coach from 16 July 2004 to 12 July 2006. He was re-appointed as Italian national team coach in the summer of 2008 and was succeeded by Cesare Prandelli after the disappointing performance in the 2010 FIFA World Cup. Lippi is regarded as one of the greatest and most successful managers in football history and he is the first and to date the only coach to win both the UEFA Champions League and the AFC Champions League. He was named the worlds best football manager by the International Federation of Football History & Statistics both in 1996 and 1998, and worlds best National coach in 2006. He is the coach to have won the most prestigious international competitions both for clubs in different continents, and for national teams. Born in Viareggio, in northern Tuscany, Lippi began his career as a defender in 1969. He spent most of his years with Sampdoria, where he played consecutively from 1969 to 1978. In 1979, he joined Pistoiese, being part of the Arancioni s promotion to Serie A and he finished his playing career with Lucchese. Lippi retired from football in 1982, at the age of 34. Despite never having played for Italy at senior level, Lippi gained experience playing in his countrys top flight as a defender for Sampdoria. His rise to the top of the tree also began at the Genoese club. After various stints in Italys lower divisions, he became a coach in Serie A in 1989 with Cesena. Lippi then moved on to Lucchese and Atalanta, the turning point for Lippi came in the 1993–94 season when he led Napoli to a place in the UEFA Cup. The achievement was all the more remarkable given the turmoil of a club still basking in the past triumphs inspired by Diego Maradona. With his success at Napoli, Lippi became a target for the top Serie A clubs. The following season, Lippi guided Juventus to 1995 Supercoppa Italiana, following the sacking of Carlo Ancelotti, Lippi was subsequently re-appointed as Juventus head coach for the 2001–02 season. His team lost 4–3 at Old Trafford, Lippi was appointed head of the Italy national team on July 2004, following a disappointing UEFA Euro 2004 campaign by Giovanni Trapattoni
4.
Arrigo Sacchi
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Arrigo Sacchi is an Italian former football coach. He was twice manager of Milan, with great success and he won the Serie A title in his 1987–88 debut season and then dominated European football by winning back to back European Cups in 1989 and 1990. To this day, Milan are the last team that became European champions, from 1991 to 1996, he was head coach of the Italy national team and led them to the 1994 FIFA World Cup final, only to lose to Brazil in a penalty shoot-out. In January 2017, Sacchi was named among the ten greatest coaches since the foundation of UEFA in 1954, Sacchi was never a professional football player and for many years worked as a shoe salesman. This led to his famous quote directed at those who questioned his qualifications, Sacchi had grown up watching attacking sides, such as Budapest Honvéd, Real Madrid, Brazil and the Netherlands. He started his career managing his local club, Baracca Lugo, of the challenge he faced, Sacchi said, I was twenty-six, my goalkeeper was thirty-nine and my centre-forward was thirty-two. He next coached at Bellaria before joining Cesena, who were in the Serie B as a team coach. He then took over at Rimini who were playing in the Serie C1 and he received his breakthrough when he moved to Fiorentina as a youth coach. His achievements with the team earned interest from Parma, who were then playing in Serie C1. He led Parma to promotion in his first season, and in the season took them to within 3 points of promotion to Serie A. This was enough to attract interest from Milan club owner Silvio Berlusconi, at Milan, Sacchi again faced problems of credibility. The press argued that such a player could never go on to be a successful coach. Sacchi, however, coined a witty term in response, I never realised that in order to become a jockey you have to have been a horse first. Sacchi was an instant success at the San Siro, leading Milan to its first Serie A title for nine years in his debut season, Sacchis success at Milan gained him two back-to-back European Cups. The success he gained was largely attributed to the Dutch trio he had purchased, Marco van Basten, Ruud Gullit and Frank Rijkaard. However, other players such as Roberto Donadoni, as well as the defensive back four of Franco Baresi, Alessandro Costacurta, Mauro Tassotti. The first European Cup final in 1989 was against Steaua București, Gullit and Van Basten scored two goals each and Milan lifted the European Cup for the first time in over 20 years. En route to the final, Milan had dispatched Real Madrid 6–1 on aggregate in the semi-final, the quarter-final against Werder Bremen was a tight affair, Milan only went through 1–0 on aggregate thanks to a Van Basten penalty
5.
Luigi Riva
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Luigi Gigi Riva is an Italian former professional footballer who played as a centre-forward. At international level, Riva won the 1968 UEFA European Championship and was runner-up at the 1970 FIFA World Cup with the Italian national team, with 35 goals between 1965 and 1974, he is Italys all-time leading goalscorer. After retiring in 1976, Riva briefly served as the president of Cagliari during the 1986–87 season, Riva was born into a poor family in Leggiuno, a small town in the northern Italian province of Varese, Lombardy, near the Swiss border, on 7 November 1944. Riva started playing football for the Laveno Mombello youth side in Lombardy. He began his career in 1962, at the age of 18. This was the first time a club south of Rome had ever won the title, Riva once again finished the season as top-scorer. In total, Riva scored 248 goals for club and country throughout his career in 439 appearances, overall, he scored 207 goals in 374 appearances in all competitions during his thirteen seasons with Cagliari, and 213 career club goals in 397 appearances. Following his disappointing and goalless performances in the stage, and much media criticism and scrutiny. On 14 June, he helped Italy defeat the hosts Mexico 4–1 in the quarter-finals, the Italian team finished runners up in the tournament after losing 4–1 to Brazil in the final, Riva finished the competition as Italys top-scorer, with three goals. On 31 March 1973, Riva scored four goals in a 5–0 home win over Luxembourg, in a World Cup qualifying match, surely my goals were much more important. Riva is currently still Italys top-goalscorer of all-time, with 35 goals in just 42 matches, after retiring, Riva remained in Cagliari, and founded the first school of football in Sardinia in 1976, which bears his name. Rivas jersey was the first to be retired by the Sardinian club, in addition to his goalscoring prowess and technique, he was also an extremely fit, hard-working, and fast player, with notable stamina, who excelled during sprints and at making attacking runs. He was also an accurate free-kick and penalty kick taker, despite his ability, his career was often marked by injuries, which later affected his mobility, continuity, and fitness, and eventually forced him to retire prematurely
6.
Pierluigi Collina
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Pierluigi Collina is an Italian former football referee. He has been named FIFAs Best Referee of the Year six consecutive times and is considered to be the greatest football referee of all time. Collina was born in Bologna and attended the University of Bologna, graduating with a degree in economics in 1984. During his teenage years, he played as a defender for a local team, but was persuaded in 1977 to take a referees course. Within three years he was officiating at the highest level of regional matches, while completing his compulsory military service. In 1988, he progressed more rapidly than normal to the third division, Serie C1. After three seasons, he was promoted to officiating Serie B and Serie A matches, about this time, Collina contracted a severe form of alopecia, resulting in the permanent loss of all his facial hair, giving him his distinctive bald appearance and earning the nickname Kojak. In 1995, after he had officiated at 43 Serie A matches and he was allocated five matches at the 1996 Olympic Games, including the final between Nigeria and Argentina. In 2002, Collina reached the pinnacle of his career, when he was chosen for the World Cup final, between Brazil and Germany. Prior to the game, Germanys Oliver Kahn told the Irish Times, Collina is a referee, theres no doubt about that. Kahns luck did not change in the final, and his team lost 2–0 and he refereed the 2004 UEFA Cup Final between Valencia and Marseille. In February 2005, as he reached the retirement age. His last international match was Portugal – Slovakia, for a 2006 FIFA World Cup qualifier at Estádio da Luz in Lisbon, the FIGC raised its mandatory retirement age to 46 in order to accommodate Collina for a further season. However, a dispute emerged between the federation and Collina early in August 2005, following Collinas decision to sign a sponsorship deal with Opel. As Opel was also a sponsor of Serie A club A. C. Milan, the deal was seen as a conflict of interest. In response, Collina handed in his resignation, effectively ending his career, the Italian Referees Association then attempted to reject his resignation, but he persisted with his retirement. He did, however, referee the Soccer Aid matches for charity in May 2006, during the latter of these games, Collina was involved in an awkward fall and was stretchered off after 21 minutes of play. He also refereed the first half of the 2010 Soccer Aid match on 6 June, perhaps one of the greatest distinctions of Collinas career was earning the hatred of Luciano Moggi, the Juventus executive and chief instigator of the 2006 Italian football scandal
7.
Adriano Galliani
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Adriano Galliani is an Italian entrepreneur and football executive, serving as vice-president and CEO of AC Milan since 1986. During his tenure, Milan have won five European Cup / UEFA Champions League, in 2011, he was inducted into the Italian Football Hall of Fame. In April 2016, Galliani was one of the prominent Italian individuals to be named in the Panama Papers leak, interview at lamescolanza. com Profile at magliarossonera. it
8.
France
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France, officially the French Republic, is a country with territory in western Europe and several overseas regions and territories. The European, or metropolitan, area of France extends from the Mediterranean Sea to the English Channel and the North Sea, Overseas France include French Guiana on the South American continent and several island territories in the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian oceans. France spans 643,801 square kilometres and had a population of almost 67 million people as of January 2017. It is a unitary republic with the capital in Paris. Other major urban centres include Marseille, Lyon, Lille, Nice, Toulouse, during the Iron Age, what is now metropolitan France was inhabited by the Gauls, a Celtic people. The area was annexed in 51 BC by Rome, which held Gaul until 486, France emerged as a major European power in the Late Middle Ages, with its victory in the Hundred Years War strengthening state-building and political centralisation. During the Renaissance, French culture flourished and a colonial empire was established. The 16th century was dominated by civil wars between Catholics and Protestants. France became Europes dominant cultural, political, and military power under Louis XIV, in the 19th century Napoleon took power and established the First French Empire, whose subsequent Napoleonic Wars shaped the course of continental Europe. Following the collapse of the Empire, France endured a succession of governments culminating with the establishment of the French Third Republic in 1870. Following liberation in 1944, a Fourth Republic was established and later dissolved in the course of the Algerian War, the Fifth Republic, led by Charles de Gaulle, was formed in 1958 and remains to this day. Algeria and nearly all the colonies became independent in the 1960s with minimal controversy and typically retained close economic. France has long been a centre of art, science. It hosts Europes fourth-largest number of cultural UNESCO World Heritage Sites and receives around 83 million foreign tourists annually, France is a developed country with the worlds sixth-largest economy by nominal GDP and ninth-largest by purchasing power parity. In terms of household wealth, it ranks fourth in the world. France performs well in international rankings of education, health care, life expectancy, France remains a great power in the world, being one of the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council with the power to veto and an official nuclear-weapon state. It is a member state of the European Union and the Eurozone. It is also a member of the Group of 7, North Atlantic Treaty Organization, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, the World Trade Organization, originally applied to the whole Frankish Empire, the name France comes from the Latin Francia, or country of the Franks
9.
