José Altafini

José Altafini
Altafini (left) with the Brazilian President Lula (2008)
Personnel
Surname	José João Altafini
birthday	July 24, 1938
place of birth	Piracicaba ,  Brazil
size	176 cm
position	striker
Juniors
Years	station
	XV de Novembro Piracicaba
Men's
Years	station	Games (goals) 1
1954-1956	CA Piracicabano
1956-1958	Palmeiras São Paulo	114 0(89)
1958-1965	AC Milan	205 (120)
1965-1972	SSC Naples	180 0(71)
1972-1976	Juventus Turin	74 0(25)
1976-1979	FC Chiasso	60 0(16)
1979-1980	FC Mendrisio-Stabio	33 0(16)
National team
Years	selection	Games (goals)
1957-1958	Brazil	8 00(4)
1961–1962	Italy	6 00(5)
1 Only league games are given.

José João Altafini (born July 24, 1938 in Piracicaba , São Paulo ) - better known in Brazil as Mazzola - is a former Brazilian soccer player with Italian roots; he played in the center forward position .

The Italian-Brazilian dual citizen was one of the most successful and most accurate strikers of his generation. Achieved, particularly in the 1960s Altafini 216 goals in the Italian Serie A . This makes him, together with Giuseppe Meazza, the fourth most successful goalscorer in the history of Italy's top division. He was characterized above all by his speed and a pronounced goal instinct.

societies

Altafini, the son of an Italian emigrant, began his professional career in 1956 at Palmeiras São Paulo . In Brazil, Altafini was known by his nickname Mazzola ; He received this because of its great resemblance to the famous Valentino Mazzola , who had been in the legendary team of the Grande Torino in the 1940s . José Altafini played for Palmeiras for two seasons and also made it to the Brazilian national team. For the 1958/59 season he moved from Palmeiras to the Italian Serie A club AC Milan , where he subsequently stayed a total of seven seasons. He won the Italian championship twice and in the 1961/62 season with 22 goals, together with Aurelio Milani from Fiorentina , the top scorer's crown in Serie A. A particular highlight was winning the European Cup in 1962/63 . In the final against Benfica Lisbon , Altafini scored both goals for Milan and thanks to his total of 14 goals - a record surpassed by Cristiano Ronaldo in 2014 - the Milan club won the most coveted club title in Europe for the first time in its history.

At the end of his time at Milan , Altafini was no longer as successful a goalscorer as at the beginning, which is why he moved to league rivals SSC Napoli in the 1965/66 season. There he was used more often and scored more goals again. During his seven years in Naples, Altafini could not celebrate any more titles. In the 1972/73 season he then moved to the Italian record champions Juventus Turin , won the Italian championship there in the first season and also reached the final of the championship cup again, where they lost 1-0 to Ajax Amsterdam . Then Juventus played against CA Independiente in the final of the World Cup , where the team lost again 1-0. In the final of the Coppa Italia , the Turin team also lost 3: 6 on penalties against AC Milan. In the 1974/75 season Altafini won the Scudetto for the second time with Juventus Turin . In 1976 Altafini moved to Switzerland for FC Chiasso , where he stayed for three years before moving to the 3rd division for FC Mendrisio-Stabio , where he once again enjoyed his career at the end of the 1979/80 season with a successful promotion to the 2nd division ended.

The national player

In 1957, José Altafini made his debut in a 2-1 win over Portugal in the Brazilian national team . A year later he was part of the Brazilian squad at the 1958 World Cup , which won the title in Sweden . In this tournament he was used in the preliminary round and quarter-finals in three games and scored two goals.

After Altafini moved to AC Milan for the 1958/59 season , he made his debut on October 15, 1961 in a 4-2 draw against Israel in the Italian national team . With the Squadra Azzura he also took part in the 1962 World Cup in Chile , but they dropped out here early, so that he could not defend his world title. Altafini made 14 international appearances: eight for Brazil and six for Italy.

His life after professional football

After the end of his successful career, Altafini worked as a sports commentator, an activity he continues to this day.

successes

• 1 × Winner of the Soccer World Cup with Brazil (1958)
• 1 × European Cup winners with AC Milan (1962/63)
• 2 × Italian champion with AC Milan (1958/59) and (1961/62)
• 2 × Italian champion with Juventus Turin (1972/73) and (1974/75)
• 1 × top scorer of the European Cup (1962/63) with 14 goals
• 1 × top scorer in Serie A (1961/62) with 22 goals.
• 1 × top scorer of the Italian Cup (1960/61) with 4 goals

Web links

Commons : José Altafini  - collection of images, videos and audio files

• rsssf.com: José João Altafini - International Appearanches (English)
• Player profile in the AC Milan Hall of Fame