Michel Platini
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Michel François Platini is a French former football player, manager and administrator. Nicknamed Le Roi for his ability and leadership, he is regarded as one of the greatest footballers of all time, Platini won the Ballon dOr three times, in 1983,1984 and 1985, and came sixth in the FIFA Player of the Century vote. In recognition of his achievements, he was named Chevalier of the Legion of Honour in 1985, during his career, Platini played for the clubs Nancy, Saint-Étienne, and Juventus. Together with the midfielders Alain Giresse, Luis Fernández and Jean Tigana, Platini was his countrys record goalscorer until 2007, and holds the record for most goals scored in the European Championship despite only appearing in the victorious 1984 edition. Following his retirement as a player, Platini was the French national team coach for four years, from 2007, he served as the president of the Union of European Football Associations. He also held the positions of chairman of FIFAs Technical and Development Committee, in 2015, however, he was banned from football administration for conflict of interest by the FIFA Ethics Committee. Born in Jœuf, in the Lorraine region, Platini is the son of Aldo and Anna, Aldo was a professional footballer and a long-time director for AS Nancy, the club where Michel started his professional career. Platini was called up for a trial with Metz, but missed out on the opportunity due to injury and he returned to regional league football with Jœuf. Another trial at Metz went horribly wrong when a breathing test on a spirometer caused Platini to faint, the doctors verdict on Platinis breathing difficulties and weak heart ended any hopes Platini had of playing for his boyhood favorites. He then joined the side of his fathers club Nancy in September 1972. Platini was quick to make a big impression at his new club, further outstanding displays put him in contention for a place in the Nancy first team. His introduction to the squad was inauspicious. On the substitutes bench for a match against Valenciennes, Platini was spat on, playing for the reserves a few days later, a hefty challenge from an opponent left Platini with a bad ankle injury. His season would finish on a positive note, and he would go on to make his league debut against Nîmes on 3 May 1973. In March 1974, he suffered a setback when he sustained a fracture of his left arm in a match at OGC Nice. Platini missed the remainder of the season as a result, unable to assist Nancy in a bid to avoid relegation from Ligue 1. The following season saw Nancy win promotion back to the French first division with ease, Platini became the teams most important player, scoring 17 goals, a number of which were scored from free-kicks, as was becoming Platinis specialty. Saint-Étienne, the then reigning French league champions, were knocked out of the French Cup with two goals from Platini free-kicks, Platini practised his free-kicks with the help of his friend, goalkeeper Moutier, and using a row of dummies to form a defensive wall of sorts
10.
Enzo Bearzot
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Vincenzo Enzo Bearzot was an Italian professional football manager and former footballer, who played as a defender or midfielder. He led the Italian national team to a triumph in the 1982 FIFA World Cup, nicknamed Vecio, he holds the record for most appearances on the bench of the Italian national team at 104 times from 27 September 1975 to 18 June 1986. A year after his death, an award was named in honour of the 1982 World Cup winning coach, born in Aiello del Friuli, in the friulian Province of Udine in Friuli-Venezia Giulia, Bearzot was son of a bank teller and attended high school at Udine. He had a successful playing career as a centre back. Enzo Bearzot made his debut in football with Pro Gorizia in 1946. After three seasons with the Nerazzurri, Bearzot moved to Sicily and joined Catania for three more seasons, in 1954 he moved to Torino, which was rebuilding after the tragedy of Superga in 1949. In two seasons as a starter he played 65 matches, scoring one goal, in 1956 he returned to Internazionale where he appeared 27 times, the last of which was a 3–2 defeat at Bologna on 9 June 1957. The following year he returned to Torino, here, he made 164 appearances and scored 7 goals for the Granata before retiring in 1964, aged 37, to take up coaching. After having ended his career, Bearzot became assistant coach of Torino, working alongside Italian managers Nereo Rocco. He successively moved in Tuscany to take his first head coaching job in Tuscany at the helm of Serie C side Prato, after the German World Cup, Bearzot was appointed as assistant coach of Fulvio Bernardini, and was then promoted head coach of Italy in 1975. It was Bearzot who drove the team to fourth place in the 1978 FIFA World Cup. This performance was repeated in the 1980 European Championship, hosted by Italy, in the 1982 FIFA World Cup, after poor performances in the three first matches, Bearzot announced the so-called silenzio stampa in order to avoid rising criticism from the Italian press. Italy did not qualify for the Euro 1984, Bearzot resigned after the 1986 FIFA World Cup, which saw Italy being defeated in the round of 16 by France. Bearzot was criticised during the tournament for relying too heavily on players from the 1982 team. He holds the record for the most amount of times on the bench as manager of Italy, after a long period of inactivity, Bearzot was appointed President of the FIGC Technical Sector in 2002. He left this office in 2005, Bearzot was highly regarded for his tactical prowess, meticulousness, and versatility as a manager. At the same time, he preferred not to set plays and tactical plans on his players, as he believed that above all, they should have the freedom to express their ability. His side were also adept at subsequently creating goalscoring opportunities from quick
11.
Giuseppe Meazza
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Giuseppe Peppino Meazza, also known as il Balilla, was an Italian football manager and player. Along with Giovanni Ferrari and Eraldo Monzeglio, he is one of only three Italian players to have won two World Cups. Meazza is widely considered one of the best players of his generation, due to his technical skill, prolific goalscoring, and creative ability, he was often given the nickname il genio by the Italian press during his career. He has been ranked fourth-best player in the history of the World Cup, with 338 goals, he is the third-highest Italian goalscorer in all competitions. In 2011, he was inducted into the Italian Football Hall of Fame. Meazza was born in Porta Vittoria, Milan, however, it was football that was his true calling. His mother hid his shoes so he would not waste his time and he began playing at six years old on the streets on a team named the Maestri Campionesi who played with a ball made of rags. At twelve years old he finally got permission from his mother to pursue being a footballer and it was here that a fan bought him his first proper pair of football boots. He began his career as a striker, but due to his talent and technical skills. Now we even take players from kindergarten, the National Opera Balilla, the Fascist youth organisation which collected all children aged 8 to 14 years, was established in 1926 and so Conti thought it a good way to describe the young rookie. Meazza scored two goals on his debut in a 6–2 win against Milanese Unione Sportiva in the Coppa Volta in Como, at the age of 13, Meazza admired Milan, but was rejected by the team for being too skinny. However, he was received with open arms by Internazionale and he was randomly observed juggling a rag ball in the street by an Inter scout and quickly signed. They fed him steaks so he would get bigger and stronger, at first he was used to fill a gap in defense instead of being allowed to follow his attacking instinct, but luckily Inters junior coach later corrected the mistake. He scored two goals on his debut in a 6–2 win against Milanese Unione Sportiva in the Coppa Volta di Como, Meazza still holds the record for the most goals scored in a debut season in Serie A, with 31 goals in his first season. The year before, when Serie A did not exist, and he scored 5 goals in a single game, twice in one season,6 January 1929 Inter against Pistoiese 9–1 and 17 March 1929 Inter v Verona 9–0. That same season on 12 May 1929, he scored six goals as Inter beat Venezia 10–2,27 April 1930 was the first time Inter ever played A. S. Inter won 6–0 and Meazza scored four goals, scoring his first three within three minutes of the game, with Meazza on the squad, Inter won 3 national championships in 1930,1938 and 1940, and helped win the teams first Coppa Italia in 1939. The 1930 championship was Inters first since 1920 and they were considered underdogs to teams like Bologna, Torino, Juventus and it was Meazzas dazzling form that clinched the inaugural Serie A title
12.
Silvio Piola
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Silvio Piola was an Italian footballer from Robbio Lomellina, province of Pavia who played as a striker. Piola won the 1938 FIFA World Cup with Italy, scoring two goals in the final, ending the tournament as the second best player and the second highest scorer, Piola is third in the all-time goalscoring records of the Italian national team. He is also the highest goalscorer in Italian first league history, with 290 goals and he played 566 Serie A games, putting him 4th on the all-time list for appearances in Italys top flight. Piola is the player to have the honour of being the all-time Serie A top scorer of three different teams Piola is also the highest scoring Italian player in all competitions, with 364 goals. After his death a pair of Italian stadiums were renamed after him, one in Novara in 1997, in 2011 he was posthumously inducted into the Italian Football Hall of Fame. Piola began his career with Italian club side Pro Vercelli, making his Serie A debut against Bologna on 16 February 1930, scoring 13 goals in his first year and he went on to score 51 goals in 127 appearances in Serie A for Pro Vercelli. In 1934, he moved to Lazio, who had been on the end of his first Serie A goal on 11 November 1930. He was to spend the next nine seasons there, Piola was the Serie A top scorer twice while at Lazio, in 1937 and 1943. After leaving Lazio, he spent war-torn 1944 at Torino, where he scored an amazing 27 goals in just 23 games, toward the end of the war, he joined Novara. Then, from 1945 to 1947, Piola played for Juventus, before moving back to Novara, to this day, Piola is still currently the highest all-time goalscorer in Serie A. His first game for Italy came against Austria on 24 March 1935, Piola went on to play 34 games for Italy and score 30 goals between 1935–1952, a tally that would surely have been greater if not for the interruption caused by World War II. He served as the sides captain from 1940 until 1947. In 1939 he scored a goal with his hand to England 47 years before Diego Armando Maradona and his last international appearance was in 1952, when Italy drew 1–1 with England. Piola is currently Italys third highest goalscorer of all-time, behind only Giuseppe Meazza, Piola died in Gattinara in 1996, aged 83. Regarded as one of the greatest strikers of all time, Piola was widely renowned for his goalscoring ability throughout his career, and his eye for goal. Piola was also known for his powerful and accurate finishing ability with his head, due to his agility and athletic ability, Piola also excelled in the air, and he was capable of scoring spectacular acrobatic goals from volleys and bicycle kicks. Despite his talent and his reputation, he was accused of diving throughout his career. S. S. Lazio Serie A, runner-up 1936–37 Mitropa Cup, runner-up 1937 Juventus F. C. Silvio Piola at National-Football-Teams. com
13.
Vittorio Pozzo
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Vittorio Pozzo was an Italian football manager, player and journalist. He also led Italy to a medal at the 1936 Olympic football tournament. Vittorio Pozzo was born in Ponderano and he attended the Liceo Cavour in Turin, his hometown, he later studied languages and played football in France, Switzerland and England. He studied in Manchester at the turn of the 20th century and met Manchester United half-back Charlie Roberts and he would serve as the technical director of Torino from 1912 to 1922. After completing his studies, he joined Pirelli, where he became manager and he was appointed commissioner for the first time of the national team during the Olympic Games in Stockholm in June 1912, the first debut ever for an Italian selection in an official competition. The team was eliminated in the first round losing 3-2 to Finland after extra time, throughout his first term the national team was guided by this diverse group of people. With the brief exception of Augusto Rangone and Carlo Carcano, Pozzo was the person to play the role of sole commissioner until the sixties. Pozzo would also serve with the Alpini as lieutenant during the First World War, the mediation failed resulting in the split between the FIGC and CCI, before merging again the following year. In 1924, on the occasion of the Olympic Games in Paris and this time the Azzurri were able to reach the quarter-finals, where they were beaten 2–1 by Switzerland. After this defeat, Pozzo resigned and returned to himself to his work and his wife. After the death of his wife, he moved to Milan, where he held his job at Pirelli, alongside that of a journalist for La Stampa in Turin, which he continued almost until his death. Pozzo returned to coach the Italy national team on a permanent basis from December 1929 Italy won the 1930 version of the Central European International Cup and they pipped the title from Meisls Austrian side, the so-called Wunderteam who went on to win the second edition of that tournament. Following the 1930 defeat to Spain, Pozzo left out Adolfo Baloncieri, his captain, in 1932, Austria beat Italy, as did the Czechs, while a defeat to Hungary was only averted because of a missed penalty. During the 1934 FIFA World Cup in their country, Pozzos Italian side benefited from controversy in the first tournament on European soil. A foul on Ricardo Zamora for the equaliser in the first leg went unpunished while another on Joan Josep Nogués in the replay earned Italy a semi-final place, Italy benefited as well from the quarter-final played elsewhere between Hungary and Austria. By the time of the semi-final, Johann Horvath was absent, enrique Guaita, one of the squads Oriundi, scored from close range after Giuseppe Meazza had fallen over goalkeeper Peter Platzer. On the back of the World Cup success, Pozzo was awarded the title of Commendatore for greatness in his profession, the Battle of Highbury on 14 November 1934 against England led by Arsenals Wilf Copping ended 3–2 in favour of England. Italy repeated as Central European International Cup winners in 1935, going into the 1936 Summer Olympics on the back of a run which had seen them lose only to Austria, by the time of the 1938 World Cup, Italy remained undefeated in recent competition under Pozzo
14.
Gaetano Scirea
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Gaetano Scirea was an Italian professional footballer who is considered one of the greatest defenders of all-time. Scirea is one of five players in European football history to have won all international trophies for football clubs recognized by UEFA and FIFA. Scirea was a modern and highly talented defender, gifted with excellent technical skills and tactical ability, who was known for his pace, elegance on the ball, and innate capacity to read the game. In contrast to the ruthless tactics often employed by other defenders, including his partner, Claudio Gentile, Scirea was renowned for his class, fair play. Scirea never earned a red card in his career and he was also known for his leadership, serving as captain of both Juventus and the Italian national side. A former midfielder, he played the sweeper, or libero, role for most of his career, in the latter part of his career, as he lost his pace, Scirea played a more defensive role as a centre-back. He was married to Mariella Cavanna, together they had a son, Mariella has become a politician after her husbands death. Scirea was born at Cernusco sul Naviglio, in the province of Milan, Scirea made his Serie A debut for Atalanta against Cagliari on 24 September 1972. He remained with Atalanta for two seasons, before transferring to Juventus, with whom he would stay until the end of his playing career, in all he made 397 appearances in Serie A, scoring 24 goals. Scirea saw great success with Juventus, playing alongside Antonio Cabrini, and he managed the impressive feat of winning every UEFA Club and domestic competition during his time at the club. He retired from football at the end of the 1987–88 season. He took up the role of scout at Juventus, later working as a coach, Scirea debuted with the Italian national team on 30 December 1975, against Greece. Scirea impressed in the 1978 World Cup where Italy finished in fourth place, at the 1982 World Cup, after a quiet start in the first round group stage, Italy beat Argentina and then Brazil in the second round, later overcoming Poland 2–0 in the semi-final. A 3–1 victory over West Germany in the final earned Scirea a lasting place in World Cup history, by 1986 World Cup, however, the team was in transition, and went out to France in the second round. This was to be Scireas last match for Italy, having won 78 caps, in summer 1989 Scirea visited Poland as an observer to watch Górnik Zabrze, against which Juventus was to play in the UEFA Cup. On 3 September 1989 a car carrying him collided head-on with a truck near Babsk, the car carried four canisters of gasoline in the trunk, which exploded upon impact, killing Scirea and two of three other passengers. In 2005, former Italian national team coach Enzo Bearzot proposed the retirement of the number six of that national team. The south stand in Juventus home ground Juventus Stadium, as well as the one in the former Stadio delle Alpi, is known as the Curva Scirea and it is occupied by the Juventus Ultras
15.
Paolo Maldini
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Paolo Cesare Maldini is an Italian former professional footballer who played as a left back and central defender for A. C. Milan and the Italy national team. He spent all 25 seasons of his career in the Serie A with Milan, Maldini made his debut for Italy in 1988 before retiring in 2002 with 126 caps, a record which was only bettered by Fabio Cannavaro in 2009 and Gianluigi Buffon in 2013. Maldini captained Italy for eight years and held the record for appearances made as Italys captain, wearing the armband 74 times, until he was again overtaken by Cannavaro. With Italy, Maldini took part in three UEFA European Championship and four FIFA World Cups, although he did not win a tournament with Italy, he reached the final of the 1994 World Cup and Euro 2000, and the semi-final of the 1990 World Cup and Euro 1988. He was elected into the teams for each of these tournaments. Maldini is regarded as one of the greatest defenders of all time and he came second to George Weah for the FIFA World Player of the Year award in 1995. Maldini also placed third in the Ballon dOr on two occasions, in 1994 and 2003, in 1999, he was voted 21st in World Soccers list of the 100 greatest football players of the 20th century. In 2002, he was chosen as a defender on the FIFA World Cup Dream Team, Maldini was also the Milan and Italy captain for many years and was considered a leader by fellow footballers, leading to the nickname Il Capitano. He is also the record holder for Milan with 902 appearances in all competitions. He is one of only 18 players to have made over 1,000 career appearances. Following his retirement after the 2008–09 season, his lifelong club Milan retired his number 3 shirt in his honour, and in December 2012, he was inducted into the Italian Football Hall of Fame. Paolos father Cesare formerly played for and captained Milan, and was a successful national under-21 manager, as of 2015, Paolo Maldini is the co-owner of North American Soccer League club Miami FC. Originally a Milan youth squad product, Maldini also went on to play his club career with the Milan senior side. It was his league appearance of the campaign, but he was immediately made a member of the starting eleven the following season, at age 17, at right back. He was later switched to his more iconic position of left back due to his ability with his left foot, Maldini scored the first of his 29 goals in Serie A on 4 January 1987 in a 1–0 win against Como. The 1987–88 Scudetto under Arrigo Sacchi marked Maldinis first trophy, during the 1987–88 Serie A season, Milan only conceded 14 goals, finishing with the best defence in Italy, as they went on to win the Serie A title. Following Baresis retirement, he would form a formidable and successful partnership with Alessandro Nesta. To this day, Milan are the last team to have defended the European Cup trophy
16.
Giovanni Trapattoni
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Giovanni Trapattoni, sometimes popularly known as Trap or Il Trap, is an Italian football manager and former footballer, considered the most successful club coach in the history of Serie A. A former defensive midfielder, as a player he spent almost his entire career with A. C. Milan. Internationally, he played for Italy, earning 17 caps and participating in the 1962 FIFA World Cup in Chile, alongside Udo Lattek, he is the only coach to have won all three major European club competitions and the only one to make it with the same club. Also, he is the one to have won all official continental club competitions. He is one of the few to have won the European Cup. Trapattoni was most recently the manager of the Republic of Ireland national team and he led them to their first European Championships in 24 years, enjoying a successful UEFA Euro 2012 qualifying campaign. This followed narrowly missing out on the 2010 FIFA World Cup, Trapattoni also played for the Italian national team, earning 17 caps and scoring 1 goal. Most notably, he played at the 1962 FIFA World Cup in Chile, Trapattoni began coaching at Milan as a youth team coach, before becoming caretaker coach. Trapattoni was caretaker coach from 9 April 1974 to 30 June 1974 and his first match was the UEFA Cup Winners Cup semi–final first leg against Borussia Mönchengladbach. They got to the final after losing the second leg 1–0. Milan lost the final 2–0 to East German club 1, Milan finished seventh in Serie A. He was appointed first team coach in 1975, Trapattoni was head coach for Juventus for ten consecutive years, from 1 July 1976 to 30 June 1986. Trapattoni won all UEFA club competitions, during his years managing Juventus, Trapattoni established himself as one of the best managers in football history, well-known and respected among fans and journalists throughout Europe. He was renowned for combining expert man-management with almost unmatched tactical knowledge, Trapattoni coached Inter Milan from 1 July 1986 to 30 June 1991. While in charge of the nerazzurri, he won the Serie A in 1988–89, the Supercoppa Italiana in 1989 and he then managed Juventus for a second time between 1991 and 1994, winning the UEFA Cup in 1992–93. Trapattoni became coach of Bayern Munich in the summer of 1994, however, he left at the end of the 1994–95 season. Trapattoni coached Cagliari in the 1995–96 season and his first match was a 1–0 loss to Udinese on 26 August 1995. The clubs board of directors decided to dismiss him in February 1996, after a string of bad results and his final match was a 4–1 loss to Juventus
17.
Dino Zoff
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He holds the record for the longest playing time without allowing goals in international tournaments set between 1972 and 1974. With 112 caps, he is the joint fifth most capped player for the Azzurri, in 2004 Pelé named him as one of the 125 greatest living footballers. In the same year, Zoff placed fifth in the UEFA Golden Jubilee Poll and he also placed second in the 1973 Ballon dor, as he narrowly missed out on a treble with Juventus. In 1999, Zoff placed 47th in World Soccer Magazines 100 Greatest Players of the Twentieth Century, in September 2014, Zoff published his Italian autobiography Dura Solo un Attimo la Gloria. Dino Zoff was born in Mariano del Friuli, Friuli-Venezia Giulia, upon his fathers suggestion, Zoff initially also pursued studies to be a mechanic in case his football career proved to be unsuccessful. As a young aspiring footballer, Zoff was also interested in other sports, Zoffs career got off to an inauspicious start, when at the age of fourteen he had trials with Inter Milan and Juventus, but was rejected due to a lack of height. Zoff made only four appearances in his first season for Udinese and he played the next season as the clubs starting goalkeeper, helping the club to Serie A promotion, before moving to Mantova in 1963, where he spent four seasons, making 131 appearances. Following his achievements with the side, and due to his performances during his time with Napoli, Zoff was signed by Juventus in 1972, at the age of 30. Zoff won his final Serie A championship with Juventus during the 1981–82 Serie A season, also winning the 1982 FIFA World Cup with Italy that year, as his teams captain. Juventus were defeated 1–0 by Hamburg in Athens on 25 May, after Zoff was beaten by Felix Magaths long-distance strike and his final league appearance came in a 4–2 home win over Genoa on 15 May 1983. S. Lazio goalkeeper Marco Ballotta, and A. C. Milan defender Paolo Maldini respectively and he also held the Serie A record for most consecutive clean sheets alongside Rossi, until Gianluigi Buffon overtook them both with his 10th consecutive clean sheet in 2016. With 570 Serie A appearances, Zoff is also the sixth highest appearance holder in Serie A of all time, and he is the fourth oldest player in Serie A to have ever played a match. He holds the record for most consecutive matches played in Serie A, at 41 years and 86 days, Zoff is also the oldest player to have appeared in a European Cup or UEFA Champions League Final. Prior to representing the senior Italian side, Zoff had won a medal with the Italy under-23 side at the 1963 Mediterranean Games. On 20 April 1968, Zoff made his debut for Italy, playing in a 2–0 win against Bulgaria in the quarter finals of the 1968 European Championships. He returned to the starting line-up, however, ahead of Albertosi, in Italys disappointing 1974 World Cup campaign, during which they would be eliminated in the first round. From 1972 onwards, Zoff became Italys undisputed number 1, and he participated in the 1978 World Cup with Italy, during which he managed a fourth-place finish, Italy were eliminated in the semi-final, in a 2–1 loss to the Netherlands. After the match, Zoff was criticised for making a fairly uncommon error, throughout these two tournaments, Zoff established a record for most consecutive minutes unbeaten in a European Championship, which was later beaten by Iker Casillas in 2012
18.
Giampiero Boniperti
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Giampiero Boniperti is an Italian former football player who played his entire 15 season career at Juventus between 1946 and 1961, winning five Serie A titles and two Coppa Italia titles. He also played for the Italian national football team at international level, after retirement from professional football, Boniperti has been a president of Juventus and a deputy to the European Parliament. Boniperti also held the record for most minutes played in Serie A by a Juventus player, until his record was surpassed by Buffon on 19 March 2017, notably, Boniperti is the eleventh-highest goalscorer of all-time in Serie A. In March 2004, he was named by Pelé as one of the worlds top 125 greatest living footballers, Boniperti signed for Juventus at age 16, he had already built himself a reputation prior to this at youth level, as he scored 11 goals in one match. The youngster played his first match for the Old Lady in Serie A on 2 March 1947 against A. C. Milan and his first goal for them in the league was three months later, against Sampdoria. Juventus ended the 1946–47 Serie A season as runners-up to local rivals Torino, although he began as a centre forward he was a flexible player, and could play also as an inside forward or on the right wing. His second season with Juventus really put him on the map, he was only just 20 years old, Bonipertis first league championship with Juventus was during the 1949–50 season. His scoring rate remained prolific and by his 24th birthday he had scored 100 goals for the Turin giants, although he was named the clubs captain in 1954, for much of the 1950s Juve and Boniperti struggled to put the club back to the top of the Italian championship. However, in 1957 Juventus signed two forwards, John Charles and Omar Sivori, along with them Boniperti would be a part of what was referred to as the Magical Trio. At the time of his retirement, Boniperti was Juventus all-time top goalscorer with 182 in all competitions, currently, Giampiero Boniperti is the second top goalscorer of all-time at Juventus and is seventh on the list of all-time top appearances for the club. He got even with Austria a couple of later, when in May 1949 he scored his first international goal for Italy. Although Bonipertis international career was not particularly long, he did manage to achieve 38 caps, Boniperti played for Italy in the 1950 and 1954 FIFA World Cup finals, as well as in the 1952 Summer Olympics. As a centre-forward, he was known for his ability in the air, in addition to his footballing ability, he was also known for his leadership. From 1994 until 1999, Boniperti was elected as a deputy in the European Parliament with centre-right wing party Forza Italia. Bonipertis grandson Filippo has followed in his grandfathers footsteps in pursuing a career in football, and played for the Juventus Primavera team and the Italy U-19 team as a midfielder
19.
Netherlands
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The Netherlands, also informally known as Holland is the main constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It is a densely populated country located in Western Europe with three territories in the Caribbean. The European part of the Netherlands borders Germany to the east, Belgium to the south, and the North Sea to the northwest, sharing borders with Belgium, the United Kingdom. The three largest cities in the Netherlands are Amsterdam, Rotterdam and The Hague, Amsterdam is the countrys capital, while The Hague holds the Dutch seat of parliament and government. The port of Rotterdam is the worlds largest port outside East-Asia, the name Holland is used informally to refer to the whole of the country of the Netherlands. Netherlands literally means lower countries, influenced by its low land and flat geography, most of the areas below sea level are artificial. Since the late 16th century, large areas have been reclaimed from the sea and lakes, with a population density of 412 people per km2 –507 if water is excluded – the Netherlands is classified as a very densely populated country. Only Bangladesh, South Korea, and Taiwan have both a population and higher population density. Nevertheless, the Netherlands is the worlds second-largest exporter of food and agricultural products and this is partly due to the fertility of the soil and the mild climate. In 2001, it became the worlds first country to legalise same-sex marriage, the Netherlands is a founding member of the EU, Eurozone, G-10, NATO, OECD and WTO, as well as being a part of the Schengen Area and the trilateral Benelux Union. The first four are situated in The Hague, as is the EUs criminal intelligence agency Europol and this has led to the city being dubbed the worlds legal capital. The country also ranks second highest in the worlds 2016 Press Freedom Index, the Netherlands has a market-based mixed economy, ranking 17th of 177 countries according to the Index of Economic Freedom. It had the thirteenth-highest per capita income in the world in 2013 according to the International Monetary Fund, in 2013, the United Nations World Happiness Report ranked the Netherlands as the seventh-happiest country in the world, reflecting its high quality of life. The Netherlands also ranks joint second highest in the Inequality-adjusted Human Development Index, the region called Low Countries and the country of the Netherlands have the same toponymy. Place names with Neder, Nieder, Nether and Nedre and Bas or Inferior are in use in all over Europe. They are sometimes used in a relation to a higher ground that consecutively is indicated as Upper, Boven, Oben. In the case of the Low Countries / the Netherlands the geographical location of the region has been more or less downstream. The geographical location of the region, however, changed over time tremendously
20.
Marco van Basten
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Marcel Marco van Basten is a Dutch football manager and former football player, who played for Ajax and Milan, as well as the Netherlands national team, in the 1980s and early 90s as a forward. He was later the coach of Ajax and the Netherlands national team. Playing for the Netherlands, Van Basten won, and was named player of the tournament, at UEFA Euro 1988, at the club level, he won three Eredivisie titles and the Cup Winners Cup with Ajax, and three Serie A titles and two European Cups with Milan. He was also voted eighth in a poll organised by the French magazine France Football, in 2004, he was named by Pelé in the FIFA100 list of the worlds greatest living players. In 2004, a poll for the 100 greatest Dutch people was held in the Netherlands, Van Basten ranked number 25, in 2007, Sky Sports ranked Van Basten first on its list of great athletes who had their careers cut short. Marco van Basten was born on 31 October 1964 in Utrecht and he began playing for a local team, EDO, when he was six years old. A year later, he moved to UVV Utrecht, after nine years there, he briefly played for another club from Utrecht, Elinkwijk. Ajax signed Van Basten for the 1981–82 season and he played his first game for Ajax in April 1982, scoring a debut goal in the 5–0 victory over NEC. In the 1982–83 season, he competed with the European top scorer Wim Kieft for the position of centre forward, after Kieft left for Serie A club Pisa the next season, Van Basten solidified his position as the teams main attacker. He became a top scorer in the league for four seasons from 1983–84 to 1986–87, in the 1985–86 season, he scored 37 goals in 26 league matches, including six goals against Sparta Rotterdam and five against Heracles Almelo, and won the European Golden Boot. He also scored the goal in the UEFA Cup Winners Cup final against Lokomotive Leipzig in 1987. He had scored 128 goals in 133 league games for Ajax, on November 1986 he scored his most famous goal in an Ajax jersey, a spectacular overhead kick against FC Den Bosch. In 1987, Silvio Berlusconi signed Van Basten for Milan, with fellow countrymen Ruud Gullit, in his first season, Milan won their first Scudetto in eight years, but Van Basten played only 11 games and was constantly troubled by an ankle injury. In 1988–89, Van Basten won the Ballon dOr as Europes top footballer and he scored 19 goals in Serie A and scored two goals in the final of the European Cup as Milan triumphed against Steaua Bucureşti. In 1989–90, he became Capocannoniere, Serie As leading goal scorer, Milan struggled in the 1990–91 season, as Sampdoria won the Scudetto. After Van Basten fell out with Arrigo Sacchi, Berlusconi sacked the manager, fabio Capello took over the following season, and Milan went undefeated in the league to win another Scudetto. Van Basten scored 25 league goals, and became Capocannoniere again, in November 1992, he became the first player to score four goals in a Champions League match, against IFK Göteborg, including a picture perfect bicycle kick. In December 1992, Van Basten was named FIFA World Player of the Year, Milan stretched their unbeaten run into the 1992–93 season, going 58 matches over two seasons before they lost a game
21.
Concetto Lo Bello
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Concetto Lo Bello was an Italian association football international referee. He holds the record for refereeing the most games in Serie A and his career spanned the years 1944 to 1974, refereeing his first international match in 1958. He officiated at 34 international matches, including the West Germany–USSR semi-final in 1966 and he had been provisionally chosen to referee the 1970 FIFA World Cup Final, but the Italian team reached the final, so he could not officiate. Lo Bello also refereed the European Cup finals of 1968 and 1970, as well as the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup 2nd leg final in 1966, the latter final occurred shortly after his fiftieth birthday, making him the oldest official at a European final. After retirement, he entered politics, as a deputy for the Christian Democrat party and he was Minister of Sport for a spell, and, briefly, was Minister for Drought. In 1986 he was elected mayor of Syracuse, but was only in the job for five months, in 2012 he was posthumously inducted into the Italian Football Hall of Fame. His son, Rosario Lo Bello, was also a Serie A and international referee
22.
Valentino Mazzola
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Valentino Mazzola was an Italian footballer who played as an attacking midfielder or forward. He was also captain of the Italian national team for a biennium and he became known during his spell at Venezia, where he played as a midfielder, a playing position he held throughout his career that allowed him to expand his fame beyond Italy. In his later seasons, he was considered one of the best players in Europe in his role and he died at the age of 30 in the Superga air disaster. He was born in Cassano dAdda, Ricetto, a neighbourhood of abandoned homes to a very modest family and his father, Alessandro, was a labourer for Azienda Torinese Mobilità and died in August 1940, hit by a truck. His mothers name was Leonina Ratti and his four brothers were Piero, Silvio, Carlo and he had an unsettled childhood, in 1929 his father was fired from his job because of the Great Depression. To help his family, Valentino sought work the following year and he found employment as a bakers boy, then, at age 14, the linen mill at Cassano dAdda. C. A Juventus fan at an age, he was nicknamed Tulen for his habit of kicking old tin cans. In Venice he obtained his elementary school diploma, attending night school, Valentino was a private person of few words. On 15 March 1942 he married Emilia Rinaldi, whom he had two sons, both players, Sandro - who played for Inter Milan and the Italian national team - and Ferruccio, in Turin he lived in a small apartment in Via Torricelli 66. He worked in Lingotto and reported as a FIAT worker essential to wartime production, although the Torino players salaries were very good, they were not considered exaggerated, compared to normal payroll. Mazzola, who considered himself a solitary person led a secluded life and his entertainment consisted of a few games of bowls near his house. He used to write everything, both in regard to his personal and professional life. He was very strict and meticulous and demanded the same treatment from others, this was the reason for separation from his first wife. He separated from his wife in autumn 1946 and remarried on 20 April 1949 to the 19-year-old Giuseppina Cutrone and he briefly moved to Fara dAdda and then returned to Tresoldi. He was used in the roles of centre midfielder and right midfielder and he participated in his first season with Tresoldi in 1935–36 and the following year he entered into the first team, earning 10 lire per game. He was very indecisive and opted for Alfa Romeo, because the car manufacturer also guaranteed him a job, at Alfa Romeo he played one season as a winger, but according to another source, he instead played as a right midfielder. He left the team in 1939, after having played in front of an audience, who appreciated his rhythm and play, to join the military service in Venice. At the trial, which he showed up and played barefoot, having left his boots intentionally at home not to them, he convinced everyone
23.
Angelo Schiavio
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Angelo Schiavio was an Italian footballer who played as a forward. Schiavio spent his career with Bologna, the club of the city where he was born and died, he won four league titles with the club. He won the 1934 FIFA World Cup with Italy, finishing as the second highest goalscorer. Following his retirement, he also managed both Bologna and the Italian national side. In 2012, he was inducted into the Italian Football Hall of Fame, schiavo, who died in April 1990 at the age of 84, was also the last surviving player from Italys 1934 World Cup winning team. Schiavio spent his career with Bologna. He began his career with the first team during the 1922–23 Prima Divisione, playing 6 league games and scoring 6 goals, he made his debut for the club in 1923, at that time, the Italian league was organised into several different regional groups. The 1929–30 season saw the advent of the Serie A format, Schiavio played in his first Serie A game away against Lazio on 6 October 1929 – a 3–0 loss for Bologna. His first goal in Serie A came on 13 November later that year, Schiavios final season was in 1938–39, when he made 6 appearances in the league, but failed to score. An important figure in the history, Schiavio spent 16 seasons with Bologna. He made 361 appearances for the club in total, scoring 249 goals, and a club-record 242 goals in the Italian league,109 of which were scored in the Italian Serie A format. Schiavio made his debut for the Italy national football team in November 1925 and he participated in the 1928 Olympic Games, scoring 4 goals in 4 games as Italy won a bronze medal in the tournament. Schiavio was instrumental in Italys first World Cup win in 1934, supported by players such as Luis Monti and Giuseppe Meazza, he scored a total of 4 goals, finishing the tournament as the second highest scorer. FIFA originally credited Schiavio as one of three joint top scorers in the tournament, however, FIFA revised this in November 2006, giving Nejedlý a fifth goal and the outright leading scorer title. Despite his prolific display in Italys opener, he was not able to score in any of the two games Italy played in order to reach the final. In the final, Czechoslovakia took the lead, but a goal by Raimundo Orsi levelled the game. In the 5th minute of extra-time Schiavio converted a cross by Enrique Guaita – this goal ultimately proved decisive as the score was 2–1. This was Schiavios final game for Italy, in total Schiavio gained 21 caps for the national team, scoring 15 goals. com profile
24.
Franco Baresi
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Franco Baresi is an Italian football youth team coach and a former player and manager. He mainly played as a sweeper or as a central defender and he is considered one of the greatest defenders of all time, and was ranked 19th in World Soccers list of the 100 greatest players of the twentieth century. He won the Champions League 3 times, as well as 6 Serie A titles,4 Supercoppa Italiana titles,3 European Super Cups and 2 Intercontinental Cups, with Italy, he won the 1982 FIFA World Cup. He also played in the 1990 FIFA World Cup where he was named in the FIFA World Cup All-Star Team, Baresi also represented Italy at two UEFA European Championships, in 1980 and 1988, and at the 1984 Olympics, reaching the semi-finals on each occasion. In 1999, he was voted Milans Player of the Century, after his final season at Milan in 1997, the club retired Baresis shirt number 6. He was named by Pelé one of the 125 Greatest Living Footballers at the FIFA centenary awards ceremony in 2004, Baresi was inducted into the Italian Football Hall of Fame in 2013. Originally a Milan youth product, Baresi went on to spend his entire professional career with Milan, making his Serie A debut at the age of 17. He had initially rejected by Inter, who chose his brother Giuseppe instead. This success was followed by a dark period in the clubs history. Under Sacchi, Milan won the Serie A title in 1987–88 and this title was immediately followed by an Italian Supercup in 1988 the next season, and back to back European Cups in 1988–89 and 1989–90. Baresi was also runner-up to team mate Van Basten for the Ballon dOr in 1989, finishing ahead of his team mate Frank Rijkaard. Milan also reached the Coppa Italia final during the 1989–90 season, Baresi went on to win four more Serie A titles with Milan under Fabio Capello, including three consecutive titles, during the 1991–92, 1992–93 and the 1993–94 seasons. Baresi helped Milan win the 1991–92 title undefeated, helping Milan to go unbeaten for an Italian record of 58 matches, Milan also scored a record 74 goals that season. During the 1993–94 season, Baresi helped Milan concede a mere 15 goals in Serie A, Baresi also won three consecutive Italian Supercups under Capello, in 1992,1993, and 1994. Baresi won the third European Cup of his career in 1993–94 where, Baresi also managed to win the 1994 European Supercup, although Milan were defeated in the 1994 Intercontinental Cup, the 1993 UEFA Super Cup and the 1993 Intercontinental Cup. Under Capello, Milan and Baresi were able to capture another Serie A title during 1995–96 season, Baresi retired at the end of the 1996–97 Serie A season, at the age of 37. His final goal for Milan was scored in a 2–1 win against Padova on 27 August 1995, in his honour, Milan retired his number 6 shirt, which he had worn throughout his career. The captains armband, which he had worn for 15 seasons, was handed over to Paolo Maldini, Milan organised a celebration match in his honour, which was played on 28 October 1997 at the San Siro stadium, featuring many footballing stars
25.
Fabio Capello
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Fabio Capello is an Italian manager and a former professional footballer who was most recently the head coach of the Russia national team. As a player, Capello represented SPAL1907, Roma, Milan and he played as a midfielder and won several trophies during his career which lasted over 15 years. He won the Coppa Italia with Roma in 1969, though he was most successful with Juventus, with Milan, he won the Coppa Italia again in 1977 and also won another Serie A in 1979. Capello also played internationally for Italy during his career, amassing 32 caps, in his first five seasons as a manager, Capello won four Serie A titles with Milan, where he also won the 1993–94 UEFA Champions League, defeating Barcelona 4–0 in a memorable final. He then spent a year at Real Madrid, where he won the La Liga title at his first attempt, Capello also won two titles at Juventus, and in 2006 returned to Real Madrid, where he won another La Liga title. Overall, he has won a league championship in seven of his 16 seasons as a coach. He is regarded as one of the greatest managers of all time, Capello was appointed as manager of the England national team in December 2007. In February 2012, he resigned as manager due to a dispute with The Football Association, on 14 July 2015, he was sacked by the Russian Football Union and replaced with Leonid Slutsky. Capello was signed by Paolo Mazza, the President of SPAL, in his second season in the youth team, he helped the club win the Italian Youth Championship and made his first-team debut against Sampdoria on 29 March 1964. A holding midfield player, he could read the play and was both in the air and in the tackle, going forward he was a solid passer with both feet, but lacked pace. He made four appearances for a side that was relegated from Serie A. After returning to the top division at the first attempt, Capello became a key player in the 1965–66 season, taking penalties and he was also called up to the Italian under-23 side alongside teammate Edoardo Reja despite still being a teenager. However, injury to his left knee restricted him to just 16 appearances the following season, in 1967, Capello moved to Roma where he became a key player for the club. In his first season, he helped them to first place after eight matches, a recurrence of the injury to his left knee, however, kept him out for the rest of the season and Roma eventually finished in tenth place, just five points away from relegation. The following season, under new manager Helenio Herrera, a fit Capello scored six goals as Roma finished eighth and won his first major trophy and this qualified Roma to play the Anglo-Italian League Cup, where they played Swindon Town. Capello played in both legs against Swindon, Roma winning 2–1 at home in the first leg but losing 4–0 in the leg at the County Ground. They also reached the semi-finals of the European Cup Winners Cup and he was then sold to Juventus in 1970. He had a start to his time there, as he publicly criticised manager Armando Picchi on the same day it was revealed that Picchi had been diagnosed with cancer
26.
Gianni Rivera
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Giovanni Gianni Rivera is an Italian former football midfielder, who was mostly utilised as an attacking midfielder. Dubbed Italys Golden Boy by the media, he played the majority of his career with Italian side A. C. Milan. At international level, he represented Italy 60 times between 1962 and 1974, scoring 14 goals, and took part at four World Cups. He is widely considered to be one of the most talented offensive playmakers of all time, due to his passing accuracy, in 2015 he became the first Italian footballer out of 100 athletes to be inducted into Italys sports Walk of Fame. In 2004, Pelè chose Rivera as part of the FIFA100 greatest living footballers, after retiring from football in 1979, Rivera became Milans vice-president, and later went into politics in 1986, he is currently a Member of the European Parliament for the Uniti nellUlivo party. Rivera was born in Alessandria, Piedmont, to Edera and Teresio and he is the third youngest player in history to debut in Serie A, behind only Amedeo Amadei and Pietro Pellegri, and the second youngest goalscorer in Serie A, behind only Amadei. A year later, he was bought by A. C. Riveras final appearance with Alessandria came on 19 June 1960, in a 2–0 home defeat against FC La Chaux-de-Fonds in the first ever edition of the Coppa delle Alpi. Due to his performances throughout the season, on 13 May 1962, aged just eighteen, Riveras 1962 scudetto victory with Milan under Nereo Rocco enabled the team to qualify for the European Cup in 1962. Milan suffered a defeat in the Intercontinental Cup, however, in a match against Santos following a 6–6 draw on aggregate. For his performances, Rivera was awarded second place in the prestigious Ballon dOr award that year, Rivera also suffered a 6–1 defeat on aggregate against Ajax in the 1973 European Supercup final with Milan. Following Roccos second departure from the club in 1973, the management attempted to persuade Rivera to leave Milan. During this period, Milan also reached the Coppa Italia final during the 1974–75 season and his final career appearance came in a 1–1 away draw with Lazio in the league, on 13 May, he officially announced his retirement on 10 June. In total, Rivera played for Milan in 501 Serie A matches and scored 122 league goals, with 128 goals in 527 Serie A appearances across 20 seasons, he is the 11th most capped player in Serie A history and the highest scoring midfielder in the leagues history. In total, Rivera scored 170 goals in all competitions in 684 appearances. Rivera was a part of the Italian national side between 1962 and 1974, Rivera made his international debut with the under-21 side on 9 March 1960, scoring 2 goals in a 4–1 pre-Olympic friendly win over Switzerland, alongside Giacomo Bulgarelli. With the Italian senior side, Rivera made his debut on 13 May 1962 in a 3–1 away win against Belgium, despite playing the entire game with a muscle strain, Rivera put in a strong performance during the semi-final. Rivera subsequently played with the Squadra Azzurra in the 1970 FIFA World Cup hosted by Mexico, due to Riveras frequent arguments with the Italian coaching staff over his limited playing time, his mentor Rocco had to be flown in to prevent him from leaving the squad. By the second round of the tournament, however, the Italian offence failed to sparkle
27.
Massimo Moratti
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From 1995 until 2013, Moratti was the chairman of F. C. Internazionale Milano. He is said to have spent around €1.5 billion of his fortune in the transfer market. He was Inters honorary chairman, and also a United Nations Goodwill Ambassador, in 2013, he was inducted into the Italian Football Hall of Fame. Massimo Moratti is the son of industrialist Angelo Moratti, who was the chairman of Football Club Internazionale Milano during the teams Golden Age from 1955 to 1968. Born in the villa in the Bosco Chiesanuova, close to Verona. Letizia Moratti, his brothers wife, was the Mayor of Milan from 2006 until 2011, on his fathers death, Massimo Moratti inherited his shares in the Saras Group, engaged in the refining of petroleum, where he is presently C. E. O. Moratti is also the owner of Sarlux, headquartered in Cagliari, married to the environmental activist Emilia Moratti, the couple have five children. On 10 September 2009, Sauro Gori announced that Moratti had been appointed a United Nations Goodwill Ambassador, in May 2011, Moratti supported Giuliano Pisapias bid to become mayor of Milan against his sister-in-law Letizia. His call for change was perceived as an extension of his rivalry with A. C. Milan, Silvio Berlusconi, Moratti took over as president of Inter from Ernesto Pellegrini in 1995, during a period where many considered Inter to be underachievers. Inter won the Scudetto, the Coppa Italia and the Champions League in the 2009-2010 season, Moratti is said to have spent around €1.5 billion of his personal fortune in the transfer market in his time as president. His most famous signing was that of Ronaldo from FC Barcelona in the summer of 1997, however, criticism also been levelled against Moratti, as he fired coaches frequently. Roberto Mancini and José Mourinho were the only two trophy winning and longest serving coach in recent years, before Mancini, Massimo employed more than 10 short-lived coaches, including Roy Hodgson, Marcello Lippi, Marco Tardelli, Héctor Cúper and Alberto Zaccheroni. The day after Ranieri was dismissed, chief scout of the first team Giovanni Battista Lanfranchi was fired and replaced by the technical commission of Udinese. Lanfranchi had served for Inter for 13 years in different positions, on 15 November 2013, International Sports Capital took control of 70% of the club. Indonesian businessman Erick Thohir, a part-owner of that company, was elected Chairman of Inter, but Moratti remained with the club as Honorary Chairman. On 28 June 2016 Massimo Morattis Internazionale Holding S. r. l. sold all its stake in F. C. Internazionale Milano S. p. A. to Erick Thohirs Nusantara Sports Ventures HK Limited for €60 million. Massimo Morattis wife, Milly Moratti, remained in the Advisory Board of Inter, however, Massimo Moratti himself, was no longer the Honorary Chairman of the club
28.
Argentina
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Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a federal republic in the southern half of South America. With a mainland area of 2,780,400 km2, Argentina is the eighth-largest country in the world, the second largest in Latin America, and the largest Spanish-speaking one. The country is subdivided into provinces and one autonomous city, Buenos Aires. The provinces and the capital have their own constitutions, but exist under a federal system, Argentina claims sovereignty over part of Antarctica, the Falkland Islands, and South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands. The earliest recorded presence in the area of modern-day Argentina dates back to the Paleolithic period. The country has its roots in Spanish colonization of the region during the 16th century, Argentina rose as the successor state of the Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata, a Spanish overseas viceroyalty founded in 1776. The country thereafter enjoyed relative peace and stability, with waves of European immigration radically reshaping its cultural. The almost-unparalleled increase in prosperity led to Argentina becoming the seventh wealthiest developed nation in the world by the early 20th century, Argentina retains its historic status as a middle power in international affairs, and is a prominent regional power in the Southern Cone and Latin America. Argentina has the second largest economy in South America, the third-largest in Latin America and is a member of the G-15 and it is the country with the second highest Human Development Index in Latin America with a rating of very high. Because of its stability, market size and growing high-tech sector, the description of the country by the word Argentina has to be found on a Venice map in 1536. In English the name Argentina probably comes from the Spanish language, however the naming itself is not Spanish, Argentina means in Italian of silver, silver coloured, probably borrowed from the Old French adjective argentine of silver > silver coloured already mentioned in the 12th century. The French word argentine is the form of argentin and derives of argent silver with the suffix -in. The Italian naming Argentina for the country implies Argentina Terra land of silver or Argentina costa coast of silver, in Italian, the adjective or the proper noun is often used in an autonomous way as a substantive and replaces it and it is said lArgentina. The name Argentina was probably first given by the Venitian and Genoese navigators, in Spanish and Portuguese, the words for silver are respectively plata and prata and of silver is said plateado and prateado. Argentina was first associated with the silver mountains legend, widespread among the first European explorers of the La Plata Basin. The first written use of the name in Spanish can be traced to La Argentina, a 1602 poem by Martín del Barco Centenera describing the region, the 1826 constitution included the first use of the name Argentine Republic in legal documents. The name Argentine Confederation was also used and was formalized in the Argentine Constitution of 1853. In 1860 a presidential decree settled the name as Argentine Republic
29.
Gabriel Batistuta
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Gabriel Omar Batistuta, nicknamed Batigol as well as El Ángel Gabriel, is a retired Argentine professional footballer. When his club Fiorentina was relegated to Serie B in 1993, Batistuta stayed with the club and he became a popular sporting figure in Florence, the Fiorentina fans erected a life-size bronze statue of him in 1996, in recognition of his performances for the club. After an unsuccessful spell with Inter in 2003, he played his last two seasons in Qatar with Al-Arabi before he retired in 2005. At international level, he was Argentinas all-time leading goalscorer with 56 goals in 78 official matches until Lionel Messi surpassed him during the Copa América Centenario. Batistuta played at three World Cups, scoring 10 goals, which make him Argentinas all-time top scorer in the competition, Batistuta is the only player in football history to score two hat-tricks in different FIFA World Cup editions. With the Argentina national team he won two consecutive Copa América titles and the FIFA Confederations Cup and he has three younger sisters, named Elisa, Alejandra, and Gabriela. At the age of 16, he met Irina Fernández, his wife, at her quinceañera. On 28 December 1990, they were married at Saint Roque Church, the couple moved to Florence, Italy, in 1991, and a year later their first son, Thiago, was born. Thanks to good performances in the Italian championship and with the Argentine national team, Batistuta gained fame and he filmed several commercials and was invited onto numerous TV shows, but in spite of this, Batistuta always remained a low-profile family man. In 1997, Batistutas second son, Lucas, was born, and he now has a fourth son Shamel. In 2000, Batistuta and his moved to Rome, where he played for Roma. Two years after Shamel was born, Batistuta was loaned to Inter, in 2003, after 12 years in Italy, the family moved to Qatar where Batistuta had accepted a lucrative celebrity playing contract with a local team, Al-Arabi. Batistuta ended his career at Al-Arabi, retiring in March 2005, soon afterwards he moved to Perth, Australia. In April 2006, the citys established A-League franchise, Perth Glory was put up for sale however Batistuta was not interested in the purchase seeing no real potential in the club and he moved back to Argentina in 2007. Speaking in a interview in Argentina, Batistuta said the pain suffered in his ankles after retiring in 2005 became so intense that he urinated in bed with the toilet only a few steps away. He visited a doctor he knew asking his legs be amputated and he expressed an interest in coaching Australias national team and Argentinas team. During the 2006 FIFA World Cup he worked as a commentator for Televisa Deportes, Batistuta currently runs his own construction company in Argentina. He also worked as secretary in the professional football club Colón, joining the clubs staff in January 2012
30.
Eraldo Monzeglio
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Eraldo Monzeglio was an Italian association football coach and player, who played as a defender, in the position of full-back. Monzeglio had a successful career as a footballer, although he also later attracted controversy due to his close relationship with the Italian fascist dictator Benito Mussolini. At club level, he played for Casale, Bologna, and Roma, winning the Serie A title, along with Giuseppe Meazza and Giovanni Ferrari, he is one of only three Italian players to have won two World Cups. Following his retirement as a player, he worked as a coach for Italian clubs Como, Pro Sesto, Napoli, Sampdoria and he was posthumously inducted into the Italian Football Hall of Fame in 2013. Monzeglio was born in Vignale Monferrato, in the province of Alessandria, in his nineteen-year career as a football defender, which lasted from 1924 to 1943, he played for Casale, Bologna, and Roma. With Bologna, he was victorious in the 1928–29 championship, also winning two Mitropa Cups in 1932 and 1934, Monzeglio later became a coach, managing the Italian teams of A. S. Roma, Como, Pro Sesto, Napoli, Sampdoria, Juventus, Monzeglio died in Turin, on 3 November 1981, at the age of 75. In 2013, he was inducted into the Italian Football Hall of Fame
31.
Fabio Cannavaro
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Fabio Cannavaro, Ufficiale OMRI is an Italian former professional footballer and current manager of Chinese club Tianjin Quanjian. Cannavaro is considered to be one of the greatest defenders of all time and he spent the majority of his career in Italy. He started his career at Napoli, before spending seven years at Parma, after spells at Internazionale and Juventus, he transferred along with manager Fabio Capello from Juventus to Real Madrid in 2006, with whom he won consecutive La Liga titles in 2007 and 2008. After returning to Juventus for one season in 2009–10, he joined Al-Ahli in Dubai, where he retired from football in 2011 after an injury-troubled season. After his retirement, he became a member of the staff of Al-Ahli, notably as global ambassador and technical director from 2011 to 2013. In November 2014, he was appointed as coach of Chinese club Guangzhou Evergrande. On June 9,2016, he signed a contract with second tier Chinese club Tianjin Quanjian as manager, Cannavaro has also achieved success with the Italian national team. He was part of the Italy team that won consecutive Under-21 European Championships in 1994 and 1996, in 2009, he overtook Maldini as the most capped player in the countrys history. In total, he has represented Italy at four FIFA World Cups and he is currently Italys second all-time appearance holder, behind Gianluigi Buffon, and has made the most appearances for Italy as captain. In 2007 he was in the six man shortlist for the Laureus World Sportsman of the Year and his younger brother Paolo is also a professional footballer, who plays for Italian side Sassuolo. Fabio Cannavaro was born in Naples to Gelsomina Costanzo and Pasquale Cannavaro and his mother worked as a maid, while his father was a bank clerk, his father also played football for provincial side Giugliano. He has a sister named Renata, who was married at the age of 15. He also has a brother named Paolo, who plays football as well. As a youngster, Cannavaro played for a team from Bagnoli before being spotted by the scouts of Napoli, his hometown. He gained a reputation when, in a session at Napoli, the young Fabio produced a strong sliding challenge on Maradona. His progress as a player was such that he became a member of the first team alongside some of his childhood idols. Cannavaros debut in Serie A came on 7 March 1993, in Turin, in a 4–3 defeat to Juventus, as a centreback alongside Ferrara, he soon demonstrated his anticipation, tackling, distribution, and his ability to start attacking plays after winning back possession. He scored his first career goal at the San Siro stadium, against Milan, Cannavaro remained at Napoli until 1995, earning nearly 60 total appearances with the club, scoring one goal
32.
Carlo Ancelotti
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Carlo Ancelotti OSI is a retired footballer and Italian football manager. He is currently managing Bayern Munich, Ancelotti is the only manager to have won the UEFA Champions League three times and reached four finals. He is also the first manager to have won the FIFA Club World Cup for the European clubs, Ancelotti is regarded as one of the best and most successful managers of all time. Nicknamed Carletto, Ancelotti played as a midfielder and began his career with Italian club Parma, helping the club to Serie B promotion in 1979. As a manager, he has worked for Reggiana, Parma, Juventus, Milan, Chelsea, Paris Saint-Germain, Real Madrid and Bayern Munich, Ancelotti began his career in 1974 with Parma. He made his debut in Serie C during the 1976–77 season. Under manager Cesare Maldini, he was deployed behind the forwards, or as a second striker. Ancelotti excelled in this role and helped Parma to a place in the Serie C1 girone A during the 1978–79 season. In the decisive match in Vicenza, against Triestina, with the tied at 1–1. After attracting strong interest from Inter Milan, in the summer of 1979 Ancelotti transferred to Roma, during his eight seasons at the club, he won the Coppa Italia a total of four times. He went on to play all 90 minutes in Milans 4–0 dismantling of Steaua București in the final. He was very likely to be capped for the 1982 World Cup campaign and he was a part of Italys World Cup squad in the 1986 World Cup, where he did not make a single appearance, however. An injury to the meniscus of his knee, however, prevented him from taking part in the tournament. Ancelotti made a total of 26 performances for the Italian national side, Ancelotti was a talented, cautious, efficient and composed creative midfielder, who was capable of being deployed in several positions. A world-class midfielder, he was known for his leadership and organisational skills and is regarded as one of the best Italian midfielders of his generation, despite his ability, his career was affected by several injuries, which limited his playing time, and forced his retirement in 1992. Ancelotti undertook his studies at Coverciano, where he penned a research article entitled Il Futuro del Calcio. Ancelotti made his debut in the Coppa Italia in a 3–1 loss to Pescara, in February 1999, Ancelotti was appointed Juventus manager, where he both succeeded and preceded Marcello Lippi, who returned to the club when Ancelotti left. The following season, Ancelotti went trophyless, finishing runner-up in Serie A yet again, to Roma, Ancelotti finished his tenure with Juventus with a record of 63 wins,33 draws and 18 losses
33.
Sandro Mazzola
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Alessandro Sandro Mazzola is an Italian former professional footballer, who played as a forward or attacking midfielder. He currently works a football analyst and commentator on the Italian National television station RAI, Sandro Mazzola played for the highly successful Internazionale team remembered by the name of La Grande Inter during the 1960s. Having spent his entire 17 season career with Inter, he holds the honour of being a one-club man and he is the son of Italian footballer Valentino Mazzola, player of the Grande Torino who died in the Superga air disaster. Sandro Mazzolas younger brother, Ferruccio Mazzola, was also a footballer, Sandro Mazzola was born in Turin a few weeks after his father, Valentino Mazzola, joined Torino from Venezia. His younger brother, Ferruccio, who was named after the president of Torino, was born two years later. Their parents divorced in 1946 but their father gained custody of Sandro, although their father Valentino had played for Torino, Sandro Mazzola and his brother Ferruccio signed for Internazionale. Unlike his younger brother, Sandro Mazzola spent his career with Inter. Herrera had joined Inter a year earlier, from spanish side Barcelona, along with his midfield general Luis Suárez, who would serve as Inters main playmaker during the 1960s. Together, they would transform the club into the best team in Italy, Europe, and the world during the 60s and they were known for their infamous defensive catenaccio tactics and ability to score from swift and sudden counter attacks. Inter defended their European title again the season by beating Benfica in the Final. In the 1966–67 season, Inter reached their third European Cup Final, in 1971, following his final Serie A title and his performances in Europe, he placed second in the Ballon dOr, behind Johan Cruyff. This was the closest he came to winning the Award. Mazzola retired from football in the summer of 1977, having served as Inters captain from 1970 until his retirement. By the end of his career, he had won four Serie A titles, Mazzola played 70 times for Italy between 1963 and 1974, scoring 22 goals. His debut for the side was against Brazil on 12 May 1963, when he was aged only 20. This would allow the more creative playmaker Rivera more time on the ball to dictate the tempo of the teams play, Rivera finally went into the game with only six minutes remaining, replacing Roberto Boninsegna however, with Brazil leading 3–1. Four years later, Valcareggi finally used the two together at the 1974 World Cup, but the ageing Italian side underperformed and was eliminated in the first round of the tournament. After retiring from, Mazzola held a position at Inter
34.
Giuseppe Marotta
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Giuseppe Beppe Marotta is an Italian football executive currently serving as Director General and Sports Department CEO of Italian football club Juventus. In 2014, he was inducted into the Italian Football Hall of Fame, in 1978, at the age of just 21, Marotta began his career in football when he was appointed as Director of Youth Department for his hometown club Varese. Just one year later, Marotta was promoted to Director General of Varese, with Marotta as Director General, Varese would spend five consecutive seasons in Serie B. However, Marottas final two seasons at Varese saw the club relegated, falling down to Serie C2 after the 1985–86 season. After leaving Varese, Marotta was appointed Director General of Serie C1 club Monza, during his tenure at Monza, the club were promoted to Serie B and spent 2 seasons at that level, before relegation back down to Serie C1. After 4 season at Monza, Marotta moved on to serve as Director General for Como, in Serie C1, for 3 seasons and then at Ravenna for 2 seasons, also in Serie C1. In 1995, Giuseppe Marotta was hired by Maurizio Zamparini to serve as Director General for Venezia, while there, Venezia achieved a historic promotion back to Serie A in 1998, marking the clubs first return to the top flight in more than 30 years. After 5 seasons at the club, Marotta left Venezia at the end of the 1999–2000 season, from Venezia, Marotta took over as Director General for Serie A club Atalanta, where he served for two seasons. During his time at Atalanta, the club finished 7th and 9th in the Serie A table, following the 2001–02 season, Marotta changed clubs again, this time moving to Sampdoria. At the time of Marottas hiring, the club was coming off its lowest table finish since the founding of U. C, Sampdoria in 1946, a 10th place finish in the clubs 3rd straight season in Serie B. However, the club had recently been purchased by local Genoese oil industrialist Riccardo Garrone. In Marottas first season as Director General at Sampdoria, he hired manager Walter Novellino, in 2003–04, Marottas 2nd season at Sampdoria, he added to two big-name acquisitions in Cristiano Doni and Francesco Antonioli and Sampdoria finished in 8th place, just missing out on the UEFA Cup. In 2004, Marotta was appointed to serve as Managing Director of Sampdoria and it was shortly after that Marotta hired the ex-player Fabio Paratici to serve as Chief Observer/Head of Scouting for Sampdoria. In a partnership that continues today, Paratici worked very closely under the guidance of Marotta, the 2004–05 season saw Sampdoria finished in 6th, missing the Champions League place by just 1 point. Nevertheless, Sampdoria qualified for the UEFA Cup marking the first time one of Marottas teams had qualified for European competition, the 2005–06 and 2006–07 seasons, saw the club finish 12th and 9th respectively. Following the disappointing 2006–07 season, Marotta replaced manager Walter Novellino with Walter Mazzarri, the 2007 transfer season also saw Marotta bring in the controversial Italian forward Antonio Cassano on a year-long loan from Real Madrid with the option to purchase the player. The 2007–08 season saw the finish in 6th place to qualify again for the UEFA Cup. After signing Cassano in full, Marotta added another highly regarded striker to Sampdoria with the purchase of Giampaolo Pazzini from Fiorentina for a fee of €8 million in January 2009
35.
Diego Maradona
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Diego Armando Maradona is an Argentine retired professional footballer. He has served as a manager and coach at other clubs as well as the team of Argentina. Many in the sport, including writers, players, and fans. He was joint FIFA Player of the 20th Century with Pelé.9 million. He played for Argentinos Juniors, Boca Juniors, Barcelona, Napoli, Sevilla and Newells Old Boys during his career, and is most famous for his time at Napoli. In his international career with Argentina, he earned 91 caps and his presence on the pitch had a great effect on his teams general performance, while he would often be singled out by the opposition. A precocious talent, Maradona was given the nickname El Pibe de Oro, in the 1986 World Cup quarter final, he scored both goals in a 2–1 victory over England that entered football history for two different reasons. Maradona became coach of Argentina in November 2008 and he was in charge of the team at the 2010 World Cup in South Africa before leaving at the end of the tournament. He coached Dubai-based club Al Wasl in the UAE Pro-League for the 2011–12 season, in August 2013, Maradona joined Argentine Primera D club Deportivo Riestras staff as spiritual coach. He was the first son after three daughters and he has two younger brothers, Hugo and Raúl, both of whom were also professional football players. He was the child and first son of Diego Maradona Chitoro. In 1950, they left Esquina and settled in Buenos Aires, at age eight, Maradona was spotted by a talent scout while he was playing in his neighbourhood club Estrella Roja. He became a staple of Los Cebollitas, the team of Buenos Airess Argentinos Juniors. As a 12-year-old ball boy, he amused spectators by showing his wizardry with the ball during the intermissions of first division games. He named Brazilian playmaker Rivelino and Manchester United winger George Best among his inspirations growing up, on 20 October 1976, Maradona made his professional debut for Argentinos Juniors,10 days before his 16th birthday. He entered to the pitch wearing the number 16 jersey, and after the game stated, Maradona scored his first goal in the Primera División against Marplatense team San Lorenzo on 14 November 1976, two weeks after turning 16. Maradona spent five years at Argentinos Juniors, from 1976 to 1981, Maradona received offers to join other clubs, including River Plate who offered to make him the clubs best paid player. Nevertheless, Maradona expressed his will to be transferred to Boca Juniors, Maradona signed a contract with Boca Juniors on 20 February 1981
36.
Giacomo Bulgarelli
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Giacomo Bulgarelli was an Italian international footballer who played as a midfielder. Following his retirement, he had a spell in America with the Hartford Bicentennials in 1975. He was also a member of the Italian side that won UEFA Euro 1968, Bulgarelli was born in Portonovo di Medicina, Bologna. His entire Italian club career was spent with Bologna, for whom he served as captain. He also won the Coppa Italia twice with the club during the 1970s, as well as a Mitropa Cup, with 488 appearances in all competitions, he is Bolognas record all-time appearance holder. He finished his career with a spell in 1975 with the Hartford Bicentennials in the USA. Bulgarelli played three matches for Italy at the 1960 Summer Olympics, with these goals, he became the youngest ever goalscorer for Italy at the FIFA World Cup, at the age of 21 years and 226 days. He played all three matches for Italy at the 1966 World Cup and his only other appearance as Italys captain came on 18 June 1966, in a friendly match against Austria. He made a total of 29 appearances for the Italy national side and he was also known for his offensive attributes, which saw him score several goals from midfield. Fabio Capello described him as Italys greatest ever midfielder and he died in Bologna, on 12 February 2009, after a lengthy illness. Bologna Serie A, 1963–64 Coppa Italia, 1969–70, 1973–74 Mitropa Cup,1961 Anglo-Italian League Cup,1970 Italy UEFA European Championship,1968 Italian Football Hall of Fame,2014
37.
Carlo Carcano
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Carlo Carcano was an Italian footballer and manager who played as a midfielder. As a player, he was a one man, playing for Alessandria. At international level, Carcano also represented Italy on 5 occasions between 1915 and 1921, scoring once and he later also managed the Italian national football team. Carcano died in Sanremo, aged 74, on 23 June 1965, in 1947 in Sanremo Carlo Carcano was one of the co-founder of A. S. D. In the same season the club won also Coppa Italia of Promozione Liguria, the current president is Renato Bersano, while the coach is Valentino Papa. Juventus Serie A, 1930–31, 1931–32, 1932–33, 1933–34 Italian Football Hall of Fame,2014
38.
Ferruccio Novo
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Ferruccio Novo was an Italian association football player, coach, and sports manager, who played as a defender. He is a president of Calcio Torino. Novo spent his career playing for Italian club Torino F. C. Novo became Torinos president in 1939. Moreover, as the Technical Commission Chairman of the Italy national football team, in 2014 he was inducted posthumously into the Italian Football Hall of Fame
